“No, thank you, Jean. This is perfect.”

His smile is like a hug, and she practically simpers before heading off.

“Charmer, aren’t you?”

“I can be,” he says over the lip of his cup. “I’m glad you messaged. I was about to call you, actually. The timing is apt.”

“Also necessary. We have a problem, one which I feel could be huge.”

“And I have some information, also huge.”

“So we both have huge…things to discuss.”

Okay, this is headed into double entendre territory, not my intention. “Fee has started sleepwalking and trying to kill herself while doing it.”

He sits back and steeples his fingers. “Tell me more.”

“It started a few days ago, a scratching at the back of her mind, then the episodes of sleepwalking. Both times she ended up on a ledge about to jump. No, let me amend, the first time she did jump, and luckily for her, there was someone to catch her. Oh, and she heard a voice in her head, urging her to do it. To jump.”

Jean returns with my hot chocolate, sets it down, and then beams at Elijah before leaving.

I take a sip. It is just the right temperature, sweet and thick just the way I like it. “I think it’s the hooded figures. They tried to kill her and failed, and so this is their new tactic. They must have done something to her.”

“It sounds like a reasonable explanation,” Elijah says. “But it would help more if we knew why they wanted your friend dead, and I have a theory about that.”

“You do?”

“Yes, but to understand my theory, you’ll need to understand a little about the world I come from.”

Um… “Okay…”

“I work with the Grimswood witches.”

“The super coven up north?”

His smile is wry. “The very one. We’re different. Our magic is…unique.”

“Not miasma?”

“Not exactly. The coven gains its power from the power of the stars, from the zodiac, and particularly the constellation of Ophiuchus. We call it the Thirteenth sign.”

“Last I checked, there are only twelve signs.”

“Yes, astrologers wanted the signs to fit with the months in a year, so Ophiuchus was forgotten…deliberately, we believe, because a witch born under the sign of Ophiuchus has the potential to be extremely powerful. There are only a handful born every century, and the Grimswood coven relies on them to act as an anchor for the coven. They keep an ancient threat at bay, and they have been hunted by the Grimswood adversaries for centuries. Cut down before they can reach their full potential.”

“You think Fee is one of these Ophiuchus witches? You think that’s why she’s being hunted.”

“No,” Elijah says with a smirk. “Fee isn’t the Ophiuchus. You are.”

I stare at him, uncomprehending. “What?”

“When were you created?”

“I don’t know…I found Fee the first week of December. I guess…I guess then.”

“It’s the time of Ophiuchus, and you took Fee’s witch power. You don’t require a connection to a coven to access miasma, and you don’t need to use blood, sex, or pain.”

“I—”

“You’re an Ophiuchus, created by a witch born of an Ophiuchus.”

My heart is thundering hard in my chest. “Wait, you think Fee’s mother was an Ophiuchus.”

“I am certain of it. The fire you spoke off, burning so hot it turned bone to ash, that is Bone flame. The Grimswood adversaries have scouts with this ability.”

“Hooded figures? Tulpas?”

“I think maybe they’ve found a new way to scout…Maybe they have someone strong enough to control tulpas. It would make sense. It would fit. The current Grimswood anchor is weakening. Her time is almost up, and we must have a new anchor. Our adversaries have been hunting potentials for years. We’ve managed to find most of them and are working to bring them into the fold, and now…Now I’ve found you.”

“Wait… You want me to be an anchor?”

“I’d like you to come and take the trials. This could be your destiny, Cora. Your higher purpose.”

I’m all for a higher purpose. Heck, I want my own thing, my own mini destiny, but being an anchor sounds awfully permanent and static. I don’t want to be tied down, I want adventure and to see the world. I want my destiny to be motile.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll pass.”

He frowns. “You’ll pass?”

“Yep. I don’t want to do it.”

He looks momentarily thrown. Maybe he thought telling me I was special would have me jumping up and down, eager to be tested and elevated, but that wasn’t me.

“These adversaries…Do they have a name?”

“You can’t go up against them,” Elijah says. “Trust me. Stay out of it.”

“Make up your mind. One moment you’re inviting me into the fold, and the next you’re telling me to back off.”

“Right now, they think your friend is the Ophiuchus. We need to keep it that way.”

What. The. Fuck. “You want me to use my friend as a scapegoat?”

He stares steadily at me. “Your life is more important.”

Okay, so no one has ever said that to me before, and yes, it’s kinda nice, but, “Fuck you, asshole. Fee is not dispensable. Tell me how to stop what’s happening to her.”

“And you’ll test as a potential?”

Anger races through my veins. How dare he try and blackmail me. I lean forward, eyes hot with rage. “Let me explain something to you, Mr. Blackwood. I don’t take kindly to extortion. In fact, it makes me extremely antsy, and when I get antsy, shit goes boom.”

He doesn’t flinch. If anything, his eerie gaze becomes more intense, and for a moment, I imagine I see flecks of silver swirling in his eyes, but then he sits back with a curt nod.

“An unwilling anchor is a danger to the coven. If you truly don’t wish to be a potential, then so be it.”

I ignore the stab of guilt. The Grimswood coven will be fine, they have several potentials to work with. “How do I help Fee?”

“The curse on her sounds like a Demise curse. Usually, a curse of this kind leaves a mark on the infected. If the mark is visible, you need to remove it.”

“Remove it.”

“Cut it out.” His eyes narrow.

“And if it’s not visible.”

His gaze is pitying. “Then the mark is on her soul, and in that case, there is nothing you can do. I’m sorry.”

“In that case, I’ll be back, and I’ll want the names of these adversaries.”

“You don’t understand. If the mark is on her soul, it can’t be removed, not even by the person who placed it. The curse will see its course. If it wants her dead, it won’t stop until her heart stops beating. Right now, it’s confined to her subconscious, but when it slips into her conscious mind, then it will be too late.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it will drive her insane, and even if by some miracle you did find a cure at that point, her mind would never recover.”

I need to get to Fee, and I need to get that mark off her. Now.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Fee

Uri could have jumped us both into Rising Pack territory, but as if in unspoken agreement, we took the bus. It was strange sitting together on the uncomfortable seats watching the city go by.

“I’m sorry about what happened with Grayson.”

“It’s not your fault, and it’s fine. I understand why he was upset. We’ve spoken since and cleared the air.”

Huh? Grayson had spent all night with me, when could they have spoken? Oh, shit, Grayson had gotten us a snack in between our lovemaking sessions. He must have spoken to Uriel then.

I wanted to ask what was said, but it felt like an intrusion.

He tucked in his chin. “I want to be honest with you, Fee. I feel more for you than I should, which is probably evident now, but I need you to hear me say it.”

The bus rumbled, and I was glad that there weren’t any passengers sitting close by so he could speak freely.

“If you want more,” he continued, “then I’m happy to give it, but if you don’t, then I’ll step back, and I’ll be a friend and nothing more.”

“You could do that? Shut off your feelings like that?”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “We’re created to love humans but never fall in love. Some of us are guardians, others are forbidden to intervene in human affairs, but all of us have a fascination for humanity. You’re not entirely human, and yet I’m drawn to you in a way I’ve never been drawn to another being. I want you in ways I’ve never wanted anyone else. Not just your body but your soul. But I have enough control to lock those feelings away if that’s what you want.”

What I want? I wanted him, and thank God my guys were okay with that. I couldn’t love them more for allowing my heart this freedom.

“I don’t want you to lock your feelings away.”

He turned his head to look at me properly. “You don’t?”

“No.” I slipped my hand onto his thigh. “I want you to feel. Everything.” My voice was an intimate whisper.

His mouth parted on a sigh. “Everything?” His gaze dropped to my mouth.

“Yes, everything.”

We were still a few blocks away from our destination, but Uri rang the bell to be let off anyway.

“What are you doing?”

“Let’s take the scenic route,” he said.

He held out his hand, and I took it, allowing him to tug me out of my seat. The bus came to an abrupt halt, throwing me into him. His arm went around my waist, and he held me to him, solid and immovable for a brief moment before the doors swished open and we could exit.

The world was still white with snow, but it was beginning to melt now, slushy in places. We walked side by side, breath puffing up in the air in front of us.