Page 3 of The Soulless Witch

That was until that dog scowled and looked like a child making faces, rather than a man that anyone would want to bed.

“Charmed as always, Isaac,” I replied with a polite smile, watching him seethe with annoyance. It seemed his sole purpose in attending these meetings was to rattle me—as if someone so young and wild could even begin to understand what could get under my skin. It had been so, so long since anyone succeeded, and I doubted there would be another untilsheawoke. “Shall we start?”

“Aren’t we going to wait for the others?” Malakai asked, putting his empty glass down.

“Gideon is not coming.” Regina pushed a strand of wheat-colored hair behind her ear. “He said he was otherwise occupied, so he will join us next time.” The others nodded. The dragon shifter was likely the only one on the Council who got along well enough with everybody. Even I considered him somewhat of a valuable acquaintance. “Beleth probably won’t come either.”

“I don’t even see why we need a demon on the Council.” Isaac snorted as he crossed his arms. His muscles pressed against the fabric, and the chair creaked beneath him as he leaned back. “They aren’t even a race. They are just twisted souls that take human bodies to go around.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that, it’s a touchy subject,” Malakai murmured, lifting the glass he had just refilled. The liquid sloshed, a few drops landing on his tunic. The prince sighed dramatically. “Before Roman arrived, you were saying something about the Order, Regina?”

I looked back at the witch, inclining my head to show I was listening.

The Hunters Order, also known asGuardians of Humanityover the last few centuries, was the main reason this Council existed. They were a threat to all creatures of supernatural descent, and they needed to be kept in check. The Order had been around even longer than I had, and despite many attempts to wipe them out, they always came back, growing stronger and stronger until even creatures as old and powerful as myself could be threatened by them.

“They have been quiet lately, so it is safe to assume they are up to something,” Regina said, tapping her fingers on the table. Her expression was one of calm and thoughtfulness, but knowing her, she had already figured out what the Order was up to and decided on how to protect her witches. The rest of us be damned, of course.

Unfortunately for her, I also knew why they were quiet. I just didn’t know the when and the where.

“And what might they be up to, you think?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. Her eyes grazed over me, slowly, dismissively, before she raised her hands in a feign of innocent ignorance. “It couldn’t possibly be due to the awakening of a certain witch, could it?”

To her credit, except for a single faltering heartbeat, Regina didn’t react. Her second, which was the one I was watching, went stiff. Sensing my eyes on her, she looked away, but not before I noticed the quiet rage in her gaze.

“What are you talking about?” Isaac frowned, his eyes darting between me and Regina. “What awakening and what witch?”

“Ah, it’s that time again.” A dreamy smile blossomed on Malakai’s face as he rubbed his glass over his lips. “It has been a while since I last saw her. Didn’t she die shortly after attacking your old pack, Isaac?” The prince trained his bleary gaze on the werewolf, completely unabashed by how Isaac’s body bristled. The annoyed look on the wolf’s face had turned into one of complete loathing. His dark eyes narrowed in a glare that could scare a normal person as easily as his claws that left deep, crescent-shaped marks on the wooden table. “She was as lovely as a summer rose, with just as many thorns. Alas, my mother is not fond of her.”

Golden eyes turned to me, the scorching heat in them intensifying while Isaac struggled to regain his composure. Finally, he took a deep breath and lay his hands flat on the table.

“Celeste is waking again?” he asked in a surprisingly calm voice. “When?” Instead of answering, I looked at Regina just for her to sigh in exasperation. “Speak! When?”

“Our predictions say she will wake this year and since the year is almost over, we are expecting it to happen at any moment.” She offered reluctantly, glaring at her second as if knowing she had been the one to give herself away. I almost felt bad for the poor girl.

This year. I knew that much. I could feel it in my bones. But that still left over ninety days and, knowing Celeste, she’d be on the run the moment she woke. She’d need to hide, wait for her magic to recharge, and then disappear. I had to catch her before that.

“Be more specific, witch!” Isaac barked. Regina met his gaze with a wall of ice, her disdain matching his. “That monster cannot be allowed to live!”

I considered tearing his throat out, but a tiny voice in my head insisted that killing him would only complicate things. They couldn’t know about my connection to Celeste. Nobody could know before I found her again. I just needed to get what I came here for and leave. They didn’t matter.

“Come on, Regina.” The witch turned her attention to me, wariness slipping into her posture. Her blue eyes narrowed in calculation. “We both know you better than that. You don’t want the Order getting their hands on one of your own, do you? That means you are prepared to extract her. Where and when?”

“What do you want with her?” Regina asked instead of answering. I could feel the weight of their stares switch to me. There were so many things I wanted from Celeste, but none of them were any of their business. Just the thought of seeing her again and claiming what I had before left me feeling giddy.

“What else? She has something of mine.” I shrugged. “Once I get it back, she is all yours—along with my gratitude, of course.” She seemed to deliberate it for a second, eyes darting to the others. Malakai had finally stopped drinking, while Isaac seemed ready to leap from his seat. “It’s soon, isn’t it?” A slight tick in Regina’s eye told me as much. Very soon. Maybe even… “Tonight?” I sucked in a sharp breath, my fingers tightening in a fist under the table. Her irises grew larger as she fought to keep her face blank, but her humanity gave her away. It was an effort to sit still. “Is that why you changed the date of our meeting? To keep us occupied while your witches retrieved her?”

“Of course not,” Regina replied with a smile, her composure back on. “Our readings are not that precise. But I do have people on standby in case we feel her—”

A deafening thunder echoed outside, and the ground shook so unexpectedly that dust fell from the ceiling while the stones groaned, ready to rain down on us. Everyone was on their feet before the ground stopped shaking. A wave of energy passed through us, electrifying the air like a mighty storm was about to plunge the world into chaos. I didn’t have to look at Regina to know what it meant—I could already feel it, the mark over my heart pulsing excitedly, pulling me toward her.

“She is awake.” I smiled, and the witch gulped as if surprised by the realization. She hadn’t expected her to wake so early, after all. “Where, Regina?”

“The Tremain Forest,” she said in a low voice, shooting Isaac a glance. That had to be his old pack’s land before they were massacred and…the last resting place of the oldest witch to walk the earth.

“Where exactly? That forest is huge!” I snarled, losing hold of my calm for a second. Regina raised her chin, giving me a wicked smile.

“You better figure it out before the Order does,” she scoffed, taking a step back and grabbing her second’s arm. A moment later, they were gone in a whisk of gray smoke, leaving me roaring inside. I looked at the others just as Malakai was heading for the door, his attendant moving in stride, ready to catch him if he fell. Isaac was gone, his scent passing through the exit as if he had just left.

For Tremain Forest, I realized.

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