Page 7 of Azure Mania

“What was the chant you used?”

I bite the inside of my lip, drawing blood. The taste coats the inside of my mouth, and I’m reluctant to admit what it was because saying it out loud, will just prove how reckless and stupid the decision was.

“I improvised,” I wince at my own words. “It wasn’t a spell. I just know that I was so angry, and the words, all the curses I could’ve mustered… they just… came from my mouth before I could stop them.”

Octavia takes a deep breath, eyes closing for a moment. The silence is deafening, I can feel the tension, the shift in the air. It was stupid and reckless, at the time I couldn’t have stopped myself, even if I tried.

“Let me get this straight,” she says, her voice calm. “It was your first ever curse, and you just threw words around? Do you not understand how insane that is? It could’ve ended terribly! It could’ve backfired! What if it was you who was put to sleep instead?!”

“But it wasn’t!” I defend, though the words fall flat. “Look, I know it was stupid.”

“Yeah,” she scoffs. “And without knowing what words and magic you used, it’s impossible to tell where it all went wrong. I can tell you this much, you didn’t just become connected to him. It happened back then.”

“How can you be certain?”

“Because curses don’t suddenly start working after two hundred years. Your wording must’ve been unclear, or your intentions didn’t come from the right place within you. That is the only time a curse can go wrong.”

I sigh, gulping down the remainder of tea in one go. “So, what now?”

“Now, I must try and find a solution to this. I need to warn you, though, he’ll wake up soon. If he figures out what is going on and that you’re connected somehow, he might just snap his own neck.”

“It wouldn’t kill him, though.”

“But it would kill you, Yvonne. Please be careful. Better yet, just let him go.”

“I can’t let him go now,” I clench my jaw. “Not that he would leave. Now that he’s found me, he won’t be letting me go until I’m dead.”

“Then, you need to get the upper hand somehow.”

“But how?” I lift a brow, trying to hide the unease.

“Keep him sedated with magic, and shield yourself for now.”

“I’ll try.”

I can’t tell her that it took a lot out of me to cast both the protective spell on myself, and the one to knock him out. Doing it twice, or more, in a single day would definitely weaken me, and it would make it even easier for him attack.

“Good,” she breathes, offering a small smile. “We’ll figure this out, okay? We’ll find a way to separate you two, then you can kill him. Look forward to that.”

Chapter 4

Lucifer

The sound of heavy chains rattling makes my eyes snap open. I find myself in an unfamiliar space, yet it all reeks of her. The herbs, the potions, and every single thing Yvonne uses for her witchcraft wafts up my nose. If I were human, I’d definitely be nauseous from all the scents mingling together.

It’s most likely the basement in that little cottage of hers, since she wouldn’t risk taking me elsewhere. The small window to my left gives me a clear view, and the forest is the same as the one I came through.

I don’t know how long I was asleep. It could’ve been another two hundred years for all I’m know. She seems to love cursing me and putting me to sleep. I don’t feel any different, so she might not have used any more magic on me.

There’s a shit ton of magic on these chains, though. They’re too heavy to be human-made, and they’re fucking glowing. The glow is faint, but it’s there. Traces of magic are all around me, from the chains and the ingredients she has, to the damned walls. She vampire-proofed this entire basement, specifically for me.

I almost feel flattered.

I fist my hands at my sides and yank on the chains as hard as possible. They move a little, but it’s not enough for me to break free entirely. I keep going, repeating the process over and over. It takes me a while, but I eventually manage to rip them off the wall, it’s enough to walk freely.

I’d stay here for a while longer and snoop around, but I don’t have the time for that. My whole being is screaming at me to walk up the damned stairs, pull her heart right out of her chest and feed on it.

Once I reach the door, of course I find it bolted. A low chuckle slips past my lips, without too much effort, I break through the door, the force of the impact forcing the door off its hinges. It falls to the ground with a loud thud, and I waste no more time in searching for her.