I worked until it had exhausted me, and eventually, I hiked up the stairs, and entered Amara’s room instead of mine, staring at the empty bed. Beside it was a picture of her and me sitting on the altar outside.
I picked up the picture, staring at the eyes that smiled at whoever had taken the picture. In it, Amara’s eyes had dark shadows, while mine reflected the light. It wasn’t a reflection or result of the lighting, it was something else. I also noted something standing in the backyard—no, not something, someone. A man stood on the far border of the property, covered in shadows that made him seem as if he belonged to them. He watched us, but even in the distance where he stood, I could see the smile that curved his lips. Weird.
I set the photo down and moved out of the bedroom, closing the door behind me before entering my room and changing into a thin nightgown. It was the hottest month of summer and having no power sucked.
Chapter 20
I awoke in the middle of the night to a sound downstairs. Standing from the bed, I wiped the sleep from my eyes. Something smashed against the wall, and I frowned. The noise came again, and I started moving without grabbing my robe as I took the stairs two at a time, coming down the back staircase.
I noted the candlelight illuminating the grimoire room, and I slowed my breathing, stepping closer to the crashing sounds and staring at the back of a woman. She turned, screaming out a spell. I thrust my left hand forward, deflecting her spell from hitting me, as my right hand lifted, forcing her to hover in the air.
“What are we looking for?” I lifted a brow as I stood in the doorway, watching her while she flailed in the air. “You know that you’re in the House of Magic, and Hecate witches have no mercy, right?” I dropped my finger, slamming her against the floor before lifting it, causing her to hover in the air again.
“You’re one of them, traitor! You don’t deserve to hold the grimoires of the Nine Realms; they belong to all witches, not just the Hecate bloodline! You will all suffer painful deaths for your betrayal.”
“I have betrayed no one.” I shrugged, watching her bounce off the floor again before lifting my finger to hold her with my magic. “Who sent you here?”
“Freya has disowned you as her daughters. She told me where to find her family’s home, so I could take the grimoires and restore them to their rightful owners. She told us it was unprotected, and that you’re all worthless sluts who can’t cast to save your hinnies.”
“Hinnies?” I scoffed, laughing at her as she waved her arms helplessly in the air. “What the hell is a hinnie?”
“You little bitch, you will pay!” Her screaming cracked as she bounced off the floor again, hitting the desk, which unseated a few books and sent papers across the floor.
“You know, it actually sounds like something my evil bitch mother would do. Sending some wannabe witch into our home to take grimoires she’s very aware cannot be removed. The book you’re holding, it can’t leave the house. Period. Not even if the House of Magic is down and exposed. Here, let me show you,” I stated, turning with my finger in the air, forcing her to follow as she continued to hover, waving her arms while holding on to the grimoire for dear life.
The moment we reached the front door, I used my other hand to open it with magic and sent her sailing through the opening. She exploded, and yet the grimoire fell to the ground without a single drop of blood marring the leather-bound cover. I whispered a spell, cleaning up the blood before it even touched the wood and grinned wickedly.
I exhaled, lifting my stare to glare at Knox, who watched me from the porch where he leaned against a column, his arms folded over his chest and his slut at his side. I smiled coldly, lifting my fingers to slam the door closed in their faces.
Trekking into the kitchen, I fixed my mess of a hairdo and grabbed the dirty pail of water before heading back to the front room to find Knox and Regina inside the house. Regina held the grimoire, turning the pages as her hand glowed blue. I dropped the pail of water and grabbed her with magic, holding her against the wall while I held my hand out for the book, catching it without releasing my hold on her.
“That isn’t yours,” I hissed, holding the powerful grimoire. I watched her for several satisfying moments until the hold I had on my magic vanished, and a smile curved Knox’s lips.
“Play nice, ladies.”
“Get out of my house.” Dismissing them both, I moved back toward the room, housing the ancient books of spells and magic. Inside, I touched the grimoires the other witch had piled on the desk, looking around it before I whispered a spell to stack the books back in their places, only for nothing to happen. I exhaled as sweat dripped down my neck.
Bending down, I picked up the pages that had been strewn about and set them in a pile, standing to put them back into the drawer when I was grabbed and pushed toward the desk. My leg hit it, and I cried out, grasping my leg while angry eyes locked with mine. My chest rose and fell slowly with anger, and yet Knox didn’t speak while he hungrily took in the tight nightgown clinging to every curve from the sweat that coated my skin.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, little girl?” He released me, standing back to take the mess in.
“I believe I dismissed you,” I stated, turning around to open the drawer while dropping the papers back into it.
“Pouting?”
“What would I have to pout about?” I ignored him, continuing to take my frustration out on the mess while doing my best to ignore his overpowering presence.
“How about the fact that you were about to ask me to fuck you this morning, and then I scared you off?”
“No, you didn’t scare me. You saved me from making a huge mistake, probably the worst mistake of my life. I should be thanking you, but I just don’t like you enough to be that civil. You need to leave, though. Take your whore with you, Knox, and get out.”
“As of now, Aria, nothing in this house is off-limits to me, or anyone I bring into it. That includes you,” he snapped, forcing me to turn toward him.
“These are Hecate bloodline grimoires, and no witch may take them out of this house, or even look at them unless we say so. You want to peek through them, fine. She touches one, and I will make her explode, slowly, so she feels every fucking moment of it before she detonates. And, Knox, thanks again for stopping me from the biggest mistake of my life.” I exited the room and slammed the door behind Knox the moment he was out of it. It sealed shut behind me, and I smiled victoriously.
Even without the power of the house, the power of a goddess sealed the door once it was closed by one of our bloodlines. It had been sloppy to forget to close it earlier, but then I’d been tired and searching through grimoires for the blessing. It took a lot out of me since I was still drained from scrubbing every inch of the main level of the mansion.
“Night, jerk.” Chuckling softly, I took in his glare when it landed on the door as gold and silver magic locked the bolt into place. The sound of deadbolts sliding home within the door was comforting as the tick in his jaw began hammering.
“Where the fuck do you think you are going?”
“To bed, alone,” I said, not bothering to stop as I climbed the steps for the ninth time today. By all rights, I should have a banging ass by morning.