Page 112 of Chain Me

“Just her,” she repeated, her thin voice easily overpowering the growled hiss of the man before her. “Only she can come any farther.”

“Then we’re done here.” Dublin’s voice slammed into the eerie stillness like a wrecking ball. Anger flashed through his gaze as he snatched for my wrist, pulling me after him.

Hauled to the car, I found myself shoved into the back seat and immediately flanked by Yulia and Dmitri. The door slammed and Dublin appeared behind the wheel a heartbeat later. When he wrenched the car into reverse, it roared to life amid the squeal of skidding tires, jolting down the hillside. I looked back, and through the screen of green and swaying branches, I still saw the woman standing unmoving. Just watching.

Waiting.

You will come alone.The whispered promise haunted me, even as the dense forest gave way to lush, open fields and a gray sky.Or she will come to you.

* * *

The moment we returned to the cottage, Dublin pressed a cell phone against his ear and snarled commands into the receiver. From the general gist, I sensed a narrative along the lines of:get the goddamn plane ready,andleaving as soon as we can.

“Well, that was disappointing,” Dmitri remarked on a sigh. He forlornly removed his straw hat, but even he seemed unusually on edge. “But I agree that a retreat is in our best interests. One never meets alone with witches, or so the saying goes.” He cleared his throat, glancing in Yulia’s direction. Then he promptly turned away. “Well, Dublin, I shall assist you in making the arrangements. As always, I do believe my jet will suffice perfectly...”

He simpered after Dublin.

“Eleanor,” Yulia called to me with a strained smile. “In the meantime, we can catch up.”

“Sure.” I nodded, lowering my voice as she came to my side. “And thenyoucan tell me what’s really going on.”

She faltered and shot a nervous glance at Dublin. Thankfully, he was too busy issuing rapid-fire commands like a general to notice my attempts at subterfuge.

“As you wish. Come.”

I was hot on her heels as she entered the drawing room.

“Sit,” she called before disappearing through a doorway that I assumed led into the kitchen.

I sat, wringing my fingers. When she finally returned, she had a tray containing steaming tea in two cups.

“It’s a long story,” she warned as she settled onto a chair across from me. Her gaze cut to the doorway and she shuffled closer as Dublin’s shouting reached glass-shattering decibels.

“I think we have the time,” I said.

She nodded. “I do believe you’re right. Though perhaps I should apologize? I haven’t been the best company as of late.”

“I understand,” I admitted.

“Do you?” She laughed softly, shaking her head. “Even I don’t. It is strange how you can convince yourself for years that you can overcome any obstacle. But the second something unexpected arises…” She snapped her fingers. “You crumble.”

“You don’t have to talk about this,” I said.

“In a way it ties to your own dilemma,” she said, tilting her head thoughtfully. “They claim that there once was a witch who fell in love with a vampire, though he loved another. Even so, she was foolish enough, selfish enough, to give him whatever he wished…”

“And what was that?” I croaked, sensing her pause was my cue to ask.

Her gaze turned wistful, “A child with his lover. Anaturalchild. It sounds pretty melodramatic,” she admitted. “But love and devotion can be poisonous to your senses. Whilethatwitch perverted nature in her lust, I know of another who tried to kill one of the most powerful vampires in history by enchanting one of his tailored suits. Merely because her master commanded her to…”

Something in her pained tone made me suspect this other witch wasn’t some distant figure from her memory.

“You?” I whispered, hazarding a guess.

She nodded and averted her eyes to her teacup.

Which meant that the powerful vampire she tried to kill could only be…

“Dublin?” I asked out loud.