Page 52 of Claim the Twilight
Why do his words resonate with me? Why do I so easily believe him? “And I did this because I was a witch?”
“One of the most powerful, beautiful women I’d ever come across.” His throat bobs. “That’s who you were in a past life.” He arches a brow. “Your beauty remains, but it is your power that I need.”
“So that I can restore your power?”
“Yes.”
“BecauseItook it…”
He exhales sharply. “It seems that you’ve not only lost your power but also your intelligence. I have already explained this to you.”
“Yes, you have. But I want to knowwhyI stripped you of your power.”
He lifts his chin, nostrils flaring. “That is irrelevant right now.”
“On the contrary, it is highly relevant. What did you do to make me curse you?”
“What didIdo?” His eyes blaze. “I did nothing but love you, you…lying…deceitful?—”
“Okay, fine. You loved me, and I, for some unexplained reason, cursed you.” I roll my eyes. “That makes sense.”
He huffs. “I don’t have to explain myself to you. You need me. You need my power more than I do.”
“What do you know about what I need?”
His mouth curves in a smug smile. “The little trap spell you’ve devised won’t hold me, and once the wards around thisterritory fall, which they inevitably will, I’ll be gone, and you…You will be left to face the wrath of Loviator alone.”
My pulse throbs hard in my throat. “What do you know about Loviator?”
“More than any text or white wing can tell you. I know her weakness. I know how to stop her.”
His assertion fits with what we know. What Micah and Christian had known. But I need to be sure. “How can I believe you? You could just be saying what I want to hear to get me to help you.”
“Your intuition is better than that, Padma.” He leans in, his breath warm and fragrant as it coasts across my skin. “Tell me, am I lying?”
My intuition screams at me to run but also to listen. To believe. “How can you stop her?”
His gaze tracks from my eyes to my mouth and back again. “Get me my power, and I’ll tell you all you need to know. Restore me, and I’ll reveal the secret to stopping Loviator.”
My heart sinks. “I don’t remember what I did to you. I don’t knowhowto help you.”
“Then you must remember, Moringa Lantana.”
The name sends a jolt of awareness through me, along with an inexplicable surge of possessiveness.
“Yes…” His eyes light up again. “You may not consciously recall who you are, but a Lantana witch of your power never truly forgets their heritage. One life to another, you’ve gathered strength and knowledge.” He taps his temple. “It’s still all there. Somewhere. Now all we need do is unlock it.”
“How?”
“Your coven will have records. The witch I knew, the witch youwerewould not have relinquished her power without leaving open a way to reclaim it.”
That also makes sense to me, deep down. “The secret to stopping Loviator…is it something within our power? Is it something we’ll be able to do once we know what it is?”
He smiles coldly. “Yes.”
“Your word.”
His eyes narrow. “You don’t remember who you are, and yet you remember the power of a word given?”
