Ethan takes the weird-looking sword from me, inspecting the hilt. “It would be so fucking hot to see you holding a flaming sword.”
“Not helping,” Nik chides.
“Right.” Ethan gives me back the sword and motions to the coffee table. “I had a suggestion on the circle that will make it safer for you.” We go back to the couch and Hunter lets me know someone is here.
“Sam?” I question, going to the living room just in time to see a truck pull onto the driveway. Ethan joins me and we exchange confused looks.
Ethan opens the door, waiting for Sam to hurry down the cobblestone sidewalk. “What the hell, Sam?”
“You wouldn’t answer your phone and we have to talk,” she presses. Her cheeks are slightly flushed like she’d been arguing with someone.
“I told you now isn’t a good time,” Ethan presses. “We’re dealing with something here.”
“Patrick is dead!” She jumps up the porch steps. “They found him burned to death in his house this morning and Steph is about to formally accuse Anora of his murder.”
Chapter
Seventeen
“But I don’t even know where he lives! ” I blurt, saying the first thing that comes to my mind. I stop in the foyer, staring at Sam. My heart jumps to my throat. Murder? Me? No, there’s no way. I’m not a murderer and I know I didn’t give off that vibe. The only reason Stephanie would accuse me of something like that is because I’m a witch.
“That doesn’t matter,” she says, blowing loose strands of hair out of her face. She’s wearing black athletic pants and a crop top with a baggy unzipped hoodie overtop. It’s the first time I’ve seen her in anything other than jeans and flannel. “She knows you have fire-magic and she saw you and Patrick arguing.”
“I wouldn’t really call that arguing,” I immediately counter. “The guy is a dick but—oh shit.” I let out a breath. “I see how she’d jump to that conclusion. What are we going to do?”
“I’m going to tell her this is a bunch of fucking bullshit,” Ethan growls. “What the fuck is she thinking?” He goes to storm out the door but Sam stops him.
“Slow down. David and Julia are trying to talk some sense into her right now. I tried calling you but you wouldn’t—” She cuts off when something swoops down from the roof. Ethan grabs her arm and pulls her in, slamming the door behind her.
“What the hell was that?” Sam turns, looking out the window next to the door.
“The reason I didn’t answer the phone.”
“It’s an incubus,” I tell her, my head swimming. After days of feeling weak, sick, and tired, I realized a demon is after me—again. And now I’m being accused of something horrible, and something that will cause problems way beyond myself.
Because I’m an active member of the coven now, and if the Order goes after me, they’ll have the Grand Coven to answer to.
“An incubus,” I tell her.
“How the hell did you get an incubus after you?” Sam pushes her blonde hair back, shaking her head in disbelief.
Ethan flashes a cheeky grin. “I’m very, very good at satisfying—”
“Ethan!” I hiss, elbowing him. “Really?”
He innocently shrugs. “I can’t help that I’m basically a sex god.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Sam sighs, tossing her head back. “We have two serious situations here and you’re bragging about your sex-skills?”
“Just be glad you don’t have to listen to it transpire in real-time,” Nik quips, leaning over the couch in the library, hardly able to see us in the foyer.
“Is that the druid?” Sam asks, voice low.
“Yes,” I say. “That’s Nik.” I bring a hand to my head again, rubbing my temple. My heart speeds up and my throat feels tight. What the hell am I going to do? Can I get a supernatural lawyer to prove my innocence?
“Hey.” Ethan’s hand lands on my back. “It’s going to be okay.” He pulls me in for a hug, knowing how overwhelmed I feel right now. An incubus is preparing to rip me apart and eat my insides. Something is killing hunters. And I’m public enemy number one.
“Two feet apart.” Nik flits over, using a pencil to push us away from each other. Letting out an annoyed sign, Ethan drops his arm from around me and steps back. “Good evening, milady,” Nik says to Sam. “It’s nice to make your acquaintance.” He extends his hand. “I am Nikolai Petrov, from the Petrov clan, on my mother’s side, that is.”
Sam shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m…I’m Sam.”
“Just Sam?” Nik brings her hands to his lips, kissing the back of it.
“Technically, it’s Samantha.”
Is Sam getting flustered? Nik lets go of her hand and bows. Yep. She is getting flustered. Ethan cocks an eyebrow and inches forward.
“Sam is my sister,” he reminds Nik.
“Ahh, so I’ve heard,” Nik goes on. “What a prolific hunter you are, and I must say, we need more female hunters. I remember back when Estelle le d the first meeting calling other witches to action to put their powers to good use and kill as many demons as they could summon.”
Sam’s cheeks start to flush even more. “It’s a very male-dominated career, if you can even consider it that.”
“Well, I admire you, so very much.” Nik is still holding her hand and slides his finger over her pulse point. “I do hope you plan on staying here with us. I’d love to get to know you better. You might very well be the first female hunter I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with.”
“Dude,” Ethan huffs. “And she doesn’t swing your way.”
“I haven’t suggested anything.” Nik lets go of Sam’s hand and holds up his in a sign of peace. “I’ve merely stated my admiration for trailblazers.”
“Relax,” Sam huffs, glaring at Ethan and then shakes her head, remembering we’re very much fucked right now. “Okay. One thing at a time. The incubus. It’s on your roof.”
“Right.” Ethan nods. “We need to take care of that first.”
“Because if it does end up killing me, it won’t matter if I’m accused of murder,” I grumble under my breath. “Did you see it?” I ask Sam.
“It was a flash of gray, almost like a big bird swooped down but the eyes were red. And it wasn’t a bird.”
“Fuck. It’s here, in our plane.”
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Ethan tries. “If it’s here we can kill it.”
“It’s not always here?” Sam questions as we move into the library.
“It flits between our plane and the astral plane,” I tell her. “But the more energy it takes, the stronger it becomes until it’s host , I guess you could say, is too weak to fight and the incubus eats its sex organs.”
“Gross.” Sam makes a face of disgust. “And if it’s not here?”
“Then it’s only a matter of time before it comes back and takes more of Anora’s energy and attacks at some point.”