Page 64

“Y-you came for me. You got me out before sunrise,” I rasped.

“The sun rose just as we ran out.”

I gripped his hand tighter. “One more minute and my soul would have been stuck in those caves for eternity.” I was trembling, relief mixed with the horror of what could have been. “Their test, it was designed for failure. How many witches have been sacrificed doing the same thing?” I swallowed, my throat dry. “You saved me.” There was a long silence. “Draven?”

He made a low, rough sound. “Hold still.”

His fingers gently moved over my eyes, and I felt the coldness of something metal against my skin. A snipping sound. Nail scissors probably. A tug, the feeling of the stitches being pulled from my skin.

Something damp and warm was gently wiped over my lids. “Okay, open your eyes.”

I blinked. My sight was a little blurry as I looked up at Draven. His expression was stony. I glanced down at myself. I was still naked and covered in blood, but he’d thrown a blanket over me.

“You sent the rats to me, didn’t you?” he asked.

I had, hadn’t I? For some reason, he’d been the first person I’d thought of. The only person I’d needed. “Yes. I mean, I hoped, but I wasn’t sure it worked.”

His gaze moved over my face, his expression unreadable. “That was clever.”

“I have my moments.”

A scowl slid over his face. “Last night wasn’t one of them. You should never have gone into those caves alone.”

“I had to, that’s the way it’s always been done,” I whispered, because the world seemed to have narrowed to just him and me.

“What had to be done? What was so important that you needed to go to that evil place all alone?”

Did he think I was in there doing some dark and twisted deed? God, I didn’t want him to think that. He’d saved my life—again. He deserved the truth, and I wanted to give it to him for both our sakes.

“Selene’s sister…Charity.”

He stilled, every muscle bunching tight.

“The bones I found that night, I discovered they were hers, and because she’d turned to dark magic, I needed to lay her remains to rest at Shadow Falls to save our cemetery.” I studied his guarded expression. “You knew her, didn’t you?”

His face twisted. “Yeah, I knew her. Selene didn’t do what she did to me alone. She and Charity worked together to tear our pack apart. Selene was just a lot better at hiding what she was. Though that probably had more to do with the love potion she gave me than her acting skills.” He made a rough sound. “So it was her remains poisoning your cemetery?”

I licked my dry lips. “The box was lead-lined and managed to contain her magic for a long time, but then it was damaged a year ago during some trouble at the cemetery, the same time this happened.” I pointed to the markings on my cheek. “And the dark magic still in her bones leaked out, contaminated the roots of the tree she was under, then carried it into our cemetery, poisoning it. Shadow Falls is the only place I could take her where she couldn’t cause more damage. The crones, their spirits, they demand you pass a test first. If you pass, you can leave the remains there and go. If you fail, they keep your soul.” My throat worked as memories of what I’d seen while I was in there, what I’d felt came rushing back. “If it wasn’t for you…I-I would have failed. I would have died.”

“I thought you had; there was so much blood. The rats…if you hadn’t sent them…” A muscle in his jaw jumped, and his chest expanded as his gaze locked on to mine. “You have the same power as her, as Charity.”

I realized I was still holding his hand, and I gripped it tighter. “I do?”

“She could control animals as well.”

I blinked up at him, stunned. “I had no idea. I didn’t even know Charity existed until I went to the council and searched our family records. She and Selene, they eventually parted ways. In the end, it was Selene and her husband who killed Charity to protect the coven.”

That muscle in his jaw tightened again, but he said nothing.

“Selene hadn’t turned to dark magic, that was Charity alone. Are you sure she knew what was happening back then? Are you sure it wasn’t just Charity?”

He pulled his hand from under mine. “I’m sure.” He reached for a tray sitting beside him and grabbed cotton pads and antiseptic. “Close your eyes.”

I did as he said, and he gently cleaned them. When he was done, I looked up at him again. His handsome, scowling face made me feel safe.

“Now your mouth,” he said.

He got another cotton pad, more antiseptic, and ran it slowly, carefully around my lips. He was looking down, focused on my mouth, his lashes thick and dark against his cheeks. Goddess, he was brutally handsome. He swiped over my lips a second time.