Page 111 of Hearts of Stone

But I was new to my magic, while Adam was experienced. A hidden force shoved me backwards, keeping me pinned against the bench as he stepped away from me. The storm started to pick up outside, but as the wind whipped the windows, a tempest grew inside as well. Dragging the chairs across the floor, forcing a calendar’s pages to flicker, it began to swirl around Adam.

“Or what, Jade Whiteley?” he asked me, his lips twisting in scorn. “You are new to your power, too concerned with disporting yourself with those gargoyles to learn how to wield it, which is fine by me. It’s all I really need you for. You could’ve been the mother of my child—”

“Like I was.”

Madeline appeared by my side, staring at Adam with a mixture of fear and longing.

“Together we could’ve brought forward a new age of Whiteley supremacy, clawing back the position we once had, then going forward and bringing all of the First Families to their knees.”

The wind in the kitchen seemed to coalesce around Adam, lifting him from his feet and leaving him hovering in the air there. His hands were held out to his side in offering, but I wanted nothing more than to break every finger that had touched Daniel.

Instead I settled for something more immediate.

I plucked a butcher’s knife from the block on the kitchen bench, then threw it through the air, the maelstrom around Adam dragging it closer so it landed right where I wanted it to. I’d never forget the way the knife looked as it buried itself into his chest.

Adam sucked in a breath. The wind died instantly as he fell to the floor. I just stood there, shaking.

“Good girl,” Madeline said, “but this is not over yet. Out the door.” I threw myself over the kitchen counter with far more grace than I would have normally been able to muster, then wrenched open the French doors, running out onto the cool grass. The storm raged overhead, and the boom as the lightning cracked and illuminated the grounds forced me to move faster. I needed to get the fuck off this property, call the police and—

“This way.”

I shrieked when Madeline appeared before me. I followed the direction of her finger to see that she pointed to Z Ward.

“No, I need to get the hell away from Adam, call the police—”

“That’s not Adam Stuart in there,” she said, with a sad shake of her head. “Adam died when he was young andhestole his identity.”

“He…?” I glanced back at the kitchen windows, my thighs shaking with the effort of holding myself back from running.

“What’s in your house? That’s Luther Whiteley. Master of The Eyrie, a warlock of great power and my…” Her brows creased as she made a sad sound. “My lover. He is your great-great-grandfather and he—”

“Jade!”

I jumped as Adam’s, no, Luther’s voice echoed out across the property and that’s what got me moving. I glanced up at the sky as I ran across the grass, and saw the sun was starting to set.

Hold out until the cavalry arrives, I told myself.Just hang on.

Chapter 62

Wulfstan

Usually I fought the rise out of unconsciousness, but as the sun set I came to with a snap. My eyes stared out through the gates of my cell, unblinking but not unseeing. A woman, no, there were two of them came running up. A thin slip of a girl reached the gates first, slapping her hands down on the metal, but it did not shift in response. It was as if she was not made of anything at all. But the other woman…I drank in those full curves, the way her breasts heaved and knew her the moment she approached.

My mate.

The thought was sharp and crystal clear inside my mind, no haze of madness clouding it. In fact there was no haze at all. I knew myself, could see the two of them rattling the gates, and then the first one stepping closer.

Madeline.

That didn’t seem right, the muscles in my brow wanted to crease in response, but they couldn’t. The moon hadn’t risen yet and so I remained pinned to the spot, but not them.

“I can’t open it!” my mate yelped, giving the gate a rattle.

“Visualise the mechanism inside unlocking and then put your hand on the lock,” Madeline coached her with a sharp look over her shoulder.

“How is that going to help?”

“Just do it!” Madeline abandoned all pretence of politeness, then looked abashed. “I’m sorry, but there’s nowhere in the world safer than here.”

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