Page 91 of Claim Me
I step through the enchantment, fully expecting an ambush.
Only, I find myself on a rooftop at least fifty stories up. My wings automatically unfurl, the height teasing my senses.
“Those are impressive,” the witch says from a lounge chair nearby. “They blend in with the air around you, too.”
“I camouflage naturally.” It’s an explanation she didn’t earn, but I’m too caught up in the surroundings to care much about revealing such trivial details. “Where are we?”
Because this doesn’t look like Staten Island.
“Manhattan,” she replies. “On top of an abandoned apartment building.”
“I see.” Not sure why she chose this location, but I’m very comfortable here. “Tell me about this spell.”
“It’s a fated-mate spell, one the patriarchs like to use to force bonds between arranged mates.”
I stare at her. “That’s…”
“Illegal? Black magic? Exceptionally fucked up?” Each suggestion rivals the comments in my mind. “It’s a practice that goes back decades. It’s how the males control the females in our coven.”
I gape at her. “Why would they do that?”
“To siphon our power, of course,” she answers in a saccharine voice. “Fallon was given to Patrick O’Neely’s nephew, Nikolas. The ritual was performed, and I’m guessing that Nikolas’s death shattered the spell, which led to her soul latching onto yours and… You mentioned there are four of you?”
My feathers ruffle in the wind as I try to process what she’s telling me.
The mating isn’t real.
But it feels real.
“Are you sure it’s from a spell?” I demand, ignoring her question.
Her brow furrows. “I mean, I guess it could be fate. But you mentioned four…?”
Yeah, that part makes it a bit more complex. Most souls only have one mate. Fallon having four is incredibly rare.
Which lends credence to the spell theory.
Yet part of me adamantly disagrees with that notion.Because I’m under some sort of enchantment?I wonder.Am I being tricked into these feelings by dark magic?
If that’s the case, why didn’t Fallon say something?
“I assume Fallon knows about this spell?” I hedge.
“Oh, yeah,” the witch replies. “We all do.”
“But you mentioned a way to break it?”
She smiles. “My being here talking to you is proof of that.”
I arch a brow. “I’m not following.”
“Myarranged matewould never allow this,” she explains. “But he’s otherwise indisposed.” She cants her head. “The patriarchs want us all to be puppets. I simply returned the favor.”
I shake my head. “Your solution is to turn Fallon into a puppet?”Does that mean I’m technically one right now because of this spell?
“What? No. Absolutely not.” She sits up straight on the old lounge chair and shakes her head. “I’m clearly not explaining this right. Let’s start from the beginning.”
That would be appreciated,I think.
