Page 18 of Cursed to Be Mine
I glance at Maddox, knowing we will be paired. For all the ribbing that goes on between us, our magic is the most compatible.
“And we will attack tonight,” Varius says from behind me. “Before Antonio has a chance to consume the fallen.”
Mother looks at him, her face blank of any desires. “Why?” she asks, ever the teacher.
“Because it doesn’t matter if there’s a chasm of power that is filled with blood and bodies. Anything is better than an archangel’s arrival.”
A smile of approval graces her lips as her gaze sweeps across the room. “Remember that, boys. When you’re knee deep in bodies and cradling the fallen, remember that we cannot stop before Antonio is dead.”
“We won’t.” Maddox’s words come out as a growl, a hardening from his earlier flippancy. And I wonder if he’s thinking that if Antonio was fucking both Cid’s wife and eldest daughter…if he’s touching Zita too.
If anyone touched my girl…
Standing abruptly, I nod at Mother, then turn to Varius. “I’m going to go rest,” I say before glancing at the hall. He nods at me, dismissing me from this meeting, but I do not head for my room upstairs.
Instead, I head outside to my car, get into the dark-blue Buick, and drive to my own house.
My girl will be getting home soon, and I cannot rest without checking in on her first.
A war is coming.
A small chuckle escapes me as the tarmac runs beneath my tires.
A war is already here.
And now Imustbring in my girl.
Six
HER
Sitting alone in the backseat, I am driven through the streets of St. Augustine. Benjamin was left at his car at the city hall, where my driver picks him up every morning. The low hum of the engine is the only sound, interrupted by the vibration of my phone. I glance at it, half expecting to see a text from Benjamin despite both of us having just finished our day.
Derek:Bring your daughter tonight. It’s about time she joins us.
A frown pools on my face. Although I have tried to talk to Scarlett about the truth of the gangs plaguing these streets, she always ends the conversation with a laugh and a quick, “Good joke, Ma.”
My fingers swipe across the phone multiple times, but each sentence I immediately delete.
Hunts are dangerous.
But staying ignorant is even more so... And she is an adult now.
Perhaps Derek is right.Maybe it’s time to throw her into the deep end so she doesn’t drown when she goes back to college, away from my and Derek’s secret protection.
My fingers start typing again.
But once again, the sentence is deleted.
Rubbing my forehead, I glance out the window.
I have seen two members die right in front of me – both having come back from hunts I wasn’t allowed to go on. For all of Derek’s hatred of the witches, vampires, and werewolves, he doesn’t risk our lives just for the sake of killing one.
He’s calculated and smart.
He won’t endanger Scarlett. My support offers him too many favors to risk.
Unless you lose this election,a small voice says.
