Destined (War of the Covens 2)

Lucia snorted. “Am I the only one confused?”

She was met by a chorus of nos.

Julia wandered cautiously back to her mate. “Dimitri, would you care to tell me what’s going on?”

His gaze was firmly locked on Ryder, and Jaeden began to worry for his safety. “Dad, maybe you should let go of Ryder.”

“Dimitri, tell me.”

“Dad—”

“Dimitri—”

“Ryder!” Her dad yelled, causing Ryder’s eyes to widen and then wince as if waiting for the blow. The only one he felt was the huff her father expelled before releasing him with a beleaguered sigh.

He knew.

How did he always know these things?

“Ryder here is going to ask our permission to court Jaeden. They think they’re mates,” Dimitri finally said.

Everyone exploded into conversation, except Reuben, who actually appeared to be watching on, fascinated. That confused Jae, who would’ve thought the reminder that she belonged to someone else would piss him off. However, he didn’t look at all bothered, merely bemused by the ruckus her family caused.

She didn’t have time to ponder how weird that was because Julia and Lucia hugged her, exclaiming happily. Her father and brother, on the other hand, glared at Ryder like they wanted to rip off his head. She couldn’t leave him there to stand alone. It wasn’t right.

She marched across the space to take hold of Ryder’s hand. He nodded gratefully and squeezed tight. “This isn’t exactly going to plan,” he murmured, even though everyone could hear with their supersensitive ears.

Jae chuckled humorlessly. “Nothing ever does.”

13

The Proposition

Strange how over the last few days, she’d become something of a favorite at the Center, and with that newfound status, her loneliness had only intensified.

After one young magik approached Caia on a dare, and then been surprised and relieved to find out how friendly she was, word had spread that the half Midnight in their midst wasn’t actually the daemon they’d thought. Gradually, others had come forward to talk with her, and now she found herself with a constant cloud of groupies under her feet.

The silence here was particularly wonderful.

She rested her head against the pew she crouched in front of, hidden from anyone who decided to enter. Desperate to breathe air that others weren’t sucking out of her immediate vicinity, Caia had remembered Marion telling her about the altars. Maybe she should’ve paid a visit to Artemis, but she’d found herself entering the quiet marble sanctuary of Gaia instead. This was the goddess who’d made her existence possible, after all.

There was no doubt in Caia’s mind that in this place of worship, Gaia could hear her. But what was there to say? She had only questions that required answers and being trapped on Mount Olympus kind of cut off Gaia’s vocal cords here on Earth. If Caia wanted something, perhaps then Gaia could see that it was done, but what she wanted even Gaia couldn’t give her.

Not being able to confide in anyone had brought on a fresh wave of grief over losing Sebastian. If she’d been given the chance to tell Seb she thought Midnights might not be so bad after all … he’d have believed her. No questions asked.

A flash image of him lying on the truck bed with his stomach torn to pieces, telling her he loved her, burned behind her eyelids, and Caia felt her chest tighten around her lungs. She found herself dragging in air just to catch a breath.

Sebastian.

She choked on a sob, clasping her hand against her lips to quiet the sound in the peace of the altar. What she wanted was her friend back, the most loyal friend she’d ever had, but Gaia couldn’t give her that. And truthfully, she didn’t deserve him back. She was failing miserably at whatever it was the prophecy said she was supposed to be doing.

She’d begun to fail when Sebastian had drawn his last breath.

Prying open her eyes, Caia slowly lifted her eyes to the marble statue of Gaia that presided over the altar in its center. Her face, though cold to the touch, was lit with a warmth that should have soothed a desperate soul. Instead it only frustrated Caia more. Gaia’s eyes bored into her with a mix of sympathy and impatience.

“Tell me what you want from me.”

“You know, there was once a time the goddess herself would have answered you.”

Caia gasped in fright and looked up from her crouched position to see Vanne staring down at her.

“You scared me.” She drew in a shuddering breath as she clambered to her feet. Even when Caia was standing, the elder magik towered above her with almost as much intimidation as Lucien.

His mouth quirked into a small smile, his eyes soft on her. “I’m sorry.”

A moment of awkward silence ensued.

Vanne cleared his throat and glanced from her to the marble statue. “I didn’t mean to disrupt … I like to come in here and gaze at her when things feel …”