A Fractured Family by Kaye Draper

Author:Kaye Draper [Kaye Draper]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-02-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Atropa Belladonna (Bella)

"Ah, Lovell, so glad you could join us." The elder of the O'Leary coven gestured at a wingback chair across from his ostentatious desk, with its black lacquer finish and its too-modern lines, his soft Irish accent deceptively welcoming.

I yanked my arm out of the grip of the beefy guard who had escorted me here and took a seat. "O'Leary," I said with a terse nod. "What is it you want my help with so badly?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You can call me Prime William," he said evenly. "And how is it that you have suddenly become so open to talking, when you have refused a word before now?"

I shrugged. "I'm fucking sick of sitting in a prison filled with second-rate citizens." I sneered at him, pulling on every bit of haughty disdain I had seen my parents use on other witches and lesser beings when I was younger. "As you so helpfully pointed out, William, I am a Lovell. I have centuries of top-tier magic running through my veins. I don't like to be told what to do, but I'm also not going to sit in that cage forever breathing the same air as those things." I crossed my arms over my chest. "So, I decided to hear you out this time. What do you want?"

The guy across from me didn't really look old enough to be the coven's prime—their wisest elder and leader. But then again, seeing what they got up to, I would be surprised if many people in this family made it past the ripe old age of twenty. Black magic had a way of drastically shortening life expectancies. It was a mystery to me why idiots like this always thought they were going to be the exception to the rule.

"You've managed to somehow stay hidden for over a decade," he said, his blue eyes raking over me from head to toe, probably measuring my not-inconsiderable magical aura. "What I want is for you to join a coven of your peers and help us right the wrongs of our society. I have to wonder, why has a Lovell witch been wasting her life in the shadows when you could have been helping with the cause all along?"

I arched a brow at him. "You'll forgive me for having some trust issues, given the fact that I'm the only Lovell whose head is still attached to her body."

He smirked at me. "You mean one of the only Lovells. It seems your sister isn’t so good at hiding. And she appears to be consorting with monsters." He gave me an innocent look. "Although…you have a little pet of your own, don't you? An ice jinn? Have both of the surviving Lovells become traitors to their blood?"

I snorted. "Hardly. We just learned that the best slaves are the ones who are the most devoted. It pays to let them think they're tolerable…liked, even." I lifted a hand and studied my nails. "It seems to me that the O'Learys could learn something from us.

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