Page 94 of An Oath at Midnight

Her eyes narrowed. “I know all I need to. She’s let power go to her head, then she mated a monster and turned into one. She’s as vicious and deranged as the dog she lies down with. Now get the hell out of here before I call the witches council and report you.”

Isaac had poisoned her. He’d poisoned all of them against my sister. The guy was a master manipulator, that much was obvious, and Maria had fallen for his bullshit.

There was no talking her around—she clearly couldn’t think for herself, and the last thing I needed was the council breathing down my neck. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if she called them, anyway.

Bram scooped me up and dove off the balcony.

“Well, that was a waste of time,” I said when he landed.

He gave the back of my neck a gentle squeeze, then released me. “Where to now?” he asked when we got back to the car.

“Let’s go to the Golden mansion.” I’d tried calling the hospital, but they weren’t giving out information on Chase’s condition, not unless you were family. I’d lied and said I was Leah, his bitch of a cousin, but then they’d asked for a password. Not surprising since reporters from several Nightscape news and gossip pages had apparently been hounding the hospital staff for details.

So far, Chase was the only one to survive one of these attacks, and people wanted to know all the gory details.

We rolled up to the mansion a short time later, and the gates opened immediately.

I glanced at Bram. “Maria had to have warned everyone about us.”

“Without doubt.” I’d expected the gates to stay firmly closed and locked, honestly. I’d planned to try to pay off one of their staff members to get the intel. This was definitely a surprise.

Bram parked the car, and we got out as the main door to the house opened and Leah Golden walked out. Great. Just freaking wonderful.

Chase and his cousin weren’t all that close from what I’d understood. She certainly didn’t look upset as she skipped down the stairs in her short, floaty sundress. She also didn’t look my way once. Her eyes were firmly on Bram.

That explains why we were let in so easily.

“Hey,” she said as she strode toward us. “Maria called.” She glanced at me and screwed up her face. “You scared the hell out of her, and if anyone else was here, they wouldn’t have let you in. You’re lucky it’s just me.” She turned to Bram. “I volunteered to house-sit. Chase has a couple dogs that need feeding and…” She motioned to the huge house and grinned. “Staying here is no great hardship.” She honest to god batted her lashes at him. “It does get kind of lonely, though, all on my own—”

“How is Chase?” I said, cutting off whatever was about to come out of her mouth next. It didn’t take a genius to work out what she was hinting at.

Her gaze sliced back to me. “Why do you want to know? How is it any of your business, Magnolia?”

“I’m sure Maria filled you in. I’m trying to clear my sister’s name.”

“Good luck with that.” She rolled her eyes and dismissed me, turning back to Bram, and the hungry look she gave him lifted my hackles. “How’ve you been, Bram? I haven’t seen you around in a while.”

Heat rose from my gut, filling me with instant fire. I didn’t like her looking at Bram, let alone talking to him.

His eyes narrowed. “Is Chase still in a coma?” he asked, voice low, clipped, and ignoring her question.

She clasped her hands in front of her, squeezing her boobs together so they bulged out of her dress, and licked her lips. “If you say please, I’ll tell you.”

Bram’s eyes darkened dangerously.

Her eyes went wide, but not from fear, from excitement. She giggled nervously and lightly hit his arm. “I’m just kidding around.” She looked at me. “And not that it’s any of your business, but yes, he is. The doctors say he’ll be like that for a while. He was pretty fucked up when they brought him in, even the best healers said it could take weeks before he’s ready to be woken up.”

Shit.

She turned back to Bram. “So, um…did Magnolia tell you I was going to call? I tried a few times, but you didn’t pick up. I assumed you didn’t know it was me.” She held out her hand. “Give me your phone and I’ll add my number to your contacts, so you know who’s calling next time.”

“No,” Bram said.

She blinked up at him, a confounded look on her face. “No?”

He curled his arm around me, and I leaned into him.

Fury filled her eyes. “You said you weren’t together!”