Something Witchy This Way Comes: A Jolie Wilkins Novel (6 page)

“His death?” Varick scoffed.

Mercedes considered him without amusement. “The Lurker threat is ever present,” she said simply.

At the mention of the Lurkers, I felt my stomach sink.

An hour later I found myself alone in the library, my head aching as I realized what I had to do. We had debated for another two hours before reaching a decision about Sinjin. In the end it was agreed that he should be banished.

I was mostly exhausted, but I did see Rand’s point. What it boiled down to was that even if I did believe that Sinjin meant to act in my best interests, he shouldn’t have tried to ruin my relationship with Rand—that was the true evil. That was the sticking point. Sinjin had wanted me to fall in love with him for his own selfish reasons, and that was why I had to punish him with a heavy hand—why he needed to be banished.

Knowing that what I had to do was going to be unpleasant, I took a deep breath and started for the door. I took the stairs two at a time, and when I emerged in the basement hallway, I could feel my heart beating wildly, thumping throughout my entire body.

I spotted the vampire guards outside Sinjin’s door immediately. Sinjin could have destroyed either of the
younger vampires in a heartbeat, had he the desire. But he had obviously chosen to play by the rules, not causing any upset in my kingdom. For that, I felt strangely drawn to him—and appreciative.

The vampires bowed when they recognized me, and I smiled my greetings in a hurried and absentminded way. “I need to see the vampire,” I said.

“We have been instructed not to allow you near him, my Queen,” one of the guards said.

“Rand does not have the authority to dictate whom I see,” I said sternly, realizing who the perpetrator was as soon as the guard spoke. Rand hadn’t wanted me to deliver Sinjin’s verdict to him in person, pointing out that according to Underworld custom, there would be a ceremony during which Sinjin was stripped of his position and officially banished. If anything, the fact that he would be so publicly humiliated made me want to see him alone all the more. I had to somehow explain everything to him.

The guard just nodded and stepped aside. I approached the heavy wooden door, but from the feeling of energy reverberating off it and stinging my cheeks, I realized it was charmed. I closed my eyes and held my palms up, facing the door, and imagined the magic fading away, breaking the spell. Why Rand had bespelled it was beyond me, because it wasn’t like witchcraft worked against vampires. Just extra precautions, I assumed.

I knocked, and didn’t hear a response from the other side. But moments later the door cracked open, revealing the breathtaking vampire on the other side. Of course, he knew it was me—he’d probably known from the moment I stepped into the hallway. I’m sure
he could smell me, and his incredible hearing would also have allowed him to eavesdrop on my conversation with the guards.

“My Queen,” he said with a grin as he bowed low.

I didn’t like the sound of “Queen” on his tongue. No, truth be told, I preferred it when Sinjin referred to me as “poppet” or “love,” his pet names for me. I closed the door behind me and took a deep breath, clasping my hands in front of me as I thought about the best way to start.

I found it difficult to even look at him. He was staring at me so unabashedly and appeared so … stunning. Yes, my feelings toward Sinjin Sinclair were lessening day by day, but I couldn’t deny that he meant something to me and always would. That was when I realized I’d always been in love with this man. Maybe not to the extent I was now, but there had always been a part of me that loved him—really, it was impossible not to love him.

But I knew that thoughts like those would do me absolutely no good, so I shut them down and focused on the task at hand. “You really outdid yourself this time,” I said, frowning at him.

“Perhaps and perhaps not,” the debonair vampire replied, continuing to stare at me in a way that made my heart rate increase.

“You have been stripped of your title as my protector,” I blurted, suddenly wanting nothing more than to say what I had to say and retire to the solitude of my bedroom.

Sinjin didn’t respond for a second or two, but then nodded as if he weren’t surprised. “Please inform Klaasje that Saxon should take my place. He is the
only vampire I would trust with your safety, aside from Klaasje herself, of course.”

I couldn’t help but remember the moments when Sinjin had been there for me. When I delivered my first speech as Queen and was so nervous I thought I might wet myself, Sinjin had given me the strength to carry on. Just glancing back at him and seeing those hard ice-blue eyes and his gentle nod had given me the courage to continue.

“That’s not all,” I managed, feeling as if I were choking on the words.

“Yes?” Sinjin said in a small voice. I glanced up from my fidgeting hands and found his gaze focused on me.

“You’ve been banished,” I said quietly.

Sinjin’s eyes narrowed, but almost immediately his expression was once again stoic. He just stood there, watching me. I tried to meet his gaze but found it increasingly difficult to do so. Feeling like I might pass out, I took a seat on his bed and rubbed my temples, sensing an ache beginning to build behind my eyes.

“This is a decision that will threaten your safety,” he said solemnly.

I glanced up at him in surprise. “My safety?”

He nodded. “The Lurker threat is ongoing, and I am the second strongest vampire in your kingdom.” The strongest was Varick.

“It isn’t a verdict I can rescind,” I said softly, focusing on the fibers of my headache so that I could unravel them with magic and do away with the pain.

“You are the Queen, and your word is final.”

I shook my head. “I may be the Queen, but where you’re concerned, I can’t be impartial. Therefore, I
must rely on my panel of advisors. Your case was voted on and I can’t and won’t reverse that order.” I took a deep breath. “You’ve been banished,” I said again.

“You do not support this decision,” he said softly.

I glanced up at him, surprised. Sometimes he was just so damned intuitive. “Why do you say that? I’m the Queen; obviously, I support it.”

But he shook his head, a small smile beautifying his lips. He was handsome—just as he always had been. “No, you do not.” And then he was silent for a second or two. “I can tell by your delivery.”

“My delivery?” I repeated.

He nodded and appeared amused. “Yes, you said ‘you’ve been banished’ as if it were outside your control. Had it been solely your decision, you would have said, ‘I am banishing you.’ ”

Sinjin had been around too long for me to try and pull any fast ones on him. It was futile to argue with him when he was right—I’d just dig myself into a deeper hole. “Well, that isn’t to say I’m not angry and upset with you,” I managed, wanting him to understand that while I might not support his exile, I was still angry and hurt by his actions.

He nodded. “I only ever acted to protect you, my love.”

I swallowed hard at the mention of “love.” But I ignored it. “You are much more enigmatic than that, Sinjin,” I said, and shook my head with a small laugh, as if to tell him I wasn’t dumb enough to swallow his words hook, line, and sinker. “I know you well enough to know that there’s never just one motive for you.”

He smiled, no doubt liking my comment. He seemed to enjoy being unpredictable and complex. “Perhaps.”

I took a deep breath, feeling light-headed and dizzy—like I hadn’t eaten anything in days and had just run a marathon. “There will be a … a ceremony,” I started, wanting to warn him. This was the part I liked least, but according to Rand and Mercedes, it was Underworld protocol.

Sinjin merely nodded. “Yes, of course.” Then he eyed me and shook his head with a small smile. “Do not imagine I am anxious about the silly thing.”

I glanced up at him, surprised. I had figured it would bother him. I mean, it would have bothered me. It did bother me, and I wasn’t even the one being banished. “You’re not?”

He chuckled. “It means nothing to me … just pomp and circumstance.”

I nodded and then remembered the rest of his verdict, wanting to prepare him. If I was in his shoes, I wouldn’t want any surprises. “After the ceremony ends, you will need to pack your things and vacate Kinloch Kirk within the hour.”

“That will be quite simple—I have no need of anything from this room,” he said, and glanced around with apparent languor before his eyes settled on me again and he smiled. “Save for one.”

Not wanting to touch that statement with a ten-foot pole, I changed the subject. “You, uh, you aren’t allowed back here ever again, Sinjin.” I felt something inside me break as the words fell off my tongue.

“I understand the terms of my banishment,” he said.

I nodded and stood up, feeling like I was going to implode. I started for the door, but realizing that this was the last time I would ever see him alone, I turned back to face him. I just wanted to imprint his male beauty in my memory, wanted to be able to recall his gently curving smile, the intelligence in his striking gaze, the splendor that was Sinjin Sinclair. Then I looked away.

“When someone dies,” Sinjin started, and I glanced up at him in surprise, “they say the friends and family of the deceased are able to recall his features, his mannerisms, and his voice for one year. Beyond a year, the memories become more and more obscure.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“Remember me well,” he said, a small laugh accompanying the macabre sentiment.

“I’m hardly sending you to your death,” I said, even though I doubted the truth in my own words. Who knew what awaited him out there?

Sinjin won’t die!
I promised myself.
Sinjin can’t die!
I mean, he’d been alive for six hundred years, so he could easily survive for another six hundred … right?

“Very true,” he said simply and shrugged.

“I’m … I’m sorry, Sinjin.”

“One thing I would like to make quite clear,” he added, wanting to have the last word. And I suddenly hoped he would belittle me, tell me he never cared a damn about me and, yes, had been acting out of selfishness all along. It would have made my decision that much easier.

“Yes?”

He took a few steps toward me, and I nearly suffocated
on his clean scent. I tried not to inhale. “I care more for you than I have cared for anyone … ever.”

I closed my eyes against the tears threatening to break through and shook my head. “No, Sinjin,” I started, then opened them, a sudden anger burning me from the inside out. “It’s too late for this. Grant me enough respect not to play with my emotions anymore.”

He reached out and grasped my shoulder. I reeled back at his icy touch, but it wasn’t the cold that warded me away—it was the way my heart fluttered when he touched me.

“You can banish me to the ends of the world, poppet, but you will never banish my feelings for you. You cannot deny me my own emotions.”

“Sinjin—” I started, but he shook his head, indicating that he wasn’t finished.

“And for that matter, your bloody panel can strip me of my position, banish me from Kinloch, but I will always remain dedicated to your protection, damn what anyone else says or thinks.”

I refused to look at him. “Sinjin, you can’t … your job here is done.”

He grasped my chin and tilted it, forcing my gaze upward, forcing me to take in his beautiful blue eyes. “As long as the Lurker threat continues, you are in danger.” He took a breath. “You are as aware of that as I am, poppet.”

“Klaasje and Saxon—” I started, trying to reassure myself that the Lurkers weren’t as much of a threat to my safety as Sinjin imagined they were.

He shook his head. “You know you are safest with me.”

“Sinjin …” I said his name and felt the rest of the sentence fall right off my tongue. I wasn’t even sure what I’d been about to say. He stayed silent, just smiling at me. But his smile spoke volumes—it said that this was by no means the end, that he wasn’t finished with me.

“I will see you at the ceremony,” I finally managed when it seemed like he was done with talking. I stepped away from him, but he just stepped closer to me again. “Take care of yourself, Sinjin,” I said as I started to turn around and palmed the doorknob.

His cold breath fanning across the back of my neck caused my own breath to catch in my throat.

“I know I never said the words you wanted to hear,” he whispered.

I closed my eyes and shook my head, refusing to allow him to bring this up now. “Sinjin, it’s way too little and way too late.”

Before I could take another breath, he whirled me around so I was facing him, his hands on my upper arms. I started to pull away but he was resolute, his eyes boring into mine. “I care for you more than I care for myself.”

I shook my head. “No, Sinjin, I don’t want to hear this.” And that was the truth. I didn’t want to hear it because I knew it could do no good. I was in love with Rand, just as I always had been, and while there was once a time when I’d imagined carving out a life with Sinjin, that time was long gone.

“You will hear it, dammit!” he railed back, and his urgency surprised me as much as the heightened tone of his voice.