Page 22 of Discord and Cinder (Fire Witches of Salem #7)
DISCORD
I stilled, bracing myself for Cinder’s hysteria. Her independent nature, tenacity, and wit…the very things that intrigued me most about this woman…were soon to be the reason for her unraveling.
She blinked, her gaze darting back and forth between the seer and me, a mix of incredulousness and disgust widening her eyes and curling her lip. “Excuse me, I’m his what ?”
The seer grinned, and if she wasn’t a supposedly benevolent being, I’d have knocked the smug expression from her face. “You’re his soul bride. His life mate. His wife eternally.”
“Wife.” Cinder nodded, and for a moment, I thought she might accept the union. Then she shot to her feet, knocking her chair over as she stood.
“His wife?” she nearly shrieked. “You finished what I began?”
She shook her head, lifting a finger as if to speak and lowering it again before pacing to the hearth and back to the table.
“I didn’t form the blood bond on purpose.
I battled a hellhound to get his skull, and I was bleeding when I picked it up.
That’s it. That’s how I began this bond, but you knew that, didn’t you?
You knew it was an accident, and you went ahead and finished it anyway. ”
“Must I remind you that you would both be dead otherwise?” The seer stood and tucked her chair beneath the table, the demonic side of her voice overpowering the witch. “You gave no stipulations in your request.”
Static electricity gathered around the seer, and I could feel the fire crackling in Cinder’s soul as she stepped toward her, sparks gathering on her fingertips.
As much as I would have enjoyed watching the two of them battle, I had to put an end to the conflict before my nature added fuel to their growing flames of dissonance.
“Now is not the time for hysterics.” I rose and righted Cinder’s chair. “I need you both to calm down.”
They snapped their heads toward me in unison, both of them narrowing their eyes as if I were the one to blame for their disagreement. For once, I’d had nothing to do with it.
“Never tell a woman to calm down,” Cinder said, her expression as icy as Medusa’s serpentine stare. Oddly, it stirred something deep inside my soul.
“Indeed. You haven’t seen hysterics yet.” The seer tilted her head, arching her brow.
I closed my mouth and forced a neutral expression. I’d rather take my chances with the hunters than endure the wrath of two powerful women.
“So you can agree on something,” I said against my better judgment.
Cinder licked her lips and nodded, her fiery energy cooling to a simmer. “I suppose.”
The seer crossed her arms. “Make your request and leave. I have a succubus on her way for a prenatal exam.”
“Hecate,” I said.
“No.” Cinder held up her arm and gestured to my mark. “Undo this. I get that you had to forge the bond to keep us alive, but now you can reverse it. I can’t be married to him. I refuse to be his bride, his soulmate…his anything. I’d rather dig my eyes out with an ice cream scoop.”
A strange pang formed in my chest at her words. Was I really that revolting? Did she not share any of the attraction I felt to her?
I furrowed my brow. Attraction or no, Cinder was right. This union had to be dissolved. I had two more stacks of ashmarks in my pockets. If my witch wanted to free herself from me, who was I to stand in her way? I could pay for Hecate’s location.
The seer laughed, half-symphony, half-cacophony. “Only Hera herself can annul a soul bond, and good luck convincing her. She rarely intervenes where fate is involved, and she never makes the journey to Hell.”
“But this was forced,” Cinder said.
“It would not have taken hold if there wasn’t at least a small shred of love between you.”
Cinder barked a laugh. “Love? I’ve known the man all of five minutes, and he’s been on my nerves every second of it. Can you believe this?” She looked at me, expecting me to confirm the absurdity of the idea.
I could not. “Love might not be the right word, but I cannot deny I feel something akin to fondness.”
She crossed her arms. “Well, it’s one-sided then.”
“Are you certain you don’t have the power to reverse the union? At least the second half of it?” I tugged a stack of ashmarks from my pocket. “For a price, of course.”
The seer licked her lips as she eyed the cash. “As much as I would love to take your money, I cannot undo it.”
“Show us Hecate then.” I returned the bills to my pocket.
“No, that’s a waste of money,” Cinder said. “I can scry for her myself. Give me the grimoire he paid you with last time, and we’ll be on our way.”
“Deals in the Underworld are binding.” The seer strolled to a bookshelf and ran her fingers over the grimoire’s spine. “The book belongs to me now.”
“But it’s been in my family for decades.
” Cinder turned on her persuasive magic, her energy shifting, her aura taking on a regal hue as she straightened her spine and lifted her chin.
“Surely a being of your power could scan the pages and take in all its secrets. You won’t need to reference it again, so what’s the point in keeping it? ”
The seer’s resolve wavered. She nipped her bottom lip between her teeth and reached for the book, hooking her finger over the top and pulling it from the shelf. Resting her right hand atop the cover, she stroked the embossed fire sigil before flicking her gaze to Cinder.
“Nice try, but as I said, deals in Hell are truly binding.” She returned the book to the top shelf.
“And before you ask for Hecate again, I have scried and searched every day since she disappeared. If I knew where she was, I’d have talked her into returning centuries ago.
Lucifer has been as ornery as a hellcat with a bur in its ass since she left him. ”
“I noticed,” I said. “He blames me.”
With the women’s tempers settled, I returned to my chair and peered into the cauldron. Green and brown crushed herbs floated atop a clear liquid, appearing as mundane as a peasant’s stew.
“Of course he does.” The seer sat next to me. “The loss of the amulet was Hecate’s last straw. Goddess forbid he take responsibility for everything else that led up to her departure.”
“And now there’s a price on both our heads.” Cinder joined us at the table. “Can you show me where my parents are? They’re the reason I came here in the first place.”
“Have you not scried for them?” The seer waved her hand over the cauldron. “You seemed certain you could locate Hecate with your magic. Why not your parents?”
“I haven’t exactly had the time…or the supplies.” She gave me a pointed look.
After Lucifer’s game of cat and mouse at dinner, being hunted by those who should be my subjects, and a sudden soul bond with a witch who both intrigued and infuriated me, I had forgotten why this entire ordeal had begun.
“Finding your parents is the least of our concerns. Seer, if you can’t find Hecate, at least show me where the amulet is.”
“No, I need to find my parents.” Cinder glared at me. “I’m the one who overpaid for your life.”
“You overpaid with my money.”
The seer sighed and rose. “You have five minutes to agree upon your request. After that, the overpayment will suffice for this colossal waste of time.” She returned the cauldron to the fire.
Cinder leaned toward me, lowering her voice. “I’m the only reason you aren’t still wasting away in your dark prison. I get to decide, and I want to see my parents.”
“What good is finding your parents when I’m the only one who can break your family’s curse?”
She sucked in a sharp breath, her mouth opening and closing twice before she spoke, “Look, I know you want to find your brothers and the stupid amulet, but my parents are suffering. Let me rescue them, and then I promise I will help you free your brothers.”
“Are you forgetting about the price on our heads? The moment we leave this cave, we’ll be hunted. I have no doubt the archer who shot you was Seraphine, and she toyed with us like a hellcat plays with a rat before devouring it. Next time she aims, her arrow will pierce your heart.”
“She won’t get the chance again.” She angled toward me, her knee resting against mine. The contact made my abdomen tense, but if it affected her in any way, she hid it well.
“You argue as if you’ve been bound for centuries. Here.” The seer dropped a leather sack onto the table in front of Cinder. “Scrying supplies and a cloaking potion that lasts five full minutes. It’s already activated, so either of you can use it. Take it and be gone. My appointment has arrived.”
“Fabulous.” Cinder glared at me and snatched the pouch before retrieving her backpack and shoving it inside.
“Come in, child.” The seer waved her hand in front of the curtain, allowing the pregnant succubus entrance. The bones rattled, and the seer gasped.
I grabbed Cinder’s arm, shoving her behind me as Bedlam entered the room.
He gripped the back of the succubus’s neck with one hand and pressed the tip of a jagged, twelve-inch blade against her distended belly.
Tears stained the woman’s cheeks, and her lower lip trembled as he positioned her halfway through the curtained opening.
“The seer’s property is neutral territory,” I said, widening my stance and straightening my spine.
He laughed dryly. “It’s only her property if she’s alive.”
“No!” Cinder darted from behind me as a poison-tipped arrow whizzed through the curtain. She grabbed the seer around the waist, tackling her to the floor, but she was too late. The arrow had pierced the seer’s heart.