Page 15 of Stolen Oath
“Drink this.” She jabbed a long glass tube in my hand. “You’ll feel like new in one second.”
I stared at the liquid a moment too long it seemed because when my gaze lifted from the tube to my friend she flinched and glanced away. Slowly and deliberately I pressed the potion to my lips and tipped it back until the last drop slid past my lips. Tart blueberry flavor bloomed over my taste buds followed by a soothing honey sweet aftertaste of a cantaloupe. As she promised, the headache and any other soreness disappeared and with a sigh I sagged on the mattress from relief.
“You are a lifesaver, Char.” I told her with a smile. “I never want to feel like that again. Like, ever.”
“I bet you don’t.” Her tone was even but there was a tightness to her jaw that only showed up when Char was ready to start a headcount.
“I’m ready now for the Reader’s Digest version of what happened.” Patting the space next to me, I stared her down until she gave up and threw herself onto it. “Unless I was drunk enough that I called Dimitri to tell him how much I appreciate his ass, in which case, please leave me to enjoy my ignorance, I beg of you.”
“I take it you don’t remember the attack in the store yesterday morning?” Ignoring my childish comments, she propped her head on her hand and looked at me levelly.
I shook my head and started gnawing on the inside of my mouth.
Char proceeded to tell me in great detail about everything I couldn’t recall from a little over the last twenty-four hours. I listened intently to every word all the way until she told me I’d passed out in her arms after she fed me a potion to knock me out. According to her, there was so much magic pumping through my body she was scared I’d blow all of us up.
The more she talked, the more the realization settled in my heart that my biggest fear was coming true. The curse of my kind had found me and I was going to be driven mad because I couldn’t control the amounts of magic going through me. It was the exact reason witches were hunted and killed in our world. And it wasn’t even the going insane part that sent my heartbeat into overdrive. It was the fact that I was a danger to Char. The only person that’s been there for me through thick and thin my entire life.
“Do you remember what happened after you touched your mother’s journal?” Char searched my face, her dark eyes full of concern. “You froze and zoned out so fast it was freaky to see. It was as if your soul departed your physical body. Your eyes turned fully white and all color drained from your skin.” A shudder made her visibly shiver and she shook me along with the bed from it. “Dimitri had to hold me and Damian back so we didn’t touch you. He said we could’ve hurt you with any contact and you might stay like that forever.”
Tension was starting to form at my temples as I racked my brain to remember something. Surely the dreams circling like vultures in my head were just that. Dreams. But they kept being persistent, especially a memory of the alpha staring at me intently while he had one hand wrapped around Char’s upper arm and another on Damian. Dimitri was many things, but touchy feely he was not. Maybe that’s why that specific moment was engraved in my brain. I believed Char, but that just confirmed it, too.
“Fully aware I might sound like a crazy person, I think I talked to the book.” I said and watched my friend’s reaction, unblinking. “I’m sure I’ll remember everything eventually but what I find more important is this witch problem you mentioned.”
“They are the least of my worries.” Chat waved me off.
“I think they should be our number one worry.” At her frown, I hurried to explain before she brushed it off like yesterday’s news. “We can defend against a known threat Char, but we can’t afford an unknown one to blindside us again. If they have a record of me performing spells inside the store, we have a much bigger problem than Dimitri’s father. MPO will be hunting me down.”
“Dimitri will protect you from MPO, Allie. We need to find these witches and see what’s going on if you think they are important.” She reached across and took my stone-cold fingers in her hand. “Sometimes it breaks my heart that you think you are so unworthy of love that you don’t allow yourself to notice when someone truly cares for you.”
“The only thing Dimitri Bell cares about is his reputation and empire. Don’t be fooled Char.” The words tasted bitter in my mouth.
“If you say so.” With a shrug she rolled off the bed to loom over me. “Maybe a shower will refresh your memories. Go jump in and I’ll make coffee…,” her voice trailed off when a knock sounded at the front door. “That’s either Dimitri or that Druid. They said they’d come here as soon as they could.”
Nothing could’ve propelled me into the bathroom faster than the mention of Dimitri. I was up and closing the door so fast you’d think my ass was on fire. Snorting at my behavior Char shook her head and headed to open the door.
“If you stay in there longer than twenty minutes I’m going to come in and drag you out naked in front of whoever is at our door.” My friend threatened before laughing out loud at my pained groan. “And I’ll melt the lock if I have to so don’t even think of locking it. Last week I accidently made acid instead of a potion I needed so it’ll be a perfect way to test it.”
“You wouldn’t!” I shouted incredulously through the door.
“Oh yeah?” She kept walking, I could hear her feet whispering over the wooden floors. “Try me.”
“I have no idea where your soul will go, Char. Damn you.” Glowering at the closed door, I started yanking on my clothing with jerky movements out of frustration. I had enough of the alpha to last me a month. Why couldn’t I catch a break?
“I’ve been damned since the day I was born, Allie. Too late now to try and curse me.” She muttered but I still heard it.
What was that supposed to mean?
CHAPTER9
Eyes closed, I stood under the harsh spray of steamy water, hot enough to melt the skin off my face. There was a chill embedded in the marrow of my bones deep enough I feared it would never go away. In a crazy attempt to feel somewhat more normal I held my breath while the spray pelted me hard enough I had no doubt my skin will be lobster red when I was done with the shower.
Also, I was prolonging seeing the alpha, as well, while being mindful of Char’s warning.
I mean, I never thought that I’m the only witch alive, per se. In all honesty I kind of hoped that I’m not the only one of my kind, and Dimitri admitting his mother was one loosened a knot in my chest I didn’t know was there.
“There are more.” I breathed into the steam filling up the shower.
What that meant for me I had no clue; but, although they obviously wanted me dead, it still gave me some weird sense of belonging. There was a place in this world for someone like me, as twisted as my powers might be.
