Page 12 of The Aether

“Calm down, child,” he ordered.

Sabrina’s response was to kick him in the shin.

The trio of women cried out their shock.

Tears again welled in the large dark eyes staring up at him, making them appear wider and more tragic because she refused to shed a single drop this time.

“Gather your things, Sabrina. You’ll be coming with me,” he informed her gently.

Desperately, she looked over her shoulder toward her aunts. In response, the three siblings cast their eyes to the floor.

None of them would stand up for their sister’s daughter.

“I’m not leaving Mama,” Sabrina declared, her voice shaky and small.

Damian did something seemingly uncharacteristic for him. He squatted in front of her, smoothed back her wild black hair, and lifted her chin. Although she showed no fear, he could sense it brewing beneath the surface. He’d be sure to teach her how to cloak her emotions better in the coming years.

Pitching his voice so only she would hear, he said, “Run and wash up, then pack your things, Beastie. I’ll see to your mother.” With a deep frown, she studied him, and he let down his barriers, giving her a glimpse of what he wouldn’t allow another to see—how much he truly loved Vivian and his immediate plan to heal her.

“Go, now,” he said more gently.

Her decisive nod almost made him smile.

After she’d gone, he made his way to where his wife lay. Bending, he scooped her into his arms and pushed past the sisters to enter the solarium.

“Soleil, I need these herbs from your garden. Taryn, a cauldron and crystals.” A snap of his fingers produced a laundry list of exactly which items he desired. “Be quick about it.”

As expected, Josie lingered after her sisters made haste. Shifting closer to him, she tiptoed her fingers up his bicep and cast him a flirty smile.

“If you let her die, the child’s powers would revert back. You and I—”

Suspicions confirmed, Damian sneered down at her. “Do you honestly believe I would want anything to do with you, Josie? After you convinced my wife and daughter I was a demon bent on acquiring magic at any cost? This”—he gestured to Vivian—“is ultimatelyyourdoing. Don’t for one moment believe I’ll forget it.”

CHAPTER5

Damian inwardly shuddered at Josie’s attempted seduction. He should absorb her abilities and make her live like the ineffectual mortals she so despised and mocked. It would serve her right after the devastating mischief she’d caused.

“Leave me,” he barked, taking satisfaction in her sickly pallor.

She was right to be afraid, the conniving bitch. If it wouldn’t cause his wife untold heartache, he would murder the treacherous woman on the spot.

After Josie beat a hasty retreat, Damian smoothed back Vivian’s pale, shimmering hair. She would remember the attack on her person when she woke, but there would be no memory of pain—she’d felt none. He’d struck too fast, taking great care with his magic. His plan was only to retrieve Sabrina, not to kill his wife with any permanence.

Vivian would, however, wake angry as a tiger with a sore tooth.

His lips twitched at the idea of his fired-up wife.

She’d be magnificent.

His left thumb worked the platinum band on his ring finger. Involuntarily, his gaze was drawn to her left hand, and he was startled to discover she still wore her diamond wedding set. When she’d initially confronted him a little over three years ago, stating she was leaving with their daughter, she’d also said she no longer loved him. Damian had never experienced pain of that magnitude. Not even when he’d watched his mother’s takedown and eventual entombing.

His hurt wasn’t because of Vivian’s lie.Thathe’d felt instantly. But it cut him to the core that she’d felt the need to run from him and take their daughter with her.

As if he’d ever hurt Sabrina.

She was his life’s blood.

That first time, Vivian had relented, but her fear never did, and she’d snuck away one night, a few months later, while he was off seeing to Witches’ Council business.

---