Page 92 of Bewitched By a Vampire

“There isn’t. I need them to see the memories I saw in your blood and the only way to do that is to cast another spell, one that will transfer the captured memories from me to another.” She toyed with his fingers, her gaze dropping to them. “I have proof that you’re innocent. I can stop them from coming after you.”

“What about you? What if they try to kill you?” he barked, refusing to back down. This was madness. Her coven wanted her dead. They wanted him dead.

She closed her eyes and then opened them and tipped her head up, staring right into his. “They won’t. I’ll be careful and use protective spells. I know they’ll understand this was all a big mistake.”

He could see how important this was to her, and how desperate she was to prove both her innocence and his, but he couldn’t bring himself to trust her coven.

“What if it’s a trap?” he said.

Her face fell, sorrow washing across it, and her voice was small as she said, “It won’t be.”

She didn’t believe that. She was afraid that it would be a trap and just the thought it might be was hurting her.

“They tried to kill you, Lilian. They wanted you dead. They want me dead.” His tone hardened as anger got the better of him, the memories of what her coven had done and what they might be planning stoking it until it was an inferno in his veins. “You can’t trust them.”

She had been shrinking away from him, but as he hurled the last four words at her, she stiffened and straightened, tipping her chin up as she squared her shoulders.

“I need to meet them, Night.” She looked up into his eyes again, her voice stronger and tone firmer now. “I need to try. I can’t rest knowing that they’re out there, believing a lie, unaware of the truth about you. I can’t rest knowing they will come after you again. You can be mad at me all you want, but I’m doing this. Ineedto do this.”

He sighed. This wasn’t a battle he was going to win. He had been in love with this witch for barely a handful of days and she already had him wrapped around her finger, willing to do anything for her.

“If you are going, then I am going too.” He gave her a look that said he wouldn’t hear any arguments on this matter either. She had made up her mind and so had he. They would do this together.

And if it was a trap, he would slaughter them.

He would do whatever it took to protect her.

“What time is the meeting?” His breath fogged in front of his face as he asked that, and he frowned as he looked at Lilian and saw her breath misting the air too.

She cast a worried look around them and closed ranks with him. “Why is it so cold all of a sudden?”

The answer to that question drifted into the room across the way from them.

Two phantoms.

One was a striking white-haired woman he didn’t recognise.

And the other was his brother, Grave.

Chapter 24

The fact that Night’s brother was now a see-through pale echo of himself was disturbing as hell.

But it was nothing compared with the fact Grave was looking at Lilian as ifshewas the ghost as Payne and Elissa appeared, and other occupants of the theatre came down to see what was happening.

Lilian stood beside Night, struggling to hold Grave’s gaze as his brother stared at her. Night closed ranks with her, narrowing the small distance between them down to nothing, hoping to allay her fears and show her that his brother wasn’t a threat to her. Even if Grave did find out what had happened since they had last seen each other, even if his brother lost himself to his bloodlust, Night wouldn’t let him get to her.

He edged his hand towards hers and brushed his fingers across the backs of her knuckles.

Grave slanted him a look.

One that made it perfectly clear how unimpressed he was with Night and how he was fighting the urge to bring up what he had said back at Bastian’s mansion, when he had accused Night of being attracted to Lilian.

And Night had denied it.

“Does Bastian know?” Grave bit out.

Night glanced down at his black leather shoes and then squared his shoulders, tipped his chin up and looked his brother in the eye. Grave despised weakness in any form. His brother would only grow angrier with him if he didn’t stand his ground.

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