Chapter Three
Brielle stood underthe spray of the shower until the steam fogged the glass and the water ran cold.The nightmare still clung to her skin, Marion’s screams lodged in her throat.She scrubbed at her arms as if she could wash away the echo of pain that had dragged her from sleep.When her teeth started chattering, she twisted the tap off and stepped out.
Wrapped in a towel, she stared at herself in the mirror.Her reflection stared back at her—rich caramel skin glistening with droplets, dark curls wild around her face, the sharp angles of her Irish side softened by the warm undertones of her African heritage.Her amber-brown eyes with flecks of green looked too bright, haunted but fierce, framed by lashes that still trembled from the adrenaline of waking.She was shaken but steadying.She reached for her phone, thumb hovering before she tapped out the group message to her coven.
Need to meet.Now.
Minutes later, she was walking into Ursula’s apartment.It had always been their anchor—the warm scent of herbs drifting from the kitchen, shelves crowded with books and crystals, and the mismatched chairs circling the coffee table.Saffron was already curled on the arm of the couch her mates both sat on, her mismatched eyes sparking with curiosity.Willow leaned against the window, Jacob at her side, while Liam lounged near the door, arms crossed.Ursula rose from her chair to greet Brielle, a hand brushing her arm in silent comfort.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Ursula said softly.
Brielle let out a shaky breath.“Not a ghost.A memory.”
The room went still.They all knew what that meant.
“I was Marion again,” Brielle continued, forcing the words past the lump in her throat.“There was a battle.The air reeked of smoke and blood.Fire licked the sky while witches screamed spells that tore the earth open beneath our feet.Liam and Jacob both fell at Matthew’s feet—he laughed as he struck them down—and then Libby...”She broke off, swallowing hard, the image burning behind her eyes.“She tried to protect them, and he cut her down, too.”Jacob’s hand slipped into Willow’s, his knuckles white.
Brielle’s voice wavered.“Saffie, I saw you, too.You were fighting with Ryan and Alaric at your back, and when they fell—when Matthew’s magic hit them—the pain hit me, too.I wasn’t just seeing it.I felt it.Like something inside me was ripping apart, like I was dying right there with them.”
The silence stretched, thick and heavy.Even the flicker of the candles on the table seemed to still.
Ursula stepped closer, her green eyes sharp with knowing.“It was a memory, Bri.You’re remembering who you were.The battle for the coven.”
Brielle frowned.“Wait, so I died in that battle?”
Ursula shot a glance at Saffie who was glaring back at her.“Um, yep, you did.”
“Wait,” Saffie placed her cup on the table in front of her and turned to face Ursula.“I thought Marion was killed in battle.”
“Well,” Ursula said with a shrug.“She kinda did.I mean, there was a hell of a battle going on at the time?”
Saffie stood, crossing her arms over her chest as she moved in Ursula’s direction.“What was it that killed our coven mate, Ursula?
Ursula threw her hands into the air.“I don’t know!I think it was your spell, that it backfired somehow.All I know is that one minute she was hauling ass towards you, and the next she was on the ground.”She looked over at Brielle, her eyes wet.“And she passed into the arms of her ancestors shortly after.”
Saffie frowned.“There was nothing in my curse that should have fired back on anyone, let alone one of us.”
Ursula crossed her own arms.“I can only tell you what I saw, not why.She was injured—hell, we all were.”
“Yeah,” Saffie said, not sounding convinced at all.
“And if that memory came back to her now, it cannot be random.”Willow said.
“Of course it’s not,” Saffron cut in, her tone brisk but her hands clenched tight in her lap.“Dreams like that are always warnings.Always the universe’s way of saying brace yourself.Something’s coming.”
Brielle pressed her fingers to her temple.“That’s what I think, too.It didn’t just feel like a memory.It felt like ...like I was being told to prepare.”
Silence stretched, heavy but threaded with the bond that held them together.Ursula finally said, “Then we prepare.Whatever it is, we face it the way we always have.Together.”
The knot in Brielle’s chest loosened just a little.She managed a smile.“Thanks.”She pushed to her feet, wincing at the ache still curling low in her ribs.“I need to grab some pain meds.Be right back.”
Jacob frowned.“Want me to go with you?”