Page 36 of Witch's Betrayal
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DEJA
At that point, I knew nothing could be salvaged. The moment Juno's eyes took in the distinct sigil tattooed on Raum's back, her lips trembled with fear.
Raum slid his pants back on with surprising speed, then turned to face the door. Juno's eyes darted to my face and then to Sal, his own tattoo standing out clearly on the pale skin of his ribs. The realization seemed to hit her hard but slowly. Her eyes welled with tears as she brought a hand to her open mouth.
All I could do was stare back at her. It was like being entranced by a sad scene in a movie. While my heart crumbled apart painfully, I felt helpless to do anything but sit and watch.
One of the guys shoving my shirt and underwear at me was the only thing that broke my stupor. No one spoke and the silence was deafening as I fumbled to put my clothes on. After pulling my shirt over my head, Juno blinked and seemed to come out of her own trance.
She backed toward the door, fumbling for the knob as the tears finally spilled. While my heart knew I could do nothing, my mind pleaded for my coven sister to understand.
"June." I stepped forward, holding my hand out to her. "Please don't go." Like obedient soldiers, the guys stepped right in line with me.
"You," she choked out, her face grimacing. "With them? Why?"
The disgust and vitriol with which she saidthemhit me like a punch to the gut. But she wasn't bolting out the door yet so I took a tentative step closer.
"Because I love them, June," I answered. "And they love me. They're capable of love, community, and incredible power to change the world, just like us witches. You've been lied to about them your whole life, sister. I'm sorry for hiding it but what choice did I have?"
"They seduced you," she sobbed. "They used you to get to us. I understand it now. They want to alert the humans and watch us burn!"
"You've got it all wrong," I said with a slight shake of my head. "I seduced them. I was nothing but an ordinary human when an angel fell in love with me. He fell from heaven just to be with me. These two?" I gestured to Raum and Sal. "Lucifer created them to protect, guide, and satisfy me."
"Damn right," Raum muttered with a smirk under his breath.
"So you're just like them," Juno said in a shaky whisper. "A fucking demon."
"And yet so different," I replied. "Have you ever wondered why demons and witches have such similar abilities? Why would cross-bearers paint us all with the same brush? Have you ever stopped to think about where your magic came from?"
"We're nothing alike!" she shot back. "How could you betray your own people like this? Laurel fast-tracked you into the coven! I considered you my sister and you turn out to be some kind of demon queen?"
"Juno," I pleaded. "We don't have to be enemies. I never joined or became your friend with bad intentions. But these are the men I love and I won't stand for them to be treated as less than us."
She hesitated as if she wasn't sure how to respond, then ultimately chose not to. Her hand found the doorknob and she turned, making a dash for the outside but the guys were on her in an instant.
Raum clapped a hand over her mouth before she could scream, pinning her body effortlessly against himself while Sal calmly re-locked the door. Juno's eyes were wide with fear as Raum half dragged, half walked her to the center of the room. She began to sob behind his palm, struggling weakly under his grip.
"Calm down. He's not going to hurt you," I told her. "Or seduce you. He's loyal to me."
"She ain't my type, anyway," he added with a wink.
Next to me, Sal glowered with an angry scowl. His aura encompassed his whole body with a fiery glow that seemed to lick at his skin. Since Juno was no longer an ally of mine, I wouldn't put it past him to hurt her if I ordered it.
"June." I leaned down close to her face. "If you don't tell Seth and Laurel what you saw here, we'll leave tonight. You'll never see ours or any demon's faces in this city again. But if you start a war against us, we will fight back. And it won't be one that you can win." My eyes flickered over to Sal. "War also just happens to be this one's specialty. " I laced my fingers through his and kissed his shoulder before resting my head on it. He kissed my forehead and squeezed my hand.
I nodded at Raum to let her go and he hesitated, his smirk disappearing.
"Baby, if she runs, we're fucked. There's no stopping her from bringing all the hunters right on our heels."
"I know," I said tersely. "Now she knows the consequences of that. We're all about free will, remember? Let her make the choice."
A tingle grazed across my scalp as Raum's aura reached out to mine.
I don't know if you know this. But I can wipe her memory.
A faint glimmer of hope rose within me.
