Page 8 of The Soulless Witch

“As you wish, Master.” Chester nodded, but he didn’t move to leave. I finished buttoning the black shirt before turning to face him. There was a hint of hesitation on the butler’s face—the only indication of it was his tightly pressed mouth, and the sound of his forefinger tapping on the opposite hand.

“Yes?” I nudged, trying to keep the impatience out of my voice. The sun was going to be up soon and my body was already weakening. There was nothing I could do during the day, no way to look for her, but once I was up again, I’d figure out where to start. I had enough money to pay every single person in the city to search for her, and I would have done it already if there weren’t so many supernaturals lurking about. Announcing to the world that she was awake and hiding in these parts would only paint a bigger target on her back.

“If I may ask, Master…” Chester cleared his throat, pausing before his curiosity won over his sense of propriety. “What do you plan to do once you find her? The last time you saw her was almost two hundred years ago, and she ran away from you.”

I winced before I could stop myself. I knew why she had run back then, why she kept running even after she died and came back. The reason for it lay on the left side of my chest, pulsating stronger and stronger ever since she came back.

I didn’t even realize when I touched the mark, wondering if she could feel it, too. I shouldn’t have done it without warning her first, but I had been so convinced our feelings were mutual that I thought she’d find it to be a grand declaration of love, rather than an unwanted burden.

But it was already done and I couldn’t—wouldn’t—undo it, even if it was possible.

“I plan to make sure she stays alive long enough to win her over again,” I replied. Chester kept his gaze politely lowered, giving me an accepting nod. I was just turning my back to him when he spoke again.

“And what if she has changed too much? She might not be the person you remember, Master.”

Frustration filled my chest, but I tried to hide it by throwing the covers aside and climbing into the king-size bed.

“I know her, Chester, and even if she has changed, it doesn’t matter. I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Failure is not an option.”

The butler’s heart raced, but he just inclined his head in silent acceptance. Turning on his heel, he headed toward the door, stopping at the threshold with a hand on the light switch.

“I will have your meal ready when you wake up, Master. Please, have a good rest,” he said in his usual tone, then flipped the lights off and walked out. I listened to his steps until they faded into the distance, then covered my face with my hands and sighed.

Two hundred years. Until today, time seemed to have gone backward. But now that she was awake, it felt like it was just yesterday when she was in my arms, her body pressing against mine, her lips whispering my name, her blood coursing through my veins and making the connection between us even stronger.

My hand slipped to my chest, rubbing the smooth fabric over my unbeating heart. It felt hot—a strange sensation considering my body temperature was lower than a human’s. I had avoided looking at it for two hundred years since it reminded me that in my haste, I had almost destroyed my only chance of feeling alive again. But now hope filled my chest.

After all this time, I was finally going to catch her, and then…I wasn’t going to let her go.

Chapter 6

Celeste

Myeyesflutteredopenwhen I sensed a strange presence draw near. A slight tug at the back of my mind had me kicking off the covers and sitting up. It was still dark outside, with the waning moon peeking through the clouds as they rolled over the inky sky.

My eyes fell on Lily, sleeping in a camping bag on the floor beside the bed. After a delicious dinner, some mild conversation, and a cup of tea, I had been ready to turn in. My body healed better when I went into a deep sleep, so I was surprised I even woke up this early. I could feel my magic slowly replenishing, but it had a long way to go. Still, sleeping without any wards around was pushing my luck, so it would be better if I got this over with and grabbed a few more hours of rest.

Not to mention, I needed to find out if whoever was lurking nearby was friendly or ready to sink their teeth into me, and not in a sexy way. Probably the latter, since I could count the people who didn’t want me dead on one hand.

I slipped to the floor, the long T-shirt Lily lent me brushing over my bare legs. Carefully stepping over her curled form, I tiptoed out of the room. The rest of the house was quiet, but as I moved through the corridor, I heard that damn dog stir in the boy’s room. I didn’t like sharing the space with that thing, since the house was crowded enough as it was, but for the sake of the boy, I could tolerate it.

Wincing when the top stair creaked under my weight, I made my way down as quietly as possible. Navigating the unfamiliar house in the dark made me wish I had the werewolf senses I had heard so much about—unfortunately, apart from our magic, which allowed us to feel the world and made us extremely sensitive to other supernatural creatures, witch senses were no better than a human’s. If I didn’t have my magic, I was, essentially, no different from a human. Well, maybe notmesince I didn’t have a soul, and I was one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight years old—if I counted from the day I was born—but witches in general.

Stopping at the door leading to the backyard, I unhooked the latch and stepped out, shuddering under the chilly wind that made the leaves in the two small trees rustle. There was a shed looming on the opposite side of the yard, and judging by the markings on the ground, there was a pool next to it, covered up with a brown canvas.

That giddy presence that tugged on my mind was closer now and I could sense something watching me from the shadows, but I couldn’t pinpoint its location.

Glancing up at the lightening sky, I stepped into the yard, the damp grass tickling my feet. I dug my toes deeper into the earth, grounding myself and allowing the energy to flow through me. My magic stirred, moving inside my chest like a snake slithering out of its hole to hunt.

Closing my eyes, I muttered the spell that would conjure a warning ward around the house and sent my magic pulsing through the air. The presence I had been sensing, located in the branches of one of the trees, grew stronger, but I felt no ill intent coming from it. The tree seemed too small to hold the weight of a person, so it was either one of the smaller Seelie creatures that had somehow made its way out of their dwellings or…

A smile crept onto my lips as I felt my magic settle into a transparent dome around the house, ready to warn me if any creature of supernatural descent so much as touched the boundary. I swayed while my vision came in and out of focus. Sitting on the edge of the patio, I rubbed my throbbing temples and waited.

I didn’t see or hear him as he moved through the flower beds, dog toys, and other junk piled in the yard, but I could feel him. The connection between us built up until I could sense him stopping behind me.

“Hello, Nym.”

Turning my head, I smiled at the cat. With fur black and shiny as the night sky, the creature stared at me with his dark, assessing eyes. Larger than a normal house pet, my familiar was a thing of beauty and cuteness when he wanted to be.

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