Page 12 of Spelled By Truth and Tresses

“Half-phantom,” he corrected.

“But just as dark as a full one.”

He shrugged. “Says you. I can feel your magic from here, little siren. It’s revolting,” he said, but drew closer, his pupils dilating. “Regardless, it seems we need to work together, for now at least.”

“Sure, I mean the dreams can’t be a coincidence.”

The corners of his lips twitched as if he held back a smile. “I never thought it was a coincidence.”

“What does it mean, then?” I asked, doing my best to keep the cynicism out of my tone.

He looked over at the meadow, then held out his hand. “Do you trust me?”

I snorted. “No.”

“Good. Trust no one. We know how humanity looks undressed don’t we, pet?”

“Perhaps, but I try not to be.”

“Suppress it, and it’ll eat you alive.”

I sighed. “Are you going to tell me or not?”

“Why don’t I show you instead.”

Curious, I wrapped my palm around his. His fingers closed around mine, nearly engulfing my entire hand, and I allowed him to lead me through the meadow. As we walked through the tall grass, I pursed my lips.

“You asked about my sleep. Does that have something to do with this too? Some sort of strange dream travel or something?”

He didn’t look back at me. “Not dream travel, no. More like a calling.”

“To what?”

He didn’t answer me. “There,” he said, then pointed a tattooed finger at a structure in the distance coming into view.

I did a double take as the cracked stone covered in half rotten ivy came into view.

“Unbelievable.” I gasped. “Un-fucking-believable.” I covered my mouth with both hands, then took a step back, but Jax mirrored me, remaining so close the heat from his body penetrated my hoodie.

Jax tucked a stray lock of golden hair behind my ear. “Almost.” He said snarkily. “But I assure you it’s very real, pet.”

“I…I’ve dreamed about this tower,” I said in disbelief. “Unholy shit. King of fucking Demons himself.” The taste of copper flooded my taste buds as I bit my lip viciously to stop my rambling words.

The tower loomed over us, its towering presence so much more than sheer mass as we stepped into the front yard. The entire area had powerful energy, an overwhelming spiritual presence. The air buzzed along every inch of my exposed skin. I ran my fingers down my forearm, only to flinch away as a zap stung them.

“Overwhelming, isn’t it?” Jax stated, his eyes roving over row upon row of unmarked graves, jutting out like uneven starbursts that surrounded the tower. “After the tower kept showing itself in my dreams, I came looking for it. I’m surprised you didn’t.”

The unkept headstones cast long shadows over the browning grass, their reach shrinking the closer they were to the tower’s stone base. Ivy crawled from the stone, reaching some of the blank grave markers, and swallowed them whole.

“I was lo-.” I cleared my throat, the sound cleaving through the silence. “I didn’t leave the house all summer. I was busy and didn’t want to leave,” I lied, because I wasn’t about to go into my unhinged mother and her rules...”

Jax shook his head, then ran a tattooed hand through his wild, dark waves. “Don’t let lies spill past those pretty lips, pet. I can sense them.”

We stopped at what appeared to be the only entrance to the tower. Cold, damp air whistled through the cracks in the thick oak door, fluttering the wisps of hair framing my face.

I craned my neck painfully to meet Jax’s searing gaze as he stared down at me. The intensity of his concentration was wholly focused on my lips, awakening something primal and raw within me.

But it wasn’t me. It was my siren side. Something about his phantom magic drew me in. Or perhaps it was just him. I didn’t like it. It was unknown and unnerving. Yet, my magic yearned for him.

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