Page 7

CHAPTER 7

CLAWDIA

I woke up with my head buried in Charlie’s shoulder and a loud knocking coming from the front door. I moaned quietly so as not to wake Charlie, threw on his shirt, and hurried to quiet the intruder.

With a scowl on my face, bed head, and my legs exposed, I hoped to scare the person off with a single look, but my eyes widened as I swung open the front door to see…

“Lydia?”

Styled into beautiful big curls, her brown hair looked gorgeous. She had a warm glow to her skin and a blush on her cheeks which, coupled with the short dress and thin jacket, suggested she was either immune to the morning chill or was looking to catch the attention of her ex-boyfriend.

That infuriated me.

How dare she come here to get him back? If I had my claws, I would have already aimed them at her green eyes which trailed over me, judging. The only satisfaction I had was that her face had fallen at the sight of me.

“Do I know you?” she asked.

Her question made me panic, and I slammed the door shut in her face.

“Oh god,” I muttered.

Of course she doesn’t know me. I’m human now. She doesn’t know I turned human. Why is she here, though? She’d better not think she can take Charlie back. She might have gotten between us before, but he’s my witch now, my mate, and we can’t be separated.

She started knocking again, and I glared at the door as though I could shoot lasers through my eyes.

Charlie opened the office door and strolled out in a pair of jogging bottoms that should be illegal. I turned my glare on him and crossed my arms. He froze, and his gaze shifted between the door shaking with each loud bang and me.

He groaned. “There’s only one person who makes you want to kill me with your eyes.”

“Then you’ve already guessed who it is.” My lips smiled, but my eyes remained narrowed. “Why don’t you open the door, Charlie?”

He shook his head, held up his hands, and backed away. “This feels like a trap.”

A creek drew our attention to the top of the stairs, and Zaide quickly jogged down wearing only a pair of shorts that barely covered him.

“Clawdia, Charlie, you’re here. Thank the gods you are safe.” He pulled me into his arms, lifting me until I needed to wrap my legs around his waist and hold on as he swung me around. I sighed into his giant embrace, his warm skin and smell settling me, my frustration leaking away.

“We snuck in during the night. Didn’t want to wake you,” I told him, and he kissed my forehead before placing me back down.

“Sounds like someone else wants to wake us, though,” Baelen said dryly, following Zaide down the stairs much more slowly. He tilted my chin up and kissed my lips gently. “I’m glad to see you safe, Sunlight, but we will talk about your excursion once our guest has been dealt with,” he muttered.

I sighed and nodded. There was no way to avoid it.

“Nice to see you too, Zaide, Baelen,” Charlie said sarcastically. He crossed his arms and caught my gaze. “I might as well be invisible to them.”

Zaide smiled and slapped him on the back. “I didn’t forget you, my friend. I’m glad to see you, too.”

Baelen shrugged but didn’t move away from me to greet Charlie. He gave him a tilted smile and said, “You aren’t invisible. My ring is right here.” Baelen lifted his hand, and the powerful relic glinted on his finger.

“You’re a smug fucker,” Charlie muttered and narrowed his eyes.

Baelen raised his eyebrows and asked, “Are you going to open the door? The noise is getting irritating.”

My face fell as I remembered Lydia and huffed. Baelen smiled at me, his red eyes swirling with mischief. “Let’s give Charlie some room to deal with his guest, Sunlight.”

I opened my mouth to protest as he pulled Zaide and me into the sitting room, and then a familiar buzzing glazed over my skin.

I looked at my mate and asked, “Are we invisible right now?”

Baelen squeezed my hand, smirked, and whispered. “You want to see what she wants, but she will not reveal herself to anyone but Charlie.”

My scowl deepened, and I crossed my arms. “She better not reveal herself to Charlie.”

Charlie rubbed his head as he looked in our direction. “I can hear you, so you’d all better be on your best behavior until I can get rid of her.”

He did a quick jog on the spot, stretched and took a deep breath before opening the door, revealing the red-faced witch. “Charlie—” she started.

He interrupted and asked bluntly, “What are you doing here?”

She paused. “Not quite the welcome I was expecting. Who is the girl?”

Charlie waved his hand. “Forget Clawdia, why are you here?”

“Clawdia?”

He narrowed his eyes. “How did you know I was here?”

“You live here. I used to come here all the time.”

I gagged, and Zaide’s silent chuckle vibrated against my back.

“But how did you know I was back from Sweden?” Charlie asked.

She shrugged. “I assumed you didn’t take part in the ceremony and left.”

“Is that what you did?”

“The ceremony was sabotaged, so I came home. I didn’t take that much time off work, so I couldn’t commit to helping fix it.”

I had wondered why we hadn’t seen her again since the first ceremony attempt. I didn’t remember seeing her face in the crowd when I raised Fafnir and Sigurd. Nor at the hotel where the witches had Sigurd stuffed in a wardrobe. Or on the island. Maybe she was telling the truth, but it was suspicious that she was here knocking on his door the moment we arrived back. Did she place a spell of some sort to let her know when he came back? Or was she here under orders?

“Are you going to let me in?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips and rolling her eyes as though she was bored with his questions.

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Because of your lady friend?”

He shrugged, and I smiled. “And because I think it’s suspicious that you’re here when I just got here myself.”

“It’s not suspicious.” Her brow furrowed. “I tried to knock at Winnie’s. Is she still in Sweden?”

“No. She’s dead.” He said it in such a matter-of-fact way that it even surprised me. Lydia’s mouth dropped open, and I hissed.

“Charlie, there are better ways to tell her that her friend is dead.”

I wasn’t sure if he heard me through our bond since there was still something odd about it, but he didn’t react, so I couldn’t tell either way.

“What?” Lydia croaked. She searched his eyes as tears welled in hers. “Are you being serious?”

He sighed, and his demeanor softened. She’s not a good actor. She’s got to be telling the truth. She doesn’t know what happened.

“You haven’t spoken to anyone from the ceremony?” he asked, leaning against the door.

“No. I texted Simon once but didn’t get a reply. I thought a meeting would be called to talk about the next move, but I must have been left off the list. I don’t know what’s been happening. Even the fact that Debs had to step down as representative was only announced on Facebook last night.” She was talking fast, her hands shaking, and the shock and worry in her voice couldn’t be faked. “Is Winnie really dead? Was it something to do with the ceremony? Does Mary know?”

Charlie looked behind her and sighed. “Come in. This isn’t going to be a fun conversation.”

“I just don’t understand how she could be dead,” Lydia said in a small voice as she sat on the sofa in front of us and buried her head in her hands.

Although I didn’t care for Lydia, I knew what it was like to lose Winnie. Her tears reminded me of my witch and my grief. My breathing hitched, and my vision blurred as tears welled in my eyes. Baelen and Zaide, so in tune with me and my emotions, squeezed my hands and pulled me closer to them.

“What happened?” She looked up at Charlie, who sat in the armchair closest to us.

“I’m sorry. She’s really is gone. Mary killed her.”

Lydia’s mouth dropped open. “Mary killed her? Why? What happened? I don’t understand. They loved each other.”

“Mary didn’t love Winnie. She slashed her neck to make a dark magic knife for Fafnir. She’s on the bad guy’s team.”

“You are terrible at breaking news to someone,” I scolded, but again, he didn’t react or reply to my word through our bond.

Lydia stood up, shaking her head, her curls getting frizzier by the second. “I’m sorry. I just can’t believe that. Fafnir? The dragon? Who killed Sigurd? He isn’t?—”

“Look, I could spend all day trying to fill you in on what you missed, but frankly, I don’t have the time. You still haven’t told me why you are here, and I’ve got a low supply of trust in witches at the moment.”

“I—I wanted to see if you were all right after everything. It’s probably hard coming to terms with being a witch. I thought—I thought I could help. You called me before.”

“And that’s all? No one asked you to be here?”

“I saw a post from the new witch representative. At least, that’s who she claimed to be, but now I’m not so sure. She asked for a potions master to come to Winnie’s address as soon as possible. I’m the most local potions master, and I really wanted to check in on you both after everything. Didn’t you say you had an argument with her about Clawdia?” She gasped. “Oh, Charlie. You must be devastated. Were you here with Clawdia when she passed? Are you all right?”

She hovered in front of him, clearly unsure if her comfort would be welcome, and I held back a hiss. If I were a cat, I wouldn’t have let her get this close to him. Not while I was watching. But I was human Clawdia, and human Clawdia hadn’t been revealed yet. But the time was near, and I couldn’t wait for Lydia to realize how right she was to be worried about her man’s relationship with a familiar. I grinned.

“Clawdia’s fine. I’m fine. Was the new representative called Elizabeth?”

She completely ignored his question. “What do you mean Clawdia’s fine? If Winnie is really dead, shouldn’t she also have passed? Are you lying to me?”

“I’m not lying. Winnie is definitely dead, and Clawdia would have been too if Winnie was still her witch.” He held up a hand to silence her next question. “How much do you want to know? If you get involved in this mess, there’s no getting out of it. And considering you were willing and happy to use demon fire, knowing it came from demons left suffering endless misery underground, you might not find the answers you were hoping for.”

She frowned. “It was important. Sometimes sacrifices need to be made.”

“You don’t sacrifice the innocent.”

She tilted her head and looked at him as if he were an alien. Like she’d never seen him before. Her eyes widened. “You sabotaged the event.”

“Guilty.” He smiled and shrugged. He was probably reminiscing about shattering those jars and smacking witches with a branch.

“Why?”

Savida came downstairs at exactly the right moment. “To save me,” he announced cheerfully. “And I’m forever in his debt.”

He wandered straight to the kitchen to look for food, completely ignoring Lydia. Daithi followed him closely but paused at the kitchen door to ask, “Charlie why is this female in your home? She smells peculiar.”

He shrugged in reply. “She was making a lot of noise, so I had to let her in.”

Lydia really didn’t like that. She crossed her arms and harrumphed as I covered my mouth.

“Zaide and Baelen didn’t hear it?”

Charlie smirked. “Oh, they did. They are around.”

Lydia shifted from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable, and said, “I didn’t know you had guests, Charlie. Maybe I should?—”

Daithi tilted his head and smiled in a nonthreatening way that somehow looked terrifying on him. “Don’t go. You were just about to explain why killing my mate was for the greater good.”

Charlie tried to excuse her. “She doesn’t know everything that happened yet.”

He gave Charlie a bored look before heading into the kitchen to eat with his mate.

Lydia whispered, “You sabotaged the ceremony to save your demon friend, and I understand that, but I explained why it had to be done. I told you the story of Sigurd and how he would protect all the innocent people from being taken by otherworlders. Faei. Like him. You could have just chosen to save your friend. You didn’t have to take out all the other fires.”

“If you’re trying to make me feel guilty, then you’re barking up the wrong tree. Savida, Alcor, and the other demons didn’t deserve to be used for a stupid spell to raise the protector, especially when you weren’t doing it for the greater good. You were being manipulated.”

She clenched her jaw. “What do you mean by that?”

He sighed. “I’m not going to explain. If Elizabeth called you to make a potion for her, then she can explain everything that happened.”

“So she’s real? And she’s the new representative?” she asked.

“Yes. And she’s staying at Winnie’s right now. So go there for your answers.”

“Why are you being so snappy?”

“Because I’ve had three hours of sleep and the craziest month of my life, only to be woken up by your banging, which has pissed me off. And now Clawdia’s pissed at me because you’re here, so I have to talk her down too.”

I bit my lip to stop my laugh escaping. He had done nothing too terrible yet. But that wasn’t for him to know. It was good to keep him on his toes.

“If all the noise is done with, we are going to go back to bed before everyone else arrives,” Daithi announced as he left the kitchen. Both he and Savida had bowls of cereal in their hands, and my stomach growled. It felt like a lifetime since I’d eaten.

“Yeah, yeah.” Charlie’s voice covered my stomach as he waved them away, and Lydia’s wide eyes followed Savida’s black wings as they fluttered up the stairs.

“You are having more … otherworlders over here?” She looked fearfully toward the door as though a hoard of demons were seconds away from bursting in.

Charlie rubbed his head. “The supernatural task team is next door with Elizabeth. They’ll be around to wake us all up and start planning soon. So please, leave.”

“Supernatural task team? I’ve never heard of…”

“It’s not known to the little people.”

Her outraged gasp brought her back to life. No longer afraid, she practically had flames in her eyes as she shouted, “Enough with your attitude! Do you know who you’re talking to? I’m a potions master. I am one of the most skilled witches in the country, and I asked to participate in the witch event of the year. I was the one who knew about your heritage before you did, so don’t you dare patronize me. I’m your superior.”

Charlie started laughing, and she shook with fury but remained silent, waiting for his mirth to end. He leaned forward, resting his head on his bent arms as he said, “You know nothing, Lydia, and you certainly don’t know that you’re superior to me.”

Her face paled, and she stepped back. “Your eyes.”

“Another recent development in my search for family.” He shrugged and leaned back in the chair. Unable to stop myself, I stroked his arm. It settled the wildly possessive urge inside of me, which really didn’t enjoy that Lydia could see his bare chest and couldn’t see my hand marking it.

Lydia swallowed audibly. “What are you?”

“A lot of things. Probably an arsehole, first and foremost.”

“In that, we agree.” His answer must have assured her, because she sat back down on the sofa slowly. Yet she stared at Charlie with a wariness that suggested she thought he was either sick or dangerous. Maybe both. “I have missed a lot.”

“You have.”

She licked her lips. “You keep talking about Clawdia. Will you tell me what you mean? It’s not possible for her to have a new witch. Familiars live and die with their witch. If Winnie is dead, Clawdia must be, too. I want to help you, but I need to understand.”

“Don’t look at me like that. You might think you’re right, but you’ve missed out on a lot of witch teaching and history lessons recently, so no, you’re wrong. I don’t know why Elizabeth asked you here, especially considering your opinions on the otherworlders and supernaturals, but it’s not to fix me. I’m fine.”

“But you must be grieving. You were unusually close to Clawdia.”

“She’s not dead.” Charlie gripped my hand on his shoulder, and I squeezed Baelen’s. Lydia jumped and screamed as we appeared. I can’t say it didn’t bring me some satisfaction. It made me remember the days I used to run her off from Charlie. Protecting my territory, he called it.

Although it could have been the sight of my soul pair and mate standing behind me that frightened her. They were rather fearsome.

“Charlie, who are these people you’ve found?” she whimpered and almost backed herself against the wall. I restrained myself from rolling my eyes, but I thought it was a little dramatic.

“My new family.” He put an arm around my legs and squeezed. “And as you can see, Clawdia is fine.”

She didn’t look at me for more than a moment before turning to Charlie with a concerned look on her face. “Charlie, this woman, whoever she is, is not Winnie’s familiar. She’s human.”

She was looking at him like he was deranged, no longer afraid, and I couldn’t help sniggering as she mumbled, “if he needs a potion to counteract a curse, I’m going to need more supplies.”

“I’m not cursed. This woman is Clawdia. She used to be a cat and Winnie’s familiar. She turned human again, and when Winnie died, I could transfer the bond to me to save her. Or something like that.”

I waved. “Hi, Lydia. It’s nice to see you again.”

Words coming out of my mouth seemed to send her reeling. She gaped at me, her eyes flicking all over me, and I knew the moment she could see Clawdicat in me. “You slammed the door in my face.”

I shrugged, and my lips twitched. “Automatic reaction.”

“I knew it.” She pointed at us as her confusion turned to rage. “I knew there was something strange going on with you and that cat. How long has this been going on?”

“Charlie never cheated on you. I wasn’t human until an accident happened a few weeks ago and we followed Winnie to Sweden to rescue Savida.”

“You betrayed your witch.” The accusation was like a stab to my heart.

I tried to keep the emotion out of my voice as I replied, “She betrayed me, and then Mary betrayed her and slit her throat when we arrived to sabotage the ceremony.”

“You should have died. You … being human … being alive should be impossible.” She slumped against the wall, almost crouching.

“Charlie saved me. He’s my witch.”

Charlie muttered, “Dralie would like me to remind you I’m also your mate.”

I smiled down at him and stroked his jaw with my thumb. “I remember.”

Lydia screamed as the front door opened.