Chapter 35

The seconds ticked by in silent tension. Finally, Piper, head held high, gracefully crossed the room to stand next to Chloe. My eyebrows rose with surprise. Why hadn’t Piper stood with her sisters? That’s what I had expected her to do. She barely knew any of us, and she didn’t really owe us anything, definitely not anything that would cause her to stand in solidarity with Chloe.

“She’s right, Sophie.” Piper’s voice was soft but unwavering. “We need to tell them.”

“Why?” Sabella’s shrill voice only added to the tension in the room. “What good will it do?”

“I don’t know.” Piper shrugged. “Maybe none, but they’re our friends. They deserve an explanation, and if you three choose not to give them one, so be it. I’ll tell them.” She straightened and lifted her head a little higher until it appeared as though she was looking down her nose at them.

Sophie shifted on her feet, her aura bouncing from anger to pride to indecision.

“You can’t be seriously considering this,” Sabella whispered harshly.

“I am.” Sophie nodded, then turned to Peyton. “Do you have an opinion on this matter?”

“Tell them or don’t.” Peyton waved her hand dismissively. “Them knowing won’t change what needs to be done.”

I narrowed my eyes, scrutinizing them. Every coven, no matter how small, had a leader. Outwardly, Sophie seemed to be the leader of the Pendragon Coven, but this wasn’t the first time I’d seen her defer to Peyton. So, which one of them was the true leader?

“Very well.” Sophie sighed. “Let’s sit and talk.”

I let out a pent-up breath. Maybe now I’d finally get some answers. When Chloe caught my gaze, I mouthed, “thank you.” She gave me a small smile, reached for Trent’s hand, and led him to sit on the far end of the couch. Nerves twisted my insides so badly I couldn’t sit still if my life depended on it. I remained standing, though I moved around to be closer to Trent and Chloe. Sophie, Peyton, and Sabella claimed the opposite end of the couch.

Piper stood near the coffee table, dead center between me and her sisters. The question now was where would she sit? Her decision would speak volumes about where her loyalties lay. After a moment, she sat delicately on the coffee table. Neutral territory. Guessed that was better than her sitting farther away.

“Start by telling us who the Draven Coven is and why they’re here looking for you,” Trent said.

“They’re one of the remaining royal covens.” Piper angled her body in our direction.

“The what?” Chloe asked.

While Piper launched into an explanation of the hierarchy of the magical community, the royal covens, her father’s reign as king, the Zoya’s involvement, the deal Samara and Ivy made, and the eventual downfall of the Pendragon Coven, I paced behind the couch.

She’d told me all of this the other night, so I didn’t really listen too closely. She had failed to mention she had any contact with the remaining royal covens. Of course, I hadn’t asked. Throughout her mini history lesson, Trent and Chloe were silent, their bodies tense and rigid. I could only imagine they were as shocked as I’d been. Wait until Dad heard about all of this.

When Piper finished speaking, Trent leaned back, rubbed his hands over his face, and said, “Wow.”

“No shit,” I muttered.

“I’m glad Ivy finally got what was coming to her.” Anger sizzled around Chloe. “But none of that answers Trent’s question. Why is the Draven Coven looking for you?”

Piper shared an uneasy glance with her sisters. I stopped pacing, and I was pretty sure my heart stopped, too. Jaw clenched, I crossed my arms, waiting for the answer that no one wanted to give.

“Each of the five royal covens has their own monarchy,” Sophie said. “With the sixth royal coven—the Pendragons—overseeing the entire magical community.”

“Why are the Pendragons the big dogs?” I asked.

“Because we’re the strongest.” Piper smiled at me. “We always have been. So, a very, very long time ago, our ancestors claimed the throne, appointed five other covens as royalty, and together, they ruled the witches.”

“Let me guess. The Draven Coven is making a power grab?” Chloe laughed bitterly. “What is with you witches and needing more power?”

I bit back a laugh.

“Not exactly.” Piper shifted on the coffee table again. “When our coven was destroyed, the magical community wasn’t really sure what to do. They had no leader, and everyone thought we were all dead, too. Then word spread that the curse had been broken, the balance had been restored, and shortly after that, the Zoya Coven was wiped out.”

“There were rumors that the royal covens were beginning to meet again, to discuss how to reinstate order to our community,” Sophie said. “But without a living Pendragon, without us, they needed to decide who would rule and who would receive royal coven status.”

“If everyone thinks you’re dead, how did those two Draven witches find you?” Trent sat forward, arms propped on his knees.

“Since helping Isach, and then all of you to get rid of Ivy, our existence is no longer a secret.” Piper hung her head.

“In our world, royalty is bound to royalty. Our father should have married someone from one of the other royal covens, but he met our mother and fell in love with her.” Sophie stood and wandered toward the front window. “That caused quite a bit of dissention among the royal covens, but as their king, no one wanted to stand against him.”

“You can’t control who you fall in love with.” I gripped the back of the couch, and Piper’s gaze collided with mine. A faint smile lifted the corners of her lips, and I was once again struck with the undeniable urge to kiss her. Tearing my attention from her, I said, “So, we know your father made a deal with Samara and Ivy that backfired. He tried to form an alliance with dragons.” I rolled my eyes. “The dragons wiped out your entire coven, except for the four of you.”

“Correct.” Sophie nodded.

“Still doesn’t explain the Draven Coven.” I shoved away from the couch. Something about all of this didn’t add up for me, but I couldn’t quite figure out what. “Why are they going out of their way to find you?”

“The Dravens have always known of our existence,” Peyton mumbled.

My eyebrows shot up, and I waited for her to elaborate, but she fell silent.

“Our father knew the dragons were growing angry and restless.” Piper sliced a look at Sophie, then stood to stand beside her. “Despite his efforts to calm tensions and unite them with the witches, the dragons weren’t having it.”

Slowly, Peyton and Sabella joined Sophie and Piper in front of the window, and a sense of dread settled over me. The four of them stood united, and I felt like I was staring down a firing squad.

“Despite the situation, our mother had a bond with the dragons, and one of them told her of the impending attack. Naturally, she told our father.” Piper clasped her hands in front of her, and while her head wasn’t lowered, she did a hell of a job keeping her gaze that way.

“Wanting to ensure our safety, he made our magical guide promise to get us out of the castle,” Sophie said.

“But our father wasn’t willing to entrust our lives to just one person.” Peyton spoke again, her voice level and devoid of any real emotion. “He made a deal with the Draven Coven.”

My chest squeezed with a sense of unshakable foreboding. “What kind of deal?”

“In exchange for keeping our existence a secret and making sure no harm came to us, our father swore a blood oath to the Draven Coven. When the firstborn son of their queen comes of age, he will get to choose a bride from the existing Pendragon Coven.”

I froze. My hands curled into fists at my sides, and I flexed my fingers. My jaw ached from how hard I clenched it.

“Wait… so you’re saying he gets to pick whichever one of you he wants?” Chloe’s tone mirrored my disgust and disbelief.

“Yes,” Piper whispered.

The sound of her voice like that, so soft and vulnerable, made everything inside of me snap. If this asshole Draven witch had the freedom to choose any one of them, he could easily choose Piper. And then what?

“And what if you refuse?” I asked.

“If we refuse, the three he didn’t choose will be put to death. Publicly and painfully,” Piper said. She still wouldn’t look anywhere but at the floor, or maybe the couch. I honestly couldn’t tell where her gaze was focused; I just knew it wasn’t on me.

“This deal was our father’s way of keeping us safe and making amends for not marrying from within the royal covens. Whoever Prince Gregory chooses will have no choice but to marry him. Together, they’ll claim the throne and reunite the royal covens,” Sophie said, her tone heavy with exhaustion. “This is our duty, and we cannot turn our backs on it.”

“Do you realize how fucked up this is?” I snapped. “You’re really going to just go home and offer yourselves up to this guy?” My gaze swept across the four of them, then landed squarely on my soulmate. “Piper?”

Finally, she looked at me, and part of me wished she hadn’t. The regret in her eyes tore at my resolve. So did the longing. Suddenly, her vague explanation from earlier made sense. These were the reasons she couldn’t give me permission to claim her.

“The magical community is in chaos. It has been for years, and it’s only gotten worse since news spread of Ivy’s death. Her coven doesn’t even have a leader anymore,” Piper said.

“I don’t give a shit about Ivy’s coven. I care about you, Piper, and if you think I’m just going to be okay with the idea of some strange witch picking you out of a lineup, you’re wrong.”

I locked up my muscles so I wouldn’t cross the room and drag Piper into my arms. I had a feeling her sisters wouldn’t like that all too much. Not that I cared what they thought, but I didn’t want to make this any harder on Piper.

“It’s bigger than just the magical community,” Sabella said, a bite to her tone. “This union will make us stronger, and it will finally achieve the one thing our father wanted above all else.”

“And what’s that? The highest level of insanity?” I glared at her before shifting my focus to Piper. “Can we please at least talk about this?”

Panicked desperation clawed its way up the back of my throat. If I couldn’t reason with her, I was going to lose her. That was so clear to me now.

Trent and Chloe rose and rounded the end of the couch to stand next to me. The proverbial line in the sand had been drawn, and Piper and I were clearly on opposite sides of it.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Peyton stepped forward. “You wanted an explanation, and now you have one, but there’s nothing you can say or do to change what needs to happen.”

“Can’t say we didn’t warn you.” Sabella tossed a smug smile at me, and I snarled.

“Enough.” Piper sighed and moved away from her sisters, though she didn’t come any closer to me. “Why are members of the Draven guard here? We were given ten days before we had to return.”

“King Draven has heard rumblings about you getting a little too close to a certain vampire.” Sabella’s accusatory gaze flickered to me. “So he sent his guard to find out what was going on.”

The reality of the situation crashed down around me. The Draven guards had seen me and Piper together tonight, in a rather intimate embrace. Granted, it had been for show, but they didn’t know that.

“I can’t do this.” I threw my hands up in the air, then vanished out the back door.

I released the tension in my muscles and let my instincts take over. I raced through the woods, pure adrenaline and fury propelling me forward. How could any of them accept that this was their fate? Especially Piper when she knew she was my soulmate. I had my answer now, though—she’d never let me claim her, and when the time ran out on her ten-day reprieve, she’d leave.

Stopping suddenly, I let out a guttural, animalistic scream and kicked the nearest tree. The trunk split with a deafening crack, then toppled to the ground in slow motion. I bent over, hands on my knees, and fought to draw in a breath that wasn’t laced with razor-sharp agony.

“Feel better?” Trent leaned against a nearby tree, arms crossed.

“No.”

“Chloe’s in there trying to talk some sense into them. Y’know, woman to woman.”

I grunted. “She’s wasting her time. They’ve already made up their minds.”

He pushed away from the tree and shoved his hands in his pockets. “It’s possible this Prince Gregory guy might not even choose Piper.”

I straightened. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I stalked up to my brother. “Were you not listening in there?” I jabbed my finger in the general direction of the cabin. “Our father was the reason Rector placed that curse on us, the same curse that led to everything else that happened, to the ultimate destruction of Piper’s entire coven, to the complete annihilation of the magical hierarchy. And now he knows I’ve been with Piper.” I paced away, my hands shaking with rage. “Vampires and witches have never had the best relationship. So, of course this guy is going to choose Piper. And he’s going to do it out of spite just to get even with us.”

Trent didn’t say anything else, not that there was anything he could say. He knew I was right.

“But the worst part is, if she tells me this is what she wants, I’m going to have to let her go. I won’t even be able to fight for her. For us.” My shoulders sagged, and I hung my head.

“The Jax I know wouldn’t give up so easily.” Trent shoved me.

I growled and shoved him back twice as hard. His feet dug into the ground, and he skidded a few feet away. But then he came at me again, this time harder and faster. He grabbed me around the neck and tossed me through the air like I weighed nothing.

Barely allowing the balls of my feet to touch the ground, I launched myself at him. “What the hell is your problem?”

“You’re my problem.”

He dodged me, and I reacted with lightning quick speed, landing a punch squarely against his jaw. His head snapped back, and then he laughed. I was momentarily stunned. My brother apparently had a death wish tonight.

Fangs bared, he was in front of me before I could blink. “If you give up now, you might as well march your sorry ass back into that house and pack her bags for her.”

I snarled, my vision darkening. I wasn’t going to stand here and listen to a pep talk. Not now when my world was shattering around me. When I attempted to move, Trent clutched my arms, his hold brutal and bruising.

“Let go of me,” I warned.

“Piper had ten days, and you’ve got what? Eight left?”

“So?” I jerked from his hold.

“Surely, Prince Jerkwad can’t choose a bride if she’s already bound to someone else.” He raised his brow. “Get her to choose you, Jax, before this guy chooses her.”

I opened my mouth to respond, to tell him I’d already asked her, and she’d shot me down, when a twig snapped in the distance. Trent and I turned toward the sound, both of us prepared to fight. Part of me hoped it was the Draven witches so I could kill them before they could report back to King What’s-His-Face.

But then Piper stepped into view.