“Just tell me,” I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest.
A door slammed above us, making us all raise our eyes to the dark wood ceiling. Footsteps clunked across the floor, the sound leading to the top of the stairs.
“Stay up there!” Xvair shouted, causing the footsteps to halt. “I’ve got company!”
Tension grew in the air as the footsteps paused before retreating. My gut rolled as the strong smell of leather crept up my nose.
“That’s your son, isn’t it?” I barked, trying to free my feet from the dark stained wooden floor.
My heartbeat pounded in my ears as Dave started to struggle next to me. Our feet wouldn’t move, and as I lifted my arm to attack our captor, he clicked his fingers. Our arms suddenly pinned to our sides, making it impossible for either of us to cast magic.
“Your father was actually saving your mother,” Xvair said as he got up from his seat, came around the front of his desk, and leant against it. “My elder son was betrothed to your mother before your father came along and stole her. He was best friends with my son, knowing full well that he was supposed to marry your mother.”
Staying quiet, I glared at him, a part of me wanting to shout him down, kill him and capture the serial killer. Another part of me wanted to hear the story that my mother refused to tell me. This was the part in books where I usually lost my temper at the protagonist. Stupid woman too curious for her own good. Now I felt what it was like being in their shoes. Ugh.
“You might as well tell us your story.” Dave’s words were followed by a heavy sigh.
Inclining his head, Xvair stared between us. “Well, I hope you stem whatever is blossoming here.” Gesturing between us, he growled low in his throat. “I will not have another of my sons usurped by the woman he’s supposed to marry.”
“Supposed to marry?” Swallowing hard to prevent the torrent of abuse that wanted to purge from me, I almost choked. “No one owns me.”
Waving away my protest, Xvair shook his head gently. “Your father took what belonged to my elder son. In turn, he then wanted money from me to fund his lavish lifestyle. We decided to place a bet. As a very old man, I have to find my thrills where I can. You were barely a toddler when he gambled you away. When he lost, I deemed the payment quite apt, especially as he’d raised the stake in the game of poker. Your firstborn to be given to me when my son impregnated you.”
“You sick bastard!” Okay, so being professional was overrated. As if I was going to let him spew shit about a child I hadn’t even conceived. Not only that, I was a free woman.
My shout made the man jump, but he just chuckled to himself. About to hurl viler language his way, I paused when Dave cleared his throat roughly. Glancing at him, I took several deep breaths and calmed. Apparently, a flick of his eyes told me that I should stay silent. He obviously wanted me to let the man talk.
“It’s good to see you have spirit. I despise dull women who are too scared to challenge their husbands. My son needs a little bit of a tough hand, as you can tell from his misdemeanours. I’ve tried to stop him, but he insisted that he wanted to get your attention. I take it that he has it, considering you’re standing in his home?”
“I see that psychopathy runs in the family,” I quipped, unable to help myself.
Rolling his shoulders, Xvair closed his eyes for a second.
Dave wiggled his fingers to get my attention. A flash of a tiny blue spark caught my eye as it left his finger. Ah, he still had his magic, and being an illusionist witch, he might be able to use his magic through the binds that tied us. Whereas my magic was connected to the ley line, which currently ran cold under my feet. The man’s protection spell made it almost impossible for me to link to my magic.
“I will not allow someone to take what is mine. At the end of the day, your father did me wrong. He repaid his debt, but also used you as a pawn to clear it fully. The firstborn was an added bonus because he thought he’d be able to persuade me to let him have access to my immortality spell. Obviously, he was never going to win that bet.”
“I must admit,” I said almost conversationally to Dave. “I wouldn’t want to be alive if I were you. Your body is extremely decrepit.”
His smirk made my skin crawl. The jibe hadn’t affected him at all, which was worrying. He really was a cold hearted evil man.
“It is for now. However, as soon as you deliver me your son, I shall take his pure Essex blood and retrieve youth once again.” The creases in his face almost flapped as he threw his head back and laughed.
Fucking hell, he’d just revealed his secret. And it sickened me enough to make me almost heave. My urgent gaze sought Dave’s as he clenched his fists. A mist of thick red smoke descended on us all, blocking our view of each other.
“What the...?” Xvair gasped, his breath uneven as the smoke evidently went into his lungs.
Coughing myself, I bent low to the ground, trying my hardest to connect into the ley line at the same time as not inhaling Dave’s illusion smoke. The connection was made, the impact of my energy with the line making me dizzy. The house had some weird shit going on.
“Don’t you dare!” the vile man shouted, even though he couldn’t see us. “Lucien! Get down here!”
Nope, the magic wasn’t forthcoming, which
