Page 183 of Magic of the Damned

“But there are, aren’t they?”

He nodded, then gave her an abridged version of the plan. Me being used to find the Dark Casters, his mother performing the spell with the Diax, and his magic being the sacrifice for the spell to work. “I ask that you trust me and don’t ask for further information.”

“What did Callum see?”

“Nothing. He said he couldn’t see anything but the present.”

After a few minutes of consideration, she offered him a small nod. “Don’t die.”

“I don’t plan to.”

She didn’t seem as confident as Dominic. Standing, she came to us, then knelt, her touch comforting as it covered our clasped hands. Warm brown eyes flowed into luminous violet as she stared past us. Minutes ticked by. She made several attempts. Confusion and fear lingered in her face and eyes when they returned to their natural color. Returning to her chair, she remained quiet while she processed whatever she saw.

“Is the Book of Umbra still warded?”

“No. I removed it and my mother has it.”

Nailah’s face became a blank landscape and her eyes flattened to an expressionless pool of warm brown. “Ileana has it. You have no concerns about that?” If he didn’t, she definitely did, and now I did as well. She knew Ileana better than I did. But Dominic seemed to be an expert when it came to understanding his parents. They were his parents and his decisions could be biased.

“No,” he said with a confidence I no longer possessed. My mind descended into a number of possible outcomes and fear raced through me. Dominic’s hand covered mine and when I turned to him, his eyes latched on to mine. “Please keep your trust in me.”

I nodded and ushered away the doubt and the negative thoughts that drowned out the hint of optimism I had allowed and the promise that it would all be over soon.

“You do the same,” he urged Nailah.

“The Book of Umbra should have been destroyed when you got possession of it. It’s a powerful book. I believe because it is no longer warded by your magic, it has formed its own barrier of protection preventing it from being found by anyone else. It is doubtful anyone would be able to see the outcome of its use. I just hope it will be a success.”

When she stood, we did as well at her tacit invitation to end the visit.

I doubted she’d return to her leisurely evening. Flashes of concern fell and reasserted themselves over the small tight smile she offered as she moved to the door. Before Dominic could leave, she placed a hand on his arm.

“Don’t kill your father,” she entreated.

He studied her for a long time, but I don’t think he understood her intent. I gathered it wasn’t a plea to save Areleus, but rather Dominic.

His hand covered hers, a calming veneration in his tone as he addressed her. “Whether he lives or dies is solely up to him. I hope he chooses well.”

He searched her face as if looking for an answer that never came. Offering her a humorless smile, he gave his departing goodbye. Pulling me to him, we returned to his home.

CHAPTER 15

The next morning, the visit with Nailah had only intensified my worries about the potential dystopian outcomes, undermining Dominic’s constant reassurance of our success. Jittery and on edge, the three hours we took to prepare for the spell dragged.

Hoping my demeanor showed more confidence and less skepticism than I felt, I’d still caught Dominic giving me assessing looks several times. I hadn’t fooled him. I was a discord of emotions, the most prominent of which was fear. The more I thought of the many things that could go wrong, the more my fear grew. I wasn’t in a hurry to come face to face with two Dark Casters. Sheathed at my leg was a knife, which Anand had displayed an exceptional level of optimism giving to me. I clipped the pepper spray Emoni brought with her onto the top of my pants. My shirt was long enough to hide it. No matter how powerful you might be, pepper spray in the eye was a good deterrent and a good equalizer. Unfortunately, if you’re able to use pepper spray on a person, they’re too close for comfort.

Areleus held on to the Book of Umbra, his face an unreadable slate. I couldn’t help but recall Callum’s look of confusion that he’d seen nothing. Watching Areleus’s confident stride and protective hold on the Book of Umbra as he moved throughout the room, there was something I couldn’t quite pinpoint. It only added to my uncertainty as to whether he would relinquish the book or let it get destroyed because he had other plans. No one else seemed to have the same concern. Perhaps they figured he’d had enough time with the book to have copied or committed to memory the spells he wanted.

I attempted to adopt the veneer of cool indifference that hung heavily in the room. The surety etched on their faces and effortless movements should have emboldened me, but instead I was nagged by the persistent feeling that being overconfident ensured that whatever could go wrong, would. Dominic putting so much faith in how his father would be his own undoing was a variable I didn’t like. Trust him, I reminded myself. Ileana was trusting him and we had only been given parts of the plan. Areleus would be the sacrifice.

Pushing aside my doubts, I returned Emoni’s hug, assuring her that everything would be fine. It didn’t stop the various ways she cajoled and demanded I be careful, before she returned to the other side of the house with Anand, who kept a safe distance between me and the bespelled infinity knot. He planned to meet us at my apartment, after taking Emoni home. Steadfast in her objection to stay with me, she finally conceded when I pointed out that she was another body to protect or one to be used for retaliation or bait.

Anand stood several feet from me, holding the bespelled infinity knot. In Dominic’s home, when the knot wasn’t in my vicinity, I forgot how torrid the magic felt.

“Are you okay?” he asked, and I pulled my focus from the object in Anand’s hand to him.

I shook my head. If vampire compulsion was anything like this, no one stood a chance. The unbearable ache reached deep to my bones. My fingers tingled and it took everything for me not to grab for it. Closing my eyes, I sucked in a breath and counted backward. It did absolutely nothing. My body craved to take a running leap at the object and take whatever it had to offer. I opened my eyes at the eclipse of darkness I’d sensed, to see Dominic standing in front of me.

“You’re doing great,” he whispered, his lips inches from mine. I fell into the pools of amber in his eyes, allowing them to consume my thoughts.

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