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“You want the map?” the woman calls out as Steph’s footsteps make the wooden floorboards creak.
“No, thank you,” Steph says. “I’ve got it on my phone. Thanks again.”
The woman mumbles something about “newfangled technology” as Steph steps out into the bright sunshine, a wide grin spreading across her lips. She skips toward us, and I shake my head at her.
“A paranormal romance author?” I ask, and laughter tinkles out of her.
“I thought you’d appreciate that part,” she says with a shrug.
I smile and pull her in for a hug. “You did it!”
Pulling back, she smirks. “Did you doubt I would?”
I shake my head. “Not for a second.”
Movement catches my eye, and I look over to see Erik’s eyes scanning every inch of Steph, a frown on his lips as if he’s checking her for any possible injuries. The tension in his shoulders relaxes when he finds none, then he stiffens again when he sees me studying him with an arched brow. He huffs and turns toward the car, and I look over at Jesse, who’s watching him with a faint smile playing on his lips. He saw what I saw.
Visible concern for my friend.
Things are getting more interesting by the moment around here.
Steph and Leif follow Erik into the car, but Jesse holds me in place. I meet his dark gaze, and he presses a tender kiss to my lips before pressing his forehead against mine.
“Are you ready for this?” he asks quietly.
My first instinct is to answer in the affirmative, but I pause, searching his chocolate eyes. I can see the worry in their dark depths, and I realize what he’s really asking.
He’s asking if I’m ready for the possible disappointment. The Grundelier settlement could be nothing but a bunch of empty, ramshackle buildings. Disintegrating walls that hold no answers about me or where I come from.
My eyes flick between his as I think about it, then I slowly nod.
“I’m ready,” I whisper. “If there’s nothing there, at least we can check it off our list and move on.”
Jesse’s hands push up into my hair, gripping it tightly before pulling down to tilt my head back. He searches my gaze for a few beats, then presses his lips to mine in a slow, lingering kiss. I press against him, my body moving of its own volition, and he ends the kiss with a light peck to the corner of my mouth before pulling away.
“Okay, let’s go. If the Grundeliers left any clues that can help us, we’ll find them.”
We climb into the middle row of the SUV. Steph’s in the back by herself, and Erik and Leif are in the front, with the former behind the wheel. I take in Steph’s pouting expression and have to stifle a laugh. She obviously tried to lure Erik into the backseat with her and failed. The Viking is as far away as he can possibly get from her while still being in the same vehicle.
“I’ll wear him down,” she mouths at me, her pout turning into a sly grin.
“I have no doubt you will,” I mouth back, and her grin widens.
Erik drives in the direction Steph calls out, and a few minutes later, we’re pulling over to park in front of a small mile marker with the number “eighty-one” printed on it. We climb from the car, and Steph leads the way across the deserted highway and into the forest. Erik quickly catches up, walking closely behind her as he looks all around for any hint of danger.
We hike through the thick foliage for several minutes, following Steph as she follows the GPS system on her phone. The forest suddenly thins out, and we stop at the edge of a clearing. My eyes widen as I take in the scene––a group of four buildings, the rotting boards covered in vines and blackened with mold and age.
We move forward slowly, my mind spinning with questions. Is this it? Four buildings? I know the original witches came to Louisiana as a group of two adults and a bunch of kids, but wouldn’t they need to expand as the kids grew into adults and coupled up, starting families of their own? How long, exactly, did they stay here?
I know the line supposedly died out with Bethany Grundelier in nineteen-sixteen, but Bernadette never said she lived here when she passed away, only that the coven settled here when they eventually landed on the continent…nearly two thousand years ago, long before this land was colonized.
“How are these buildings even still standing?” I ask. “If the Grundeliers landed here after fleeing the first vampires, they’d be dust by now, wouldn’t they?”
“Magic?” Steph offers. “The witches probably cast some sort of spell to protect themselves and the buildings from attack in what was a wild, foreign land.”
“Or these aren’t the original buildings,” Jesse says. “They could’ve rebuilt them again and again as time or natural disasters destroyed the previous homes.”
I nod and make a mental note to ask Bernadette if there’s any information about how long the coven stayed here, and where Bethany lived when she died. If she wasn’t here, then at least we’ll have another lead if this place doesn’t give me any answers.
