Sinful Magic (22 page)

The dragon wouldn’t claw Roxy, Key was sure of that. She’d gentled him with her soft words and touches. But somehow, someway, they’d still destroy her.

They always did.

Roxy shifted on the couch, uncomfortable. Connecting with Dyfyr and experiencing his thoughts and emotions had made him even more real to her. And then there was Kieran—sharing comfort and pleasure in the shower with him deepened her restlessness. She felt unfinished, fractured, like all her pieces weren’t fitting together correctly. Her schema heated, pinched, settled, then did it again, like hot flashes. Her womb ached, her chakras twisted.

She needed Kieran’s touch. But when anyone else touched her, it felt like sandpaper.

She, Darcy, and Carla were going over what Roxy knew, trying to see if there was any merit to Key’s theory about Liam and fertility blood.

“Dyfyr is angry about his witches. Kieran believes he’s been drawing Dyfyr’s fury when Liam kills a fertility witch.”

“What do you mean, ‘his witches’?” Carla asked from the chair on her left. “I saw the way Dyfyr responded to you, but what’s his connection to all fertility witches?”

Roxy hesitated, remembering her mother’s insistence that the story was sacred. But these witches were trying to help her, asking nothing in return, unlike her mother. She’d had to demand the information from Gwen, and it was very likely her mother had lied. If she’d been involved in that spell with Kieran, then she had to know about the Dragon Tear, since Kieran’s mom had it.

God, if her mother really had done this, would Key blame Roxy? She wanted to tell him her suspicion, but now that she’d seen, really seen, what was happening to Key and how worried his friends were that he’d go rogue, she was afraid. Her first priority was to save his soul.

What if he refused to bond with her? Just

left her.

Like her father. Tears filled her throat. For the last thirteen years of her life, her dad had been her rock. He’d loved her, never walked out

“Roxy?” Darcy put her hand on her arm. “What’s wrong?”

She sucked in a breath. “Sorry, I, uh, I got fired. By my dad. Today. Because I chose magic.” Shut up! They didn’t want to know this.

Darcy gently squeezed her arm. “I’m sorry, Roxy. That’s just cruel.”

“Maybe he’ll change his mind with a little time,” Carla suggested.

“Thanks. My mom said emotional swings were normal as I Awaken.”

“She’s a fertility witch, too? It runs in families?”

Here. Now. She should at least tell them her that her mom, Gwen Banfield, was actually known as Silver in the Circle Witches. Her mother fought the soulmirror witches for power. Gwen was bitterly jealous that the Ancestors had chosen Carla as the Moon Witch Advisor over her. She should tell them that much! “Yes,” she said. Fear made her palms sweaty, and she just couldn’t do it. Not right now, so she went on with, “Our creation as witches is different from yours,” she said. “You all came from a process of evolution, exceptional mortal women who began reincarnating. But we came from Dyfyr bestowing magic on his lover.” She recited the story as her mother had told it to her.

There was a moment of silence as everyone processed what it meant.

Then Carla repeated part of the tale:

Laid her on the sweet grass

And gave her true magic

Her dragon loved her so

He bestowed his magic kiss

“That’s why fertility magic is based in sex magic,” the witch said. “Dyfyr bestowed the power during sex, and became the creator of fertility witches.”

Ailish spoke up from the other side of Darcy. “No wonder Dyfyr is pissed. Some asshole is killing his witches.”

“Dyfyr has homed in on Liam, too,” Darcy added. “I get that the dragon is connected to his fertility witches, but he also seems connected to Liam.”

Axel came up the stairs and strode to the back of the couch. He put his hands on Darcy’s shoulder.

The witch leaned back, and he kissed her.

Roxy looked away from the easy intimacy of the two soul mirrors and then felt the shift in the room.

Kieran.

Turning, she saw Key, Phoenix, and Sutton walk up the steps and crowd into the media room. Four large men took up a lot of space. Phoenix moved to Ailish at the other end of the couch, and Sutton walked over to Carla.

Axel kept his hand on Darcy and said, “We are going out to do a little recon. And Sutton needs to look at Key’s loft to redo that alarm system.” He looked around at all of them. “Will you be all right?”

A knot formed in Roxy’s stomach, and her schema itched violently at the idea of Kieran being too far away. Too far to Awaken her magic.

Darcy answered, “Yes.”

“What’s wrong, Roxy?” Key’s voice came from her left shoulder.

She was so startled, she jumped up and turned to face his cool gray eyes. “You scared me! I didn’t hear you move.” He was three feet in front of her. Pulling herself together, she said, “Nothing’s wrong. We’re just going over information, trying to figure out the blood-born thing. I told them how Dyfyr’s connected to fertility witches.” She stopped babbling.

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re tense, jumpy.”

Hell, yeah, she was tense. She wanted to throw herself at him. Beg him to make it stop! Make the pounding, dark, writhing need stop. It felt like her chakras were too full; she was jumpy, irritable, and horny. She hated feeling so out of control.

Carla said, “Key, you’ve drawn Liam for years, even when you thought he was dead, right?”

He pulled his gaze away from Roxy. “Yes.”

“Why did you think he was dead?” Sutton asked.

“I killed him. Or thought I did.”

“Explain,” Axel said.

Key glanced at her, then sighed and said, “After I ran away, my father sent rogues after me. He thought if they beat me up enough, I’d go running to him. The bastard was delusional. Anyway, I learned to fight and eventually started killing the rogues.”

“Then drawing their deaths and sending the pictures to his father,” Phoenix said. “The stupid bastard didn’t get the message. He sent Key’s uncle to force Key to talk and reveal where he’d hidden the Tear. And when Key killed him, his father came after him.”

Roxy stared at Key’s cold, blank face. His own family. She knew how she felt at her father’s rejection, but she was an adult. Key had been tormented all his life. How could they do that? Her magic swelled in an effort to get to him, to stop his pain.

“Liam?” Axel prodded.

“He was smarter. He figured out that physical pain wasn’t going to get me to tell him where the Tear was. So he went after someone I cared about.”

Her chest hurt. Oh dear Ancestors, he’d said he loved a woman once and that she’d died. “Kieran

” she said softly.

He ignored her. “I tracked him, we fought, and I stabbed him in the heart, cutting out a piece of it when a swarm of rogues showed up. I fought my way through them and got the hell out of there.” He ground his jaw. “I thought he was dead.”

“Blood-born,” Carla said. “It has to have something to do with fertility witch blood. Maybe healing the heart? Regrowing it? Is that possible?”

They all looked at Roxy as if she had the answers. She flushed, her emotions swirling. “I don’t know. Sex magic is supposed to help create pregnancies.” She thought back. “My mom did fertility ceremonies for mortal women wanting to get pregnant, and then for crops and plants

pretty much whatever needed to grow. Sometimes animal breeders used her, too. I never heard of the blood healing a heart.”

“It’s been eleven years,” Key said. “Where would Liam have been all this time?”

“He said it took him a decade to learn about fertility witches and me.” Roxy shivered and strived to stay in control. She had to help, not be weak.

Key put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. His warmth eased her tight muscles and chased out the deep fear. “We’re just guessing right now.”

“When Roxy wakes the dragon,” Sutton suggested, “maybe she can ask him. That critter obviously likes her.”

Carla said, “Actually I have a theory about that, especially after hearing you tell the story ‘The Dragon’s Lover.’ Roxy, I think you have the soul of the dragon’s lover. In that story, Dyfyr’s lover said:

Until death ripped her away

Vowing to return one day

“You vowed to return to him. He waited, now you’re here, and that’s why you can wake Dyfyr,” Carla said.

“But

” she trailed off. She’d felt the dragon, heard him. Knew him. And since seeing him down in the gym, she felt like a piece of her was missing. Was it possible? Witches reincarnated, but they rarely if ever knew who they were in past lives. All these years, she’d craved love: real, souldeep love.

Suddenly, her throat grew tight and her chakras quivered with need. Then her power rushed out, spinning and making it hard to breathe. Like a memory, she could almost feel Dyfyr’s wings wrap around her and the two of them soaring across the skies. Almost feel his love, see him as he shifted to man form. Her magic reached for Dyfyr in a desperate painful need.

“Your magic,” Key said roughly.

She looked up, saw a flush riding his face. Felt the tension in his arm around her. She realized her magic was out, rushing around. “Oh, your bloodlust! Sorry.”

He leaned down, brushing his mouth near her ear. “Not bloodlust, green eyes.”

Her magic flared hotter.

“You’re throwing enough sex magic to give a dead man a boner,” Phoenix said in a croaky voice.

Axel and Sutton laughed.

Heat bloomed in her chest and climbed up her face. She desperately tried to concentrate and call her power back. Her schema prickled and began to ache, churning out more and more desire as her powers throbbed. Horrified at her raging powers and lust, she pulled away from Key and tried to focus.

“Jerks,” Ailish snapped, rising from the couch, walking over, and putting her hand on Roxy’s arm.

In seconds she felt a bright, cool, and calming energy flowing into her, searching out her power and slowing it.

“Roxy worked her ass off today to learn control. And you Neanderthals make fun of her, act like it’s funny that she’s hurting.”

Roxy felt Ailish’s fury riding on the surface of her magic. She looked up to the witch, grateful for her support and her help. Her magic was returning to her chakras and the lust dialing back. “It’s okay, I’m going to have to get used to being—”

“The hell it is. I know what it feels like, Roxy. A demon tortured me with lust for years. And Phoenix making crude remarks, the other idiots laughing—”

“Shit, Roxy, I’m sorry,” Phoenix broke in. He moved behind Ailish, laying his hand on her shoulder. “Ailish went through hell. Your magic surprised me, and I mouthed off. I didn’t mean—”

“It was cruel,” Ailish said. “She’s a fertility witch. Sex magic is her gift, and you all make it a joke.”

“Oh hell,” Key said in a tight voice and reached toward her. “Roxy—”

She backed up. If he touched her, she’d lose control again. “I’ll be right back.” She hurried down the stairs and went into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and looked for something cold, like maybe a black hole. Since she couldn’t find that, she settled on grabbing a bottle of water. Shutting the fridge, she turned and almost screamed. “Damn it!”

“I’m sorry,” Key said, looking miserable with his hands hanging down at his side, his jaw tight.

She shook her head. “You didn’t do anything. I’m the one that let my magic, and hormones, get out of control. It’s just that learning I might be the reincarnation of Dyfyr’s lover

it unlocked something in me and suddenly I could almost remember what it felt like to be her, the dragon’s lover. I felt Dyfyr’s pain in you down in the gym earlier. He loved her so much. Hurts so much. I hate that.” She twisted off the top and drank some water. This was what she was, what she was becoming. A witch ruled by hormones and lust.

Give a dead man a boner. Yeah, there was some magic to be proud of.

She closed her eyes against the taunt in her head.

“Oh hell, Roxy, don’t cry.”

She realized hot tears were sliding down her face. She turned away, setting the bottle on the counter, and put her hands flat on the cool granite. “It’s the hormones or something. I’ll stop. Just give me a minute.” She squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her teeth to get control.

“Screw this,” he growled, taking her arm, turning her around, and pulling her against his T-shirt-covered chest. He wrapped one arm around her back and pressed her face close to him with his hand.

She inhaled his scent, soap from the shower over the dark spice of him.

“You have no idea what you do to me. Your magic is more than sexy, it makes me feel. It touches me and fills up the empty places. And that’s scaring the ever-lovin’ shit out of me.”

“Why?” She brought up a hand to wipe her eyes, done with that weak crying crap.

He tugged her head back and looked down to her face. “I don’t want to feel, not like that. Not ever again.”

His words were so raw, so honest. Her magic felt his pain and tried to stroke him. She asks softly, “Do you still love her? The woman who died?” How terrible that must have been for him.

He stared down at her, blue flecks darkening his gray eyes, and his hand wrapped around her hair tightened. “I carry the guilt every second of every day.”

Her heart squeezed for him. “What happened?”

He let go of her, walked to the fridge, and pulled out a beer. After opening it and taking a drink, he leaned against the counter across from her. “We were seventeen. Living on the streets, you grow up fast. But Viv, she was different. Not so hard, but smart. She loved food, and her dream was to have her own little restaurant someday. I’d be an artist, she’d be a chef

we were in love. Then she got pregnant.”

“You have a child?” Boy or girl? How old? Where was he or she living?

He looked past her and went on as if she hadn’t asked the question. “We were young and stupid enough to believe in dreams, to believe we could have a family. I thought love was enough, that I’d made a clean break from that shit I grew up in. I never told her about the Dragon Tear. I kept it hidden, sure that none of it would touch her. And I’d protect our child