Chapter 22

“What’s going on down here?”

Piper’s eyes widened with fear. “Sophie.” She shoved me away, hopped off the counter, and spun to face her sister. “Nothing’s going on.”

“Didn’t look that way.” Sophie’s tone was curt.

I stood closely behind Piper, arms crossed over my chest, and watched the exchange between her and her sister. Why did it seem like Sophie was scolding Piper for being here with me? None of this was any of Sophie’s concern, and I’d have no issues telling her so.

“Jax was injured while hunting. I was simply healing him.”

Why was Piper explaining herself? Once again, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a lot more going on with these sisters than they let on. But what the hell could they be hiding?

“Do you need something, Sophie?” I raised a brow and took a step closer to Piper, my chest brushing against her back.

“I need to speak to my sister. Alone,” she snapped.

Lips pursed, I nodded. Between their secrecy, whatever little spat they were about to have, and my apparent inability to keep my hands off Piper, it was probably better for everyone if I left. Not that I really wanted to be away from Piper, but we both needed to cool off.

I scooped my bloody shirt from the floor, dropped it into the trash, then gathered what few things I had here. When I was finished, I moved toward the front door.

“You’re leaving?” Piper asked.

The hurt in her voice had me hesitating with my hand on the doorknob, but I was too much of a coward to look at her because I knew if I saw the same pain in her face that I heard in her voice, I’d never be able to walk out this door.

“Contrary to popular belief, I don’t actually live here.” I opened the door, then called over my shoulder, “I’ll be back in the morning.”

I forced one foot in front of the other and headed for my car. Tossing my bag into the back seat, I slammed the door, a spark of anger igniting in my chest. I’d barely gotten the driver’s door open when my attention snapped back to the porch. Everything inside of me shattered when I realized Piper wasn’t the one who’d followed me out of the house.

“Can we talk?” Sophie didn’t wait for an answer before walking toward me. She stopped near the front of the car. “Despite whatever you think of me, I’m not heartless. I know what’s happening between you and Piper.”

One hand propped on the hood of the car, the other clutching the door, I waited for her to continue.

“But things are incredibly complicated.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, everyone keeps telling me that, yet no one is willing to tell me what the hell that’s supposed to mean.”

“It means Piper has responsibilities to her family and to our kind. Responsibilities that she cannot turn her back on simply because you walked into her life.” Sophie gave me a sad smile. “Believe me, I wish things were different. More than you’ll ever know, but when I leave here in ten days, Piper will be leaving with me.”

I shifted on my feet. “And what if that’s not what she wants?”

“She has no choice in the matter.”

I slammed the door hard enough to make the whole car shake and stalked up to Sophie. “If you think for even one second that I’m just going to let her leave without a fight, you’re sorely mistaken.” I curled my hands into fists by my sides, a new determination surging through me.

“I don’t expect anything less, Jaxon, and I realize this will be incredibly difficult for you, but this is a fight you’ll lose.” She spun on her heel and disappeared back inside.

I let out a string of curses, climbed into the car, and sped out of the driveway. Over my dead fucking body would I lose this fight. Not when the fate of my eternity hung in the balance. Not when losing meant not having Piper by my side.

When I arrived home, all the lights in the house were on. Good. That meant everyone was awake. I walked in to find Colt and Wyatt on the couch, shouting at each other over a video game.

Whitney came out of the kitchen with an armful of snacks. She stopped when she saw me. “What’re you doing here?”

“Last I checked, I still lived here,” I snapped, turning my attention to Colt. “Where’s Dad?” I needed information, and if anyone would have it, Sean would. And if he didn’t have the answers I needed, he’d know where to find them.

Colt was so engrossed in the game he didn’t even acknowledge I’d asked him a question. I scowled.

“Wanna play?” Wyatt asked me.

“No. Colt. Where’s Dad?” I said much louder.

“Basement.” He didn’t bother looking away from the TV.

I tore down the stairs like my ass was on fire and came up short when I found Dad carrying empty boxes into the office. I followed him. “What’re you doing?”

“Figured it was time to pack all this stuff away.” He waved at his life’s work—family trees, letters, years upon years of research into so many people’s lineages.

He’d spent the better part of his life searching for a way to break the curse Rector had inflicted on him, but now that the curse was gone, he no longer needed all this stuff. Knowing he wouldn’t be driving himself crazy with this obsession was comforting, but in a way, it was sad, too. It was the end of an era. Albeit a dark and horrible one, but still.

“Jax?” Dad looked at me with concern. “Everything alright?”

“No.” I blew out a breath and flopped down on the couch that my father had spent a few too many nights sleeping on. “What do you know about the Pendragon Coven?”

“Not much.” He sat beside me. “Why?”

I gave him a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me look. Surely, if everyone else knew Piper was my soulmate, then Sean must know, too. But the longer I stared at him, the more I wondered if he really didn’t know.

“Piper’s my soulmate.”

Dad’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh. Didn’t see that one coming.”

“Yeah, me either.” I frowned. “The problem is, I know almost nothing about her or her coven, and she’s not very forthcoming with information.” I leaned forward, propped my elbows on my knees, and clasped my hands in front of me. “And tonight, Sophie told me in no uncertain terms that I’ll never have Piper because she has responsibilities.” I used air quotes around the word responsibilities.

“Wow.” Dad rubbed a hand down one side of his face. “Well, I don’t know too much because until recently, I thought the coven was extinct. They did a good job hiding themselves.”

I grunted. “There has to be something about them somewhere. Would Macaih know anything?”

And then I remembered those books Abby had bought in New Orleans. I’d teased her, but I’d asked to borrow them. They were sitting on my nightstand in my room. I doubted there’d be much information, but it was as good a place to start as any.

“I doubt it. He wasn’t around much during the Pendragon era. I can try to talk to Sophie if you’d like.”

I gave Dad a grateful smile. “Thanks, but I have a feeling that will only make things worse.”

He shook his head, grinning. “I still can’t believe Sophie is a Pendragon. She had me fooled.”

Sophie was just one of the many witches Dad had sought out for information about breaking the curse. Of course, she claimed she hadn’t been able to help. Who knew if that was the truth? Not that it mattered anymore.

With a sigh, I stood. “Want help down here?”

“No, I got it.” Dad stood and rested his hand on my shoulder. “Is there more you need to tell me?”

I started to shake my head, then stopped. “Do you have any idea why a witch wouldn’t be able to kiss on the lips?” As soon as the question left my mouth, I wanted to take the words back and shove them down my own throat.

“I’ve never heard of any reason why that would be an issue.” He shifted his weight and crossed his arms. “Every coven has their own set of interpersonal rules and ways of living. It could be tied to that.”

“Yeah, maybe.” But my gut was telling me this was something much bigger than a self-imposed set of rules. “Thanks, Dad.” I turned to leave.

“Have you talked to Isach about this?”

I froze, then slowly turned back around, brow raised. Our relationship with Isach had changed drastically over the last year or so, but to hear my father suggest I talk to the guy who used to be our sworn enemy was extremely odd.

“Why would I talk to Isach?”

“Because if anyone has any information about the Pendragons, he would. He did stay with them for a quite a while recently.”

Why hadn’t I thought of that? Not only was Isach a witch himself, he had spent time with Piper and all of her sisters. Surely, he must have learned something about them during his stay. Would he be willing to actually tell me anything useful, though? He’d been rather protective of Piper and her sisters when we’d found him. Either way, I’d have to catch Isach tomorrow before he left for his honeymoon and see if he’d talk.

I gave Dad a nod, then left the basement and went straight up to my room. Sitting on my bed, I grabbed the books Abby let me borrow and thumbed through the smallest one first—a pamphlet about the history of the Pendragon Palace. Mostly, it was about the construction of the building, the architecture, how it had been deemed a historical landmark and could never be torn down.

Tossing that one aside, I toed off my shoes and adjusted to sit with my back against the headboard. Then I reached for the thickest book—Pendragons and Other Tales of Witchery. The first several pages were filled with stuff I already knew: The Pendragons were royalty among the witches; they dealt in natural, elemental magic; their belief in the power of odd numbers; the devastating fire that led to the destruction of their coven.

I flipped through the next several pages, which were just images of the Pendragon Palace and a drawing of the coven’s crest. I came to a section about dragons. The chapter started with the same rumors I’d heard before—that the Pendragon Coven was in league with dragons. In an effort to form an alliance, the coven had held dozens of dragons prisoner in the palace basement to study them.

Talk about messed up. I couldn’t imagine Piper or any of her sisters being involved in something as twisted as this. Despite how much they annoyed me, they weren’t evil people. Then again, Piper had told me and Abby that the only reason she’d survived the fire was because her magical guide had escaped with her and her sisters. So, chances were, Piper never actually dealt with dragons. Knowing she hadn’t captured and tortured anyone made me feel a lot better.

I continued to read about how dragons breathed fire, but when in human form, they’re docile and kind, honest and loyal, and possessed a fiery passion for their family, mate, and offspring. The author could literally be describing any species in the world. According to this book, dragons, when asked a direct question, were unable to lie because doing so would go against their nature, causing them actual physical pain.

I winced at the thought. What must those dragons have gone through while being held captive by the Pendragons? The witches could have asked a dragon anything and gotten a direct, honest answer. The secrets they must have learned. And now, all of that knowledge was gone.

When I reached the end of chapter, I closed the book and returned it to my nightstand. Just as I’d figured, there wasn’t any useful information that would help me understand what was going on with Piper. That wouldn’t stop me, though, because tomorrow, I would get some answers, and I didn’t care what I had to do to get them.