Witch Bound (Twilight of the Gods) (15 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Fen was actively avoiding her. So was Christian. Somehow she was sure that he knew something had changed between them and was giving her time to reconsider making any drastic decisions. He didn’t drop by at all the day following the surge, only left a message on her phone that he was busy with the hunt, preparing for a possible crossing. Instead of Christian or Fen or anyone that she wanted to see, Raquel found Lois waiting on her doorstep after lunch. The witch pushed her way inside without waiting for an invitation.

“You look like crap, and we have work to do.” Lois handed her a box of supplies. Angelica and wolfsbane by the smell of it, among other things. “Are you certain you’re up to helping? Aiden said you volunteered, but I’d just as soon you finish with your wedding plans. Until you learn a little control.”

Kathy, who’d arrived an hour earlier, came up behind Raquel and took the box from her. “She’s tougher than she looks, and Audrey was kind enough to take over the details of planning for the ceremony.”

There’d been no gainsaying her sister. A natural organizer, Audrey had been itching to take over the wedding plans from day one. Raquel would have let her if she hadn’t needed the distraction—and if she hadn’t been afraid that Audrey would go overboard. Now...she didn’t think there would be a ceremony, but she couldn’t very well call it off without speaking to Christian first, her parents and Aiden. Her father and Christian’s mother, two of the people who’d signed the original contract, weren’t even in town yet.

Lois hmphed. “Kathy asked that I meet you here, but I don’t know that I have all of the supplies we’ll need.”

Kathy, already heading for the kitchen, called over her shoulder. “We won’t need much for this.”

Lois started down the hall after her and—because she had to—Raquel brought up the rear. She could already feel a headache looming. Kathy put the box down on the island and smiled at Raquel.

“I want to see what she can do and, really—” she waved her hand at the box, “—these are just crutches for us. Someone with Raquel’s kind of power should be able to cast the whole spell at once without anchoring it piece by piece.”

Lois’s lips thinned. “I think we all saw exactly what she’s capable of. Most of those are supplies to build a strong enough circle to provide a safety net this time.”

Kathy gave her an enigmatic smile. “You won’t be able to hold her back for long.”

Raquel gave Kathy a warning look that went ignored. She knew her mentor well enough to recognize the glint in her eye. Bad blood there. Raquel didn’t know the history of it, but she didn’t want it coating her walls.

She stepped next to Lois. “Thank you, Lois. I appreciate it.”

Lois glared at her suspiciously. Raquel wanted to say more, tell her that she wasn’t mocking her, that she wasn’t after her job, but she could feel the weight of Kathy’s attention. Before she could think of anything to smooth over the moment, Lois was slamming the front door on her way back out to her car.

Raquel swung on Kathy. “What the hell was that about?”

“I knew her daughter, Jamie. A good kid. Lois pushed and pushed at her until she ran. She’s a bully, Raquel, plain and simple. And there’s only one way to deal with someone like that.”

“Be a total ass?”

Kathy had the good grace to blush. “You can’t let her steamroll you.”

“Have I done that? But I need to work with these people too. You saw what happened when I tried going out on my own.”

“You broke your block.”

“I almost broke the town.” Raquel held up a hand to stop Kathy from arguing. “I should have had another witch there. You know it, and I know it. Whether I like it or not, I have to work with Lois and I have to learn to trust her.”

“Trust her? She’s not like me, Raquel.”

“I know that.”

“And you need to watch your back.”

Raquel grabbed a cup from the dishwasher and set it on the counter. “I’m not giving her my back. I’m keeping her right beside me.”

Kathy’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and Raquel poured some coffee. If she could mainline caffeine right now she would do it. Sitting on a stool across from Kathy, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about Jamie? What happened to her daughter?”

“Lois was infertile, which is why they drew up the contract with your parents in the first place. Jamie was born to a runner smart enough to recognize the power in the baby but not selfless enough to rejoin a clan if she didn’t have to. She gave the witchling up for adoption and Lois took her in. Jamie ran five years ago when she was seventeen, and I haven’t heard from her since.” Kathy gave a slight shrug. “I didn’t know her very well, only met her at a few workshops. The one thing that struck me was how different she was from her mother. I always hoped she’d meet someone from one of the other clans so she could escape.”

“But it didn’t happen.”

“Oh, it happened.” Kathy scowled. “She bonded a hound from the Pennsylvania clan and when Lois wouldn’t release her, Jamie left.”

Raquel stared, horrified. “Left? You mean she left Ragnarok.”

Kathy shook her head sadly. “She left the clans. Her clan. Her mate. Everything. She’s a runner. No one knows where she went.”

“Why would she do that?” It was as good as a death sentence. Runners tended to have short life expectancies. True-blooded Æsir couldn’t live very far away from the faults. They needed the magic that seeped over from Asgard to survive. The more diluted with human blood your ancestry was, the farther from the fault you could get. Grace was the child of runners and she’d survived for years. But it was impossible to predict how much the distance would affect you. For a powerful witch to become a runner was unheard of.

“You know as well as I do that it happens. Neither Odin could convince Lois to relinquish her claim. Hounds can’t leave the pack they’re born to, and Jamie wouldn’t have been able to live there without her mother’s approval.
Their
Odin couldn’t have allowed her to stay without Lois’s permission. And...she ran.”

Raquel stared at her cup, thinking of Fen. She’d heard that about hounds, that they couldn’t leave their pack. She’d always wondered if that was a hard-and-fast rule or just another tradition that had never been challenged. Before she could work up the nerve to question it, the front door opened again as Lois returned.

Grimly, Kathy set down her cup. “Time to get to work.”

* * *

Christian felt a sense of foreboding when he heard the car pull up the driveway. Whether some part of him recognized the motor, or if he’d been waiting for this moment for the last two days, he didn’t know.

He should have gone to her sooner. She was to be his wife. Instead, he’d let himself get caught up in the demands of preparing his riders for another crossing into Asgard. He’d been working with Aiden to make sure the horses and all of the equipment were ready. He’d just returned to Aiden’s house after driving into Decorah to pick up another Skimstrok blade and Sarah’s repaired armor.

He could have found the time to see Raquel. He
should
have found the time.

He liked her. He’d thought what she’d done the other night, breaking through her block, ripping her talent from fate’s hands, had taken guts. She had a shy sort of innocence that he generally avoided but found incredibly appealing. He liked Raquel a lot.

Fen loved her.

Sheathing his sword, Christian left the old barn the clan used as a training building and crossed the yard to greet her. She turned around, surprised, when he called her name.

“I didn’t see you there.”

“I was going to give Carston his weekly lesson, but he’s running late. Again.”

Her nod ended with her staring at the dirt. The light fringe of bangs she usually pushed to the side of her face fell to shield her eyes. “I’ve been working with Lois and Kathy. We think we have the wards stable. I’m going to wait to replace them until after you cross through. I want to tighten the portal if Aiden’s okay with that.”

“People won’t be able to access their magic as readily or go very far from town.”

“You don’t think he’ll go for it then?”

Christian shrugged. “He might. Especially if it’s temporary. You’d probably get hit up a lot more often for people wanting to hop around to visit the other clans. It gets claustrophobic otherwise.”

“I’d be fine with that.” She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and then, as if it took an enormous act of will, finally met his gaze. “I want to go with you when you cross.”

“To Asgard?”

She nodded.

“No,” he said far too sharply and gentled his voice. “It’s too dangerous and there’s no reason for you to be there. Rane can—”

“I know Rane can show you where he’s being held. You don’t need a Norn, but you do need a witch. I can break his bonds and get him across if he decides to come with us. You don’t know how the portal will react to that.”

“Aiden won’t allow it. He won’t allow anyone who hasn’t been properly trained to ride with the hunt, even on this side.”

“What about—”

“Grace was the exception he made when his daughter’s life was at stake. It was the hardest decision I’ve seen him make.
I
don’t want you taking that risk.”

“It’s my decision.”

That statement had land mine written all over it, so he sidestepped. “It’s Aiden’s decision.”

And he’d do everything in his power to make sure Aiden said no. If it came down to a choice, he’d rather slit the Vanir witch’s throat than let Raquel take that kind of risk. This Kamis wasn’t worth it.

“Fine,” she said, gaze cool. “I’ll talk to Aiden then.”

“He won’t be back until later tonight. If you want, I’ll call Carston and cancel his lesson. We can grab something to eat and come back here in a few hours.”

She looked torn. He realized with a rising sense of panic that it was the date with him that made her hesitate. The silence sat between them, and then stretched. She was going to ask why he hadn’t checked on her after her injuries, about the wedding and the contract...his feelings. And he didn’t know what to tell her. He wanted to keep her. He thought, with time, that he could win her affection and possibly her love. She was his, and he didn’t want to give her up. He knew he was screwing this all up and didn’t want to fail.

He adjusted his body so he blocked some of the wind from her face. As much as he liked the wild way her hair danced in the breeze and the flush it brought to her face, he wanted to protect her too. A hound would be totally wrong for her, even Fen. “Is your leg okay? Your...chest?”

He let his gaze linger there as if he could determine that for himself through the layers of clothing she wore.

“I’ll have scars, on both. My leg is still sore. Alan couldn’t heal that one.”

“Can I see them?”

Her eyes dilated. “Christian...”

“Some other time? Maybe somewhere not quite so cold.”

“We need to talk.” His heart sunk. “Not at a restaurant though. Is there someplace else we could go?”

“You could come to my house.
Our
house. Gods, the timing couldn’t be worse. Raquel?” She shifted uneasily. Christian took a step closer and she looked up, smiling nervously. He cradled her jaw. “I promise, when this is all through, we’ll take the time we need to get to know each other before the ceremony.”

She nodded and bit her lip.

He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “This will all be over soon.”

Another tight nod. Bending his head, he kissed her, fast enough that she couldn’t easily pull away, gently enough that if she wanted to say no she could. She stiffened but accepted the kiss. She wouldn’t do that if there wasn’t a chance, right? And if this was just cold feet, only a decision to be made, why shouldn’t it be him?

The prophecy, the contract, both of their clans depending on its fulfillment. She was his even as he was hers. Always had been. It was possible that he was a bastard, but he fought for what he wanted to possess. If Fen really wanted her, he would fight too. He wouldn’t skulk around in the shadows avoiding them both. Fen wasn’t taking a mate—he’d never wanted one. In a strange way, Christian was helping. Saving Fen from himself and protecting Raquel at the same time. He’d take good care of her, make it work.

She made a small sound of distress and his heart clenched. Cupping the back of her head, he deepened the kiss, using every ounce of skill he possessed to tease out the desire he
knew
was there. She turned her head. His fingers flexed in her hair, wanting to pull her back. Her breath was shallow, her parted lips flushed, and the look in her eyes was miserable.

Damn
. A cold weight settled in his stomach and he released her hair, let his hand slide over her shoulders to rest on her back. Her jacket was far too light for the weather today. He could feel her trembling.

Reluctantly, he straightened. “Let’s go get some food and then we’ll talk.”

The longer he could keep her from the talk she was so determined to have with him, the better his chances.

* * *

Fen stopped at the edge of the woods and watched as Christian swung an arm around Raquel’s shoulders and pulled her in tight. She didn’t look like she was breaking off their betrothal. Raquel smiled and tipped up her face. Christian lowered his head—how could he resist?—and took those lips, that smile,
her
. For a moment, Fen thought she might pull away. But what the hell would it matter if she did? She could reject Christian. Fen thought that she
should
reject Christian. But even if that happened, Fen couldn’t claim her. Raquel deserved better than a man who couldn’t put her first, who didn’t want children, had trouble with crowds and had never even kissed a woman.

Fen swallowed a growl and told himself he should turn away.

But he didn’t. He watched Christian lead her away, back toward her car, watched the taillights until they turned onto the gravel road. He shifted and retrieved the clothes he’d stashed on the back porch. Grace hated that he dressed in the cold. She’d wanted to put in some kind of dog door, but he told her he wouldn’t use it if she did. So she’d screened off part of their back porch where he and the crows could change in privacy. There was a little space heater in there, and she must have seen him come in because it was running now. He unplugged it and headed for his bike.