15

We made our way to the Ricard Mausoleum on foot. I wanted to race, utilizing my super speed, but the witch couldn’t have kept up, and she wouldn’t be carried. Instead, she insisted on leading.

“Where are we going?” I fell into step beside her, keeping my voice low as we stuck to lesser-known streets.

“Out beyond Holy Cross, to one of the oldest cemeteries. No one will bother us there.”

“Good.” I nodded. “But I wish you’d let me carry you, witch, so we could move at speed. We’re not exactly unobtrusive here in New Orleans, even where it’s quiet.”

I cast a watchful gaze around.

“It’s going to be a long night, but I have my own protection and my own strength. I’ll get you to the cemetery, I’ll open the portal,” she said. “You will have one hour. No more, no less. But that’s all I can hold the portal open for. Temple has told me where the girl is, and I can give you precise directions through the home.”

“And how do you know about this portal?” I asked a question I didn’t expect her to answer, but she surprised me.

“I created it. I’ve created many a portal over the years. Or even a basement where none should exist in this water-logged ground.” She cast a sidelong glance at me. “Dead man’s blood can even be supplied for the appropriate f*e. I have a lot of things I’ll do for the right money.”

I sighed. I could only imagine the price tag attached to a double-cross.

“Or the right person,” she added but said nothing more.

 

   

Hours later, when the sky was already considering lightening again, we entered the old cemetery. Grass grew waist high in some parts, and the old tombs were cracked and broken. A large mausoleum stood directly ahead, looking like a small house. A fence of wrought iron encircled it, and it had a small door I’d need to stoop to pass through.

Lettie raised her hand and pointed with a trembling finger. “The Ricard family resting place. That’s where the king lies in his stasis. We ne need to go inside without triggering the warning spell.”

“How long will he sleep?” Jason approached and asked his question, his voice pitched low.

Lettie waved her hand in a gesture of uncertainty. “Possibly fifty more years. That’s what legend says, but it could be longer. The old man is weak, made weaker by his mad bloodline.”

“Can you lift the warning spell?” I asked.

She looked at me, her mouth twisting briefly, her eyes lighting with amusement. “Child, I wrote the spell book. But we should wait to enter until the sun appears over the horizon. The king is vulnerable in his stasis and daylight weakens him further.”

I nodded my agreement, and we retreated to the shadows to wait out the rest of the night. Leia roamed my thoughts, her image teasing me. I should have protected her better.

“I warned her, you know.” Lettie spoke closer to me than I expected. “I warned her to stay out of the shadows, but apparently she can’t resist you.”

“It’s mutual,” I breathed, confessing far more than I ever planned to. “She’s the bright flame that tempts me.”

“As I thought,” the witch murmured. Then she moved toward the mausoleum. “It’s time.”

As one, we moved behind her, passing through the door when she opened it, and silently stepping only where she directed us to step.

She walked to the far wall of the space with quick, efficient strides, much different from the woman who had trudged here on increasingly slow feet.

She stood, back turned to us, and raised her arms, and energy seemed to crackle through the air, lifting the hair at the back of my neck and prickling across my skin. A low murmuring filled the space, and I glanced at the king, finding him still peaceful in his repose. Lettie’s chanting grew louder until it seemed to echo off the walls and thrum in my blood, but still he didn’t wake. Then a patch of the old stone seemed to almost melt and spark before purple fire blazed against the wall, and Lettie stepped back.

“The portal.” She gestured to it. “I can hold it for one hour only. Move quickly to retrieve your female.”

The oval purple fire shifted and moved, revealing shadows and faces with each flicker, and part of me reared back. There was a reason I employed witches only for the purposes of strengthening my wards, but I had no option but to trust this woman.

“But Temple hasn’t sent the signal yet.” This rescue mission was no good if we wasted our time waiting to know if Francois had left.

Lettie smiled, her uneven teeth reflecting the eerie, flickering purple. “Three, two, one…”

Kyle reached for his phone and checked it. “Temple just texted,” he confirmed. “We’re a go.”

“One hour,” Lettie repeated as she sank into a crouch against the smooth stone wall adjacent to the portal. “I will keep my hold on these spells for that long only, then I’m closing the portal, raising the warning spell, and leaving. I won’t wait around, and I won’t look back.”

I nodded. “Agreed.” If our mission took longer than an hour, I’d burn my way from the house, because I wasn’t leaving New Orleans without my mate.

Kyle glanced at me then strode forward, vanishing through the portal. Sebastian went next, then I followed, and lastly Jason.

We were going to retrieve Leia, and no one would stand in my way.

5

Leia

I

 got it now. True, fear-induced panic felt cold. It was bone deep. No wonder it had always frozen me recently, making me almost unable to move in situations where I had no control and the monsters were coming.

Well, the monster was here.

And he was creeping closer. Francois had escorted me back from dinner, but his touches had lingered even longer than usual, the pressure of his fingers against me more proprietary, his deep, inhaling breaths over my hair lasting longer.

He was clearly crazy. Clearly stepping up whatever plan he had in mind for me.

My stomach flopped over, and I regretted the food I’d eaten at dinner.

But survival.