Page 2 of The Soulless Witch

“The seatbelt?” He raised an eyebrow as he started the engine. The car roared, and I jumped. “Are you hurt somewhere? I didn’t see…” He cleared his throat awkwardly. The vehicle started off smoothly and barely shook at all. The engine had grown quiet too, the trees around us becoming a dark blur. “Can you tell me your name? What year it is? Where you are from?”

“Celeste,” I replied. He kept his eyes on the road, fingers tapping on the wheel as he bit his lip. “I can’t remember the rest. Tell me.”

“Um, well.” He glanced toward me, his concern palpable even without my magic telling me of his state. “Today is the first of October, the year is two thousand twenty-three…”

I sucked in a sharp breath.

Two thousand twenty-three? That meant I had been dead for almost eighty years! No wonder things had progressed so much! I’d probably have a lot to catch up on, not to mention a lot of new dangers to be mindful of. I doubted the hunters’ Order would have sat on their hands all this time. No, they would have developed new ways to torture and kill supernatural beings. At least, the ones that used to hunt me before were now dead. Or maybe, if I was lucky, a few would still be alive so I could personally send them to hell.

“Celeste?” Flinching, I focused back on him. As if he knew I wasn’t listening, his frown softened. “Where…where do you want me to take you? To the hospital or the police station? The police…they can help you find your family and figure out what happened to you. They will probably send for paramedics and—”

“No,” I shook my head, biting into my nails, only to realize they were full of dirt. Wincing, I let my hands fall in my lap. The trees disappeared, and a city came into view with lights flashing from buildings that almost reached the sky. Everything was so bright, I couldn’t help but gawk.

“What…what do you mean,no? Do you…Do you remember where you live?” he asked with a shaky voice as I leaned back in my seat. I reached for my magic again and there it was, a drop of it gathered deep within my core. Just enough for what I had in mind.

“No,” I repeated. He gave me a sidelong glance, but he kept his eyes forward as more vehicles appeared on the road. “Take me to your house.”

The car veered dangerously to the side, and as he straightened its course, he turned to stare at me with shock. “I…I can’t do that!” he blurted, cheeks flushing with indignation. “I’m happily married and I…I have kids! They are all home! And you…you need help! I…”

I sighed, reaching toward him. He tried to move as far away as the narrow space inside the vehicle allowed, but when my finger grazed him, he froze. My magic sunk into his skin, wrapping around his neck like a leash, while the spell dug its claws into his mind.

“What is your name?” I smiled, leaning closer. He didn’t resist this time, he couldn’t even if he wanted to with my hold on him so firm and binding.

“Kevin,” he replied in a voice that was still a little strained.

“Kevin,” I echoed, sliding my finger to his chin and forcing him to look at me. He stared helplessly, uneasiness dancing in his eyes. “You will take me to your home and your lovely family, Kevin. You will not be afraid of me and you will not be surprised or alarmed by anything I say or do. You know I don’t want to hurt your family. I just want to meet them because I missed you all. You will answer all my questions and protect me until I regain my strength. Do you understand, Kevin?”

“Yes,” he said, and his shoulders finally relaxed. The uneasiness drained from his eyes and he gave me an excited smile. “You just wait! Julia is cooking her famous chicken casserole! You will love it, I promise. She is a chef when it comes to it! And I’m sure that Lily will have some extra clothes for you to wear, we can’t have you getting sick! Oh, and Jake! He’d be ecstatic to meet you!”

“Great,” I said with a faint smile, feeling weakness spread through my body as the sliver of magic I had mustered lingered on the human. It had been enough for one, thankfully, but I needed to do the same for his family, so I needed to recharge. “I’m going to sleep.”

“Oh, okay.” Kevin nodded, pressing his finger against the screen on the headboard. The low melody coming from the walls died down. “There is still an hour until we get home. I’ll wake you up.”

“Good,” I murmured, feeling my eyelids droop. “They’ll be coming for me, so you must…” My head hit the window, but I barely felt it as my body grew heavier. My voice dropped so low, I wasn’t sure if he heard me at all, “...protect my body from all of them.”

Chapter 2

Roman

“Youarelate.”

I paused at the door, looking over the oval room with all the disinterest I couldn’t be bothered to hide. I wasn’t even going to show up at this mockery of a Council, but the Elders wanted to keep an eye on the other factions, and I wanted information.

“Time is of no consequence to my kind, witch,” I said, closing the door before moving toward the round stone table. My eyes lingered on the woman who had spoken—she appeared in her late forties, but as it was with most supernatural creatures that possessed any kind of magic, it was hard to tell her exact age. And with witches, you could never trust your eyes. Or any of your senses, for that matter.

“That’s Head Witch Regina to you, vampire.” The woman behind the witch’s chair spat, and I gave her a quick once–over before slipping into the chair across from them. The witch’s second was young, no more than thirty years old, and the reckless fire in her tone couldn’t hide that for all the magic in the world. A witchling such as her could never grasp all the horrors a few centuries-old vampire impervious to magic could inflict on a mortal person.

“Samara,” the Head Witch hissed, the reprimand in her voice so thick that the girl lowered her eyes to the floor. I held back a snort while I looked at the other two members of the Council.

Prince Malakai of the Seelie Court sat poised in his chair like he was lounging in his own home, twirling a crystal glass full of some sweet-smelling pink drink between two of his long, pale fingers. His green tunic lay half-unbuttoned, revealing a good portion of his sun-kissed skin, marred with a few pale scars that suspiciously looked like teeth. A crown of vines and berries nested between the locks of his blonde hair, tilted askew as if he threw it on in a hurry and forgot about it.

There was a half-empty bottle on the table in front of him, along with several untouched glasses. The male attendant behind the prince stood as stone-faced as most of the High Fae I’d dealt with over the centuries, but this one seemed incapable of hiding what he thought of his prince’s conduct.

Malakai motioned toward the glasses in an invitation, but then let his hand drop, likely remembering through his muddled mind that I did not partake in this type of food or drink. Least of all the Seelie kind.

Seated at the edge of his chair across from the inebriated prince, was the youngest on the Council, barely ninety years old, although by human standards, he could pass for a man in his late twenties. Alpha Isaac, one of the leaders of the five werewolf packs in the central region of the continent, stared at me with almost as much loathing as he looked at the witch, which was flattering, considering his hatred of witches was an open secret. I couldn’t fathom who, among his people, thought he was the most suitable person for the position when he barely needed more than a glance to bristle. But then again, wolves were emotional creatures that liked to snarl and bark. Just like he did now.

“Some of us have better things to do with our time than wait for you, bloodsucker.” Isaac bared his teeth, the chair screeching beneath him as he moved to rest his muscled arms on the table. He was wearing a black leather jacket over a white button-up shirt, his dark skin gleaming with delicious vitality. If it wasn’t for his terrible personality and werewolf heritage, Isaac would have been the perfect specimen—tall, well-built, and with a chiseled face that could make both males and females throw themselves at his feet. I could never touch one of his kind, let alone feed off their detestable blood, but even I wasn’t above giving appreciation when it was due.

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