CHAPTER ONE
SABELLE RION HEARD DEATH whisper, felt its breath on the back of her neck. Bram, it called. Come with me. She clutched her brother’s hand, trying desperately to keep him anchored in this mortal plain.
Since becoming a fully transitioned witch at twenty-four, she’d had the ability to touch others and make them feel whatever she wished. In the last sixty years, she’d perfected the skill. Very few were immune to her gift. But she had no idea if Bram could feel the positive healing vibrations she now sent his way. If so, they weren’t improving his condition.
Damn the black smoke surrounding her brother, slowly smothering his life and, she worried, his magic. And damn Mathias for attacking Bram with it! Fighting back angry tears, she clenched her fists, her fingernails cutting into her palms.
Just yesterday, they’d tangled with the evil wizard who had escaped after hundreds of years of exile. Last night, Conrad the healer and her aunt Millie had examined Bram. Neither knew what the deadly smoke was, exactly what damage it caused … or how to eradicate it.
They only knew it was draining the life of the person she loved most in this world.
“Can I come in?”
Sabelle looked over her shoulder as Lucan, her brother’s best friend, entered the room. Following Mathias’s abduction of his mate, Anka, and the breaking of their bond, Sabelle had cared for Lucan, providing him vital energy through sex while he’d been incoherent and suffering acute mate mourning. Bram had given him support, protection, and a roof over his head. It was no surprise that Lucan wanted to help care for Bram in return.
“Certainly.”
“Any change?” He caressed her shoulder.
The gesture surprised Sabelle. Lucan had never touched her while bound to his former mate. But now that Anka was in the arms of another, and he knew Sabelle had recently provided the sexual energy needed to keep him alive, had that changed their friendship in his eyes?
Nibbling on her lip, she risked a glance in Lucan’s direction. He was a beautiful man. Coffee-colored hair brushed wide shoulders. His shocking blue eyes lured a woman from between a thick fringe of black lashes. His mouth … He knew how to kiss; she’d learned that … eventually. over time, he’d become less frenzied in his mate mourning and pressed his mouth to hers. The skill of it had stunned her. Someday, they would both need a mate. Becoming Lucan’s would solve many problems . . .
She shook her head to clear the thought. His gesture meant nothing, was merely one of comfort. Lucan still had strong feelings for Anka. And it was impossible for Sabelle to think about her future when her beloved brother might soon pass to his nextlife.
“No change,” Sabelle murmured.
Clutching her shoulders, Lucan urged her to her feet to face him. “Come eat. You’re worrying yourself to exhaustion.”
She pulled away. “I can’t leave Bram. What if he wakes and needs me?”
“Spare yourself five minutes. olivia and Sydney have been cooking—the human way. It’s taken them hours to prepare enough food. They did it for you.”
The tears that had been threatening all day speared the back of her eyes, closed up her throat. Though she’d only known the other women for a few weeks, she already considered them great friends. Yes, circumstance had thrown them together. Having Mathias on the loose required a magical army to defeat him. Bram had assembled the Doomsday Brethren, a group of warriors, mostly magical, willing to fight. olivia and Sydney were mates to two of Bram’s fighting force, and had not only stood by their men, but the group. They’d risked themselves to rid magickind of this cancer, though the fight wasn’t theirs. Their efforts to help her touched Sabelle.
“Five minutes,” she agreed reluctantly.
Lucan nodded and brought her close. “I’m worried about you. You can’t carry all of Bram’s responsibilities on your shoulders.”
She cast him a desperate gaze. “I have to try. He’s worked so hard to build this—”
“No one will allow it to crumble. Come see. Everyone is assembled downstairs, waiting for you.”
Everyone? Surely not … “Shock?”
Lucan clenched his jaw. “No one wants the traitor here.”
Especially not the traitor who was now shagging Lucan’s former mate.
It touched her that the Doomsday Brethren had come to pay homage, but she feared only one person could help her brother. “Has anyone searched for Bram’s mysterious mate? Emma’s energy—”
“Might heal him. I know. But it’s hard to find a woman when you know nothing more than her first name. Sydney has volunteered to call Aquarius, since she presumably knows Emma.”
Sabelle shook her head. “Aquarius says she doesn’t know Emma’s whereabouts. Her flat is empty, her mobile phone disconnected. The shop she once worked in is closed tight. Bram already tried all those avenues. Clearly, the woman doesn’t want to be found.”
“In light of the situation, Sydney agreed to speak to Aquarius once more.”
She prayed the woman would help them this time. If not … The looming possibility stabbed despair through her heart. Sa-belle beat back a fresh batch of tears. She would not cry. Waste of time that solved nothing. She could fall apart later. Alone. Now, too much was at stake.
Lucan smoothed a thumb across her cheek. “You’re one of the bravest women I know, Bella. Bram is my best friend. Let me help you. Lean on me.”
The offer was tempting. Lucan was a strong wizard and warrior. But he’d lost his mate a mere month ago, and had only just learned that Anka sought refuge with an enemy. His whole life had been torn apart. He needed to get back on his own feet before worrying about her issues.
She plastered a smile on her face. “I’m fine, but thank you.”
“Let me help. There wasn’t time earlier for me to express . . .” He sighed. “Thank you. I know the sacrifice you made to save me, the risk you took in bedding someone feral to provide me proper energy to live and heal.” Lucan threaded his hand thorough her pale hair. “I remember being with you. Your fear. Your determination. Your softness.”
He remembered? Damn and blast. That would complicate everything. But it wasn’t as if she’d forgotten the feel of Lucan either, his heat, his hardness, his single-minded intent. The unexpected desire. In their time together, Sabelle had come to know him as a lover … and she wasn’t certain how she felt about it. Now was hardly the time to sort it out.
“Lucan, I—”
He brushed his lips over hers, cutting off her words. Soft but firm. Achingly gentle. He set his mouth on hers and merely felt her. Breathed her. Then he lifted his head.
“Anything you need, I will be here for you.”
Why? Friendship? Gratitude? Passion?
Though she often tried to block others’ thoughts, she peeked into Lucan’s. Friendship, certainly, and gratitude by the bucketload, a bare hint of passion—and a welter of confusion. She related to that.
Slipping from his mind, she sent him a wan smile. “Lead the way.”
Lucan took her hand and led her downstairs to the dining room. As he’d said, everyone was assembled. Marrok stood, tall and daunting as ever. olivia, his mate, sat beside him as he rested a big hand on the crown of her dark head. Envy tore through Sabelle. She ached for the sort of love and affection they shared. Between her brother’s protective streak and her obligation to marry well, she wondered if she’d ever find it.
“Are you all right?” Sydney asked gently.
The human redhead stood beside her wizard mate, Caden. Lucan and Caden exchanged a brotherly glance that she didn’t have the energy to decipher.
“Fine,” Sabelle reassured her. “Something smells good. Thank you for cooking.”
“Come eat so you can get back to Bram.” Sydney shoved a plate into her hands and gestured her toward the spread of food on the sideboard. Roasted hen, a flaky white fish, even a Beef Wellington, along with an array of vegetables and breads. The gesture touched her all over again, pricking her eyes with tears.
“Thank you so much.” Sabelle sniffed and blinked, holding back the tears.
“Eat.” Lucan pushed her toward the food, then accepted a plate from Sydney and stood protectively behind Sabelle.
She dished herself a few spoonfuls of food without looking at what she’d served herself. It was all just nutrients to help her tend Bram longer. Nothing else mattered.
Behind her, all the others plated up. Sabelle settled into her usual chair. Lucan sat directly to her left. Marrok and olivia settled in at the far end of the table. Caden and Sydney plopped down beside Lucan. The Doomsday Brethren’s newest member, Tynan o’Shea, sat glumly across from Marrok and began picking at his food. His vengeful thoughts blared past her mental barricades, along with his pain. His grief over his intended mate’s murder by Mathias was affecting his appetite. Sabelle had no trouble understanding why.
Beside her, Bram’s chair at the head of the table sat empty. The realization that he might never again sit there hit her like a blow to the belly. She lowered her fork and looked at her plate, now blurred through her tears.
“Sabelle.” Simon Northam, the Duke of Hurstgrove, approached the table slowly.
Until the formation of the Doomsday Brethren, Bram and Duke hadn’t known each other well, but despite his lofty human rank, he’d been a solid member of the group from day one.
She took a moment to swallow her tears, then raised her gaze. Being born a Rion, everyone expected her to lead by example, tamp down her fear, and move on. Bram, most of all, would demand it. For her brother, she’d stay strong.
“I’m fine.”
Duke nodded, dark hair looking uncommonly shaggy, as he set his plate on the table and eased himself into Bram’s chair. She swallowed an urge to jump up and rail at him. He could not take her brother’s place!
“Would you rather sit here, or shall I?” he asked softly.
The angry wind left her sails. She took a deep breath, common sense prevailing. The group needed a leader, and Duke occupying Bram’s chair signaled he was willing to take the job.
“You. I’m no warrior, and I’ll have my hands full with Bram’s Council business.”
He cast her a sympathetic gaze, a silent promise of support, then looked down the table. This was for the best. Mathias was weakened, but in no way defeated. The Doomsday Brethren had to stay together and remain strong.
Duke opened his mouth to speak when the last of the warriors sat down—directly across from her.
Ice.
Sabelle felt that intense green gaze of his fasten on her. Oh God.
Though fearsome and reportedly insane, since becoming a member of the Doomsday Brethren Ice had been on his best behavior—around her, anyway. Hardworking. Polite. Even-tempered … mostly. But the constant staring and the naked want on his face tied her belly in knots. He was a puzzle she was utterly compelled to solve.
His fierce expression made her wonder exactly what he was thinking. oddly, he was one of the few people whose mind she could not read. She’d tried. Nothing. Wondering what was in his head drove her mad. The one time Ice had put his arms around her to heal Sydney’s injured friend, Aquarius, had been overwhelming. Combustive.
Forbidden.
Not only born to the Privileged class of magickind, she was among its elite, the closest thing to royalty in the magical world. Rions were descendants of Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time. While Ice … well, the Rykards were not only Deprived, but disliked and distrusted—Ice more than most. As if that didn’t complicate their attraction enough, Bram hated him with a boundless passion.
Anything between her and Ice was impossible.
“Is something wrong?” Lucan asked, wrapping his warm fingers around her chilled ones.
Ice’s fork clattered to his plate, his mouth tight. She didn’t need to read his mind to feel his hostility. It raged across his face as he stared at her hand clasped in Lucan’s. Her breath caught, and her first instinct was to pull away. She checked it. Nothing good could come of fostering an attraction between her and a man she could never have. Better to let him believe her attentions were otherwise engaged.
She gripped Lucan’s hand in return, feeling his strength and fortitude.
“I’m fine.” Sabelle realized with a start that the entire table was staring, and she flushed. “Truly. Everyone eat.”
Silence reigned for long moments. No one spoke, and the dead air was painful. often, Bram led the conversation—or dominated it, as was his wont. The quiet now only reminded her that her brother might not live long enough to control the conversation again.
Suddenly, Duke cleared his throat and addressed the group. “No one can replace Bram, but someone must oversee our leadership while he recovers. Does anyone else want the role?”
Marrok shook his head. “I know not magickind’s people or how to help them in their time of need. I possess not Bram’s diplomacy. Those who impede our cause would feel only the hack of my blade, if I had my way.”