Page 33 of When Bones Whisper
The woman looked at Nathaniel first. Her smile widened when he approached her. Beside her on the half-moon table were the four grimoires, all aged with brittle pages and brown leather covers.
Katherine grinned when she looked at Charlotte, but the smile did not quite reach her eyes. “Nathaniel, you never told me your witch was so beautiful.”
She didn’t appreciate being called his anything.
“It’s good to meet you,” Charlotte said, offering her the kindest smile she could manage considering how she felt.
A slight inhale parted the woman’s bow-shaped painted lips, and her fingers tightened around her vesicular bag until her knuckles were white. “I’m Katherine.”
“Charlotte.”
“I know who you are. You are infamous among the witches, and in society.”
Nathaniel interjected, fortunately, because Charlotte had a bad feeling the conversation was edging toward her survival of the massacre. “Miss Ellenwood will stay until after the ball. She’ll teach you everything you need to know.”
“Ellenwood, as inBaronEllenwood?”
“You know my brother.”
Her jaw clenched. “In passing.”
Duke darted between her legs and hissed at Katherine, who raised her brow in response.
“Well, Charlotte,” Katherine said, somehow making her name sound dull. “You and I are going to have lots of fun together.”
Wait, ball. Her brain caught up with her. “What ball? Nothing was mentioned to me.”
A languid, sultry smile curved her lips. “Did you not tell her, Nathaniel?” She placed a hand on his biceps, and Charlotte’s stomach knotted in response. She turned back to look at her, smiling. “He and Alexander are holding a party to lure the witcheshere. They’re going to drug them, and you and I are going to ensure they cannot use magic while here. If we’re lucky, we can get them all in one place and kill them before they kill you.”
“What makes you think they will come?” Charlotte rebuked, her pointed stare landing on Katherine’s well-manicured fingers, which were resting so casually on the vampire.
Nathaniel gently brushed her arm away and turned fully to face Charlotte, his eyes darkening. “Because they know we have you, and they’re arrogant and desperate enough to knowingly walk into a trap. They know you are not practiced and are unaware of Katherine’s involvement.”
“When is the ball?”
“In five days.”
Her eyes widened. “That’s not enough time for me to learn.”
“Katherine’s an excellent teacher.”
His muted expression remained unmoving, regardless of how much Katherine beamed at him.
“We can get started now,” Katherine said, but Charlotte’s eyes closed in response.
She rolled her shoulders, cracking her neck lightly and fought through the pain pulsing in her legs and feet.
“Tomorrow,” Nathaniel announced, his tone clipped.
Charlotte opened her eyes in surprise. Did he sense her exhaustion or pain, or more likely, did he want Katherine to himself tonight?
Either way, she had time now to come up with a plan. In less than one week the witches would likely be dead, and that was far less time than she thought she had to get out of doing the ritual.If she didn’t escape soon, she was going to die and everything she’d done to survive would have been for nothing.
Chapter Nine
The vampire is going to kill you.
The intrusive voice returned as a whisper, the words looping in her mind as she tiptoed barefoot down the cold corridor toward the library, the icy gusts raising goosebumps on her exposed neck. The candle's waning light dripped wax onto the bronze holder, casting a soft glow on her dark curls that spilled over her ruffled, ivory chemise.
