Page 64 of Taken By the Blood God

Even as a smile pulled at the corners of my mouth, tears stung the corners of my eyes. Why did he do things like this?

Most of the time, when we spoke, I wanted to smack him. But then, he would do something sweet, like bring me a cup of tea exactly the way I liked it. Or pick a handful of wildflowers. Or sit behind me and braid my hair, running the strands through his fingers as though he couldn’t get enough of touching me.

Every single damn time, I felt myself melt. There was no guarding my heart against attacks like that because they didn’t feel dangerous. Not at the time. It wasn’t until I realized that my shields were dropping an inch at a time, day by day, that the sense of peril set in.

I had to keep my guard up. No one could trust the gods. Not humans or witches. Not even other gods and goddesses. They were only concerned with themselves and their wants and needs. I’d read enough historical texts in the coven library to know that very few of the gods and goddesses in history were truly worthy of the power they wielded. Even Talant admitted that. And his brother hadn’t improved my view of the gods when he possessed Sommerton and wreaked havoc on the niece I loved like a daughter.

As soon as the thought floated through my mind, my spine straightened, and I gasped.

The coven library!

Since the night I’d dreamt of Talant and Davian in another time and place and they talked about Cassia, I’d wondered why the name seemed so familiar. Maybe I’d read it in a text in the library.

My fingers immediately itched to lock the doors to the shop and rush right to the coven headquarters. It was only a few blocks away from the downtown square. Before I could act onthe impulse, the bell over the door rang again. I carried my food out front with me, hoping the sight of me with my lunch in my hand would send the customer on their way quickly.

I bit back a curse and pasted a smile on my face as I came around the counter. It became genuine when I saw that it was Sela Harper coming over the threshold.

“Sela!” I greeted her, setting my salad to the side and opening my arms for a hug.

She laughed and came forward, wrapping me in a tight embrace. She was so much taller than I was, even in my wedge sandals, that my head barely topped her clavicle.

“I’m so glad to see you,” she murmured. “I’ve been worried about you since I heard what happened. Ally let me know that you were okay after the day she freed the blood god, but I needed to see for myself since you’ve been out of sight for so long.”

Though we hadn’t had much time to work together, I considered myself a bit of a mentor to Sela. She’d lived most of her life thinking that she was human. Though her magic manifested during puberty, as it did for most witches, her family had assumed that she was mentally ill rather than magically gifted. As humans, they hadn’t had the proper tools to guide her through that time in her life. Sela had spent most of her adulthood repressing her magic. So much so that her magic had been nearly impossible to fully manifest once she understood her abilities.

It was only the sheer strength of her will that had prevented her from harming anyone when she manifested. A weaker witch wouldn’t have been able to control herself to that degree and for so many years.

“I’m fine,” I reassured her. “How are you? And how is mated life?”

Sela released me with a huffed laugh. “I’m fine, too. Dealing with ridiculous arguments among pack members. The femalewolves haven’t figured out yet that I’m even less inclined to deal with petty bullshit than Garrett, so they keep coming to me with their complaints and interpersonal issues.”

I had to laugh. “I’m afraid you’ll be dealing with those issues for a very long time. It typically falls to the alpha’s female to handle any problems among other females of the pack.”

She made a face. “Garrett said the same thing, but I’m determined to change that tradition. These women are all older than me and should be able to resolve their conflicts without a third party. Some of these disagreements shouldn’t even be happening outside of a kindergarten classroom!”

I had to suppress my smile. I knew exactly what she was talking about. Though I’d never seen how they dealt with the shifters in Devil Springs, I’d heard Garrett and his deputy, Zeke Marshall, who was the son of the cat clan’s alpha, complain about the trivial arguments they had to mediate time and again.

There were similar issues in the witch coven, but I didn’t have to handle them because I wasn’t popular enough to gain a foothold in the hierarchy of power. Only the high priestess and her selected handmaidens had to endure that kind of bullshit. That was a good thing because my attitude was very much like Sela’s. I didn’t have time to referee petty squabbles. There were much more important things to take my attention.

Sela’s smile faded as she studied my face. “How are things going with your new houseguests?” she asked.

When I opened my mouth to tell her things were just fine, she scowled at me. “No, Minerva. I want the truth, not the same bullshit you’re telling everyone else.”

I winced and shut my mouth with a snap.

Sela crossed her arms over her chest, staring down at me. It was clear that she wasn’t going to back down. I didn’t know her well yet, but only an extremely stubborn witch could have survived suppressing her power for over a decade as she had.

“Whatever I tell you has to stay between us,” I stated. “I don’t want any of this getting back to Ally. She’s newly mated, and I want her to be able to focus on Dax instead of worrying about me.”

Sela nodded.

“I’m going to lock the door and put up my ‘gone to lunch’ sign. Then, I’ll brew us some tea. We can sit and talk in the reading room.”

The reading room wasn’t meant for books. It was the space I used when a witch needed help seeing into the future. Sometimes my power was enough. Other times I might consult my tarot cards or tea leaves. It also contained a ward that prevented eavesdropping.

I cleansed the energy of the reading room every evening before I left the shop for home. Residual magic could interfere with my ability to see what the future held. I had a feeling I would need the calmness of the space when I told Sela about everything that had happened over the past few weeks.

Once the tea was brewed, Sela and I settled on each side of the round table in the reading room. With the door shut, we were safe from prying eyes, listening ears, and any other sort of magical spying.

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