Page 64 of The Fearless Witch

“Go on, make a wish,” Lily urged while he lit the candles on the top.

It was so clear, their faces, their features, even their touch. It was all so real.

Turning to the cake. I stared at the flickering flame, finally making my wish.

My feet buckled, and I fell to my ass, with Lily crashing on top of me. Before I could even groan, someone lifted her off. The sound of shouting and running footsteps disoriented me for a moment, so when I looked up, I was surprised to find my parents standing at my feet and gawking. My mother had one hand over her mouth, the other resting over her heart. My father had completely frozen, like he always did when he was shocked.

Something blossomed in my chest... relief... No, not relief, but something stronger, something I hadn’t felt in years.

Joy.

The emotion knocked the air out of me, making my tears fall no matter how hard I tried to stop them. I could barely hear Lily speak through the ringing in my ears.

“She’s real,” Lily said from where she was kneeling beside me, the dark-skinned woman holding her shoulders to keep her from falling again. “I wanted to tell you, but I had no proof…”

“Violet?” my mother sobbed from behind her hand. “How can this be? We saw—”

She let out another heart-wrenching sob before falling to her knees and hesitantly reaching toward me. I caught her trembling fingers, and she sobbed again, yanking me into her embrace so hard, I almost toppled her down. A pair of big, strong arms caught us both, hugging us even tighter.

The lump disappeared, and I sniveled, their voices silencing the pounding in my head.

“My little girl. My lovely little girl,” my mother kept whispering between sobs. I could feel my father’s arms and Lily’s on me, caressing me, patting me, stroking my hair. I leaned into them, soaking the warmth and the love I had been craving even before realizing what was missing from me.

My family. My home.

After what felt like just a second, they released me. Each of them was still touching me—holding my hand, my cheek, my shoulder—like they wanted to make sure I wouldn’t disappear.

“Who is that and why are you all crying?” a small voice asked and we turned to look at the little boy standing beside Roman and watching us curiously. His giant dog rubbed against his feet, breathing heavily with his tongue out, and when it peered up at Roman, it inched closer to the child.

“Come here, sweetie.” My mother wiped her eyes, motioning for the boy. When he allowed her to drag him to our side, he studied me with narrowed eyes. “This is Violet. She is your older sister. Say hi.”

The boy looked me over from head to toe and I held my breath as I awaited his response.

“Didn’t you say that she died and went to Heaven?” he asked, glancing at each of our parents. “Is she an angel? Do angels exist?” He turned to Roman, but then faced me again even before receiving the vampire’s reply. “Well?”

“I’m… not an angel,” I croaked. Clearing my throat, I added. “It’s a long story, but I promise to tell you everything.” I caught Lily’s eyes, and she gave me an encouraging nod. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I turned to Roman, waiting for his final word. It wasn’t until he stepped closer that I noticed the old man had returned and the vampire was holding something in his hands.

“As charming as this reunion is, I still don’t trust you,” he said, receiving a glare from my mother. He ignored that with ease. “So if you wish to stay and tell us that long story, you’ll put those on.”

He lifted the two unlinked cuffs he was holding with one finger, swinging them around like they were pretty jewelry and not an item that would steal my magic and leave me at his mercy.

“And if I don’t?” I asked, and he stopped, letting them hang limply from his finger instead.

“Then we can have this conversation in my dungeon.” He eyed my parents pointedly, and I felt my heart drop.

“What about the bond? What if they sever—”

“They will not,” Roman said without a hint of hesitation. “If they can’t sever a soulbond or a matebond, they can’t sever the one you’ve inherited.”

“This is barbaric!” My father stood up, turning to face Roman like he was ready to fight. The vampire gave him an exasperated look.

“I care about your safety, not your permission, Kevin,” Roman said sharply. “You got your daughter back two minutes ago. I’ve known the person she was before tonight for almost ten years.” Hesitation passed through my father’s face and he glanced at me as if expecting me to tell him what to do. “She puts them on or she leaves my land. The choice is hers.”

“She is not an animal! You can’t—”

“Dad,” I called out and to my surprise, the word didn’t sound strange to my ears. “He’s right. He has every reason not to trust me.” Slipping my hands away from my mother and my sister, I got to my feet. Once I was standing in front of Roman, I offered him my wrists, not even looking down as he adjusted the cuffs on them.

My magic drained all at once. The sky swirled and nausea made my throat burn. A set of cold fingers steadied me, and despite the urge to pull away, I made myself stay still even as he leaned closer.

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