Page 36 of Cocktails & Cauldrons

“Yeah, well, I d-don’t know. One second, c-creatures were coming through the walls…” She whipped her head around to assess the damage. Seeing none, she turned back. “Um, okay. Then I heard savage screams in my head, and the only thought I had was to get away from the sound.”

“You ended up in Eoin’s bedroom,” Spring supplied kindly. “Why?”

“It was the only place I could come up with to go.” Brenna finally looked at Eoin. “You make me feel safe,” she said, barely above a whisper. “I couldn’t think of anywhere else.”

Eoin gave a single nod of acknowledgment but didn’t say another word, and his severe expression, mixed with crossed arms, made her soul shrivel. She’d caused one drama too many for his liking. Because she couldn’t stand the accusation in his gaze, she focused on Spring.

“I don’t know how I did it. But I remember everything.”

Spring leaned forward, excitement in every line of her body and sparkling from her jade eyes. “Sirens are incredibly powerful beings. Uncle Alastair suspects you created the monsters in the wall yourself.”

“I didn’t! I wouldn’t.Couldn’t,” Brenna said. She held out a hand imploringly to Alastair. “You have to believe me, Mr. Thorne. I wouldneverendanger your family.”

“Not intentionally. Or so I assume,” he acknowledged with a tug of his cuff links. “Regardless, endanger us, you did. What do you think might’ve happened had your creatures burst through those walls, Ms. Sullivan?”

Tears stung her eyes, and she shook her head, having no clue what to say and fighting like hell to suppress her desire to cry. Whatever relationships she thought she developed had turned to dust in a single night.

“They might’ve ripped my family to shreds to protect you. I believe you conjured them in your fear and insecurity over the situation.” He gestured to the guards surrounding them. “It’s why they are at the ready should your fear take over again.”

Brenna felt cold to her soul. And friendless, though that wasn’t new. “I see.” With as much dignity as she could muster, she rose to her feet. “I’m not sure how I did what I did. And I certainly don’t want to hurt anyone again. If I can borrow your phone, I can call Aunt Odessa. Explain to her I have to come home. Maybe it’s better that she might be the one syphoning off my magic.” She gave them a half-hearted shrug. “Maybe she did it for a reason.”

Eoin swore a blue streak, dropped his arms, and began to pace.

Brenna winced with every expletive, but she refused to look at him directly or acknowledge his presence in any other way. If she did, she reallywouldcry.

“Calm down, Eoin,” Alastair said tiredly. “And you, please sit, Brenna. We have much to discuss.”

Stopping only long enough to point at her, Eoin declared to the others, “She’ll not go back to that bleedin’ Succubus, and that’s the final word on it.”

Confused by his reaction and more than a little relieved not to return to her aunt’s care, Brenna plopped back down on the sofa, wilting like a flower in the midsummer’s sun with no water for days.

“Giving your power over to your aunt isn’t the best option, child. You may not want to harm anyone, but I can guarantee she does if she’s truly a Succubus. We need clearer heads to prevail here.” Alastair sighed heavily and rubbed the spot between his brows.

The man had probably never been more confounded in his life.

“Okay, let’s list what we know about Sirens. And by that, I mean Spring,” Aurora said with a proud-as-punch smile for her daughter. “Your excitement leads me to believe you’ve learned a lot more.”

Spring grinned. “Yes. Sirens have the ability to tap into their ancestors’ power without going through Otherworld channels like the rest of us. As a result, they can double or triple their power for a short time with little effort.” She warmed to the subject, giving Alfred a happy smile when he arrived with a straining tray laden with food, teacups, and a pot of what Brenna assumed was tea. “That ability makes you, and all your kind, notoriously hard to kill. I mean, it’s not impossible, but it is difficult and takes some doing.”

Heart rate like a sledgehammer and ready to come through her sweater, Brenna straightened in her seat. “Have you been studying how to kill me?” Her high-pitched tone made everyone, including herself, wince. “Sorry.”

“You have power in your voice, Brenna,” Eoin said, addressing her directly for the first time since she woke up. “Be careful with how you use it, yeah? And no one has been studying how to kill ya.” He glared at the Thorne family members. “Have ya?”

Alastair looked distinctly amused, Aurora alarmed, and Spring apologetic. Knox was simply stoic and watchful.

“Oh, no!” Spring prepared a plate of food and handed it to Brenna.

Although her stomach thought her throat had been cut, so hungry was she, Brenna promptly set the offering aside, not certain if poisoning was the way they might take her out. The other woman laughed and crossed to sit next to her. Spring lifted the plate and took a bite of a petit four. Around a mouthful, she winked and said, “You’re safe here. Promise.”

Still, it was difficult to drum up the enthusiasm for food when Brenna felt like she was facing the gallows.

“I believe your aunt’s hold on you is growing weaker, especially since you inadvertently tapped into your ancestors’ power. Or could be, that was all you.” Spring shrugged a shoulder and poured tea for all those present, then handed cups off to everyone with the exception of Alastair. “I’m sure you’d like your usual Glenfiddich, Uncle.”

“You know me too well, child.” He rose and gestured to one of the guards to abandon his place in front of a long sideboard. Alastair proceeded to pour himself a drink from a glass decanter. “Eoin, would you care for something stronger?”

“I would,” Brenna said, to everyone’s surprise. She cleared her throat. “It’s been a long couple of days.”

Alastair smiled, and for once, she felt as if she’d done or said something right. When he handed off a tumbler, she sniffed the antique gold liquid appreciatively. The smell brought to mind orange-flavored cake.

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