Page 1 of Crown of Envy

CHAPTER ONE

The acrid smell of brimstone filled the air as the demons and their hellhound closed in on us. Their growls and shrieks sent chills down my spine.

Justice’s hand tightened around mine, his grip a lifeline in the chaos. His jaw clenched as he surveyed the approaching threat. Garrick sprinted behind us, his arms wrapped tightly around Maggie’s limp form. She’d been under a spell and had been his enemy, but the spell had been broken thanks to that mirror. We still weren’t out of danger, though.

I held the magic mirror, pointing it at the Veil of Shadows. The air rippled as a portal opened, revealing Edinburgh’s familiar streets and the towering spires of McDuff Manor.

Justice tugged my hand. “Come on. Jump.”

The wind whipped through my hair as I glanced over my shoulder. Garrick leaped behind us, still cradling Maggie against his chest.

My heart pounded as we leaped through the portal. We crashed in front of McDuff Manor, the impact knocking the air from my lungs. The sudden shift in temperature from the Unseelie dimension to Edinburgh’s cool air made me gasp.

Damon sprinted toward us, his boots pounding against the cobblestones. His usually stoic face crumpled with relief as he skidded to a stop. He grabbed my shoulders, his eyes wild with worry. “Sawyer, thank God!” He pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, his tears soaking through my shirt as he whispered my name like a prayer. “Sawyer, Sawyer.”

I clung to him, the mirror cool against my palm. “I’m all right, Damon.” My voice was muffled against his chest, but I couldn’t bring myself to let go.

He pulled away, his hands still gripping my arms. “Don’t you ever do that again, you hear me?” His voice was rough, his eyes searching mine. “What did the Grimoire take from you? Do you remember me? Your incredibly handsome and charming brother?”

I managed a weak chuckle, running my free hand through my tangled hair. “I don’t remember. I feel like I lost someone important, someone I looked up to, but that’s all I know.”

Damon’s face hardened, his jaw clenching tight. He stared at me, his eyes burning with a desperate intensity. “You don’t mean Dad, do you?”

The question hit me like a punch to the gut. “Dad?” The word tasted foreign on my tongue. My heart clenched, a hollow ache spreading through my chest. “I don’t… I don’t remember my father.”

Damon’s hands tightened on my arms, his fingers digging into my skin. “No, no, no. This can’t be happening.” His voice cracked, tears welling in his eyes. “Sawyer, you can’t forget Dad. He was our hero, our rock. He taught us everything we know about hunting, about saving people.”

I shook my head, tears blurring my vision. “I’m sorry, Damon. I’m trying, but it’s just…gone.”

He pulled me back into his arms, his chin resting on my head. “We’ll fix this, Sawyer. I don’t care what it takes. We’ll get your memories back, I promise.” His voice was fierce, determined. “I won’t let you forget him. I won’t let you forget what he meant to us.”

I nodded against his chest. “Okay, Damon. I trust you.”

He held me tighter as if he could shield me from the pain of my lost memories. “We’ll get through this together, sis. You and me against the world, like always.”

“I need to get Maggie inside,” Garrick stated tensely behind us. “She’s still unconscious.”

Damon turned, eyes narrowing at the sight of Garrick cradling Maggie’s nude form. With his usual smirk, he couldn’t resist a quip. “Do you always kidnap naked ladies?”

Garrick’s eyes flashed with irritation, but he held his composure. “She’s been under a spell. She shifted from a wolf to a human too fast. Something went wrong.”

“Right,” Damon drawled, stepping closer but keeping a wary distance. “Because that makes it less creepy.”

I placed a hand on Damon’s arm, my fingers digging into his jacket as I shot him a warning look. “Enough, Damon,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “This isn’t helping.”

Garrick’s jaw tightened as he glared at Damon. With a dismissive grunt, he brushed past him, cradling Maggie’s limp form closer as he strode into McDuff Manor.

The proprietor, Sean McDuff, greeted him at the door, his bushy red eyebrows knitting together in concern. He was a big bear of a man with a wild mane of red hair and a thick beard. “Oh, what happened to the poor lassie?” he rumbled.

Damon, Justice, and I followed them into the manor, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

Garrick’s gaze never left Maggie’s face as he spoke. “She was under a spell, and I think she was forced to shift.” His fingers absently brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead, his touch gentle despite the anger simmering beneath the surface.

Sean nodded gravely, leading them to an empty bedroom. The floorboards creaked under their weight as they entered the room. “I’ll have my wife brew some special tea for her. Maybe that will bring her around.”

He hurried down the hall. I wasn’t sure if it was to get some tea or stay out of Garrick’s way.

I pulled the mirror from my pocket, my reflection staring back at me with a troubled expression. The artifact seemed to grow heavier in my hand as I pondered the consequences of using it.

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