Authors: Rachel Carrington
Rane watched Skye’s movements, the agitation in her hands and the
way her shoulders shook.
She wouldn’t
admit her fear, at least not out loud, but he read it.
He read her.
The thought should have made him warier.
It didn’t.
He massaged her shoulders carefully and swept a look around the
table.
“I will take Skye back to her
room now.
She has much to think about.”
Jaxon walked behind his brother.
“Please know that our assistance is yours should you require it.”
Skye turned slightly and extended her hand formally.
“Thank you and I’m sorry I tried to kill
Rane.
I didn’t really try, though.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“I would never be a good criminal.
I get caught every time.”
Rane slipped his hand to the small of her back.
“You should be glad that I caught you when
you broke into my home.”
She frowned up at him.
“Why’s
that?”
He touched the tip of her nose with one finger.
“Otherwise, you would not have had the
opportunity to get to know me.”
Jaxon gave a groan.
“My
brother has never been short on ego.”
Rane grinned over his shoulder before opening the wall.
“You must be exhausted.”
He returned his attention to Skye as they
walked down the long corridor.
“I don’t want to sleep or rest, Rane.
I need to find Emily.
Once Sabrina realizes that I have no
intention of killing you, she’ll destroy my sister.”
“I am glad to hear you have no intention
of killing me now,” Rane whispered
in her ear.
Skye tossed him a look.
“That’s how I feel at the current moment.
However, a woman can always change her mind.”
Rane laughed out loud and led her into the opulent room she would
use.
With a twist of his hand, the
curtains slid shut, the lights dimmed and soft music filtered from hidden
speakers.
Skye’s eyes narrowed.
“What
do you think you’re doing?”
He caught the scent of her sex and his body responded
violently.
The vicious punch of his
desire caught him off-guard and for a moment, he could only stare at her, drink
in the sight of her.
When she approached
him, he finally gained his voice.
“Seducing you.”
The words came
out on a husky note and he liked the way Skye’s pupils dilated.
“I have to find my sister.”
“We will find your sister.”
He emphasized the pronoun.
“Together, but tonight, your sister is safe.
The Coven is not aware of your defection to
the other side.”
Skye took another step closer to him.
“I was never on Sabrina’s side to begin
with.”
He cupped her face.
“Do not worry.
Sabrina will not win.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Skye stood on tiptoe.
Her lips
hovered scant millimeters away from his and it took every ounce of self-control
Rane possessed to answer her question.
“Because I know witches.
They
won’t risk showing their trump card until they believe it’s the final play of
the game.
Sabrina still needs Emily, at
least she thinks she does.”
“If you know so much about witches, why would you allow me to get
close to you?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t kill me.”
Skye sucked in a sharp breath.
“You didn’t even know I was here to kill you.”
Rane lifted one eyebrow.
“I
would not be so sure of that, ma petite.”
He drew her closer into his arms, his hands massaging her spine.
“I knew much of you before you even arrived at
my home.”
Skye murmured her approval.
“How could you have known?”
“There is very little that wizards do not know.”
He nuzzled her neck.
“They especially know where a woman likes to
be kissed.”
Skye chuckled softly.
“I
think that’s something every man knows.”
Rane scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed.
“But not every man will make you forget
everything but the sound of his voice, the touch of his lips on your skin.”
“You sound very sure of yourself.”
Skye’s voice was barely above a whisper.
Rane placed her gently atop a mound of lacy pillows.
“I will let you be the judge in the end.”
“It would take a lot to make me forget everything that’s going on in
my life.”
He joined her on the bed.
“I
have a lot to give.”
***
Sabrina held her arms wide to the sky, calling out to the
Master.
Immediately, she felt the force
of his power, but she needed more than even he could give her.
She called upon the goddess Hecate to answer
her plea for divine intervention.
She
needed strength, much more strength than she could obtain on her own or through
the assistance of an embittered relic with an axe to grind and should Hecate
grant her the power, she could face the wizards and win on her own.
She would have to deal with Skye another way.
The great witch Allessandra would prevent any harm from coming to
her chosen one.
Though dead,
Allessandra’s powers extended far beyond the reaches of the grave and no witch
would dare challenge that power.
Sabrina
shivered at the thought.
As a young witch, she’d made the mistake of throwing down a gauntlet
in Allessandra’s path.
The Queen Witch
had been mildly amused but when Sabrina issued the challenge in the face of the
gathered Covens, Allessandra’s amusement had quickly faded.
And Sabrina’s neck now bore a scar she could
never erase.
Had Allessandra wanted to
kill her that night, Sabrina would be dead now.
Sabrina’s eyes narrowed as the memory enveloped her.
She didn’t like being at anyone’s mercy.
Which was precisely why Skye had to die.
As long as the young witch was alive, the
hope of Ostara lived.
And Sabrina would
not allow the Covens to be converted to angelic witches who focused on living
good lives and helping the helpless.
Weakness might be a virtue in the eyes of the mortals, but she wasn’t
interested in acquiring it.
In fact,
there was only one thing she was interested in . . .
Becoming the Queen.
***
Danni’s heels tapped fiercely over the tiled floor as she hastened
on her way.
Falcon fell into step beside
her, his face a dark mask of fury.
“It is not our place to interfere,” he reminded her for what must
have been the tenth time.
Danni held up one hand and continued walking.
“I get the visions for a reason, Falcon.
I have to share what I know.”
A frustrated sigh was Falcon’s only response.
***
Skye tipped her head back and sighed with sheer pleasure as Rane’s
lips caressed the pulse point.
Her hands
shaped his head, her fingers diving into the thickness of his hair.
Seduction had never been so sweet.
Rane murmured low in his throat and swept a hand underneath her
shirt.
Skye jumped a little, then
purred, arching her back to allow him full access.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her bra
fly across the room before Rane’s hands molded her generous breasts.
Somewhere, in the far corners of her mind, Skye heard the thump
against the door, but engulfed in waves of desire, she didn’t acknowledge the
sound.
Suddenly, cool air kissed her
skin.
She reached out for Rane, but he
was gone, already standing at the door.
Grumbling to herself, Skye tugged her blouse down over her loose
breasts and joined Rane at the door.
Skye recognized Falcon instantly.
He stood behind Danni with an almost apologetic look on his face.
Before Rane could ask any questions, Skye
shouldered her way forward.
“What’s
wrong?”
Rane put one hand on her arm.
“You do not know something is wrong.
Do not jump to conclusions.”
Skye took note of the stilted tone of his voice, but otherwise,
ignored his request.
“You’re here for a
reason.
What’s going on?”
Danni opened her mouth to speak, but Falcon spoke in a stoic tone of
voice.
“My wife has had a vision.”
Skye frowned.
“I didn’t know
you got visions.”
“There is a lot you do not know about us,” Danni returned, looking
past Rane toward the back wall.
“You
must leave here.”
Rane turned his head to follow her line of sight.
“What are you talking about, Danni?”
Skye edged closer to Rane’s side.
“I’d like to know the same thing.”
“I saw a young girl, maybe fourteen, fifteen.
She is lost in the woods, alone,
frightened.”
Danni massaged her
temples.
“There was a large cat.
I could not see it clearly enough to tell if
it was any danger to the girl, but,” she opened her eyes and pinned Skye with a
serious look,” she was calling your name.
I thought you should know.”
Skye’s heart thundered in her chest.
“Thank you.
Thank you.”
She reached out, captured Danni’s wrist, and
gave it a squeeze.
“I have to leave,”
she said just as Rane closed the door.
“I’ll come with you,” Rane announced.
Skye had already moved across the room to retrieve her bra by the
time he spoke.
She whirled around, the
tiny scrap of black lace dangling from two fingers.
“That’s impossible.”
Rane sauntered toward her.
“You don’t learn very quickly do you?
Wizards make the impossible possible.
Now finish getting dressed and we’ll get out of here.”
“You don’t understand.”
Rane dipped his head and before Skye’s eyes, his clothing changed to
jeans and a dark gray sweater.
“What
don’t I understand?”
“If Emily has escaped, Sabrina will find her.
It’s only a matter of time.”
“Then we need to find her first.”
Skye captured his hand.
“Sabrina will find her first.
It’s a guarantee.”
Rane’s eyes narrowed and Skye knew he was searching her face, trying
to read between the lines of her words.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Witches have the uncanny ability to track other witches.”
“Your sister is a witch, too?”
Skye’s hands shook as she fastened her bra.
“Emily doesn’t know.
I wanted her to lead as normal of a life as
possible.
I’ve tried to raise her like
any other girl.
She’s gone to school,
played soccer, even had a starring role in the school play.
She’s done everything I didn’t get to do as a
child because I was too busy learning how to be a witch.”
Rane’s hands closed around her wrists and he lowered her hands to
her sides.
“That sounds like you know
more about being a witch than you led me to believe.”
Skye tugged her arms free.
“That was your assumption.”
“Then why don’t you just face Sabrina and take back your sister?”
Skye gave him a long look before she finally answered.
“Because the only way to win with Sabrina is
to kill her.”
“And you don’t think you can?”
Skye turned away from him.
“That isn’t the issue.”
“Then what is?”
He came to
stand in front of her.
“I can’t kill Sabrina because it is an impossibility for me.”
“That might create a problem if it comes down to a choice,” Rane
noted solemnly.
“No, it won’t.
I will not
kill.”
“Not even for your sister?”
Sabrina shook her head.
“If I
were to kill, I would become like Sabrina.”
Rane tipped her face up to see his.
“You have control over what you become.”
She pushed him away.
“There
are things you don’t know, Rane, things you wouldn’t understand about my people
even if you did know.”
He folded his arms and Skye knew by his stance that they would go
nowhere unless he received more information.
She walked away from him, toward the window and pressing one palm
against the windowpane, she relished the feel of the coldness against her skin.
“Why is the window so cold?” she murmured almost inaudibly.
“Skye,” Rane’s voice held a warning.
She drew in a deep breath before replying.
“I was born on Ostara, the day . . .”
“When light masters dark, I know.
What does that have to do with anything?”
“If you’ll let me finish,” she said pointedly.
Rane gave a grunt of acknowledgment and
lapsed into silence.
“Light cannot
defeat dark by using the same weapons evil would use.
If I were to kill Sabrina, I would become as
she is.”
Realization dawned on Rane’s face.
“But Sabrina wanted you to kill me.
She wanted you to change sides so to speak.”
When Skye didn’t respond, he continued.
“Or because she knew the wizards would
retaliate.
Sabrina can’t kill you,
either, can she?”
Skye turned to face him.
“Sabrina doesn’t want the light.”
“Now it all makes sense.
And
I have the perfect solution to your dilemma.”
“Then explain it to me,” she said with a wry twist of her lips.
Rane shrugged.
“It’s simple
really.
You can’t kill Sabrina.”
He held out his hand.
“But I wasn’t born on Ostara.”