I scrubbed my hands down my face. He was right, but… “How did I not see it? How could I have been so blinded?”
I felt silly. I felt ridiculous. I thought she had magic. I thought I felt it buzzing and writhing under her skin. I could have sworn it was there.
“Do you want to talk about how you never told her that she was your wife? Do you want to talk about how you weren’t completely honest with her either? I don’t care about her magic or what you felt or blah blah blah. Get your head out of your ass and do your duty as the Voodoo King, and then come back here and look for answers.”
He was right. I straightened my shoulders. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I have a duty to uphold for my people, and I’m over here sulking.”
“You’re sulking because you put all of your eggs in one basket. You thought she was going to be the coven’s savior,” Louis pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I get it. but you have to try now that we are the closest with the spirit world and our magic is at its highest.”
I hung my head. Louis was usually the hot-headed one out of the two of us, and here he was giving me sound advice. Oh, how the mighty had fallen. Louis moved closer to me and slapped me on the shoulder. “She could still be our coven’s savior. You don’t know what she’s hiding in that mighty brain of hers.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Since when are you positive Patty?”
Louis cracked a crooked smile. “Last night was a good party.”
I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want to know about who he took back to his room. I was sure I wouldn’t approve.
“Let’s go prepare.” Louis opened my door and looked over his shoulder.
Just as soon asI thought I was getting somewhere… there was another dead end.
I returned all of the books I’d borrowed back to their appropriate shelves and stacked up all of my notes. My eyes were slightly gritty, and my stomach growled, but I needed to find Rune. We had to talk… about my magic… this apparent marriage and so much more. He needed to apologize, and I had things I wanted to say. I wouldn’t live with the silent treatment until he decided what he wanted to do. It would drive me insane.
With the stacked papers tucked under my arm, I barreled out of the library. I was a woman on a mission. Per the mass text I’dreceived earlier in the day, everyone would be preparing for the full moon on the west side of the compound’s grounds nearest to Bayou Saint John. That meant all of the halls were empty.
My footsteps echoed on the tiled floors as I marched around corners. Maybe today wasn’t the best day to confront Rune about everything I’d learned, but then again… Could it wait?
I rounded another corner and smacked into someone. Fingers tightened around my biceps as we both tried to right ourselves. Except when I glanced up, I came face to face with a grinning Babette.
“There you are, Maple, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Instead of letting me go, her grip only tightened.
Her nails dug in, just shy of drawing blood, and her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Something mean and gleeful shimmered beneath her polished exterior.
“I have nothing to say to you,” I said, trying to pull back, but she didn’t let go.
“That’s fine, I’d rather not talk for this.” Babette purred as her hand passed over my eyes, and darkness descended upon me.
My head wasa bit fuzzy when I came to, but that didn’t stop the curse of Babette on my lips as soon as my eyes flew open. I braced myself for an attack, but instead, I found myself in a shed that smelled like mildew and looked like it was on its last leg. One good storm and this thing was gone. We were in the middle of hurricane season, too. I went to rub my eyes, but thenI realized there was no way I could with my arms bound behind my back. At least I was propped up against the damp wall. The floor was spongy beneath my hands, and with every gust of wind outside, the structure barely holding on around me groaned.
I closed my eyes and shook my head. A murder shed? Really? Having magic would have been really good about now.
Panic scratched at the edges of my composure like a rat in the walls. My wrists burned where the rope bit into them, and my shoulders were beginning to ache from the angle I was stuck in. I tested the bindings, twisting my wrists just enough to feel the give, but there wasn’t any. Whoever tied this knot knew what they were doing. Probably magic-enhanced, because you couldn’t take any chances with witches— I assumed. They had no idea I was a null. They would take every precaution necessary, I was sure.
The door creaked open a moment later, a beam of dull gray light slashing across the mildew-stained walls.
“Well,” Babette said, fake cheerfully, stepping into the doorway with a shrug of her perfectly tailored coat. “You’re awake.”
“No thanks to you,” I muttered, straining to sit up straighter. “What is this? Some sort of unhinged ex-girlfriend revenge plot?”
Her smile tightened. “Oh, Maple. You always think it’s about Rune.”
I blinked. “It’s not?”
She stepped inside, letting the door creak shut behind her. I fought to get a glance at the outside world and noticed two gangly men standing guard, but that was it. “No, darling. You’re just the unfortunate final piece in a very long game.”
That got my full attention. The fine hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I needed to keep her talking. The more she talked, the longer I had to figure out how to get out of this mess.
