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“Right behind ya, boss.” Rune adjusts the burden in his arms and is gone.
The Moon Witch should consider herself lucky she doesn’t have to be awake for that particular experience.
“Sebastian,” Finn growls, the rumble of his words vibrating through me and turning my attention back to the two of them before his majesty takes off. “The collar.”
Thank you. It’s about damn time!
“Right. How forgetful of me.”
I force myself to stand still as Sebastian approaches. What’s harder is staying silent. Especially when he sticks a thumb into his mouth, pressing it against the point of his fang until a prick of blood pools and drips over his hand. He turns the bloody digit my way and I can’t do it. I flinch, dodging out of the way, and nearly fall out of Finn’s arms when my legs wobble.
“Fintan. Control your witch.” Sebastian turns those cold eyes my way, a hint of mischief in them as the corner of his mouth lifts. “Or perhaps Josephine prefers being mine.”
I catch myself before cursing Sebastian out. I want to. I know he’s baiting me, but I can’t help it—he gets under my skin no matter how hard I try to keep him out.
“The collar is sealed with his blood,” Finn explains to me quietly, his breath brushing against my hair and tickling my ear. “It’s the only way to get it off.”
This time, when he lifts his hand, I don’t move. I squeeze my eyes shut, though—I can’t help it.
“Just a quick smear of blood and it’ll be done,” Finn promises.
It’s not blood that makes me squeamish—it’s vampire blood specifically. Well, that and the ability it has to turn me into one of them. If a witch is turned, she loses her magic. I can’t imagine a worse fate than being cut off from Gaia like that.
I’m not sure if Finn is using his empath powers on me or if his presence is just that calming, but the moment my panic seeps away and eases the tension from my body, I’m grateful for it, relaxing into the supernaturally strong arms holding me upright.
There is a firm pressure on my throat, and then the thick strip of metal falls away and I tilt my neck from side to side, feeling a pop in my joints. I swallow and clear my throat, sore from the abuse. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Sebastian takes his thumb back to his mouth, tongue flicking out to clean the rest of the blood from his smooth skin.
“I wasn’t talking to you. You’re the one who put it on me in the first place. Obviously, I was thanking Finn.”
“Come, lass, I’ll take ye home.” He extends a hand to me, and I don’t hesitate to go to him.
“A word of advice, Fintan,” Sebastian says, his voice low and his eyes on me, back to their intense icy blues. “Place a collar of your own around the witch’s neck to keep her in line, lest she stabs you through the heart.”
Finn’s arm wraps around me, and I stick close to his side as he ushers me from the house. I hate to admit it, even to myself, but I feel safest when he’s around. Is this part of the unity bond? Or have I already fallen under the effects of his vampiric thrall?
It could be as simple as the fact that Finn is the only person who hasn’t tried to kill me in the last seventy-something hours.
It’s a really low bar… but right now, that’s as much as I can ask for.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
SEBASTIAN
The first thing I see when I wake from my daysleep is Fintan. With his muscled back to me, he stands in front of the blackened window of my room on the top floor of Hotel Elysian. “I don’t remember requesting a wake-up call.”
I emerge from my satin-lined coffin and take notice of Rune lounging on the couch out in the sitting room.
Whatever my enforcers have ambushed me to discuss, it’s too early for such an intense atmosphere.
“Yeah, well, I don’t remember giving ye the go-ahead to put yer collar on my witch.”
“I do not need your go-ahead. I am the—”
Fintan cuts me off, whirling around to fix me with a reddened gaze. “She is not yers.” His chest rises and falls, and I stare at him, wondering where the usual demure, docile Fintan has gone.
I’m not a fan of this version of him.
