November Reign (Northarbor Coven #3)

15. Alone

Alone

Oak

To be honest, I thought it would take him less time to find me.

Soon after finding a decent hotel to hole up in, I sent Thyme a text letting him know I was safe, and the basics of my plan: I was going to lure Basil out.

Nearly a week went by, a full week where my reputation within the coven was slandered because of my prior relationship with Basil. If I’d known he was evil, I would never have slept with him, no matter how cute I thought he was. Strangely enough, I had principles then, and still had them. If the coven wanted to think the worst of me, then fuck them.

Seeing how little the coven knew me really made me wonder about my future with them. Unlike a shifter, I’d be fine on my own. I wasn’t a wolf who got touch starved and struggled outside of a pack. If Damon was willing, he could give me rights to stay and practice my magic in the city. I wouldn’t be a member of the coven, but I’d be close to my sister and Poppy when they decided to return from Abrocaelum. That way, I’d be able to see Sage grow up.

I’d be close to Thyme then.

Part of me wondered what he would do if I was still exiled from the coven once the dust settled on the Basil situation. Would he leave them too? Could we have a relationship with one of us in and the other out? I was worried coven politics would have an adverse effect on us. We would have to split a lot of things if I wasn’t welcome to come along to coven celebrations, for instance.

Being on my own in the city was a bit of a wake up call. All of my adult life I’d lived and worked in the coven, usually in the center of things, so I slept in the coven house, worked for coven businesses. Sure, I had money, a lot of witches, my family included, had investments or were old money people. Money wasn’t an issue for me, I just was lost and maybe lonely being on my own.

Staying in a hotel was new to me. I was thirty-five and had never really traveled much. When Zinna and I had come to Northarbor, we had been guests of the coven and stayed with our patron’s family. If we had to travel, we normally had someone to stay with along the way.

I hated it. The room was so sterile. The hotel too noisy. My magic felt constrained by all the spells on the building. I’d specifically picked one with anti-portal wards so Basil would have to come to me in a public place. It also gave me the security I needed to be able to sleep at night. Not that it worked.

Didn’t help that my sister absolutely hated this plan. I was berated by her every night, usually ending the call feeling guilty for the stress I was causing her and Poppy, who at this point was as much my sister as Zinna was.

Even at a distance, I felt loved. I just wanted to get this over with and get back to Thyme, who I missed so bad it ached.

Somehow, I’d gotten used to Thyme sneaking into my bed at night. Without him next to me, I struggled to switch off enough to rest. I spent my days bleary eyed with lack of sleep and needed to take naps just to survive the day. Basil couldn’t catch me unawares.

My phone buzzed with a text letting me know the players were in place. I’d spotted my tail about an hour before, then tested him just in case. He followed me through a number of stores, looking more and more frustrated as I went about my errands.

Once I was sure he was one of Basil’s people, I went to a cafe and watched people go by.

Basil didn’t leave me hanging for much longer. I’d been doing this dance all week, waiting for him to make his move. I knew he’d come for me. He wouldn’t be able to resist.

I’d chosen a seat on a bench facing the window, my back to the rest of the cafe. This way I could be seen from outside.

“Hey, baby. I’ve missed you,” Basil whispered into my ear, dipping slightly to kiss my cheek. I wanted to scrub the touch from my skin, but I had to bear it.

He took a seat next to me, waving down a server and ordering an Americano.

“So,” he said in a gossiping voice, “I heard a rumor about you.”

“Did you now?” I tried to play it off like I was bored. My palms were sweaty and bile rose in my throat. If I didn’t care about everyone around me or even getting out alive, I could end Basil.

In the distance, I caught a flash of copper hair. Thyme was waiting for me to make this look convincing.

Before he spoke again, Basil waited for the server to drop off his coffee. He drew the moment out by taking a sip first.

“Word is they kicked you out of the coven. Turns out they didn’t like you fraternizing with the enemy! Can you believe it?”

“Shocking!” I took a drink of my tea, desperate to get this done, but not wanting to look obvious .

Basil laughed. “Thanks for outing me, by the way. All the coven leaders are throwing their sons at me now, too.”

“Sorry, I guess.” I gave a careless shrug.

“You should be. They were most upset when I explained my heart was already taken.” Basil was grinning. I couldn’t believe I ever thought he was attractive. It was easy to see the monster under the mask now.

“I wasn’t aware you had a heart,” I deadpanned.

He got closer to me, practically snuggling in. “Only for you. Now I’m ready to forgive your last mistakes and take you back.”

Tamping down my urge to cringe away was difficult. There it was. The reason he was here. He wasn’t doing this because he loved me or even missed me. He had another motive.

“What mistakes? I meant what I said about the shifters. You can’t treat them like animals just because they can turn into them.”

“And haven’t I listened to your wise advice?” He held a hand against his chest in a dramatic fashion. “The aviary has been most welcoming. I’ve even been helping them with their magical needs!”

“For a price.” Internally, I rolled my eyes. He was insufferable .

“Well, I can’t do things for free! They protect me, help me fight, and I help them. Wins all round.”

“Right.”

“Which is why I can’t just take you back for free.”

Ah, there it was, the price. Looking eager for information would look suspicious. Basil wasn’t expecting me to make this easy on him, so I couldn’t throw up red flags by agreeing too soon.

“What’s there to say I want to come back?”

“Of course you do!” He threaded our fingers together in a show of affection. “You’ll lead the coven with me, standing by my side as you’re supposed to be.” His grip tightened. “Together, we’ll make them sorry for kicking you out.”

His voice was dark, threatening violence on everyone he perceived as a threat.

“Tempting, but I’ll pass.” I pried my fingers free.

“Oh, I think you’ll change your mind when you hear the consequences of arguing with me.” He fixed me with those sky-blue eyes, the same shade as Thyme and Damon’s, yet without the warmth either of them had.

The expression had dread pooling in my gut, my insides growing cold. This man was so dangerous. Underestimating him was a mistake .

“What have you done?”

“Do you really think there isn’t a place I can’t reach? Agree to come back to me, or I’ll take more than your sister’s magic this time. Abrocaelum is only a portal away. Have you been there? It’s a beautiful place.”

Fear kept me frozen.

“Ah, I think you understand now.” He paused, letting the moment drag out. “So, do you agree to come home to me?”

There really was no choice. I knew what he would ask. The coven would never trust me again.

“Yes. You have to swear to leave Poppy, Zinna, and Sage alone. They’ve got nothing to do with this!”

“Done,” he agreed easily, like he hadn’t been threatening my family. “Like you say, they aren’t in our way now.” He reached for my face, cupping my chin in his fingers, his grip hardening as he spoke. “Don’t cross me and I won’t hurt them. Understand?”

I tried not to wince. His fingers were likely leaving bruises. “Yes. I have some stuff—“

Basil let go, but not before patting my cheek. “At the hotel you’ve been staying in? You won’t need it. Besides, I have a job for you first.”

“A job?”

“Yes. Come on, let’s take a walk. See if we can lose the ones following you.” He got up and held out a hand to me.

“You saw them? ”

He gave me a withering look. “Let’s not play games. They’ve been waiting for me to show up as much as they’ve been keeping tabs on you. I didn’t come alone, of course, so it won’t take long to shake them off.”

“Basil…”

He gave a dramatic, full body shiver. “I love it when you say my name! I’ve really missed you, baby, so I hope you can do this one thing for me.”

We walked outside into the cool November air. There was a bite of frost and people were rushing around, their shoulders hunched against the cold.

Basil didn’t give me time to properly tie my coat, just pulled me along the street where it was quieter.

“What is this?” I demanded, trying to pull free.

“You need to prove your loyalty to me if you want to be by my side.”

“I think you forget you’re blackmailing me to come back to you. I don’t have to do squat.”

His chuckle was low. He waved a hand brushing my words away. “Semantics. Besides, my coven needs proof you belong beside me.”

His coven? WTF? How many witches had he pulled over to his way of thinking?

“What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to bring me Damon.”

My heart fell into my feet.

“Damon? He’ll kill me! ”

“No, he won’t. You see, they are going to take you back and feel so very sorry for you they’ll drop their guard around you. That’s when you’ll strike.”

“No.”

“Yes. Get me Damon and the book. Then you can have an easy, comfortable life with me. I’ll give you anything you want.” His smile was chilling. “Your sister will be safe as long as she stays in Abrocaelum and lets me have Northarbor.” His eyes held a dangerous glint. “The coven is mine. I’m just taking it back.”

“Basil, please!” I tugged him to a stop, imploring him to see sense.

“Swear you’ll do it.”

There was no chance he’d accept anything less. It was Damon, or my family.

“I swear.”

He reached for me, pulled me against him. He was only a little shorter than me. Going onto his tiptoes, he kissed my cheek once more.

“Sorry about this.”

Then they attacked.

Witches, Basil’s followers, and shifters from the aviary came for me on all sides as Basil stood and watched. They battered me with magic and fists and I tried my damndest to lessen the damage. On and on the fight went. I’d like to say I did as much harm as they did to me, but that would be a lie. They roared in satisfaction when they drew first blood. People around us screamed at them to stop. They didn’t until Basil let out a spark of magic.

I thought I was going to die there on the street.

Basil’s cruel smirk was the last thing I saw before I lost consciousness.