ZOE
DARK W ATER SPLASHED AGAINST KAI’S ALUMINUM BOAT AS W E MADE OUR W AY through a section of water channels that led deep into Whisper Swamp. My gaze fixated on the area at the front of the boat illuminated by the spotlight Jackson worked. It lit up the trees that stood at the edge of the embankment like guards of the swamp, watching our every move. They dripped with Spanish moss and mingled with the other foliage, creating an impenetrable wall. While I wasn’t sure if Kai or the others needed the spotlight to see as we continued through the swamp, I was glad there was one because I couldn’t see a thing beyond its reach. The moon didn’t give off enough light for me to see by, and I doubted my night vision was as good as theirs.
Reedy grass brushed alongside the boat as we rounded a bend, and I swore I felt something hop off and into my lap. When I felt around, I couldn’t find anything though. Kai slowed the boat as we reached another sharp bend in the channel, and the night sounds of the swamp floated to my ears now that the hum of the propeller had quieted. Frogs and bugs serenaded the night. There was a time when I would have thought the noises were soothing, exciting even, but knowing what I did now about the supernatural world, the noises put me on edge even more than I already was.
When would we be wherever we were going?
It felt like we’d been out here for hours. I shifted on the worn wooden bench seat beneath me, my butt sore from lack of padding,
and glanced around. My eyes watered and I blinked rapidly as Kai kicked up our speed again while hitting a straight away. The icy wind whipped against my face, and I folded in on myself to hide from it, pulling the sleeves of my jacket over my hands. Trees in this section of the swamp were taller and had thicker trunks that were black and moldy-looking. The water here seemed eerily still with a layer of green algae floating across its surface. It was odd how much the scenery had changed in such a short distance. Something splashed through the water somewhere behind us and I jumped at the sudden sound. Something about this section of the swamp sent goose bumps prickling across my skin.
This was exactly where I imagined a swamp witch would live.
The place seemed mysterious and creepy. While Kai continued to steer us down the twisting channel, I tried to think of something else besides where I was something to distract me. Suddenly, I found myself thinking of Jeremy.
Had he woken yet?
It had been hard to leave him, especially after he’d taken such a turn for the worst, but I couldn’t sit in Kai’s living room, unable to do anything to help him. I handled things best when I was being productive and helping to remedy a situation. I’d never been one to sit around, doing nothing. It was how I worked.
An image of Jeremy lying on Kai’s couch before we left filled my head, and I found my mind circling back to the tarot cards I’d pulled before leaving for Magnolia Island. A knot formed in my stomach, and I couldn’t help wondering if the Death card had meant exactly that—that Jeremy would die.
This venom was relentless. Not only was the area where Jeremy had been bitten swollen to the point of looking grotesque, it was also red and angry with splotches of black. His entire leg looked as though it was bruised and as if black blood ran through his veins. The sight of it had torn at the fragile edges of my heart and made me want to throw up.
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as I thought about how scared he must be, and how much pain he had to be in. Before we left in search of a witch, he’d passed out either from pure
exhaustion or the pain. I didn’t know which, but there was a part of me that had felt a sense of relief.
He couldn’t feel pain if he was sleeping.
Once he was out, Kai had decided we needed to head deep into the swamp and find a witch to help. I’d wholeheartedly agreed with the decision because the sooner we found a witch capable of performing the spell we needed, the sooner Jeremy’s agony would end. Before I left with them, I’d kissed Jeremy on the forehead and made a silent vow to do everything in my power to find a witch to help him.
We rounded another bend, and I pulled the sleeves of the jacket Nina had let me borrow over my hands more, wondering if the temperature had dropped in the last few minutes. A chill slipped along my spine as I stared straight ahead, watching as more blacktrunk trees dripping with Spanish moss sped past us. I exhaled a slow breath as I wrapped my arms around my middle. Everything I’d fallen into recently still felt so surreal. This felt like a bad dream I couldn’t wake from. I closed my eyes and was tossed back to the moment Dravus bit Jeremy. I should have seen him coming. I should have paid more attention to my surroundings, especially during that crazy ass fight. If I had, maybe Jeremy wouldn’t be on his deathbed.
I hated Dravus for what he’d done, but I also hated myself for not having stopped him.
I didn’t fault Jeremy for stepping in the way of Dravus’s bite. He’d done what he thought he had to do to protect me. I would have done the same for him.
In a heartbeat.
I pulled in a deep breath of the briny, cold swamp air and tried not to lose it. Instead, I focused on the steps I knew we needed to take to ensure Jeremy’s safety—find a witch that would help us and get the cure. However, getting the cure seemed as though it would be harder than finding a witch, seeing as the cure was Dravus’s blood.
While I still wasn’t one hundred percent on all this shifter business, Kai had explained it to me as best he could. Dravus was a
water moccasin. His venom was toxic. And the cure to his bite was in his blood. Each water moccasin shifter’s blood was the cure to their own venomous bite. It had something to do with the venom being unique to them.
The biggest hurdle with getting Dravus’s blood to cure Jeremy was that Dravus wasn’t going to simply hand it over. He would want something in exchange, and that something was me. He wanted to claim me as his Mystic. Doing so would mean I was forever linked to him and his den. While I wasn’t sure on all the specifics of what that meant, I knew I didn’t want it.
This only left us one option steal Dravus’s blood.
However, considering he had a seer, I wasn’t sure how we’d be able to manage it.
My gaze drifted around the boat. No one else seemed worried or nervous. They all seemed fine. As though heading deep into the swamp in the middle of the night to search for a witch and help save someone who’s life was hanging in the balance was normal.
Kai stiffened, and the boat slowed, the humming of its engine dying down.
“I’m gonna take it slow through here,” he said. “To be respectful.”
Respectful of what? Why had the energy of the others seemed to shift too? Had someone died here?
I stared at Kai. Even though I was positive he could tell I was looking at him, he kept his gaze fixed on something in the distance. When he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the force, I knew he was upset about something. Heartbreak glinted in his eyes. It tugged at my heartstrings seconds later, and a strong desire to comfort him rushed through me.
How was it possible to care so much for someone I barely knew?
I opened my mouth to say something to him, but a strange prickly sensation pulsed through the air. The fine hairs along my body stood on end, and goose bumps spread across my skin.
What the heck was that?
I looked at everyone in the boat and confirmed that it wasn’t coming from any of them, even though I hadn’t expected it to be.
This magic felt different from the magic of someone shifting, but I couldn’t explain how.
As we drifted along, it grew stronger.
I searched through the darkness for the source of the odd sensation lingering in the air here, but saw nothing besides a tiny shack a few feet away from the bank that caught my eye. I couldn’t be sure if that was where the magic stemmed from, but it seemed as though it might be. As we crept closer, the spotlight Jackson held allowed me to see the area more clearly. There was a dock that led from the dark water up to the shack. It connected to a tiny porch off the front of the place. There were no lights on inside, and oddly enough, the place gave off empty vibes.
Was this where the witch Kai wanted to ask for help lived?
Something on the bank captured my attention before I could ask him.
“I didn’t know you came here after,” Nina said, her tone so soft I could barely hear her over the low hum of the boat’s engine. “I would have come with you if I’d known.”
My gaze locked on what we all stared at a bench made of driftwood that sat at the edge of the bank. It looked as though it belonged there, like it had always sat overlooking the murky water of the swamp.
“I wanted to be alone,” Kai said. The heartbreak in his tone caused my stomach to flutter.
Was this where their parents had passed away?
I knew we shared that horrible reality, but I hadn’t asked for any details about their passing. There was a good chance this was the location where it had happened. Maybe this was another house his family owned.
“I would have liked to have been with you when you paid your respects,” Nina insisted. “Ophelia meant something to me too, Kai.” The sharp bite to her words surprised me.
I glanced at her and then shifted my gaze to Kai. Clearly, this place had nothing to do with their parents.
So then, who was Ophelia?
A burning sensation rolled through my lower stomach, hot and fast. I’d never been the jealous type, but seeing the emotion in his eyes and the firm set to his jaw, I knew Ophelia had meant something to him and I wasn’t sure I liked it.
“I know she did,” Kai said, his voice cracking with the emotion I saw in his eyes. He steered the boat closer to the bank and cut the engine, letting us coast. “It was just somethin’ I made. It’s not a big deal. I like to come out here and sit sometimes. To think and get my head on straight again.”
The jealousy I’d felt evaporated at the sound of his sorrow. My heart hurt for him.
“How often do you come here?” Nina asked, concern for her brother spinning through her words.
“As often as I like.”
My gaze swept over the bench again now that we were closer. The prickly sensation that continued to pulse through the air found its way to me again. My palms warmed, and I glanced down to look at them, thinking my Mystic magic would be visible. It wasn’t. There was no golden glowing light, but I could feel it. It rested a scratch beneath the surface.
“You feel her, don’t you?” Kai asked. The hope etched in his words drew my attention to him. “She’s still here, isn’t she? I thought she was. Well, her essence anyway.” A small smile twisted his lips.
“Who is she?” I asked, not confirming or denying anything.
“Ophelia was the original Mystic,” Kai said. His words splashed over me like ice water.
I hadn’t known what I was long enough to question the origins of Mystic magic or how it had chosen me, but I knew it had to come from somewhere.
“Was?” I asked, noticing he talked about her in a past tense. “What happened to her?” I shoved my hands beneath my thighs and sat on them, putting the warmth that built there to good use.
The boat drifted to the bank until it bumped into it gently. I shifted to get a better look at Kai, waiting for him to answer my
question. The available moonlight lit his face enough for me to see that his expression was one of pure agony.
“She died durin’ a spell she did with my friend, Tris,” he said, his lips clamping together once the words spilled free.
My stomach twisted. Logically, I knew there had to be a downside to using magic. It couldn’t always be rainbows and sunshine with nothing but good outcomes. Still, having someone die during a spell seemed too harsh of an outcome.
“I’m sorry,” I said. While it didn’t help ease the sadness in his features, it had seemed like the right thing to say. However, questions now swirled through my mind. “What kind of spell were they performing?” I hadn’t wanted to ask, but I wasn’t able to stop myself.
Curiosity had gotten the best of me.
“To know what the spell was for, you have to know that there was originally another part to the shifter sickness,” Jackson chimed in when Kai didn’t seem as though he wanted to answer.
“Another part?” I didn’t understand. Wasn’t that awful sickness enough for shifters to deal with?
Kai nodded. “Yeah, there was only a single Mystic allowed to be awoken at a time. Tris was that Mystic. Until she died and was brought back. Somethin’ glitched when that happened, and then there were two Mystics walkin’ around,” he said. “Tris’s magic became unstable, and she got sick. She came here in search of Ophelia. The two of them performed a spell that woke potential Mystics, includin’ you.” His eyes flashed when he said this, and I wondered if it was because he was grateful for what they’d done or if I was merely a walking reminder of the woman he’d lost.
“She saved me once,” Nina said, causing my attention to shift to her. Her eyes were fixated on the bench Kai had made. “Ophelia did. She saved my life.”
I blinked. “Really? How?”
Nina tucked a few stray strands of her blond hair behind her ear. “I was ten. I went walking through the water near our house when a water moccasin came out of nowhere and bit me.”
“A water moccasin?” My brows knitted together. “As in the reallife snake version or the shifter one?” I didn’t know how anyone could tell the difference between the two. If I was honest, this entire supernatural world I’d found myself forced into was more than a little confusing.
“It was Dravus,” Kai insisted through clenched teeth. His expression grew hard, and even in the moonlight I could see that his eyes flashed with his gator. “I was never able to prove it, but I know it was that bastard. He was the one who bit Nina. I know it was him because we’d had an argument earlier that day. He told me then that I’d be sorry. Nina was bitten about an hour later.”
A shiver slid through me. This guy was vicious. It made me wonder how we were going to get his blood without me being claimed by him or anyone getting hurt.
“The ferry had already gone for the day, and as you know, there isn’t a hospital on the island,” Nina said. “Not that it would have mattered. No anti-venom any hospital has access to would have helped me, anyway.”
“Right. Shifter water moccasin venom is different,” I said, reiterating what I’d already been told.
“Yeah,” Nina insisted. “Gosh, it was the most pain I’ve ever felt before too. I remember screaming as loud as I could, hoping someone would hear me before I blacked out from the pain.”
“I heard her and came runnin’. By the time I got to where she was, she was already on the ground, burnin’ up with a fever.” Kai’s expression grew tense. “I picked her up and ran as fast as I could to the boat. The only person I thought who might be able to help was Ophelia. So, I brought Nina here to see her. I knew Ophelia was powerful, and that if anyone could save her, it was her. Everyone on the island knew how strong Ophelia’s magic was. Not because we knew she’d been around more years than she looked, but because when you were in her presence, you could sense there was ancient magic in her. You could feel it in the air.” Kai paused, his head dipping as he swallowed hard. I wanted to reach out and touch him, to offer him comfort, but I didn’t. Mainly, because I didn’t know if he wanted me to.
“She healed you?” I asked Nina, shifting my attention to her.
Nina nodded. “Yeah, she did.”
“Because she saved Nina’s life that day, I vowed to do everythin’ I could to look out for her, to protect her, because of it. As the original Mystic, and the creator of the shifter sickness, she took a lot of crap in the shifter community. A lot of crap on this island,” he said, his tone growing bitter.
“She was the creator of the shifter sickness and the original Mystic?” I asked, unbelieving the paradox there.
“She was, and because of it, anytime someone came down with the shifter sickness, they blamed her because they knew she was the cause. What they didn’t know was that she could also be the cure. They never gave her the chance to do any good here. They never saw how much remorse she had for the mess she’d caused,” Kai insisted. “Me, I was lucky enough to see that side of her. The one not many cared to look for. Ophelia wasn’t as bad as everyone made her out to be. She tried to do good. That had to count for somethin’.” His teeth ground together and I questioned whether he cared for her more than he wanted to admit.
The thought made me uncomfortable, but only because it made me realize how much I cared for him in such a short amount of time.
“You cared for her,” I said, my gaze never wavering from him. “A lot.”
He nodded. “She was my friend.”
The unease festering inside me, mingling with sensations of jealousy, dissipated at his words. Maybe it was wrong of me, but I felt a sense of relief in knowing that he’d thought of her as a friend and nothing more.
I was awful.
CHAPTER TWO
THOUGHTS OF OPHELIA CLOUDED MY MIND. I HADN’T TOLD ANYONE ABOUT THE bench I’d made because I hadn’t wanted to make a big deal of it. No one knew how often I came to visit the area because I didn’t want anyone’s sympathy. I’d known Nina would make a big deal out of it because she was the only person who understood how much Ophelia had meant to me.
She’d saved my little sister’s life all those years ago, and she hadn’t asked for anything in return.
If she were here now, I knew she’d heal Jeremy without hesitation too. She was powerful, but she’d also been a good person, despite being the creator of the shifter sickness. If she was still here, we wouldn’t be heading deep into the swamp hoping one of the Laveau witches will be willing to help us. We wouldn’t be hoping there was a spell that could be cast to slow Dravus’s venom in Jeremy’s system long enough for us to figure out how to get his blood without risking more from my crew being hurt.
From my crew.
I blinked. Jeremy and Zoe had already instinctively become part of my crew. My gator hummed with his agreement, and I found myself wondering when that had even happened.
A breeze kicked up, and my mind dipped back to thoughts of Ophelia.
She wasn’t here, not like she used to be, which meant she couldn’t help Jeremy. Finding a Laveau witch was our only option.
KAI
I pulled in a deep breath and slowly exhaled while my gaze skimmed over Ophelia’s shack. I hadn’t been here in a couple of weeks. Typically, I came by once or twice a week to think and enjoy the silence of the place. I liked the sensation of magic that buzzed through the area too. It made me feel as though she was still here. I’d talk to her. Once or twice I’d begged her to send me my Mystic, especially after Liam and Tris’s wedding. Seeing them as happy and in love as they were made me crave something exactly like it.
“You miss her a lot,” Zoe said, her cold hand covering mine. “Don’t you?”
I nodded once, but didn’t speak. I was afraid if I did, my voice might crack and give away the emotions slowly drowning me. I kept my eyes on Ophelia’s place. Even though I knew she wasn’t there, I’d always got the feeling that a piece of her still was. The way Zoe had reacted to the place was proof enough to me that Ophelia’s essence still swam through these waters and blew through the Spanish moss dripping from the trees.
Zoe.
My eyes widened as I realized then that Ophelia had sent Zoe to me. She’d sent me my Mystic, exactly like I’d asked her to.
“Thank you,” I whispered, too low for the others to hear, and a tiny smile twisted the corner of my lips.
I cranked the engine on my boat and backed us away from the bank before heading down the channel again. The night wasn’t growing any younger, and we needed to find out if the Laveau witches would be willing to help us. If not, I needed to figure out a plan B.
My gaze drifted to Zoe. Her hand still rested on top of mine, but she’d shifted to face the front of the boat again. Her shoulders were hunched forward as though she was attempting to shrink small enough so the wind wouldn’t touch her. It was freezing out tonight. The temperature had dipped to the low thirties while we’d been out here, and I knew all of us were ready to be some place warm.
“How much farther?” Nina asked as though she’d been privy to my thoughts. “I can’t remember.”
“We have to be coming up on it soon,” Jackson insisted.
Wait. When had he moved so close to Nina?
My gaze narrowed on him, watching him lean closer to her as though he was blocking the wind for her while I steered us around a sharp bend in the channel. Even though I wasn’t as familiar with this area of the swamp as the one we called home, I intuitively knew my way around and didn’t need to keep my eyes on the water.
This meant I could keep my eyes on them.
Another gust of wind blew at us from the side, and I noticed Jackson twist a little more to block Nina from it. My gator snapped, not liking how close the two of them seemed. I cocked my head to the side, still staring while feeling unsure how I felt about it. The two of them had grown closer over the last few months. I just hadn’t given it much thought until now. Seeing them as close as they were right now made it hard to ignore.
A smirk twisted at my lips as a thought came to me.
I let up on the throttle, causing us to slow, and then gunned it. Everyone jerked back, including Nina and Jackson, like I thought they would. My smirk grew. Jackson glanced back at me, catching my eye, and placed some distance between him and Nina.
Mission accomplished.
I shifted my attention straight ahead, feeling satisfied, and kept a steady hold on the throttle as we entered another channel. It wasn’t until we rounded the next bend that the first of the Laveau shacks came into view.
The place was decent in size and stood tall on stilts, keeping it above the dark water like so many other shacks in the swamp. There was a dock that ran alongside it where three boats were tied off. Lights were on inside, and music floated to my ears.
Were the Laveau’s having a party?
“This place is awesome,” Zoe insisted as I cut the engine on my boat and coasted us toward the dock. “It’s cut into the swamp so perfectly, and the moss hangs from the trees here like nature-made curtains.”
My gaze drifted to the trees. Her description was spot on. The Spanish moss did look like curtains here, and the trees were so
close together the area had seemed as though it was cut out of them, either that or like they were attempting to swallow the shack whole.
“Sounds like they’re having a party,” Jackson said, glancing up at the sky. “Is there some witchy holiday they’re celebrating we don’t know about?”
I arched a brow. That was a damn good question. “I have no clue.”
Hopefully, if they were celebrating, interrupting them wouldn’t tick them off and kill any chance we might have had at them helping us.
When the boat was close enough to the dock, Jackson hopped out and tied us to a post. Once we were secure, he offered a hand to Nina. My gator and I both prickled at the sight of their hands touching. Even though him helping her from the boat was something he’d done a million times. This time seemed different, and I couldn’t pinpoint why. My eyes narrowed on them.
Was there something going on between them?
Zoe climbed out of the boat next, and I followed. We all stood staring up at the Laveau place for a breath before I led them to the stairs at the opposite end of the dock that led to the front door.
My palms grew slick with sweat as I made my way up the steps, and my gator grew uneasy. While I didn’t know much about the Laveaus, I did know enough to know my nerves were warranted.
The Laveau witches were the most powerful swamp witches in the south. Their name was well known among witch kind because of their strong magic. This was all anyone needed to know they weren’t to be screwed with.
“Well, let’s find out if they’re willin’ to help,” I said as I made my way up the last few steps to the door.
“You don’t seem confident,” Zoe insisted.
I looked at her from over my shoulder, watching as she crammed her hands into the pockets of Nina’s jacket. Worry reflected brightly in her eyes, and I felt bad for having put it there.
“I am,” I insisted, holding her stare. “They will help.”
Nina cocked her head, eyeing me. I ignored her and shifted my attention back to the door. That wasn’t a promise, but more of a prediction.
“Interesting Christmas tree,” Zoe said.
It took me a second to realize what she was talking about—the metal rod sticking out of the deck with blue glass bottles decorating it.
“It’s not a Christmas tree,” I said. “It’s a bottle tree.”
“You say that like I should know what it is,” she insisted.
“They’re pretty common in the south,” Jackson chimed in.
Zoe made a face. “I’ve never seen one.”
“It’s an old superstition. They say the bottles are meant to trap evil spirits. At night, when the spirits are roamin’ through the swamp, they get trapped in the bottles, and when the sun comes up, they’re destroyed by its rays,” I said.
“And what about the wreath?” Zoe asked, wrinkling her nose.
I glanced at the wreath hung on the front door and shook my head. “I have no clue. Must be a witchy thing.”
It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Twigs, bones, and Spanish moss made it up. A chill worked its way up my spine as I stared at it. It gave me the heebie-jeebies. When I knocked, I avoided touching it at all costs. There was no way in hell I wanted to get any witchy residue on me from it. The thing looked as though it could cast a serious hex that would last generations.
“I’m not sure they’ll hear you over the music and talking,” Nina said. “Might have to knock harder than that.”
I glared at her from over my shoulder, my gator flashing to the surface. He was as uneasy as I was being so close to such powerful witches, especially unannounced, and he didn’t appreciate Nina telling us what to do.
When she was uneasy about something, she got bossy. This moment was a prime example.
I lifted my hand to knock for a second time, but the door swung open before I could, revealing Evanora Laveau. A sense of mystery and danger always rippled off her. I’d never been sure if it was
because of her magic, or if it was just who she was in essence. Either way, I’d not spoken to her much. Not unless I had too.
The woman put me on edge.
“Hello, Kai,” Evanora said, folding her arms over her heaving chest and leaning against the door frame. Her ebony skin glistened with sweat and her breathing was labored. She lifted a brow as her eyes looked deep into my soul. My gator paced, his anxiety on the rise. We could both feel her magic pulsing off her in waves. “It’s a little late for visiting hours, don’t you think? Must be here for something important.”
I nodded. “We are. Can we come in?” My gaze shifted from her to inside the shack. Dishes of food covered a fold-out table near the far wall and decorations dripped from the ceiling. The sensation of eyes on me prickled across my skin. Everyone had paused what they were doing and glanced our way to see what was going on. I shifted my gaze back to Evanora again, noticing the music had turned down. “We won’t take up much of your time.”
“Who is it, child?” an elderly woman called out from somewhere inside. I knew who the woman was before she stepped into view simply from the sound of her voice—Sybil Laveau. When her eyes landed on me, they hardened. “You’re interrupting our celebration of new life being added into our family.” Her tone was harsh and firm. I’d expected nothing less.
Sybil wasn’t a fan of shifters. Never had been.
I knew this, yet I still came to her because, with Ophelia no longer here, the Laveaus were the only ones I thought powerful enough to do what needed to be done.
“Hey, Sybil,” I said, flashing her a charming smile. “Sorry to interrupt. Congratulations on the new member bein’ born.” Another witchy legacy, no doubt.
“You’re not interrupting any longer because you’re leaving. We don’t meddle in shifter business. Best turn around and go.”
Evanora moved to close the door, but I kicked my boot out to stop her. Her eyes narrowed as a smirk twisted her lips. Either she was amused by my boldness or she knew I was about to get my ass handed to me.
“Please. Just hear me out,” I insisted, swinging my attention back to Sybil. She would be the one to persuade because she was their coven elder. It wouldn’t be easy thanks to her issue with shifters, especially since her oldest granddaughter, Serafina, turned her back on their coven—on their family—to become Dravus’s seer.
“I don’t need to hear you out. My answer is no. We take care of our own and we stick to ourselves. That’s it,” Sybil insisted. “End of discussion. Now you best leave before I unleash something to make you.”
My gator bristled at her threat, and a shiver slipped up my spine. We both believed whatever Sybil tossed our way would make us wish we’d listened, but both of us also knew Zoe was counting on this. Her brother needed their help.
“An innocent is in trouble,” I said, my voice firm and steady. “He needs your help.”
“Anyone hanging around shifters isn’t innocent; they’re just plain trouble,” Sybil insisted, her tone darkening. Clearly, she was becoming irritated with me more by the second.
“Jeremy is just a kid,” Zoe chimed in. “He’s barely seventeen and didn’t know anything about shifters until recently. He was—”
“If he’s hanging around shifters, he’s trouble,” Sybil snapped. “Evanora, close the door. We’re done here.”
“Please,” Zoe insisted. Her voice shook with emotion, and I felt my heart break at the sound. “He’s dying.”
“Evanora. The door,” Sybil demanded before turning back to look at her coven. “Now, let’s get back to celebrating that sweet, sweet baby.”
“Give me a few minutes. I’ll meet you at the end of the dock,” Evanora whispered, her gaze bouncing from me to Zoe. A swirl of excitement spun in her dark eyes, but also something else. “I’ll hear you out. I’m not saying I’ll help, but I’ll hear you out.”
I nodded, but didn’t respond. My voice would sound more animal than human because my gator was so close to the surface. He didn’t enjoy seeing Zoe upset. He didn’t like that Sybil had turned us down so easily, that she’d dismissed us.
“Well, that went swimmingly,” Jackson muttered as the four of us walked back to the end of the dock.
“At least Evanora is willing to hear us out,” Nina said.
My hands clenched into fists at my sides. A ripple of scales rolled along my forearms, making me glad I’d worn long sleeves. “Yeah, because Sybil damn sure didn’t.”
“Really, though, can you blame her after what happened with Serafina?” Nina asked.
“Who’s Serafina?” Zoe asked. “And why does that old woman seem to hate shifters so much?”
I plucked a toothpick out of my front pocket and placed it in my mouth. Nina had always thought it was a gross habit—chewing on toothpicks—but I liked the taste for whatever reason. “Serafina, the seer Dravus has in his den. The one who saw you and your brother comin’. She’s Sybil’s oldest granddaughter.”
Zoe’s eyes widened. “Oh.”
“She walked away from her coven, from her family, to be part of Dravus’s den and become his seer a while back,” I said.
“Why?” Zoe asked, the level of disgust in her tone making me grin.
“No clue.” I shoved my hands into my front pockets and gave her a shrug. My gaze drifted to the shack, making sure no one was watching us. The curtains were drawn, and all I could see were shadows of the witches dancing about.
“Dravus is such an ass. It’s just like him to want it all,” Jackson muttered. “A seer and a Mystic of his own.”
“I’m so glad you’re not Dravus’s soulmate,” Nina said, relief present in her tone.
My gator snapped at her comment, hating the thought of Zoe being Dravus’s mate.
“Soulmate?” Zoe asked, looking taken aback. “No one said anything about soulmates before. Why would I be his soulmate?”
I could feel Nina’s gaze on me, but I didn’t glance at her. Instead, I kept my eyes focused on the windows of the Laveau place, watching for any sign we were being watched. The last thing we needed was for Syibl to peek out and see us loitering. Her threat
of releasing something that would make us leave would become a reality then, no doubt. “Each alpha has its own Mystic, which is also their soulmate,” I said, my gaze drifting from the windows to her, wanting to see her reaction. When her spine straightened and she gave me that doe-like expression while licking her plump lips, I knew my words had landed the way they should.
A sense of smugness worked its way through me, and my gator as we watched her mind spin. Clearly, she was wondering if that was what we were—soulmates. The door to Sybil’s place opened, and Evanora darted out. She jogged down the steps and then speed walked to where the four of us stood, shoving her arms into her leather jacket along the way.
“I take it you have something dire you needed help with, otherwise I don’t think you would have risked the wrath that is Sybil Laveau. So, what is it you need?” Evanora asked, and I noticed the same sense of excitement I’d spotted earlier build in her eyes.
Was she excited to be doing something she knew her grandmother wouldn’t condone, or did she have another reason? An ulterior motive, perhaps?
I plucked my toothpick from my mouth and locked eyes with her. “Zoe’s brother was bitten by Dravus,” I said, getting straight to the point. “He’s not doin’ well. He’s human, and Dravus’s venom is spreadin’ through his system fast. We need help.”
“You know how a water moccasin’s venom works,” Evanora said. “The boy will be dead by sunrise if you don’t give him the blood of the one who bit him.”
Zoe shifted on her feet beside me, and I hated how bold Evanora had been with her words.
“We can’t ambush him for it. Things are complicated right now,” I insisted, my hand lifting to rub along the back of my neck.
Evanora’s eyes brightened, her interest piqued. “Complicated how?”
“Dravus wants Zoe because of what she is.” The words clawed their way up the back of my throat. I hated saying their names in the same sentence.
Evanora’s attention shifted to Zoe, and a smirk formed on her face. I realized then it wasn’t excitement festering in her eyes; it was something else. Evanora wanted something from Zoe; she hungered for it.
Alarm prickled through me, and my gator buzzed with distrust for her.
“A Mystic.” Evanora’s smirk grew as though this was the best news she’d heard in a while.
“What is it you’re looking for? What sort of help do you need?”
“Is there a spell that might slow the venom in her brother’s system? One that would give us time to figure out a plan of attack against Dravus while giving us more time to get his blood to her brother?” I asked.
“Anything is possible,” she said. “Follow me to my place. I’ll need to grab a few things for the spell I have in mind. Then, I’ll ride with you to your place, which is where I’m assuming her brother is.”
“What’s the cost?” I asked.
“We can discuss that in a bit,” Evanora said, her eyes flashing bright. “Do you want my help?”
“Yes,” Zoe insisted before I could reply. “Definitely. Whatever the cost.”
I frowned, not liking how Zoe had blindly said she’d pay Evanora whatever she wanted or the look that crossed Evanora’s face at the words either.
Whatever the cost was, I’d pay it. Not Zoe.
“All right. Let’s get out of here,” I said, motioning for the others to follow me to the boat.
We piled back in and pulled away from the dock, following Evanora to her place.
“Why doesn’t she meet us at our place? I don’t understand why she has to ride with us,” Nina insisted. “There’s barely enough room in here for the four of us as it is.”
Nina didn’t trust Evanora. I could sense it. It wasn’t because we’d been burned by her in the past; it was because she knew how tricky witches could be.
“She probably doesn’t want to use her gas. She’d rather burn through ours,” Jackson insisted. “I’m curious what her price for this will be. You know witches never do anything for free,” he said, his eyes on me.
“We don’t have a choice,” I said, holding his stare.
I’d known him long enough to know when he wasn’t in agreement with something I was doing. He’d known me long enough to know to let this situation go because I wouldn’t be budging on it.
“I don’t have any cash on me, but if someone can spot me the money, I’ll hit an ATM tomorrow somewhere and pay you back,” Zoe chimed in. “I don’t know why, but I didn’t think that there would be a charge for this type of service.”
A smirk twisted my lips. “She won’t ask for money, darlin’.”
Confusion crossed Zoe’s face. “What will she want, then?”
“My guess is, probably a favor or an IOU that she’ll cash in somewhere down the line from me,” I said, trying to keep as much irritation out of my tone as possible. It wasn’t going to help the situation any.
“Oh, okay.” Zoe tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, her gaze drifting from mine.
“Witches never do anythin’ for free. There’s always a price, and generally it’s a hefty one.” I flashed her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about it, though. I’ve got you covered.” I winked, hoping to soften my demeanor more.
“We’ll see. If her cost is something I can pay, considering what she’s doing for Jeremy, I will. What happened to him is on me, not you,” Zoe insisted, and I felt my gator ring with pride in how she was handling the situation.
I flashed her a crooked grin, knowing there was no point in arguing with her right now, and nodded to her instead. She was stubborn and fierce. Both were traits I liked in her, but also traits we shared, which meant I wouldn’t allow Zoe to get pulled into something with the Laveau witches. Not if I could help it.
