Chapter Twenty-One
Valerie lunged for Calliope’s still form. Griffin knew what she intended, and he grabbed her, pulling her against his body and holding her tight. “You’re not bringing her back.”
“Let me go!”
He just held her tighter. “I won’t let you do it. You went through hell when you pulled Rio back, and I can’t let you do it again.”
She jabbed her elbow into his chest. “It’s Calliope! She’s my ally!”
“An ally who sent vampires with fucking magical bullets after us. That’s not the kind of ally you can trust.” His arms wrapped around her stomach. “Baby, no. I can’t watch you suffer. I can’t.”
Carmichael stared at them both, his head cocked to the side, a furrow between his brows. “Was that story true? She actually brought Rio back from the dead?” He rose to his feet. Threw the dart to the floor. “Thought that was just embellishment BS. Something to make her rep even stronger.”
Sparks danced around Valerie’s fingers. “Let me go.”
Griffin wasn’t going to risk her, he wasn’t—
She vanished from his arms. Reappeared right next to Calliope.
Fucking hell. “Valerie!”
She crouched and carefully rolled Calliope over onto her back. Valerie put her hand against Calliope’s neck.
Griffin lunged for Valerie, but before he could get to Valerie, Carmichael had yanked her to her feet. “You can bring her back?”
She sent a bolt of electricity right at him. He flew across the room and slammed into a wall.
“If she hasn’t been dead too long, I can damn well try. Then I’m going to kill you. I don’t care if you are Griffin’s brother. Shit, shit. I didn’t even have you on my suspect list.” She swiped a shaking hand over her cheek. “Why weren’t you on my list?”
Griffin put his hand on Valerie’s shoulder, fully expecting her to send a bolt of lightning through him, but she didn’t. She shuddered. “She was my friend. I don’t have a lot of those.”
They needed to talk about the definition of friend. It wasn’t someone who sent a vamp with magic bullets after you.
“I didn’t kill her.” Carmichael was on his feet. His hands were loose at his sides. “I love her. And if you can bring her back, please, do it. I will give you anything to bring her back.”
Shock rolled through Griffin. “What?”
“You’re not the only one who fell for a witch, brother.” Carmichael didn’t take his grief-stricken gaze off Calliope’s still body. “I thought it was wrong. I tried to fight the attraction because of our parents. Dammit, she’s the reason I came home. I thought if I stayed away from Calliope, I’d be safe. The need, the hunger I felt for her would go away.” His claws burst out. “But I just left her unprotected. I let her die.” Carmichael bounded across the room. Stopped right in front of Valerie. Didn’t make the mistake of touching her this time. “I will give you anything, just bring her back. Please. I can’t live without her. I have to get her back.”
“No.” Griffin’s immediate denial. “Not happening. It hurts you too much, Valerie. You aren’t bringing her back. You can’t.”
She glanced at him with a sad smile. “Don’t remember asking permission.”
“I won’t let you do this. Her bullets almost killed you hours ago, and you’re going to bring her back from death? Why? Why the hell would you do that?”
“Because when I escaped from Salem, when I had no one and nothing, Calliope hid me. She gave me food and shelter, and she made sure I survived the winter.”
“She’s gone. You’ll hurt yourself if you try to bring her back.” Frustrated fury twisted his guts. Valerie couldn’t bring back everyone. Didn’t she see that? “Monsters rip you apart while you sleep. Every time you bring someone back, it gets worse, doesn’t it?” His suspicion, but when she flinched, Griffin knew that he was right. “Baby, no.”
“I have to try. I need her. I can’t defeat Devon and Genevieve without her.”
“Fuck them.” He meant that. “Come back to my world. You’ll never need to know fear or pain again. I’ll protect you. I swear it.”
She shook her head. “You can’t protect me from what’s inside myself.”
“Valerie—”
But she was staring at Carmichael. “If you really didn’t poison her, if you want her back, then you have to keep Griffin away from me. Don’t let him stop me.”
No. This wasn’t happening. “Nothing will keep me from you.”
Her smile flashed and never lit her eyes. “I’m really hoping your brother can, at least for a few moments.”
Before Griffin could say anything else, Carmichael attacked him. His brother slammed into him, and Carmichael’s claws went straight for Griffin’s throat. The sonofabitch had always fought dirty.
Too bad for Carmichael…Griffin fought dirtier.
***
Howls and snarls filled the air behind her, but Valerie didn’t glance back at Griffin and his brother. If she did…no. Don’t.
She had to focus on Calliope. She hunched over the other witch. Calliope’s body wasn’t moving at all. She was still and cold, just like stone.
Just like stone.
Valerie blinked. Something nagged at her mind, but her fear pushed her forward. She began to chant, calling up the dark power that would let her cross over and bring Calliope back. She could find her friend and get her out, she could—
Nothing happened.
The magic pulsed in the air, but nothing happened.
“Something is wrong!” Valerie screamed.
The howls and the snarls were silenced behind her.
“I just have to try harder.” She pushed out a breath. Dug deeper. Grabbed onto the power resting so heavily inside of her. She’d cross this threshold. She’d find Calliope.
Flames burst over Valerie’s skin. Pain knifed through her, and she screamed. Pain was part of dark magic. Pain was part of power. So she pushed through. She pushed—
“I’m sorry.” Griffin’s voice. And…
Something locked around her right wrist.
Then her left.
Something cold. Something…something that immediately had the flames dying and a cold chill sliding through her body.
Valerie blinked. She stared at her wrists. Two golden bracelets adorned with diamonds. One bracelet around each wrist. Beneath the diamonds, she could see the faint etchings. Spell. “No.” Betrayal was there, gutting her. This couldn’t happen. Griffin wouldn’t do this. He couldn’t. She shoved at the bracelets, but they bit into her skin, sinking deeper the more she struggled. “What have you done?”
“The only thing I could do! Dammit, listen—”
Wind whipped through the room. Too much wind. Too strong. Not her wind. Not her magic. Because Valerie’s magic had been bound.
In a blink, Devon was there. Standing right beside Calliope’s body. He had a smirk on his face as his gaze fell to the bracelets circling Valerie’s wrists. “Excellent job, assassin. I knew I could count on you.”
No, no, this wasn’t happening.
She spun to face Griffin. Valerie glared at him as betrayal raged and twisted inside of her. “Why did you do this?”
“Valerie—” Torment flashed on his face.
“Because I hired him,” Devon announced. “Because he had to get past your guard. Because you had to trust someone, and with your track record, I knew it had to be a lover. You only let your lovers close. Close enough to kill.”
Griffin shook his head. “I couldn’t let you try to bring her back, Valerie. I was protecting—”
“Protecting the shifters,” Devon cut in. “Because they are what matters most to him. Not some deranged witch. And, don’t worry, Griffin, I’ll stick to our deal. As soon as she’s dead, I’ll make sure the bond is severed. You’ll stay sane, and you’ll be able to find your real mate.”
Behind Griffin, she saw Carmichael struggle to rise. Blood poured from the wounds on his body. Wounds made by Griffin’s claws.
Devon snapped his fingers, and Valerie was at his side. Because he could work magic. He wasn’t bound. “I’ve missed you,” Devon whispered in her ear.
Griffin lunged forward.
Devon snapped his fingers again.
Griffin seemed to slam into an invisible wall. “What in the fuck?” His fist pounded against that wall. “Valerie!”
She had to blink away tears. “Do you know what you’ve done?’
Griffin’s eyes were desperate. “Valerie!”
Griffin had put the binding bracelets on her. Only Griffin would be able to take them off. And she doubted that Devon would ever let him get close enough to do that. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “You killed me.”
Giant, scaled wings burst from Griffin’s back. “Valerie!”
“Say good-bye,” Devon murmured.
Her gaze fell to Calliope’s body. So still. A perfect statue. Statue! Valerie knew this poison. Hadn’t she deliberately fashioned her blood to create a similar, paralyzing impact on vamps? And she’d gotten the inspiration for that poison from a very specific source. “Get Stefan!” Valerie yelled. “Carmichael, Stefan can help—”
The condo disappeared. Calliope’s body disappeared. Griffin disappeared.
Her whole life disappeared.
***
“Valerie!” Griffin’s bellow had cracks racing across the ceiling. One moment, Valerie was there, staring at him with her eyes too big and dark, with her skin a stark white, and the next, she was just gone.
“What did you do?” Carmichael’s grim voice demanded.
Griffin couldn’t move. He felt rooted to the spot. Valerie had just been there. She’d been standing right there.
“What did you do?”
“She was burning. The room was burning around her. I…I had to stop her.” He’d been choking on fear. “She almost died on me hours before. I wasn’t going to lose her.” The damn bracelets had been in his pocket. He’d fought off Carmichael. Grabbed Valerie and—
“You sonofabitch. You were working with Devon?”
Griffin spun around to face Carmichael. “No. He…shit, he gave me the bracelets but—”
“You bound her magic. Do you know what that does to a witch? She’s helpless. Human. Devon can do anything he wants to her. And guess what he’s going to want to do?” Carmichael scooped Calliope into his arms. “He’s going to kill her. Hell, she’s probably already dead.”
The fuck she was.
Carmichael turned for the door, holding his witch carefully in his arms. “I’m going for Stefan. I recognize his name. I met him at Daybreak shortly after you kicked my ass out of our home. Maybe he can help Calliope.”
She’s probably already dead.
More cracks spread across the ceiling. His heartbeat seemed to thunder in his ears. He’d been so desperate. Fire had been shooting from Valerie’s fingers, from her whole body, and he’d seen claw marks slice open her back. She hadn’t even seemed to be aware that something had been ripping her open. She’d kept chanting, her voice getting weaker and weaker, and he’d just wanted to protect her.
But Devon had been there. Devon had been waiting.
“A trap.” His voice was guttural. “Calliope was a trap. Devon wanted Valerie to find her, to try and bring her back.” Because when Valerie was weak and distracted, Devon could attack. “The fucking sonofabitch.”
Valerie’s flames had broken the glass in the condo. Shattered all of the windows. A black raven flew inside. Went right for Griffin’s eyes.
“Stop it!” He swatted away the bird. “I’m getting her back! I’m—”
The bird flew for the window, only to then circle and rush back at Griffin.
Her familiar. A very pissed familiar.
Carmichael was gone. He’d taken his witch out. Held tight to his dead witch. I should have held tight to my witch.
Griffin could feel his mind starting to splinter. Valerie had stared at him as if he’d betrayed her. He had. He’d been fucking desperate, and he’d betrayed the woman he loved. Fuck!
The raven came for his eyes once again. Griffin dodged, and the raven flew toward the window once more. This time, the raven cawed. Loud. Long. Desperate.
Griffin’s eyes widened. He keeps coming for my eyes…because the little bastard either hates me or there is something he wants me to see. “You know where he took her, don’t you?”
A caw. That had damn well better be bird for yes.
“Take me to Valerie. Now.”
The bird took to the sky. Griffin let his transformation sweep over him. It was dark outside. No moon hung in the cloud-filled sky, so maybe that would help. Maybe the humans below wouldn’t notice the enraged dragon flying across the night sky.
But even if they did notice, he didn’t give a damn. His mate was missing. His witch was gone. And if he had to tear apart the world in order to get her back, he would.