Page 9 of The Aether

The wounded look on his face still haunted her after all this time. Yet he’d been honest in his concern when he had every right to be spiteful or try to sabotage her relationship. Baz had been the one to tell her the tale of the Enchantress—Isolde de Thorne—Damian’s mother. It was rumored that she’d been as beautiful as her son, a thousand times more cunning, and lethal to anyone who encountered her. Yet she hadn’t started out that way, and in the beginning, her power wasn’t equal to what her son currently possessed.

“Who am I to believe?” she asked aloud.

In her heart, she wanted to side with Damian, but his cold question almost stopped the organ he’d threatened to crush.

“Should I crush your heart like you’re doing mine, my love?”

Vivian would never get that image out of her mind. Never be able to sleep at night without picturing the burning anger in his eyes or the disdain on his face when he’d told her he’d hunt her down. The promise of retribution was there, and she didn’t dare defy him.

Yet she had her toddler to protect. Sabrina. Her beloved daughter.

But she was Damian’s beloved daughter, too.

Vivian picked up her cellphone and dialed her sister.

“Josie?”

“Viv. I thought you were coming home. What’s going on?”

“Damian won’t let me leave.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, then a moment later, Josie said, “You’ll have to sneak away. Make everything seem normal and wait until he least suspects it, then take Sabrina and run.”

“Where am I supposed to go that he won’t find me? He knows the location of our house. Knows all of my friends. We’ll never be able to block him if he decides to scry for us.”

“Let me worry about blocking him. If we have to, we’ll appeal to the Witches’ Council or the Authority.”

“Oh, Josie. What if we’re wrong?”

“He’s erratic, Viv.” Josie’s tone became cajoling. “You’ve told me so, remember?”

Frowning, Vivian tried to recall what she’d said to give her sister that impression. Had Damian been erratic? Today had been the only true indication he could turn on a dime. Hell, he never punished Sabrina when she was bad. He’d merely snuck her candy whenever Vivian put her in time-out.

“Viv?”

“I’m still here,” she replied absently.

“You can’t stay where you aren’t safe,” Josie said in that same persuasive tone, and deep down Vivian agreed. “At least not alone. Do you want me to come there for a while?”

Did she? Not really. But why the sudden reticence to have her sister visit?

“What aboutThe Elements Shop? Won’t Taryn and Soleil need your help?”

The four sisters had built up the small-town store their great-grandmother opened two centuries before, and they’d made it a viable business, both locally and online. The residents of their tiny town always looked to the sisters for a spell or two, believing they were the standard Wiccan variety of witches. The townspeople didn’t realize the true power the four sisters held. Each possessing her own elemental magic: air, earth, fire, and water.

“I’ll be sure it’s stocked before I go, and if the girls need me, I can teleport back,” Josie said with little regard for the work involved in running a business. She’d never taken an active part if she could help it, but she did love to spend the proceeds.

Vivian shoved aside the uncharitable thought. “In that case, I’d love for you to come.”

Truthfully, she wasn’t sure what protection her fiery sister could provide. If Damian was truly after more magic, he could do worse than steal from the Stephens sisters.

She eyed her luggage. Should she leave it packed and store it in case she ever needed to get out quickly? What was really in there that she couldn’t conjure if she needed to?

With a heavy sigh and a wave of her hand, she said, “Put yourself away.” The unpacking spell was one of her favorites after a long vacation.

Her toiletries disappeared in a poof, and her clothing drifted back to their hangers. When the case was empty, she shoved it in the bottom of the closet and closed the door. If she had to stay at Ravenswood, she’d keep the room nearest to their daughter. Damian could move his things to another.

She only had to work up the courage to tell him so.

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