Two Times the Trouble (9 page)

Her gaze dropped to the messy floor. “You. Ivan. My family. I can’t risk you telling somebody.”

“Who am I going to tell? We’ll be lucky to get out of here alive.” Too late, he caught that his volume had risen with his frustration.

“How about including the guy who almost died in the conversation? You also could’ve told me a tornado hit while I was unconscious.” Ivan’s observation had Liam shaking his head.

Giving up trying to exclude his brother from the discussion, he carried the food to Ivan. “We deserve the truth, Jolán.”

She sighed and followed him, sitting cross-legged on the floor at his brother’s feet. “You want to know why I had sex with you
and
Ivan? Fine, I’ll tell you.”

Liam sat, leaning against the wall as she glanced back and forth between him and Ivan.

Her whole body trembled with a noisy inhale and exhale. “I want you both.”

I’m hallucinating.
Ivan couldn’t come up with any other reason for Jolán saying she wanted him
and
Liam. He’d bashed his head on the concrete floor when he’d fallen, and he was in a coma having bizarre dreams. How did wanting them both put everyone in danger?

A clap of thunder shook the ground, and the loose rubble tangled above most of the basement shifted. The momentary tensing of his muscles sent a stab of pain up his neck. “Damn it, Liam, I thought you said the forecast wasn’t calling for storms until Wednesday.”

Jolán huddled farther into the corner. “This is a different kind of storm. He’s going to destroy us all.”

Crowding into the shelter of the wall, his brother hovered over them. “He who? If I’m going to die, I at least want to know who’s trying to kill me.”

She hesitated.

Ivan pulled her onto his lap. “We need to know what we’re up against. Trust us, Jolán. Please.”

The fear in her eyes warned him he wouldn’t like the truth. “He’s my family’s enemy—an ancient shifter with the power to manipulate nature. He made the ants swarm last night, and now he’s causing earthquakes and thunderstorms. Kazmer.”

The last word came on a whisper so soft he almost didn’t hear it.

“His name means ‘great destroyer’ in the old language.”

This dream kept getting weirder and weirder. “Why is he trying to destroy your family?”

Another rumble sent loose pieces of wood crashing to the floor. A low hum vibrated in Ivan’s ears as if a thousand voices repeated the same phrases over and over but never spoke in unison.

Jolán relaxed against him and joined in the chorus of murmuring chants, the clarity of her rhyme sending a shiver up his spine.

Gather the powers of the fold.

Protect us all from evil old.

Repel the darkness and seal the rift.

Goodness and light shall stop the shift.

With each line, a howling wind grew louder. The chanting dimmed until only her melodic song remained. At the end of the third refrain, she lifted her hands toward the sky and closed her eyes. Serenity radiated from her, flowing through him as he gazed at her angelic expression. Her lips curved upward into a half smile, and the worry lines on her forehead relaxed into smooth skin. A soft glow surrounded her face.

The wailing suddenly faded to silence. Not eerie stillness. Soothing. Comforting.

Liam sat back on his heels and shoved his hands through his hair. “I’m guessing that was the great destroyer. Any chance you can use a poem to get us out of here?”

His brother’s calm tone didn’t fool Ivan for a second. The only things missing from the magic show were a wand and sparkles. Liam was a skeptic, and his beliefs—or
disbelief
—had been debunked in a big way. His mind had to have been blown wide open.

She lowered her arms and melted into Ivan. “Safe. For now.”

Her body became dead weight with the quiet declaration. When she slipped from his weakened hold, Liam scooped her up and settled on the floor next to him. She seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.

Stray hairs from her long loose braid tickled Ivan’s arm. “What do you think? Elf, fairy, or witch?”

“Jesus, I don’t even want to know.” Liam adjusted her head to rest on his chest and ran his fingertip along her cheek. “What did I get us into? She has some evil guy with superpowers after her, and she says she wants both of us. I’m not sure how I feel about sharing her—even with you. Oh, and we’re trapped in this hellhole until who knows when.”

“You know what? I don’t give a damn if we’re stuck here. She’s with us, and as much as I’d like to be selfish, I’ll take what she has to offer. I’m pretty sure at least three of her cousins and one of her sisters have two husbands. The one who had twins yesterday? Did you notice that the baby girl was dark like Amalric, and the boy was light-haired like Ranulf?”

“Yeah, I saw. Bigamy is illegal in this country, though.” Leaning back against the wall, Liam sighed. “Why are we talking about marriage? We met her a day ago.”

“There’s something about her. I always figured I’d know when I found the right girl, and she’s it. Somehow, I just know.”

“Can we
not
discuss this now? You should drink some more water and eat a sandwich.” Liam closed his eyes, making his wish to end the conversation perfectly clear.

Food and drink sounded too good to argue with his brother. Ivan rummaged through the basket to see what other supplies would have to last long enough for somebody to dig them out. Half a sandwich might have to make his stomach happy.

* * * *

Exhaustion tried to confine Jolán within the boundaries of sleep, but noises tugged her to the edge of consciousness and beyond. Cicadas chirped. The occasional
thunk
—a hollow sound that reminded her of stacking firewood. Male voices echoed in her head.

“Are any of you injured?”

“We’re all okay.” Ivan’s casual baritone triggered goose bumps on her bare arms and a contraction between her thighs.

“Jolán has suffered no ill effects?” The formal language told her Amalric had to be one of the men talking.

“I don’t think so. She’s resting.”

How much time had passed since she’d linked with the women of the Macska clan to repair the tear in the protective spell around the estate? Had everyone else collapsed from the effort of expelling the enemy? The joy at being connected into a single entity with her family had to have saved her from the pure evil trying to invade their home.

“Was anyone in the house hurt?” Liam asked the foremost question in her mind, his concern obvious in his tone. That he worried about the welfare of the others more than cancelled out his standoffish nature.

“All are well. They only wish to know if Jolán is in good health. I will convey your assurances to them.”

“Tell Romána we’ll take care good of her until we can get out.”

“I shall. The day is nearly gone. Do you have need of anything for the night? Food? Water? Supplies for tending to cuts?”

“We should be fine ’til morning.”

After a long moment, Ivan spoke. “Hey, Amalric, can I ask you something?”

“You may, and I will do my best to answer.”

“Well, I was wondering about Jolán. Her family, too, I suppose. What kind of magic do they practice? You know, like elf magic or witchcraft.”

She almost choked at the turn in the conversation. Ivan and Liam must have seen and heard much more than she remembered. Taking them as mates required their acceptance of her heritage, but that discussion should’ve followed vows of love and loyalty. A wave of nausea swept over her. They’d never give her a chance to make them love her if they already suspected.

“I am sorry, but that is a question you must ask Jolán. It is hers to answer or not. Good night.”

At least Amalric had the decency to let her decide whether or not to reveal her family’s secret. Not that it mattered. They were already suspicious, and when she told Ivan and Liam, they’d think she was mentally deranged and refuse to stay—for her
or
the job. Then Great Grandmother would have to erase their memories of the attack, the encounters in the barn and the water garden, and the explanation about the family’s witch heritage. The disconnect would last a lifetime.

Jolán swallowed past the lump in her throat. Her first fertility cycle failure was going to be branded in her heart forever. What would everyone say if she proclaimed herself mateless at the third-quarter moon ceremony? The anticipation over the months leading to her twenty-first birthday had magnified her expectations to unrealistic proportions, and the letdown was downright depressing. Going through it all again in seven years horrified her.

I should spell myself to my bedroom and lock the door.

Smacking her forehead, she rolled her eyes. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? She’d simply use a transportation charm to get them out of the wreckage. The hunky construction workers needed their minds wiped anyway. Making them forget one more incident wouldn’t make a bit of difference in the end.

Remove us from these broken walls,

And take us to the mansion halls

To the cover of witch protection,

Where all shall witness their defection.

Keep us safe and blessed be.

Harm to none. Please set us free.

While the incantation wasn’t her best, and she should’ve been more specific about her destination, she wouldn’t complain about escaping the tangled prison even if they landed in a manure-filled stall in the barn.

She waited for the swirling lights, but her eyes met with only the shadows of the darkening basement.
Why didn’t it work?

None of the usual energy flowed through her veins. Had evicting the great destroyer sapped her abilities when she’d just come into her full powers yesterday? How ironic would that be? Losing her mates over skills she no longer possessed.

“You’re awake.” Liam knelt beside her, his features unreadable in the dim light. “How’re you feeling?”

Like my life’s been stolen from me.
She pasted on a smile. “I’m alive, and I don’t have any broken bones.”

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Okay is a relative term. I see we’re still stuck here.” Hopefully, he’d accept her change of subject.

“You can get us out, right?” Ivan peered at her over Liam’s shoulder. “I mean, you know witchcraft or magic or something. You can use a spell to send us to the main part of the house.”

She frowned and looked away. “No, I can’t do tricks like that.”

“Come on, Jolán. We saw what you did with the chanting stuff. You don’t have to hide your secret from us.” His cajoling tone almost convinced her to admit the truth.

Truth? What truth?
“I have no secret.” While her skills in spell casting had vanished, Ivan’s and Liam’s proximity reignited the hormonal part of her witchhood. Nothing about her fertility cycle resembled her expectations. If she distracted Liam and Ivan with sex, maybe they’d stop insisting she perform an impossible feat.
Another reason to curse you, Kazmer.

Brushing her hair from her forehead, Liam studied her. He exchanged a look with his stepbrother before letting out a sigh as he turned his attention back to her. “You sent some ancient shifter—whatever the hell that is—howling away from here. You said he’s your enemy and has the power to control nature. To know that, you have to have some kind of powers, too. I thought you trusted us.”

He played dirty, but so could she. Snaking an arm around his neck, she pulled him downward as she met him halfway for a kiss. The touch of his mouth against hers heated her blood, making her nipples harden and her clit throb.

She inched her fingers along his back and shoulder, savoring the hard and soft combination of muscle and skin. He groaned and traced the seam of her lips with his tongue. She considered denying him entrance for less than a second. Desire put an end to her hesitation, and she opened for his invasion, drowning in his taste and texture. The smooth glide as he explored every inch of her mouth drove her need higher. Only one thing was missing.

Reaching for Ivan, she tugged on his arm to encourage him to add fuel to the fire threatening to consume her. When he settled on the other side of her, she pressed his palm to her breast. His warm breath tickled her ear, and his fingers teased the tight nub until she had to drag her mouth from Liam’s to catch her breath.

She’d gladly tell them anything they wanted to know if they gave her what she needed. “I trust you to satisfy me.”

Liam tensed beneath her fingertips. “What if I want you all to myself?”

“I won’t be satisfied.” She had no intention of settling for one or the other. Admitting to them that they were both her mates was much less difficult than accepting it herself had been. “You don’t want to please me?”