WyattOn the ride to the truck, I found myself gripping my chest, Beau with his head leaning against the window did the same, the pain scorched and burned and though I knew the heartache would always be there this was more than my own. Beau’s eyes squeezed shut and a tear fell. I glanced at Zoey keeping quiet in the passenger seat leaning forward as she wound her way around narrow streets.“Promise me you will watch over her,” I asked. Zoey glanced at me as I gritted my teeth against the pain blooming in my chest.“You have my word,” Zoey answered quietly. I gazed out the window unseeing as the streets of New Orleans passed by.“I know she loves you both, very much,” Zoey said, swallowing hard. This had to be hard for her, knowing what Bri was sacrificing, what we all were, and being the only one who knew it all. A lump had grown in my throat as I gritted through the emotions of this “separation” and took a steading breath.“If she ever needs us, we will be there,” I let her know as Z
Prologue BriMy fingers brushed the smooth stone of the mausoleum. The tips traced the words of the machine-hewn inscription. Sabastian Piere La’ Blanc, Dutiful Husband, Leader, and Humanitarian. The symbol of the coven etched beneath it. A coven raised within New Orleans meshing the world of cajun hereditary witches with the deep roots of voodoo practitioners. My fingers traced the dates from his birth to the day life ended in 1994, ten achingly long years ago. He deserved to have a craftsman etching his stone crypt, not some effortless, heartless machine, chiseling out empty words void of empathy. The pads of my fingers caressed each chip in the stone,I felt he deserved. There was nothing in the inscription, to note the little girl he left behind after his death. The only soul who still visited his grave every weekend, placing flowers in the vases at the door. The only one who still mourned his insurmountable loss. There is nothing here
BriThose memories haunted my mind from the tender age of ten when my life had turned into a real-life nightmare. My mother was a whirlwind who only existed in my world if she expected something from me or had some unknown tick that I set off without even trying. I was often ducking as she heaved whatever was closest to her at my head using her tiny little gift of wind manipulation. Her real gift lay in whatever magic she had used on my father. Anytime she thought I stepped out of line, there was a special kind of torture waiting for me. She tried to coerce my abilities to the surface. Goading me to reveal all of what I was, yet I held it all back and in the safe place within me where no one could see. Holding onto my father’s warning I would lay in wait, for the moment I could get away. Her recruits into my father’s once harmonious coven were shady at best, seedy was more like it, giving me voyeur vibes and prickling my skin with unease. I constantly pushed the extent of my power’s
BriA few weeks laterI was in countdown mode as I walked through the halls towards my literature class. I was playing through the motions of starting the fall semester like any other student. I didn’t need the credits, all of my transcripts, important bank documents, a few of my father’s prized heirlooms I had managed to snatch out from under my mother’s nose, and estate files were in a safety deposit box under a fake name. To be protected. My brain was too preoccupied with timing and checking off lists to see Andrew swoop in front of me and pin me to the wall around the corner. Trent was with him acting like it was normal for his boyfriend to pin random girls to the wall while staring at a billboard pretending to read it. We were directly under a camera. Zoe and I had mapped this place out and I knew all the angles of escape from their overseeing eyes. This was purposeful.Andrew didn’t want the binding, he and Trent were a known item. Trent didn’t know the extent of anything just th
BriA few hours later I ducked into the backroom of the coffee shop where I worked. I didn’t need to work there, I had enough deposited into accounts to keep myself stable for years, but my mother and the group couldn’t say no as things had to appear normal. To be honest it was the most normal thing in my existence. The feel and vibe of the place kept my magic subdued and the pot was an added perk. It was for my sanity. Maggie, my boss, sat in a chic fringe chair, with her legs propped up on her messy desk, pulling a joint from her lips she smiled holding in the smoke, and held it out in offering. I walked across the room and took it gratefully. One inhale and it felt like melding closer to earth which I craved. Passing it back I held in the smoke until my lungs burned, letting it out a haggard cough escaped me that nearly choked me. “What's with you today?” She eyed me. I had taken that hit rather aggressively I supposed. I perched on her desk. I still kept my eyes cast down but I shr
Bri“Hey, Mags?” I said with a heavy heart, as I wiped down a table after closing. She scowled at my tone, holding a finger up. She disappeared into the office coming back with a pipe. I sighed. Was I going to risk going home high? I was never sure who may be there or when someone would show up at the house, my family home, I had to maintain absolute control, but tonight I wouldn’t care. I plopped my ass in a chair and motioned for her to sit. She handed me the lighter and bowl, which I took from her. “You know how I've told you we are the same but different?” I said in a whisper of a tone, placing my finger over my lips and pointing to my ear, looking around in hopes she understood I meant to be vague. “I'm aware at this point Bri,” Maggie admitted. I sighed taking a hit. I exhaled and looked at her, the magic languidly rose within me, resting at the surface, which I chose to allow her to see. She deserved for me to be honest. Her eyes widened but she simply nodded before letting out
When I hit the call pad at the gate, my mother’s voice came across instead of the butler's. “Brianna come to the dining hall, we have to have a discussion.” Goddess! Couldn’t I at least eat a damn sandwich before having a conversation with her. No doubt it was about what Andrew did which he made sure Draven saw. “Fine Lorraine,” I said, I hadn’t called her mother in years. She tisked as usual, but pressed the button to allow me in. I walked up the long drive enjoying the plush gardens, taking the long way around the back through the kitchen, and grabbing an apple and slice of bread. I moved my way through the house to the dining hall and paused, all 4 of them were there, plus Trent. What in the actual fuck was this about. Boy was I glad I was high right now, I may get through the night without murdering someone. I’d have to remember to thank Mags later. I studied the seating choices. My mother, wearing a precocious red suit jacket with lips to match watched me like the Snake she was,
I had to let them think he incapacitated me. That kind of mind fuckery wasn’t something just anyone could snap out of and it did leave a fog behind as the slime of his magic pulled away. Disgust, humiliation, and loathing coursed through me. I pushed the rage down before I unleashed goddess knows what. I reasoned with myself, ‘You're almost out, Bri. Hold on. Just hold on.’I heard Draven chuckle, “I can’t wait to taste her, how was she Andrew?” He said with perverse excitement. As if that was ever going to happen. I refrained from letting my body react to the slime that dripped through me like a blanket of repulsion and dread. I opened my eyes just enough to see that Andrew was leaning forward, blocking his face. His elbow and forearm on the table, his cheek leaning into his hand, as he looked at Trent; who looked absolutely horrified as he mouthed something to him. Andrew ignored Draven’s taunt. Silas pulled me up by the hair at the back of my neck, bringing me toward his chest. The