Indigo Spell (23 page)

“She was a woman.” Tess spun around, enunciating each word as she pressed her back against the railing. “You have ten times her power. She didn’t stand a chance against you.”

He moved forward, muscles rippling beneath the soft silk of his robe. “Then she shouldn’t have made the challenge.”

“She was trying to protect her sister.”

“Athena did not require her assistance. That’s why my brother was there. Braeden would have intervened before I could hurt Athena. Arista didn’t know that but I can’t be held responsible for her lack of knowledge. She attempted to take my life. I responded in kind. And now you expect me to regret that I’m more powerful, better able to protect my family? Am I supposed to apologize because I succeeded where Arista failed? Had I not awakened tonight, the curse would have been complete. The witches would have succeeded in their mission and our child, any future child, would have been lost to us.” Jaxon whirled around and took hold of her shoulders. “You summoned Falcon.”

“I called to him, yes. I didn’t know what else to do. I hoped I would reach him in time to prevent you from killing Arista.”

“He would not have stopped me.”

“He’s your leader.”

His hand tightened on her arm. “And Falcon knows the consequences for challenging a wizard. A witch alone cannot win against one of us. Arista knew that. She chose to place her life on the line by using her magic against me.”

Tess shook off his hands to move farther back into the shadows. “And for that, she had to die, right?” She gave him a scathing look he felt down to his bones. “Your leader awaits you.”

“He awaits both of us.”

She turned to look back out into the blackness. “I don’t want to see him.”

“You called to him. He has responded to your request.” Jaxon took two steps toward the door of the bedroom, stopped and held out his hand. “We must go.”

She stood her ground for a few seconds longer before she gave in and walked past him. “Fine. We’ll go in but don’t expect me to forget this, Jaxon.”

Falcon greeted Tess and Jaxon in the hallway en route to the living room. They joined Braeden by the French double doors. “Braeden has informed me that Arista is dead. The witches will retaliate.”

Tess struggled against her temper. “That’s it? A woman is dead and all you can say is the witches will retaliate?”

The leader lifted one eyebrow, sweeping a glance back and forth between the wizard brothers. “You expect compassion for those who would try to end our existence?”

“I don’t know what I expect from you. I certainly didn’t expect my husband to commit a murder a few feet away from me.”

Jaxon’s jaw clenched. “It was not a murder, Tess.”

She held up one hand. “I’m sure you’ll call it justifiable homicide or whatever terminology you wizards use but in my world, it’s murder.”

Falcon surveyed her for a long moment before responding. “Regardless, the witches will seek revenge.”

“Athena saw the challenge.” Jaxon placed his hand at the small of Tess’ back but she moved away from him, out of his reach. He frowned, slanting her a glance, but he allowed the separation. For now.

She came to a stop by the grand piano. Her words were colored with bitterness, her eyes downcast. “You were trying to kill her sister. What was Arista supposed to do, believe you would have enough compassion not to complete your task?”

Eyebrows lifted, Braeden and Falcon exchanged glances. “Perhaps we should discuss this at daylight.” Falcon made the suggestion with a slight inclination of his head toward the window.

“That sounds like a plan.” Braeden followed their leader to the window, paused long enough to rest his hand on Jaxon’s shoulder. “I wish things could have turned out differently.”

“I did what I had to do, what any of us would have done in the given situation.”

“We shall meet at dawn in the Assembly room.” Falcon directed his gaze toward Tess. “You are more than welcome to join us.”

Her head shot up although her face remained expressionless. “I think I’ll pass. I believe I’ve seen enough magic to last me for the next year. And,” her eyes were cool when they came to rest on her husband’s face, “I don’t need to hear any more of Jaxon’s explanations. He can justify murder but I can’t.” She pushed away from the piano, walked past him out of the room.

“She will not forgive so easily.” Falcon’s observations weren’t required. Jaxon nodded his head anyway.

He kept one eye on the doorway through which his wife had disappeared. “Falcon, there’s something I must do with Tess. It’s important.”

The leader didn’t dispute the obvious. “The witches will need time to regroup, possibly call in other covens to join with them before they make another attack. I will postpone tomorrow’s meeting but forty-eight hours is all the time I can give you.” He paused. “Do you actually have a plan?”

“Part of one. I’ll just have to wing the rest of it.”

One bushy white eyebrow arched. “Wing? Wizards do not wing, Jaxon. They prepare.”

Jaxon sighed. “Not once they’ve married a mortal.”

* * * * *

“We’re going back to South Carolina.” Jaxon’s words snapped Tess to attention. She came up off the bed, stood with the backs of her knees bumping the mattress.

“What are you talking about?”

“You need to see your family and friends again. I should have taken you back before we married.”

She wanted to kick him and wondered if wizards bruised. “You regret marrying me because I don’t agree with you?”

He came to her side instantly. His hands took hold of hers. “No. Never. I only meant that you should have been able to see your family, to tell them you were getting married. I’m sorry.”

Oh, the wizard was good. His charm was potentially lethal, designed to disarm her, take her mind off Arista’s demise. She tugged her hands out of his and walked around the bed. “Jaxon, I don’t know if I can accept what you’ve done.”

“You don’t have to accept it. It’s happened. It’s over. We move on.”

Her temper rose, obscuring logic and reason. “And that’s it? A woman is dead and you think we should just move on. How convenient. It must be nice to be so powerful that the loss of a life is insignificant to you. Where I come from what you did is murder.”

“We aren’t living in your world, Tess.” The words snapped out, surprising her. She’d seen his anger before but never directed at her. His eyes glittered, lips pulled tight, revealing disapproval in every nuance of his face.

“Don’t think you can intimidate me.”

“I’m not trying to intimidate you. I’m trying to make you understand that when you married me you left your world behind.”

She propped her hands on her hips. “If that’s the case, why are you taking me back to South Carolina?”

“So you can say goodbye.”

The words created a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Goodbye? Are we going somewhere?”

He raised a hand as if to touch her then dropped it back to his side. “Yes. We’ll have to move to the Assembly’s citadel, at least for a while. While we wait for the Coven’s attack, we must be together, to ensure the combination of our strengths.”

Weariness crept into her voice. “Where exactly is this citadel anyway? I mean you always blink me there. Is it on the mountain too?”

“Not this mountain but a mountain, yes. We should go.” He held out his hand, waiting patiently for her to take it.

Tess continued to watch him, wanting more of a response to her question, needing more. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“There are many things I cannot yet tell you.” Jaxon continued to hold his hand out to her. “You should not worry about those things which have not come to pass.”

The words were boldly spoken, rang out with the deep authoritative voice of power. Yet she heard more. She looked beyond the chiseled features, the face of the man she loved. Underneath the masculinity, the raw power, she saw the agony, the pain over what he had done just minutes earlier. And the fear that she might not be able to accept it.

That trepidation compelled her to reassure him, though her anger still simmered. “I love you, Jaxon.”

His features softened. “I know, but I am an enigma to you. In time, you will learn to trust me.”

“I do trust you. I just,” her shoulders lifted in a helpless shrug, “don’t know if I want to know everything you do, at least not now.”

He didn’t wait for her to take his hand before reaching and clasping his fingers around hers. “We need to leave. Although Athena will be with her sisters now, she’ll be watching for an opportunity to avenge Arista’s death.”

“You said Athena saw the challenge. I thought that meant she wouldn’t retaliate.”

Jaxon wrapped his arm around her waist, drew her to his side. “Witches always retaliate, honey. It’s what they do.”

“Can they find us in Charleston?”

“They won’t know where to look and in answer to the question you’re about to ask, witches cannot track us.”

“Not even with a crystal ball or something like that?”

Jaxon smiled and touched the tip of his finger to her upturned nose. “Not even with a crystal ball or something like that.”

* * * * *

Colleen Montgomery glared at Tess with more than just disapproval. Fury glittered in her hazel eyes and the longer she stared, the more uncomfortable Tess became. Her high heels made tapping sounds against the marble tiles as she paced from the foyer to the living room, pausing to cast an icy glance over her shoulder every few seconds.

“Mother, why don’t you just say what’s on your mind?” Temples throbbing, she tried to massage away the ache. Why in the hell had she asked Jaxon to drop her off alone at her mother’s house?

“Do you have any idea how irresponsible it was for you to take off like that without telling anyone? I had no idea where you were, if you were safe.” Colleen made the most out of her acting abilities, dabbing at her eyes with a cream, linen handkerchief.

“I called Belinda, Mother. She knew where I was or at least who I was with.”

“Yes, she told me all about this Jaxon Richards. What I want to know is who is he? You never mentioned him to me, not once, which leads me to believe this is some sort of clandestine affair of which you are ashamed.” Colleen shuddered. “I cannot imagine what must have been going through your head. Did you not take into consideration the feelings of your family, what this might do to the family name?”

Tess snuffled a giggle and wondered what her marriage to a wizard would do to the good ole family name. It was true the Montgomery family was a force to be reckoned with in Charleston but she doubted it would compare to the force of the Assembly. She pictured Colleen’s faint, a perfect imitation of an overwhelmed lady of old. “Mother, this wasn’t something I planned.”

Colleen’s chin couldn’t have lifted any higher. “That much is obvious. And where is this…this…man anyway? If you have not come to your senses and dumped him, I demand to meet him at once.”

“You will meet him and I didn’t dump him. In fact I married him.” She could have been more delicate, could have worked up to the marriage part but she knew her mother, knew that Colleen was working herself up into a full-fledged temper tantrum. And Tess figured the best way to head her off at the pass was to use the shock factor. It seemed to work. Colleen stared at her, mouth open, eyes bulging.