Saxon come with me? Irritated as I was with our large party, I’m fucking glad now I’m not alone with him.
Once everyone is inside the bandstand, I recite the short spell that will reveal the Nightshade Market. The familiar tingle of magic gives me goose bumps, and then there’s a sudden sensation of dropping out of the sky. I’m prepared for it, so it doesn’t take me by surprise.
Vivienne gasps, clutching Lucca. Saxon stretches his arms and bends his legs, trying to keep his balance. But Rikkon falls into me. He barely has time to stand straight before Saxon yanks him back by the collar of his jacket.
“Get off her!” he snarls, throwing him to the floor.
Rikkon hits his head hard on one of the columns, getting stunned for a moment. Shit.
“Saxon! What the hell!” Vivienne runs to her brother, dropping into a crouch next to him.
Lucca sends him a glower before following her.
The red haze fades from Saxon’s eyes as guilt washes over his face. “Fuck. I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“You know what? Maybe I should go into the market alone. I can’t risk you going crazy every time a guy gets near me.” I try to sound firm, but my heart feels like there are thorns around it. Shit on toast, I can’t even think about being away from him without triggering this God-awful pain in my chest.
Saxon furrows his brows together, creating a deep V in his forehead. “I don’t disagree with you. But it’s too late. I won’t be able to not follow you in there.”
I don’t think I could leave you behind either.
I blow out a resigned sigh. “Fine.” I glance over his shoulder to check on Rikkon. “How are you?”
He’s already back on his feet, but there’s a grimace on his face as he rubs the back of his head. “I’ll be okay. I might need a painkiller soon, though.”
“You don’t think you have a concussion, do you?” Vivienne asks.
“I don’t think so. But good thing I’m on a nocturnal schedule now. I won’t be falling asleep anytime soon.”
I whirl around and exit the bandstand, heading toward the market, which now is in plain sight. Nightshade Market is open every day of the week, from midnight until six in the morning. At a first glance, it’s similar to any regular street market. It’s got booths and tents from different vendors, all selling a variety of items. The difference, of course, is the nature of the items for sale. There are charms, amulets, obscure ingredients, grimoires, potions, and if someone has enough cash and knows who to ask, they can even get wolf’s bane or vampire’s bane here.
“How can a market this size remain hidden to the human population?” Vivienne asks.
“Thanks to a very special and intricate piece of magic. It required two circles of witches to conjure up the spell. Nightshade Market exists in a parallel dimension. The magic created a pocket in that dimension, and the spell I cast opened a portal to it.”
“Wow. That’s amazing,” Rikkon says in awe.
“You said two circles of witches were needed. Do you think that if we got more witch juice, we could open a portal to Ellnesari?” Lucca asks.
“Why would you want to open a portal there?” Vivienne asks with an edge to her voice. All her memories were restored, and I bet many of them weren’t pleasant.
He shakes his head. “I thought that maybe if I managed to talk to the Nightingale elders, I could convince them to return.”
“My mother would kill you on the spot,” she says.
“Would she kill me too?” Rikkon asks.
“Most likely. You chose me over her.”
“Shit, I wish I remembered any of that.” He runs a hand through his long hair, glancing away. “What was I thinking when I decided to erase my memories—and yours, to boot.”
“I’m sure at the time you felt it was the right thing to do,” I say, remembering my conversation with Vivienne about his fated mate.
Saxon grumbles under his breath, a sound that sends tingles down my spine, even if it was triggered by pure male jealousy. Under normal circumstances, it would make me mad as hell. I was never attracted to possessive guys. But I know Saxon is not like that. He’s just under the control of the bond, just like I was when those females back at the institute were all over his personal space. Even thinking about them gives me dark thoughts. Images of me gouging their eyes out