In the darkness of the bedroom that surrounded him, Haldir tried to drift off to sleep. Teddy said a spell of protection over the thin, wooden door, but he didn’t trust the warlock’s skill yet.
Once he relaxed enough to let his mind wander in the celestial plane, he envisioned Tessa in his mind. Not the little girl that laid beside her brother in the other bed as weak and helpless as the day she was born, but the one she was meant to be.
She glowed as bright as the angry sun on the hottest day as she walked through the fields of her enemies and cackled in her witchy way as she laid them all to waste.
Dreadful and beautiful, the oldest of warlocks bowed down before Tessa in reverence as they witnessed her carnage. The Queen of Ruin returned, and even the devil himself feared her.
He squinted through the flames and black smoke as he followed her and her beasts through the field of war-torn bodies until he noticed a familiar form on horseback in
“Jesus, will you go tell your sister to hurry up? We’re going to be late.” Haldir checked his cuff link with his arm turned over as Teddy admired his hair in the mirror.“Yeah, I’m on it.” His handmade leather shoes slid across the marble floor as he passed through the villa, and the waves crashed against the rocky cliffs outside the windows while the Mediterranean breeze swept through the home.His knuckles bounced off the doorway he leaned against as he knocked on it. “We’re waiting on you.”While she slid her hands down her waist, Tessa turned to the side and took in the splendor of her own loveliness in the full-length mirror. “Yes, I’m aware, but something that looks this amazing is worth waiting a few extra minutes on, don’t you think?”The makeshift family was in hiding for ten years, and now that the danger was over, they appeared in public under their proper names witho
“Sleepwalk…” Tessa shook her head as the song she long ago refused to utter fell so sweetly from her lips again. “Where in the hell did that come from?”While she packed her things in her room, she found herself humming the tune again. The flash of the memory of Rafik’s brown eyes came to her mind, and she swallowed back the urge to cry. “What the hell is going on?”Leaning over with his hands clasped between his legs, Haldir breathed away the dull ache in his chest. He’d spent almost every second with her for ten years, and the thought of her being somewhere without him made a sick sensation rise in his gut. “Don’t you think you should prepare her for what’s about to happen?”On the soft, white couch across from
“Hello, Rohi.”In the last ten years, Tessa often wondered if she remembered everything right, but he had changed little since she last saw him. His curly black hair was shorter, and he had a short black beard, but his dark brown eyes still had a hint of amber in the right light. The dark tawny skin she remembered was paler now, but Rafik spent most of his time in a cold, damp basement these days.While he inched closer to her across the dusty old floor, Rafik’s chest pounded with the renewed spark of their bond. Seeing her was like a surge of fire running through his veins that made him breathless, and he placed his hand on his chest to catch some of her magic. He sensed her fury and grief as her eyes burned through him. “I’m sorry, Tessa.”When her eyes locked with his, the room heated with her rage while the Firestarter in her gained momentum. He knew it should terrify him, but he only stared in wonder at his rare creature.
Swinging her bag as she strolled through the apartment, Tessa hummed to herself, then stopped at the front door and picked up the phone. “Yes, this is Tessa Mason in apartment 1211. Can you send up the doorman, please?”She poured herself a drink at the bar and glanced up to the door when the knock came. “Come in, Reggie. It’s open.”The balding doorman smiled at Tessa and closed the door behind him. He was always happy to hear she was in town again because he made more than a pretty penny over the last few years from their side deals. “What can I do for you, Miss Mason?”She winked her eye and held up her finger. “One moment.” As she walked around the back of the bar, she knelt before the safe and opened it. “What’s the going rate these days, Reggie?”The doorman slid onto the wooden bar stool and shrugged. He was sure the witch didn’t care about money at all and would probably
“Please, come in.” Standing aside with his hand pressed against the heavy iron door, Rafik tilted his head inside. The soft scent of strawberries followed behind Tessa and made him miss the days spent on his grandfather’s farm.“Thank you.” She clasped her hands behind her back and glanced around the long vast basement lined in shelves full of glass bottles and books and scrolls. “I’m sorry I’m late.”Working her way slowly around the room as she examined the vials and papers, she inhaled through her nose, and a smile rose on her lips. The scent of old books would always take her back to the days of sitting on her father’s lap in his study while he read stories to her before bed.“You’re not late. I am at your service.” While she inspected her new surroundings, he stood by the door with his arms crossed as his eyes traveled all over her. The curly hairs that fell from her loose bun fra
“No, my love. Try again, please.” With his chin over her shoulder and his arms crossed, Rafik shook his head and scrutinized the way she chopped the root. The scent of spiced cider and the lyrical purr of his voice made Tessa pause before she continued to work.Every time he shifted on his feet or made a gesture with his hands, he wafted his familiar scent around the dusty air, and it clung to her skin like the little burrs that attach themselves in the woods.It was the third time he had her repeat the process for today’s potion, and she became more flustered by the minute.All her life, she was given numerous accolades and pats on the back for her natural talents but learning a skill like potions took more than her Fate-given abilities. Potions took finesse and were challenging in a new way to her, and she was getting tired and cranky from her constant failures.The f
Sleep Walk’s lyrics never sounded so lovely to Tessa as the words spilled from her red, glossy lips while she changed into her nightgown.Rafik was kind enough to allow her to leave early for the day, affording her time to visit the salon before her guest arrived this evening. It wasn’t so much for the prostitute’s benefit as it was for Tessa’s.She had a particular routine for her date nights. There were few things in her life she had control of, but the way she chose to love herself was one she wasn’t willing to skimp on.No matter who was between her legs, in her mind, it was always Rafik, and even in her imagination, she wanted to look pretty for him.She wore the same black nighty and used the same lotion every time she imagined her first night with him. The spicy scented cream on her skin warmed with her body heat as she rubbed it in, and the subtle notes of cinnamon and cloves filled the room.The knock came on
While he peered out the window over the city while waiting for Tessa, Rafik smiled at the reflection of himself as he recalled what he just witnessed. The sound of her pleasured cries of his name made a shiver shoot through his nerves to the deepest places inside him.Hearing the clicking of her shoes on the tile behind him, he turned to see his mate in all her post-coital splendor. She glowed like a fiery angel as he walked towards her and took her hand. Her face lit up in a golden-pink flush of color, and even her eyes smiled at him.Be it the mate bond or just her gifted charms of seduction, his heart melted each time he saw her again. “You look radiant as always, my love.”In typical Tessa fashion, she wore a black pencil dress and black heels with the long string of black pearls Haldir bought her when she turned sixteen. Her monochromatic color scheme was more like a uniform t