Page 63 of The Fearless Witch

“Chester,” Roman said without tearing his gaze away from me, and it was then that I realized we were no longer alone. An elderly man in an impeccable suit was standing by the stairs of the mansion, watching us with his brows creased. “Restraints, please.” When the human didn’t move right away, the vampire added sharply, “Now.”

The man muttered a quick ‘Yes, Master!’ and rushed back into the house, leaving us alone again. I didn’t like the sound of that, especially because we both knew regular iron couldn’t hold a witch, but I didn’t object. Roman studied me from head to toe before casually straightening his suit and dusting his shoulder.

“You have until he gets back to tell me why you’re really here.”

I licked my lips. It was a big mansion, and he was old, so he couldn’t be very fast. Still…

Roman cleared his throat.

“I… I need the Ancient One’s help,” I said, forcing the words out with effort. “The bond is too draining, and he’s too strong. I-I-I don’t know what to do.”

Roman’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t ask about the bond like I expected him to. Instead, a sour smile appeared on his mouth, making one of his fangs protrude over his pale lips.

“Let me guess. Your precious Coven doesn’t know about him?” He crossed his arms, shifting his weight to one of his long legs. “Or they do and they are after you, so you have nowhere else to go?” When I didn’t reply, he huffed a breath. “Funny how your friends turn on you when you become inconvenient, isn’t it?”

“I’d be dead if they knew,” I muttered.

‘Or maybe Mathias would kill them all,’ I thought to myself.

“Where is he?” Roman asked, eyes darting to the trees around us.

“Not here, don’t worry. I have him… confined. For now,” I said in a pathetically small voice. Roman scoffed, but returned his attention to me. “We have this bond that allows me to control him somewhat, but it’s draining. I’ll…” I licked my lips again, glancing hopefully toward the house. “I’ll explain everything if you take me to her.”

Roman remained unmoved, waiting. I gritted my teeth before I snapped at him that I didn’t need him, only her, but I held back. If I had observed one thing properly, it was that the vampire was very protective of Celeste, so until he deemed me safe, he wasn’t going to let me anywhere near her. I doubted he even told her I was here.

I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat. “Mathias, that’s his name, was previously tied by a bond of sorts to Regina.” I studied his face, not even blinking to make sure I didn’t miss his reaction, but he was as still as a statue. “When she died, the bond transferred to me—her successor. So now I can order him to do, or not to do, things…” Mathias’ face flashed before my eyes, the pain and struggle as he tried to resist my commands. “...and he must obey or… suffer. The problem is,” I paused again, biting on the inside of my cheek as I fought to get the words out. “I’m not strong enough to handle the consequences of those orders. Just being tied to him is draining me mentally and physically. So I…” My voice broke, and I took a deep breath, blinking away the last of my tears before I continued. “I need help. Her help. She has lived longer than anyone and knows things, even the Coven of Sacred Knowledge doesn’t. If anyone can help me, it’s her.”

He continued to stare, his face so perfectly blank that I wanted to scream in frustration.

“I…” I took another deep breath. “I’m begging you. Let me speak to her. I’d do anything she asks. I just want to…”

The sound of hurried steps came from the house and I looked over his shoulder, expecting to see the old man coming back. What I didn’t expect was to find Lily… running down the stairs with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her eyes were full of awe and her mouth hung wide open as she took a few hesitant steps toward me. A dark-skinned woman with long brown hair appeared just behind her, rushing after my sister just as she swayed unsteadily.

“Lily, stay back. She is dangerous,” Roman warned. She barely looked at him as she tried to get closer to me, but he barred her way with his arm. “Go back to your room. Now.” When she didn’t obey, he turned to the other woman, snarling in frustration. “I thought you said she shouldn’t move. Why didn’t you stop her?”

The dark-skinned woman, a shifter if my senses were correct, threw her hands in the air.

“She saw you two from the window and fled. What do you expect me to do, tie her up?”

Roman opened his mouth, and I was sure he was going to say yes when Lily put a hand on his arm. She looked so pale, so fragile, and yet she didn’t even flinch when he turned his cold eyes to her. Instead, it was he who closed his mouth, a feeling akin to worry warming up his gaze. I was so stunned by it, I almost didn’t catch Lily’s soft words.

“My sister won’t hurt me.”

The vampire’s head snapped toward me so abruptly, I gulped at the shock on his face. Lily used her chance to duck under his arm and hug me, almost dragging me to the ground when her knees buckled. I caught her just in time, keeping her up while I pulled back to look at her smiling face. There were dark circles under her eyes, with dots of pale green marring her skin. I wanted to ask what happened to her, but the tears that started streaming down her cheeks made all of my questions disappear.

“You really are alive,” she hiccuped, hugging me again. “I thought… back then… I was imagining… but it’s you… Violet…”

Something in my chest shattered, pushing through the wall of pain and filling the hollowness that had been there for years. My eyes started to burn so I squeezed them shut, hugging her tighter.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, digging my fingers into her back. I wanted to tell her so many things, I wanted to make her understand that I never wanted to leave and become… this. Yet all I could say was, “I’m so sorry!”

More voices echoed through the yard, so I peeked over Lily’s shoulder. My eyes landed on a blonde woman and a man that stood on the top of the stairs, their faces twisted with concern and fear, and I sucked in a sharp breath. Neither of them moved closer until a small boy rushed past, a large dog barking on his heels.

My vision blurred, and it wasn’t from tears this time. I found myself standing in a small, brightly lit corridor, looking left and right as if I didn’t know where to go. After another moment of hesitation, I headed to the living room, opening my mouth to ask if anyone was there when something exploded in my face. It took me a second to realize it was a rain of confetti, most of which stuck to my hair, but then all my attention fell on the three people standing in front of me with the brightest of smiles.

“Happy birthday, dear!” the woman chirped, holding a huge violet cake in one hand while rubbing the edge of her eye with the other. “Gosh, time flies so fast! I can’t believe you’re already fourteen!”

“Happy birthday, Violet!” the younger girl screamed, throwing her arms around me and squeezing me tightly. We both laughed, staring at each other for a second, before she caught my hand and pulled me toward the others. The man leaned down to kiss my forehead and nudged me to the cake.

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