Page 7 of Branches of the Willow (The Ancients #3)

7

Beyond Visions

T here were bars in front of me, and the witch with the ice blue eyes was on the other side of them. At first, I was confused, thinking that she must have been working with the other, but then I heard his voice, as if I had spoken it myself.

“Who are you and what do you want with Jessica?”

The witch took a closer look into his eyes and gasped.

“It matters not, as I’m too late.”

“Oh, it matters, lady. I suggest you start talking before I lose my patience.”

“Your focus needs to be elsewhere now.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

She ignored him and addressed me instead. “My name is Serena. The witch, Sophia, is one of my seven sisters. She will stop at nothing in her quest for vengeance. You must be stronger than even you know possible, Jessica. I came to warn you of her impending deceit, but I see it is all too late.”

Mikael’s head twisted left and right, obviously looking for me and not realizing that I was watching through his eyes. “Jessica isn’t here, why are you speaking as though she is?”

“She is among us, watching through your eyes right now, I see her there.”

“What?” Mikael blinked, a long slow movement before he turned to my father. “Go get Jess,” he demanded. My father left the room and Mikael turned back to Serena then.

“You are too late. When you all insisted that I be locked up before talking, you cost us those precious minutes and now she is lost to them. You have traitors amongst you who aided in her capture, and they must be dealt with if they are not already also in the wind.”

Mikael scoffed. “We’ll see about that.” The sound of the door opening behind him made my mate turn to look once more. It was to see my ashen-faced father standing there, gripping onto the threshold as if he needed help in keeping on his feet. “She’s gone,” he whispered.

“What the hell do you mean, ‘she’s gone’?” Mikael shouted at him.

“Eileen came to get her. According to Avery, Annabelle claimed to have information on Malachi’s whereabouts, and she would only speak to Jessica, as she knew that the white wolf was the only one who could grant her leniency. I sent men to go check at Betsy’s house, where we had both Annabelle and Leanne under guard. Avery went with them.” My father turned to Serena then. “Tell me what the hell you have done to my daughter!”

“She didn’t,” Mikael started to say.

“My sister is the one who has your daughter. I came to warn you, but these bars and your precautions made me too late in the action.”

My father laughed at her. “You think I would believe you? You think I’ll trust that you showing up, just as my daughter disappears, is pure coincidence?”

Mikael stood there, not speaking, almost as if he were searching for me within himself. I didn’t know how to make him feel me, especially since my abilities appeared stunted by whatever the witch and Leanne had used to knock me out.

Serena ignored my father and looked to Mikael again. “I don’t know what she plans to do with you this time, since she realized your bond cannot be broken. You need to be wary of anything she does, Jessica. Stay on guard, do not allow yourself to become vulnerable again as you are now. Get back to your own body! Wake up! You must be ready!” Serena shouted the words as if they were an order and I felt the world, the one I saw through Mikael’s eyes, slipping away just as my dream visions always did. Everything became gray again as my father started shouting, but his words were unintelligible then. I had lost the audio, and the visual was fading fast. How the hell did she expect me to avoid knock out dust, or whatever those bitches had used on me? I had to hope that the men would believe Serena and use her to aid in finding me, rather than punishing her for the fact that she had come to try to warn me.