Page 41 of Incoronate
Dominic’s eyes darkened. “That bond makes you vulnerable.”
“What are you talking about? It makes me perfectly compatible,” he shot back. “Her soul already recognizes mine. We’re already connected. You want someone she won’t resist?” He glanced down at me with so much love in his eyes it made my throat ache. “She doesn’t have toletme in. I’m already there.”
I felt the truth of that ripple through the bond, solid and undeniable. He wasn’t posturing. He wasn’t trying to win. He was stating a fact as immutable as gravity.
Then again, I always felt the same exact thing with Dominic, even without the soulmate bond. It was a different connection, darker, but it was just as undeniable.
Dominic’s expression hardened. “She’s The Daughter of Hades. The anchor needs to be strong enough to handle that powerandthe Horsemen’s essence without breaking. That would require someone with a considerable threshold for darkness. Someone who’s already more than comfortable living in the shadows.” His mouth hitched at one corner, something dangerous playing there as his attention slid from me back to Trace. “Tell me, Romeo. How well do you think your hero complex would fare tethered to the corruption eating her alive?”
Trace’s jaw worked, his teeth grinding audibly. “Better than your martyr complex.”
Dominic’s grin sharpened. “Martyr? Hardly. That role is reserved for my brother, Saint Gabriel.”
“Boys,” drawled Annabelle, holding both her hands up to quiet them. “As entertaining as this dick-measuring contest is, it’s truly unnecessary. You can both be the anchor.”
Gabriel’s brows furrowed as he turned to Anita for confirmation. “Is that true?”
Anita nodded. “In fact, it might be better that way,” she said, studying Trace and Dominic like pieces on a board finally clicking into place, approval glinting beneath her scrutiny. “Splitting the load between two anchors instead of one. Less strain on each of you. Less risk of collapse.” Her eyes flicked to me, then back to them. “And a significantly higher chance of success.”
“Then it’s settled,” said Tessa, sitting back down into the chair as her hand drifted to her stomach, her palm gently resting against the fabric of her shirt. “They’ll both be the anchors.”
My gaze lingered on her hand. I had so many questions. How long? Who was the father? How had I missed it? Why hadn’t she told me sooner? But none of them connected enough to form words.
“Alright, what’s next?” asked Gabriel, his brows still pinched together in a frown. I couldn’t tell if the weary look in his eyes was due to fear or mistrust, but something haunted lingered there. Something that made the hollows beneath his eyes look deeper than all the times before.
“The next step is performing the spell.” Anita paused suddenly, releasing a heavy breath as her gaze darted around the room, looking wholly irritated. “But before we can do that, we need to get rid of theotherspell.”
Dominic’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, which clearly meant he hadn’t shared that information with them yet. “How do you know about that?”
“I can feel it.” She met Dominic’s eyes, blinking lazily as though his question was beneath her. As though he should have already known she would be ten steps in front of all of us. “The entire house reeks of it.”
“We’ve already tried searching for the talisman but had no luck finding it,” said Gabriel, looking as though he still hadn’t stopped kicking himself for being unable to perform the impossible.
Anita’s mouth pulled sideways, more scowl than smile. “Clearly, you weren’t looking in the right place.” She turned her head and nodded to Annabelle.
Annabelle was already moving, her heels clicking against the hardwood as she strode from the room without another word. Gabriel tipped his chin toward Caleb, who scrambled to his feet and followed after her, still looking half-dead but moving on pure adrenaline.
Arianna pouted her lips in disapproval. “Still don’t trust us, huh?”
Gabriel rubbed the back of his neck, but he didn’t bother answering her.
“You should,” she added softly.
The rest of us were left in the wake of her comment, no one quite knowing where to set their eyes. Morgan stood idly beside Carly, transferring her weight from foot to foot as though her feet were screaming at her in protest while Carly just stared out into the corridor where Caleb had gone, looking like she wanted to chase after him. I imagined it was probably because she was worried about her brother being alone with a Dark Caster.
My attention moved to my sister as she gazed blankly into the fireplace, her expression preoccupied and distant. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going through her head then.
How scared and confused she must have been.
I was just about to make a weak attempt at getting Trace’s attention so he could call her over to me when the sound of Annabelle and Caleb’s footsteps echoed back down the hallway. A few beats later, Annabelle swept back into the room with Caleb hot on her heels.
She ran her fingers through her bangs, brushing them away from her eyes with an easy flick before tossing something small and dark to her sister.
Anita barely made eye contact with her as she caught it easily with one hand.
“The talisman?” asked Gabriel, taking a curious step forward.
“The very one.” Anita turned the object over in her palm, examining it carefully before holding it up for everyone to see.
