Unraveled

here you are. Here I am. And it’s better than I could have imagined.”

He radiated such bliss, she couldn’t deny him. So she stood there, silent, shaking with the force of her curiosity and dread. One minute passed, two. Three, four. An eternity.

Finally, blessedly, his eyes opened. He frowned. “I shouldn’t be here,” he said. “He’ll probably punish me.” He laughed without humor. “Probably? He’ll destroy me, no question.”

“Who, Tucker? Talk to me!”

He licked his cracked lips. “I’ve come this far. I might as well just tell you, right? It’s…” A beam of sunlight hit his face, illuminating the dark circles under his eyes, making him look like the living dead. “It’s…Vlad.” His voice dipped into a tortured whisper.

“Vlad?” Her brow crinkled in confusion. “Vlad’s dead.”

He shook his head. “Not anymore. He’s very much alive. He called me while I was in the hospital.”

“Like, on the phone?”

“No. Inside my head. He called me, and I went to him. I couldn’t stop myself. He’s underground, in a crypt behind the vampire mansion.”

“Tucker, I—”

“No. Listen. He wanted me to watch Aden, to report what he was doing. And I—I did. Have. Will. He’s angry right now, Mary Ann. Very, very angry, and all of that anger is directed at Aden for daring to take his throne.” Tucker’s gaze darkened. “I don’t know what Vlad will do to him, and I don’t know what he’ll command me to do, but you should know that I’ll do it, whatever it is. I won’t be able to help myself.”

“This is—this is—”

“True.”

The implications of this were vast. Too vast. Too frightening. And, she thought, almost more than her already fragile state of mind could bear. “You have to tell the others what’s going on. They’ll—”

“No. No.” He jerked from her hold, backing away. “I won’t go near them. Not while they can see me, at least.”

“Tucker, please. They won’t hurt you.” She wouldn’t let them. “You have to tell them everything Vlad has said to you. Everything he’s asked you to do and everything you’ve told him.”

“No.” He gave another shake of his head. “You don’t understand. When I’m with you, I feel good. Normal. Happy. I can control myself. But when I’m with the others, I…can’t. I do bad things.”

“I’ll be with you. I won’t leave your side. I swear!”

“Doesn’t matter. Not when you’re with them.”

“Tucker. Please.”

“I’m sorry, Mary Ann. So sorry. Consider yourself warned.” He turned on his heel and ran off as fast as his feet would carry him.

TWENTY-FIVE

ADEN STOOD IN FRONT OF THE witch. She was sitting in the same chair as before, only she’d scooted herself across the room as she’d screamed about a drainer. She wore a blindfold, but this one was a different color than the one she’d worn before. Had she managed to destroy the other one? Why else would someone switch them?

Her ties were different, too. Had she tried to escape? Almost succeeded?

She was paler than before, her skin almost…yellow. Her cheeks were more hollowed. There was a brittle quality to her hair now, as though the strands had lost their shine and had dried into hay. Before she’d hummed with power. Now…not so much. She could have been a human.

The wolves had been caring for her, feeding her, that kind of thing. But she had to be uncomfortable. Miserable, actually. And he felt bad about that. He really did. He didn’t like that she was suffering, bored, stiff, uncertain, scared, but more than that, he didn’t like that his friends could die because of her and her kind.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” he told her gently. “I’m not going to drain you of anything.”

Her panting breaths echoed between them. “You’re the Summoner.” Even her voice was different. Weaker. Raspier.

“Yes.” If only he could tame witches with the same ease he tamed flesh-hungry beasts, none of this would have been necessary. “What are you so afraid of being drained of?”

Don’t engage her, Elijah instructed. Just do your job.

“Your blood?” he found himself adding.

Good going. Dryly uttered.

“As if you don’t know someone among you can and has—”

Riley entered the small room and propped himself against the closed door, snarling, “Quiet, witch. We gave you a chance to share. You refused. Now, you can deal with whatever’s done to you.”

Caleb, highly agitated since seeing the witch in such a weakened condition, prowled through Aden’s head, huffing, puffing, and now growling at the wolf. She can talk if she wants to talk! Aden, man, you can’t leave her like that. You have to save her.

What’s with you? Julian asked. Save her?

Look at her. She’s sick. She needs help. I know I helped come up with our current plan, but that was before I saw her like this.

“We’ll save her,” Aden muttered. “After.” So let’s get this done. He glanced up. Victoria stood across from him, behind the witch. “Ready?” he mouthed.

She nodded, expression tight with nerves.

“Save who?” the witch demanded. “Me? Well, that’s not going to save you. Not after everything you’ve done.”

Aden! You wouldn’t tolerate this kind of thing if your vampire girlfriend was the one tied up, Caleb said, unwilling to give up. Let the witch go. Now. Please.

Why do you care so much about this witch? Elijah asked. And really, even the others. From the time they approached us and cast their death spell, you’ve been as drawn to them as they are to Aden.

I don’t know, was the agonized reply. I just know I don’t want her hurting.

Aden suspected the witches were part of Caleb’s past. Plus, this witch had stiffened when he’d mentioned a guy who could possess other bodies. “Maybe we can find out,” he said. After all, he kinda needed Caleb’s cooperation for this. And he had promised to discover who the souls had been when they’d lived. He’d promised to help them with their final wish, to send them on, even if he would miss them terribly, even if he now wanted to keep them. “When we’re inside, we’ll search for information about you.”

“Inside?” the witch asked, struggling against her bonds. “What are you planning? What the hell are you planning? If you hurt me, my sisters will hunt you down and curse you with pain, such terrible pain. They’ll curse your family, too! Do you hear me?” Her chair rattled, bouncing up and down with her motions.

“I already told you, I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. But really, she’d already threatened to punish him no matter what happened, so her newest threat missed its mark.

I don’t know about this, Caleb said. What if we change her past? What if that change destroys her?

“We’ll be careful, but we have to do this. Tick-tock on the deadline, you know? There’s no other way.”

A pause, then, Fine. Do it. But don’t injure her in any way.

Aden took offense to that. “As if I would.” Not purposely. “You know me better than that.”

“Know you better than what?” the witch snapped.

Time to act. Reaching out, he removed her blindfold. She blinked against the bright light of the room, eyes watering, nose wrinkling, lips pursing. Aden cupped her chin and forced her attention on his face.