Page 35 of An Oath at Midnight

“He didn’t know,” I said quickly. “It’s fine, I’m fine.”

“You went alone?” Iris yelled.

“Keep your damn voice down. I don’t want Mom knowing, not yet. She’ll only worry, and there’s nothing she can do to help me.”

Iris bared her teeth like one of the wolves she lived with. “How the fuck did you survive it?”

“It doesn’t matter, I did. It’s over and done with. Let’s move on,” I said, the tension around us so thick I couldn’t bear it. It wasn’t Bram’s fault, and I hated the way they were looking at him.

“Do you have someone to go with you to Agatheena’s?” Iris asked, not looking at Bram.

Rose appeared even more pissed, her eyes flashing to her bat’s, turning black for a second before returning to blue. “Relic would. Maybe we can get a message to him somehow? What about—”

“I’m standing right here,” Bram said, and that volatile energy grew, swirling around us both.

Bram never usually said boo, but that had changed, especially the last year.

Iris stared up at him, and her head tilted to the side. “You can’t blame us for asking, Bram. You’ve not exactly been around lately. Magnolia literally fought her way in and out of Oldwood Forest alone, something I can’t even fucking bear to think about.”

“You have been extremely busy,” Rose said, and the look in her eyes as she stared up at him gave me pause.

“Magnolia comes first,” he said, and there was a whole lot of grit in his voice.

“Does she?” Rose’s stare was utterly frigid. “She didn’t last night.”

Whoa. What the hell? I knew they were pissed off on my behalf and hated seeing me upset when he left, but my sweet sister looked ready to go into battle. “Rose, there are things you don’t know—”

“Did you tell her you visited The Vault a couple nights ago?” Rose asked, not looking away from him. “Is that where you were last night instead of protecting Magnolia?”

“No,” he ground out.

I spun to face him. “The Vault?” I thought he was at The Bank, the club above it. Apparently, that was only half of the story. The Vault was below the popular nightclub and a place where blood drinkers went to feed and fuck willing donors. Bram wasn’t a blood drinker, which meant the only reason he would be down there was to—

His eyes clashed with mine, but he said nothing. Not one fucking thing. I spun away and snatched the vial from Rose’s hand. “I’ve got this. I’ll let you know when I’m back.”

“Mags, hang on. You can’t go alone—”

Bram growled behind us, like a wolf or a freaking hellhound. “She won’t fucking be going alone.”

At his tone, both my sisters jolted in surprise. He’d never spoken to them like that, and they’d been too caught up in their own stuff, with living their own lives, to notice how much he’d changed. They noticed now.

“No,” I said. “I won’t. I’ll ask Asher.”

“Like fuck you will,” Bram said, grabbing my hand and gripping it tight. “You’re pissed at me. I deserve it, but I can’t do anything about that. I will be going with you, though. So it’s your choice. Either be pissed off all day, or get the fuck over it, because I’m your familiar and no one protects you but me. Understand?”

The room went utterly silent. Rose was blinking up at him stunned. Iris was wide-eyed, and going by her expression, she couldn’t decide if she was angry or impressed.

I knew what I was. Yanking my hand from his, I spun away and stormed from the room, Bram hot on my heels.

“Call when you get back, or we’re coming after you,” Rose called after us.

I strode out the door, and Bram grabbed my arm before I could get in the car.

“Stop it,” he said. “We’re not doing this. Do you hear me? We’re not fighting about this. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s wrong. So completely fucking wrong.”

“I’m thinking you went to The Vault to feed and fuck a vamp,” I said.

He did that thing where he locked eyes with me and said fucking nothing, like he wanted me to read his damn mind. The oath. He was there because he had to be. But he couldn’t tell me why, or what happened. I pulled my arm free of his hold and dragged in a steadying breath.