Page 13 of Lunar Desires (Celestial Magic #2)

He sat next to me, gazing up at the ceiling.

“They came to the mansion about half an hour after April and Alice left to pick you up. Insisted on coming inside because they had reason to suspect sacred witches were there.” He rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know how they figured us out. Anyway, Erin agreed, and this fucker called Stefan came waltzing in like he owned the place, loaded with questions. ”

“Stefan? As in Stefan Rushden?”

“That’s him. He wants to talk to us together.”

With Isaac not being a native of Coldharbour, Stefan Rushden wouldn’t necessarily be on his radar.

As Coven Inquisitor for my hometown, he was responsible for getting to the truth, the head of all High Coven investigations. A formidable figure with a dark reputation for using severe torture, hellbent on eradicating shadow magic.

Damn. Did we have to speak with him? And why was he here? Because this was Coldharbour-related?

“After your soul bond plucked you out of the car,” my brother added, “he ordered us into vans and brought us here. Think you scuppered his plans.” He chortled as if it were a win.

“Oh.”

Isaac wrung his hands together. “This is bad. Inquisitors are never fun to be around.”

“Stefan being one of the worst,” I said.

“Lovely.”

“It’ll be okay,” I answered, trying for a positive spin but not really believing my own words.

Hecate only knew what was in store for us.

“Erin said it would be better to cooperate,” Isaac said. “Because of Stefan’s truth magic.”

High Coven inquisitors had an extra spell in their bangles. A version of a truth potion specially designed for them to find any lies. Erin was right to want us to cooperate. Stefan would see right through any fibbing.

Damn.

“If they wanted to hurt us, they wouldn’t have let me use my power on Drake,” Isaac added. “That counts for something, I suppose.” He snorted. “You should’ve seen Stefan’s face as he watched me do my thing. I swear I saw drool.”

I laughed as my brows pinched. “What happened to the cloaking potion?”

He swept his arm at the room. “Something inside this tower bypasses it.”

“Okay.”

The High Coven weren’t in possession of the formerly lost anti-cloak spell which Rhianna Kingwood had given us to witness a shadow witch ritual on the beach, but they still had the right tools to get to the truth.

Ugh.

“So, what happens next?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. They confiscated my phone, told me to wait here.”

“Oh.”

Isaac nodded, heading for the window. “We have to trust in Erin.” He sighed. “Fuck. What are we going to do? What if they forbid us being…us?”

I chewed on my bottom lip, scratching my left palm. I was totally lost. Would the High Coven shut us down? If so, in what capacity? Would they bind our powers, lock us up? Punish us?

I put this to Isaac.

That got him pacing. “There’s got to be a way out of this. We can kill shades, they can’t. Maybe we can come to some sort of deal.”

Which reminded me. “Did the cannon go off around those tunnels?”

“Yep. About fifteen minutes late. Not that it mattered in the end.”

Damn things were in desperate need of an upgrade, delays in firing were becoming a problem.

I guess we were an upgrade, but we couldn’t patrol Earth kicking shade backside, no matter how cool that sounded. Anyway, the threats we were meant to deal with flocked to Coldharbour, the city being an apocalyptic magnet as well as a sacred place where Hecate blessed the first Auroras.

“What do you think?” Isaac asked.

“About a deal?” I answered. “I don’t know.”

Did the High Coven make deals? They swept to power after the Battle of Coldharbour Downs, taking over every government across the world. We were all under their regulatory thumb.

Three Aurora brothers meant sacred witch blood was relevant again after forty years. If we were ever thrust into the limelight, then the High Coven would soon find themselves in a pickle.

So would we.

Oh, God. The thought of being a celebrity like Juliet, Janet, and Jonathon filled me with dread.

Fame corrupting us, history repeating itself within this new generation.

I mean, Isaac was already famous, but Preston and me weren’t.

At least I didn’t think The Star was some famous guy hiding in plain sight.

Hmmm.

I liked to think I knew myself well—warts and all. That I understood my soul deeply enough to know I wouldn’t let anything go to my head. Only, I wasn’t so sure with these new violent urges.

Dammit. I slammed on my mental brakes, in no mood for a spiral.

I drew some deep breaths, doing my best to calm down.

“What about Alice and April?” I asked.

“Ordered back to the mansion.” Isaac stuffed his hands into his pockets, rocking on his heels with his focus still on the window.

The door opened, two witchcops striding inside.

I popped off the bed, tensing up, prepared for drama.

“Follow us,” the woman on the right commanded.

The woman on left snapped her fingers, taking point. “Move it.”

With my belly doing somersaults, I followed, my brother right behind me.