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To Astrid s surprise, Benedict smiled at him. From all he heard
Ben say about his father, he was a cruel, unloving man, and so far all
his actions showed otherwise.
Dad, how are you keeping her from doing her witchy voodoo on
you? Ben asked Benedict.
We just engineered these handy little talismans that render a
witch powerless if we put it on them. So her magical bomb is still in
place. The council will be sending these out to all field warriors to use
against witches. And let s just say they are coming in handy right
now.
The choker around his grandmother s neck was a close replica to
the one Ivan had put on him. He tugged on Klaus s arm, interrupting
the conversation. That looks like what my father used on me.
That s impossible. We just manufactured these. No one else has
access to them. How did he get... Benedict trailed off. He pursed his
lips together as he nodded to himself.
Looks like you know where to start your investigation, Klaus
offered.
I think you re right.
Astrid! Constance screamed.
He curled into Klaus s side at her yelling. He wanted to be rid of
her, too, but killing someone just because he could wasn t right. And
quite frankly, he wanted to see her pay for her crimes.
You don t have to talk to her, Benedict said. But I do need to
ask a favor of you, son.
What s that? he murmured.
Astrid s Wish 189
We need you to erase her memory of you being a fairy. I want to
keep that knowledge just between us and the few others who know
the truth. If word got out that you are indeed part fairy, part witch, I
believe others would hunt you down and try to kill you. The
possibility that you would become evil is just too risky for some to
take that chance.
But you don t believe that?
No. Benedict shook his head. My son is a good judge of
character, but I m even better. After meeting you, I can see that only
goodness flows through your veins. Benedict clapped him on the
shoulder.
Thank you, sir.
Come on over. Let s take care of that hateful bitch. Her jabbering
is giving me a migraine. Benedict walked them over to where
Constance sat struggling to free herself from him bindings.
Benedict, my husband will have your head for this. Where is my
son? Ivan! Constance continued to shout.
Oh, shut up. Van is quite aware of what is going on. He came to
me months ago with his suspicion about you. I guess you weren t as
secretive as you thought.
What do you mean, Constance stuttered out.
What I m saying is Van knew you and Ivan were up to
something. He just didn t know what. He asked me to keep an eye on
your comings and goings, and it wasn t until Ivan went to visit my
son that I started to piece together what was going on. He s not
coming to your rescue, Constance.
A stunned look spread across her face, and then her mask of
indifference dropped back into place. It doesn t matter. I ve got
leverage.
Oh yeah, and what might that be? Benedict taunted her.
I m sure Van would hate for it to get out that we created a half
breed. It would ruin his reputation with the council. So I think Ivan
and I are safe from prosecution. Constance grinned up at Benedict.
190 AJ Jarrett
Astrid wasn t surprised or upset that she was using him as her
bargaining tool to save her skin.
Hate to burst your bubble, but that won t be happening, and it s
only yourself you need to be worrying about.
The evil grin fell from Constance s mouth. What does that
mean?
It means my father is dead, Astrid said as he squatted down in
front of his grandmother. I killed him.
But...how... Her words came out broken. But he was your
father. How could you have done that?
How could you have handed me over to a monster who abused
me every day for over a hundred years? he asked but didn t wait to
hear her excuses. Fathering a child doesn t earn you respect and
devotion. It s being there to love and protect that does.
You couldn t find it in your heart to show him any mercy? she
asked, appalled by his choice of action.
Like you showed my mother?
Constance s blue eyes glazed over and became empty, black
holes. Maybe you are a Reznik after all. To kill without a second
thought.
I m nothing like you.
It doesn t matter. Your existence should garner me some
protection. Trade your life for mine, seems only fair, being how
special you are.
He reached out his hand to lie on Constance s arm, and Klaus
stopped him. What do you mean special ? Besides trying to destroy
the council, what else did you need Astrid for?
He looked from Klaus back to his grandmother. He was curious
about that one, too.
You ll see. When the coming begins, no one will be safe. Not
even your little half-breed fairy can save you.
What is the coming, Constance? Klaus demanded.
Astrid s Wish 191
I couldn t tell you even if I wanted to. Magic binds all things,
and a blood oath cannot be broken. Klaus gasped, and Constance
started to laugh uncontrollably.
Astrid sat back and watched the cruel woman of his youth go mad.
She fell apart at the seams, babbling nonsense. By the way Klaus
reacted to the blood-oath remark, they wouldn t be getting anything
out of her.
Laying his hand upon her arm, Astrid stared straight into her eyes.
I wish for you to forget that I m part fairy and that you even know
me. We are nothing to each other.
At his words, she quieted down and nodded her head absently as if
she were keeping time to a song. Once he removed his hand from her
arm, she came back to life.
What am I doing here? Where s my son? She examined Astrid
suspiciously. Who are you?
No one. Astrid stood up and let Klaus usher him out of the
room. This was his chance for a fresh start, and he was taking it. He
would deal with whatever this coming was when it came, but until
then he would just sit back and enjoy life. After the events of the past
day, he realized how precious a gift life truly was and wouldn t waste
a minute looking back.
192 AJ Jarrett
Chapter Twenty-Three
So many things needed to be discussed between him and Astrid
and among the council, but he couldn t process any more information.
He needed to spend some time alone with his mate. Klaus wanted the
comfort only his sweet angel could bring him.
No words were spoken when they arrived back at the warriors
compound. He carried Astrid up to their room and straight to the
shower. He turned the nozzle toward hot, and steam began to fill the
bathroom.
Astrid leaned against the wall, his eyes lifeless. The usual spark of
happiness was vacant in the blue depths. Everything his mate had
learned had to be taking its toll. Life kept dealing Astrid a bad hand,
and he wasn t given the option to fold when it became too much.
There was no escape for him. This was his life, but he wasn t alone.
Klaus would stand by the man he loved. A battle peeked just beyond
the horizon, heading their way a little closer every day, but together
they would see it through. Like his mother had said, Astrid was worth
all the struggles they had suffered through. And there was still more
to come, but he would fight, never giving up on what he and Astrid
shared.
He couldn t take away Astrid s pain or change his past, but he
could make his present and future full of love and happiness. Today
marked a clean slate for both of them, and the first order of business
would be to help his mate relax and take his mind off what happened
back at the abandon hangar.
He grabbed the hem of Astrid s T-shirt and pulled it over his head.
He didn t move. Astrid just stood there and let Klaus maneuver his
Astrid s Wish 193
body to remove his clothes. Next he popped the snap on Astrid s [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
