Decision: Unforeseen Legacy, #4

By Kit Bladegrave

Fierce witches. Necromancers. Soul reapers. Mysterious shifters. Secret councils. Forbidden alliances. The Overlook Arcane Academy awaits. 

 

Half witch, half demon, Kate Devereaux's in deep. She's on the run and the only one she's sure she can trust is Lucas. Forget Kai. He's bad news. But like a bad penny, wouldn't you know it, Kai shows up again. And with him he brings fireworks. Lucas is in no way happy that Kai's back on the scene.

That's the least of Kate's problems. Now she's got demon hunters who are after her head. That's not good.

And guess what. They just found her.

 

Caution: Cliffhangers, violence can be found in this series of action-packed fantasy including necromancers, hot dragons, and fierce witches. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: KitBla
• Release date: May 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201919078

Book preview

1

Every day felt the same. There was underlying stress, making me jump at every creak in the floorboard or footstep in the hallway outside our door. I cleaned and made dinner and folded laundry on repeat. My whole life became the same exact sequence of events day after day, and I was grateful but only when I reminded myself that I should be.

There was absolutely nothing I could do. Going outside was out of the question, and with only Lucas able to work, there wasn’t much money to spend on extras. I read the same books over and over, and kept the TV turned to news stations whenever Lucas was gone so I wouldn’t feel so alone. I found myself longing for even the smallest things that I otherwise would have hated, like picking out vegetables in the grocery store or running to catch a bus.

I didn’t know any spells to treat this specific combination of boredom, loneliness, and restlessness. Sometimes Lucas would come home with a new potted plant for me, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was getting tired of those, too. I’d lined every windowsill in our little apartment with plants, but it didn’t change the fact that I couldn’t go outside.

Months had passed since we moved into the apartment, and since then, I hadn’t gone out the front door. I caught glimpses into the hallway when Lucas came and went, making me feel oddly like a prisoner. In my head, I knew that I could physically leave at any moment, but emotionally? That was a different matter.

I tried my best not to resent Lucas, but as the days turned into weeks, and then months, with still no changes or updates, I was beyond restless. Lucas had never said that I wasn’t allowed to go outside at all, but it was more something that we had both agreed on. I knew that getting caught and risking our lives wasn’t worth it for one walk around the block, let alone a job or a real life.

If I got up and walked through the door, Lucas wouldn’t do anything to stop me, other than making sure I knew the risks before going out. Which effectively was what stopped me. If I didn’t have people like Lucas on my side, who risked their lives to save me, I would probably be less careful. After months, the reason I didn’t want to get caught by demon hunters wasn’t as much for myself as it was for the people who cared about me.

Lilah, Hazel, and even Emery were back in New Orleans, but I didn’t even know if they were okay. They were so sure that nothing bad would happen to them if they went back, but I had wondered how much of that was only said for my benefit. And I had no idea what was happening to Magda, or the rest of my family. They hadn’t been involved when the demon hunters attacked me, but I had no way of knowing whether or not they were safe.

Or if they even care. The thought wove its way into my head before I could stop it.

My family loves me, I reminded myself. But it wasn’t enough to guarantee they would all still love me if they knew that I was half demon. As far as I could tell, no one in my family had known for sure what I was. If they did, they would have told me, rather than letting me find out on my own.

Aunt Eveline had known enough about what happened toward the end of my mom’s death to warn me not to go looking too deeply into what happened to her. Gran was astute enough to warn Lucas that his necromancy and my demon magic were a volatile mix.

Even just being around him made my demon magic stronger, and the more I noticed it, the more apparent it became. I wondered how I didn’t realize it for myself, and how I spent an entire year believing that Gran had said that to Lucas in an effort to get him to break up with me simply because she didn’t like him.

I spent a good chunk of every day thinking about how to ask Lucas about what we were going to do next. We were falling into a pattern that wasn’t necessarily beneficial to either of us, but I was growing increasingly afraid that he didn’t want to move on at all. I imagined a future where I stayed at home all day, doing chores and cooking and staring blankly at the wall in front of me while he was at work.

I wondered if he had friends there, and what he told people about himself. He told me about his day every time he got home, allowing me to live vicariously through him, if only for a few minutes. Every time, he left out anything that could be personal, like which coworkers he liked best and which ones he talked to on breaks. Did they even know he had a girlfriend at home? They must have.

Realistically, it didn’t matter. Selfishly, I didn’t want Lucas to have friends if I couldn’t. That wasn’t a thought I ever imagined I would have, but then again, nothing about my life was what I would have imagined.

As I waited for Lucas to get home from work, I thought about all the different ways I could ask him if we could talk about plans going forward, rather than just talk about what happened to him earlier in the day. I didn’t want to appear ungrateful, but there wasn’t really another time that we could talk.

He worked such long days that when he got home, he’d pass out after about an hour. I couldn’t wait any longer and didn’t even know when his next day off would be. I needed to ask him as soon as I could. I’d already waited too long, and even one more day of living in uncertainty might be what finally drives me insane.

Soon enough, I heard the light tapping of footsteps in the hallway, steadily coming closer. I had learned to differentiate Lucas’s footsteps from other people that lived in the building, and every time I heard him coming toward me my heart fluttered the smallest amount. I thought it would go away after a few weeks of living together, but there was that one good thing about being trapped in the apartment. I wasn’t alone for every single second, and I lived for the small things that Lucas did to make my life there bearable.

He pushed open the door and smiled at me. He was holding a small white rectangular box, which didn’t look like anything he’d taken home from his work at the restaurant before.

What’s in there? I asked, my stomach growling as I smelled sugar in the air.

Lucas laughed, the sound filling up all the empty corners of the apartment. No matter how loud I turned the volume on the TV, there was nothing that could replace the sound of his laughter.

Why, did you want some? he teased, slowly setting down his bag and untying his shoes.

Oh, me? I couldn’t care less. I rolled my eyes at him and tried to act like I wasn’t anxious to know what he had brought home.

There weren’t many differences in my day-to-day schedule, and Lucas tended to bring home whatever leftovers they had at the restaurant, which wasn’t always exciting. All my planning and consideration on how to ask him when we were going to be able to move on flew right out of my brain as I waited impatiently for him to finish taking off his shoes.

Couldn’t care less? Lucas asked, nudging the box closer to me.

I shot him a quick grin before I grabbed the box and opened it. Inside, there was a huge slice of four-layered cake. I had never seen a pastry so fancy in real life, not even through bakery windows. It seemed to be a chocolate cake with lavender purple icing, and tiny flowers piped onto the top and around the sides. There were even some small pieces of edible gold foil adorning the flowers.

Wow, I said. How did you get this?

The cake looked too pretty to eat, so I sat on the couch, holding it delicately.

Well, if I told you, it would take some of the mystery away, Lucas joked.

I looked at him closely. You didn’t steal this, did you?

No, nothing like that, Lucas said, joining me on the couch. He kissed my cheek, but I pushed him away, more worried that I would accidentally drop the perfect cake slice than anything else.

Careful, I said, making extra sure that I was well-balanced.

Are you replacing me with that cake, then?

I scraped the smallest amount of icing off the side of the cake and licked it off my finger. Maybe, I said. So where did it come from?

There’s a bakery next door to the restaurant. I’ve been saving some money to get you something special, and when I saw that cake, it reminded me of you. Lucas ducked his head so I couldn’t look him in the eye when he said that.

I felt both grateful and ashamed. I had been sitting there the whole day, wondering when we were going to be able to move on and resenting the fact that Lucas had a life when I couldn’t. But everything he did was for me, and he really wasn’t in control of the situation any more than I was. It only seemed that way because I wasn’t able to go outside or do anything that I wanted to.

When I thought about it, Lucas didn’t really do anything he wanted to, either. He went to work and to the store, then back here with me. He might have had friends at work, but he didn’t see anyone in his free time. He was saving money and spending all the time he possibly could with me.

I quickly ran to grab two forks from the kitchen, tired of looking at the cake and ready to actually eat it. We sat on the couch facing each other, with our legs tucked underneath us. Lucas held out the box of cake with one hand, and we both finished it quickly, like someone was going to come in and take it from us at any moment.

It had been so long since either of us had something nice, it was hard to really slow down and enjoy it. All too soon, the special cake was gone, and we were back to sitting in our tiny apartment. Just as quickly as it had disappeared when Lucas brought the cake, my longing for something new returned.

2

The drying machine buzzed loudly as it finished its cycle. I gave Lucas a quick smile and used folding laundry an excuse to keep myself busy as I figured out whether or not I was really going to have that serious talk with Lucas today. I didn’t want to spoil the good mood he was in, but I didn’t think I could keep pretending that everything was okay. It was too stressful for me to be the one to sit at home, feeling like I wasn’t in control of anything about my life.

Lucas caught my arm as I got up. Do you really have to do laundry right now? He gently pulled me back onto the couch and kissed me. Can’t it wait until tomorrow?

I groaned and pulled away. It’s all gonna get wrinkly if I let it sit in the dryer.

It technically wasn’t a lie, but almost every time I did laundry the clothes ended up sitting for a while in the hot dryer, and it never caused any problems. Lucas knew this as well, but he didn’t say anything. His head tilted slightly, enough that I knew he was catching on that something was wrong. He didn’t ask me any questions, just watched me move toward the washer and dryer in the hallway closet from his seat on the couch.

I grabbed an armful of clothes, walked into the bedroom, and dumped them on the mattress to fold. Lucas silently walked toward the doorway as I sorted out the clothes to fold, standing silently and observing me, as if he was waiting for me to say something. I glanced up at him but didn’t know what to say.

I concentrated on folding a shirt, thinking, There’s gotta be some sort of spell for folding laundry.

The longer it was silent, the more it seemed like I was deliberately not giving him information and was instead baiting him to figure out what was wrong. That was never my intention, but with each second that passed, I appeared to be angrier. If I wanted to avoid an even greater misunderstanding, I’d have to say something soon.

There’s something I wanted to ask you about, I said, making sure to keep my voice even and friendly.

Lucas’s demeanor relaxed, after he could tell that I wasn’t furious about something. Sure, he said. What is it?

So we’ve been here for a while, I said hesitantly, still trying to form my words.

I guess, Lucas said, slowly catching on to what I was trying to say.

Do you have any idea how much longer we might stay?

Lucas watched me fold shirts with his hands in his pockets. Do you want any help with that?

No, that’s okay, I said, shaking my head. He’d worked all day, and I didn’t need any help. What I wanted was for him to stop avoiding making plans. I found myself growing angry with him but forced the feeling down and kept myself calm.

Neither of us said anything for a while, locked in a silent stalemate. He wanted me to continue or change the subject, but I wasn’t going to do that. I couldn’t do that. I never imagined that when I finally asked him, he’d be so reluctant to talk about