Page 50 of The Rowan
Magic wafts over me, making me pulse and clench. Need pounds in me, and I grit my teeth. “I didn’t agree to share details from my night with Valerian. Are you voiding our deal?”
“No.” His voice guttural when he replies. “Deal is deal.” With that sullen agreement, he renews licking and sucking my pussy, taking me over the edge several times before I cry for mercy. Finally, he releases me.
Astor helps me sit up, and I fall boneless against him. With quick hands, he undresses me, then steps into the shower with me. He washes me tenderly, even shampooing my hair, before he helps me out. A snap of his fingers, and we’re dry.
The snap jolts me out of my lethargic mood. With a glare at him, I practically stomp over to the closet.
“There you are, gorgeous,” he drawls sexily. “I thought I’d broken you.”
“A fuck ton of orgasms in one night and a morning will do that to a girl,” I snarl.
I pull a pair of black leather leggings out of the closet, along with a skin-tight black T-shirt and my black combat boots. A scarf easily hides my rune. No need to let Caro know about my built-in alarm system. Armor in place, I grab Astor’s hand and take him with me.
30
ARDEN
Astor’s sexual high is so strong, it’s almost suffocating. I wave a hand in the air, dispersing the surrounding cloud, and he grins broadly.
“This is only the tip of the cock, gorgeous,” he jokes. “Sadly, while I will cherish the memory of your taste forever, the magic will only last a couple of days, but thoughts of our night together will sustain my imagination for weeks. And when it happens, it’s going to feed my power for a fucking month.”
Rolling my eyes at his outlandish statements, I pull him into the portal I’ve created. We’re going to Santiago and Reyna’s house, first.
When the Spanish villa comes into sight, I jog up to the gate and lay my finger on the button.
“Hello?” an older lady’s voice asks.
“Hello,” I reply sweetly. “Is Reyna home?”
“May I ask who’s calling?” the voice responds.
“Oh, it’s her dear friend, Arden.” I pause. “And Astor.”
A minute goes by without a sound from the intercom. Then I see Reyna opening the front door and walking towards the gate. I guess she’s not inclined to let us in. That’s okay.
I cross my arms and widen my stance. “You’ve got one chance to tell me what happened and why. If you don’t, I’ll tell the council your family is descended from shifters.” It’s purely a guess, but a good one, judging by the expression on her face. It occurred to me when Santiago was teaching me how to transfigure. They call it transfigure or transform, only because they can turn into any living creature, unlike a shifter, who can only shift into one animal, but it’s no different.
“Please. You can’t tell anyone,” she cries. Throwing up her hands, she stalks to the gate and grips the metal rails in her fists. “Cassandra told me to help her put a spell on you that would make you accept Alric’s proposal.”
My anger skyrockets with her words. Even though I knew she did it, it still stings to hear it. “Why would you do anything Cassandra told you to do? I thought you hated her.” I fling my words at her while my magic brushes against her shield, testing its strength. It’s weak, weaker than it should be when standing at the gate with your enemy in front of you.
“I do,” she says vehemently, her jaw tight. “She’s blackmailing me. If I don’t do what she says, she’ll tell her mom about Jax and me. Then Caro will banish me from the coven.”
“Jax?” I ask, confused as to who Jax might be, but not surprised to hear about Cassandra blackmailing Reyna.
“My ex-boyfriend, Jax. He’s an incubus,” she breathes with a glance towards Astor.
Seriously?“Who cares who you date?” I throw my hands in the air. “Is this more of the coven’s exclusive bullshit?”
“You don’t understand. When you’re cut off from the coven, you’re cut off from every person you care about in the world. The coven’s not great, but it’s all I’ve got,” she cries. She swipes her arm over her face to dry her tears, and I stare at her. She’s broken by the coven, and she doesn’t even know it.
“I’m going to let you in on a little secret. You don’t need a coven to be a powerful witch. You just need family. Whether it’s the family you’re born to or one you create for yourself, family provides the power for your magic. From what I’ve seen, the coven takes a lot from you. Are you sure they’re giving you enough in return?”
Astor steps up and pulls me close. I glance up at him and realize this is hard for him to hear, too. I link my fingers with his and pull them up to my mouth for a kiss. Let Reyna see. I give zero fucks. His eyes shine with disbelief.
“Reyna, I feel sorry for you, I do, but if you ever try to cast a spell on me again, I’ll kill you. Remember that promise when Cassandra’s blackmailing you. Banishment might be better than death, but if it’s not, I’ll be happy to help you make that decision,” I threaten, then I turn towards the road to create a portal, but her voice stops me.
“Wait. I told Caro about the Killian blades I saw in your room!” she shouts. “She wants them, badly.”
