Page 132 of The Omega's Bloodlinem: Part Two

“Why is she so strong?” I asked.

“Combination of being from a very powerful line and being extremely dedicated to her craft. Plus probably a few illegal things along the way. I wouldn’t put anything past her at this point.”

“What kind of illegal things?” Seth inquired.

Sharla hesitated, sharing a look with the others before responding. “Based on what you described, we’re pretty sure she was casting love spells on you, which is a huge violation of free will and banned by the Council.”

Holy shit. So Seth didn’t run away with her by choice?

“We don’t know exactly what was in the tea,” Sharla continued, “but since she was pairing them with charms, I’m going to assume the tea was to make you more susceptible and the bracelets bound the spell to you. Did she do the same to your brother?”

“Not that I know of.”

Caden groaned, slowly sitting up. “She didn’t, unless she was also using something to alter my memory of her doing it.”

I leaned against him, offering my support while he oriented himself, hand pressed to his forehead.

“Explain this like I’m five,” said Caden. “I don’t have the brain cells for anything complex.”

Cecily nodded sharply. “We’re pretty sure that when Heather felt like she failed in healing the rift using you, she moved on to Seth but employed banned magic to sway him. The fact that she used that magic at all, let alone that she wasgroominghim to make it easier for herself, will probably get her bound.”

Caden turned to Seth, a tsunami of anguish and regret flooding the bond. “I’m sorry.”

Seth stared, misty-eyed, at his brother.

“She cost us all those years,” Caden whispered. “It wasn’t even your fault and I blamed you this whole time.”

“It’s not your fault either,” Seth said softly. “I blamed myself too. I never really understood why I’d done it, but I knew that I had, so I accepted you hating me as punishment.”

I brushed away the tears sliding down my cheeks. Rachel had cost all of us. If we had known, maybe I wouldn’t have had to saygoodbye to Seth for years, keeping him at a distance even when I knew down to my soul that he was supposed to be with us.

Did she even care about the damage she had done? It seemed equally likely she had simply moved on with her life.

Footsteps thundered down the hall and Anya burst into the room, breathing hard. “Holy fucking hell, I do not recommend speeding on the interstates with an invisibility spell on your vehicle so you don’t get pulled over. Saves you from the cops, but I feel like I almost died about thirty times.”

She barreled straight for me and yanked me into a hug.

“Hello there,” I said with a light laugh, squeezing her in return.

“I was already on my way. As soon as we got off the phone, I packed up and got in the car. It’s nice to see you in person, but I’m sorry it’s under such terrible circumstances.”

“We survived, so it could be worse.”

With a snap of her fingers Anya summoned an ancient tome, ink bottle, and beautiful glass quill. “Let’s get the Council stuff out of the way. I’ll be taking statements from everyone as soon as they’re in a state to do so. I’ll start with the witches, give everyone a little more recovery time.”

Another finger snap had a bubble popping up around Kyoko and Rachel that blocked all sound and obscured our view of them.

“Don’t mind that,” Sharla said. “Statements have to be taken in privacy to ensure there’s no coercion happening.”

Anya paced around the bubble. “The book takes notes itself, and the ink is charmed in preparation for the truth spells.”

“I’m going to snoop,” Cecily announced. “Pretty sure I saw kitchens on the way in and I need a snack.”

“I can show you,” I offered. Caden’s grip tightened on me and I turned to kiss his cheek. “I’ll just be a few minutes. I think we could all use some sustenance.”

He reluctantly let me go, and Cecily looped her arm through mine.

Once we were out of earshot and on the elevator, she turned to me. “What was it like in a shifter nest?”