Page 92 of Hexes and Exes

Bram raises an eyebrow at the shouting from the office. Barty can’t even be bothered to come into the front room.

“You good?”

“I’m amazing. You ready for your turn?”

Bram sighs and shifts the box he’s holding to one side, throwing his arm over my shoulder. “No. But let’s get this over with.”

Lucida called Bram a few days ago and asked if he’d come into the coven house. She didn’t give him specifics, just that she needed to speak with him, and it had to do with his mother. He’s been contemplating if he wanted to go, but I finally pestered him into it because my curiosity was killing me. Plus, I know how much he’s been craving information about his mother.

The sun is shining, so we decide to walk after Bram drops off my pathetic box of office goods in the trunk of his car. Lucida is waiting in the foyer inside the coven house. She leads us into a sitting room after we make our polite hellos. Bram andI take a seat on an uncomfortable gray couch. Lucida sits in a chair across from us, looking tired but comfortable. It’s been a week since the masquerade, and everything in the coven is in shambles. Witches from the Lumen and Tenebris Covens have let their old prejudices free, and there’s been a ton of fighting going on within the new Luminara coven. If we can still consider it one coven. Three-fourths of the council are under house arrest.

Lucida had been uneasy with the way things were headed based on conversations she had with the new council, but she didn’t believe things would ever escalate the way they did. She seems sincere, but I’m reserving judgment until I know more about her.

“I wanted to talk to you about your mother.”

“Yes, that’s what you mentioned when you called.” Bram’s face is serious. He’s trying not to show how anxious he is, but it’s hammering into me with each of his heartbeats. I reach out and link our hands together. Bram drags my hand into his lap and holds it there. His curse may be broken, but he’s not suddenly a puppies and rainbows kind of person. He can still be a dick with the best of them.

Lucida clears her throat, her aura turning a nervous yellow. “When I became the leader of the Tenebris Coven, I was sworn in through a ritual. Even now, I can’t speak on all the details.” Sweat beads on her forehead and she lifts a shaking hand to wipe it away.

“Do you have a geas on you?” I wouldn’t have even thought to ask, except this is the exact same way Piper was acting that day at Fitz’s house. Something that still requires further investigation. I brought it up with Piper after the masquerade and she started convulsing, so we haven’t discussed it again.

Lucida’s shoulders relax and she sighs gratefully. “Yes. I learned things that day that I never knew. It was too late for me to change course, so my hope was to fix things from within.”

“You’ve been leading the Tenebris Coven for years. What have you fixed?” Bram demands.

Lucida shakes her head. “Nothing. It often felt like I was plugging hundreds of holes in a dam, but I could never fix the root of the problem.” She waves her hand in front of her face. “That is neither here nor there. And not the reason I asked you to come in today. I knew your mother quite well.” She smiles softly. Bram’s squeezing my fingers tightly enough to cut off my circulation.

“I wanted to explain that I haven’t been blind to the council’s actions, but my hands have been tied. The reason I asked you here today is because after what happened at the masquerade, I looked into a few things. I thought it was important for you to know that your mother never wanted to pass her curse on to you.”

“Why was I cursed then?”

I know how badly Bram wants the answer to this question. I’m curious too, but for him, this means so much more.

“Your father tried to lift the curse.”

“From my family?”

“No. As you know, if you don’t perform the ritual by the time you’re thirty-five, then the curse will rebound on to all living firstborns in the family. Vincent had already completed the ritual to pass his curse onto Roman. He wanted a back-up. Your father used his shadow magic to force your mother into the ritual as well. He thought it would prevent the curse from ever rebounding onto him. Whether Roman passed it along to the next generation or not.”

Bram’s body is practically vibrating with anger. I squeeze his fingers, my heart aching for him and his mother.

“Like, he was doubling down on the ritual?” I try to keep the details straight.

Lucida nods. “Generational magic, and curses, especially, are volatile and dangerous. He had no business messing around with that kind of spell. Unfortunately, despite your mother’s sacrifice, you ended up being cursed because your father tried to game the system.”

Bram’s jaw is clenched. He slowly exhales, but doesn’t relax much. “So my mother never meant for me to be cursed.”

Lucida shakes her head.

“And you know this how?” Not that I don’t believe her, but it’s not like she was there when Vincent performed the ritual.

“Because when you become the leader of a coven, there is a certain divulging of secrets. This is one that your father shared.”

“Why are you telling me this now? Why not years ago?”

“Because I couldn’t. Your father and I were tied, by the binds of the council. Now that he is no longer part of the council, I have certain freedoms to speak that I didn’t have before.” Lucida bows her head, but she can’t hide her smile. It slowly falls off her face. A sad smile takes its place. “I thought it was important that you know your history. Your mother was a good friend once, and she deserves to have the truth of her sacrifice known.”

“She didn’t do the ritual?” Bram looks shell-shocked, so I smile at Lucida and thank her. I’m sure Bram will have more questions for Lucida later, but for now, this truth is enough.

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