Blood Magic (After Dark Book 7) by Sarah Bailey (historical books to read .txt) 📕

“Where is my brother, Dani?”

“He’s here, but then, so is Candace. Meet us at my father’s estate.”

She hung up before he had a chance to reply and handed the phone back to Jamie. Blue glittering magic shot out from her palm and another portal formed in front of them.

“Shall we?” Dani said, indicating it.

“Are we going for the ‘let’s bring everyone together and watch it all explode’ approach then?” Candace asked, grinning.

“Something like that.”

Dani had no idea how this would go down. She took Jamie’s hand, giving it a squeeze. All she needed was him to get through it. Without Jamie, her world was full of darkness and despair. He gave her hope. That’s what would carry them through.

I can only hope we’ll make it through all this bullshit.

The three of them went through the portal and landed outside the front doors of the royal estate. A moment later, Gavin appeared out of the shadows. Dani wondered where Neave was and why Gavin hadn’t brought anyone else.

“I wish I could carry more than one person at once,” Jamie muttered under his breath.

“You have other gifts,” Dani whispered, winking at him.

“Like driving you wild?”

She batted his arm and turned to the other vampire. Gavin looked like he was barely holding back from tearing into his brother.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“As you can see, I brought the Queen of Hell with me.”

Gavin eyed Candace.

“Don’t expect me to bow and say ‘Your Majesty’. Why are we here?”

Candace shook her head, smiling.

“Trust me, I hate titles. Lucifer tasked me with dealing with the demon, Selene. After all, she’s broken our laws and that requires punishment. I’d rather not be here any longer than I have to. The sooner I deal with both your problems, the better.”

No one spoke for a long moment. Gavin turned to Jamie.

“Just what did you do to bring down a fucking demon on my head, Jamie?”

Jamie looked at Dani for a moment, his eyes betraying his inner turmoil. She wanted to reassure him it’d be okay, but she knew this would be difficult for him. She had her own suspicions about what he’d done.

Before Jamie had a chance to open his mouth, the earth nearby cracked open, dirt falling into the hole. Out rose Selene, her red eyes glowing and two small horns protruded from her forehead. Dani trembled. At the very least, it solved the problem of how they were going to locate the demon.

Selene looked around at the assembled party before staring straight at Dani. Her eyes blazed with anger.

“Little fae, you are a thorn in my side,” Selene seethed.

Jamie stepped forward, putting Dani behind him.

“You’re here for me, not her.”

“Tell me, Jamie, have you informed your brother what you did yet because I’ll gladly fill him in.”

Dani put her hand on Jamie’s arm. She felt him tense at Selene’s words.

“I did it, Gav.”

He took Dani’s hand and held it tightly in his. She stepped back up to his side, looking up at him.

“You did what?” Gavin asked, staring at him with an unfathomable expression.

“I killed her.”

The weight of Jamie’s words sunk into Dani’s heart. She knew who he was talking about because everything suddenly made sense to her.

“Selene spread the rumours between her and Nathaniel. And then she broke the bond between us. I killed her during the chaos. It was me. I was with her when they came. I stabbed her in the back. She never saw it coming. It was such a mess. The look in her eye before she turned to ash still haunts me to this day. Everyone died that day except me. They all died because of me.”

Gavin took a step back. It was the only indication he was remotely affected by what Jamie said.

“Why?”

Jamie sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“She turned me against my will. Why do you think Neave and I are so close? She didn’t want this life either. You might not understand because you chose to be a vampire, but me? I wanted a normal fucking life.”

He let go of Dani’s hand and paced away.

“Yvonne thought when she turned me, I’d enjoy her pursuits. It was the opposite. I hated every moment I was with her. She was so cruel in her treatment of humans and it disgusted me. I couldn’t take it any longer, but I had to obey her because she sired me. And then one day, I met Selene and she gave me a way out. I was an idiot to think her deal wouldn’t haunt me for the rest of my days. I was desperate.”

He turned back to Gavin.

“I’ll understand if you report me to the Council and have me face the consequences of my actions.”

Selene clapped, her red eyes bright with amusement.

“Such a touching little story, isn’t it? You still haven’t fulfilled the terms of our deal, Jamie.”

Dani realised in that moment, Selene hadn’t really been paying attention to who was standing with them. Candace stepped forward.

“Your deal is null and void.”

Selene’s eyes flicked to Candace. Her face fell immediately, a snarl appearing instead.

“Oh, look who it is, my Queen - or should I call you Lucifer’s whore?”

Candace cracked her neck and strode towards the demon. She grabbed Selene by the neck and squeezed. The demon clawed at her hands.

“Call me a fucking whore one more time and I’ll end you. You broke the rules, Selene. I suggest you get on your knees and beg me for forgiveness. Not that it would do you any good. Who do you think sent me to find you, hmm? Do you think your Lord would appreciate you calling his Queen a whore?”

“Fuck you,” Selene croaked.

Candace shrugged.

“Well, that’s not