Page 62 of Cursed Sight
“Ethan?”she called.
“Serena? Oh my God, angel! Are you okay? Where are you?”Ethan asked.
“Is it really you?”she asked, her heart tightening at the familiar sound of his voice.
Volark cursed quietly, and she forced herself to not react.
“Yes, angel, it’s really me. I love you so much, you stubborn witch,”he said.
“I love—”
The demon kicked one of her feet, and she let her leg wiggle with the move. “High priestess my ass,” a familiar voice mumbled before the door shut behind them.
“Serena?”Ethan called back. She sensed his worry.
Pushing herself to a seated position, she took in the bare basement she was in. Memories of their fight with Volark flashed before her eyes. Sucking in a breath, she noted the edge to her consciousness held the answers she sought, but Ethan called out again with concern.
“Sorry, I’m here,”she muttered.
“What is it?”he asked.
“I think whoever took me is playing with me,”she said.“Or maybe the drugs I’ve been given aren’t wearing off because I swear I’m back at the mansion.”
“It’s Aja,”he said.“Wait, what do you mean the mansion?”
Serena froze at the woman’s name, and things began clicking into place. A brow drew up to her hairline as she sighed.
“You knew it was Aja and didn’t lead with that little gem of information?”she snapped.
Ethan paused before speaking once again.“Yeah, I probably could have led with it, but I was too relieved to hear from you.”
Serena stretched her neck and sucked in a breath. Later, she would apologize for snapping at him, but for now, she needed to deal with Aja.
“I’m guessing she doesn’t know about you and me, since she didn’t put up a block like she did with Ryan and Brandy,”she said.
“If she’s been watching you, she would have seen me. Not to mention your new piece of jewelry…”he said, pride filling him.
Serena wiggled her fingers and felt the diamond in her palm. She used her thumb to turn the engagement ring the correct way and glanced around the room. Something about the cold basement seemed off. The room was stark white, and there were no seams around the door. One spot on the ceiling shimmered, and Serena could not help but grin.
Twisting her wrists behind her back, she noted the rope holding them together. She closed her eyes to envision the knot and began untying the coarse restraint. When it loosened enough for her hands to slip free, she brought them to her lap. Serena massaged the tender skin and heard a hiss.
Darting to her feet, she turned and found a king cobra. Serena froze at the sight of the olive green scales and oval hood framing golden irises which watched her with deadly intent. A black tongue slithered out, releasing another warning hiss in her direction. Nothing stood between the roughly four feet separating them. It could attack any moment and she was well within its range.
“What’s wrong?”Ethan asked as her fear heightened.
“Oh, you know, just a cobra snake. Have I mentioned I’m terrified of snakes?”she asked as her heart thundered against her rib cage.
The snake attacked, and she lurched to the side.“Reconditos sacculo.”Serena hissed as she waved her hand in a counterclockwise motion. A satchel enveloped the snake, making it no longer a threat, and it hissed.
“Snake?”Ethan asked.
“All good now. Aja has been rather busy it seems,”Serena said.
“Are you in the mansion then?”Ethan asked.
Slowing her breathing, she willed her heart to follow when someone entered. A few minutes passed as the person stood above her. While Serena knew for sure Aja was behind her kidnapping, she did not know if the witch was working by herself or with someone else. Had she managed to bring Volark back? Was she working with another higher-level demon? Serena could not risk—
Her body convulsed as she screamed with pain. Bolts of electricity ran down her skin, paralyzing her muscles from any sort of voluntary motion. Ethan’s voice screamed in her head, and his fear curled around her. She could barely think with the shock pulsating through her.
