Bastien sat beside Jules for two days and nights, only leaving her side when the change took him over. Violetta and Tamuel came and went after they’d spent time in Jules’s vision with her – something both had the power to do – one she kept living repeatedly in her mind as if looking for something.
He didn’t know if she’d found that something, but Tamuel and Violetta had seen valuable information that had been missing until now; insight into Clodia’s use of the HeartsBlood Gem – an ancient and powerful gem rumoured to have been cut from the heart of an ancient Goddess. It was the reason Clodia had managed to bind him so he couldn’t fight back. She’d also used it to push more power into the armbands she’d put on Lianna as a child that had allowed her access to Lianna’s powers. However, something had gone wrong in her use of it that night and her plan had backfired. She’d lost control of Lianna’s power at her death, rather than becoming mistress of it.
The information was a double-edged sword though – they would now need the gem to help break the curse. But Tamuel was certain he’d seen something about where it might be in the Roman Coven’s library.
Bastien just hoped he was right.
Jules whimpered. He grasped her hand. It was cold. Too cold. “Come on, Jules. Wake up.” He smoothed the mass of her silky curls back from her face then took a chance and kissed her forehead. Pain lanced through his eye, but he kissed her again.
The door behind him opened.
“Did you find it yet?”
“Not yet, but we will,” Tamuel said.
Violetta’s presence prickled over his back as she came to stand behind him. Her power felt edgier, a little less controlled than usual. But that was only to be expected, he supposed. If he still had access to his powers, he imagined they’d feel edgier too, given how worried he was about Jules. Even so, he said, “Careful with your power.”
“How is she?” Violetta asked, pulling her power back.
“She’s cold and struggling to breathe.”
“She should wake soon then.”
“She better.” She might be reborn again in the future, but she wouldn’t be Jules. And he loved Jules, his love for her deeper, sweeter, stronger than ever before. It killed him to think she might not love him back, but better she be alive and in love with someone else, thinking of him only as a friend, than to not be in this world at all.
He didn’t want to live in a world that she did not live in. He’d had to do that too many times already, but this time, he feared, he wouldn’t survive the loss.
“I think she’s coming around,” Violetta said. “Her lids are fluttering.”
Jules sat bolt upright with a loud gasp. She tore her hand out of his, her movements frantic as she struggled to breathe.
“Jules, it’s okay, you can breathe. You can breathe.” He grabbed her shoulders, moving along her arms to her hands – they were at her throat, scrabbling. He pulled them away and held them.
Violetta said in a low, calm voice, “Bastien is right, Julianna dear. You are free of the vision. Just breathe. Breathe. Focus on my voice, on Bastien’s touch, and breathe. In, then out. Slow. Nice and slow. Yes, that’s it. That’s my girl.”
Her hand brushed past him, as if she wanted to touch Jules, but she pulled away before she did. “That’s a girl. That’s better,” she said. “Open your eyes. Can you see me?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Can you see Tomaso?”
“Yes.”
“And Bastien?”
Jules twisted then gasped. “You changed clothes?”
He nodded, smiling, throat too full of relief to allow him to speak, wishing more than anything that he could see more than her aura right now.
He felt her stiffen on the bed beside him as she gasped. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“How long have I been out?”
“It’s the evening of the seventh.”
“No!” She jerked, her hands twisting out of his grip. “I’ve lost two days?”
“Shh, shh,” Violetta said. “You must stay calm.”
She didn’t – her agitation and distress were hot jabs against his skin. He pulled her to him, tucking her head under his chin, hand stroking over her back. She felt too thin – the vision had taken too much out of her. “It’s not lost,” he whispered against the crinkling curls of her hair that tickled his chin. “We know so much more now. It has helped. Your vision has helped.”
Slowly, she began to soften in his hold, her breath slowing and deepening.
“She died. Lianna. So lost and alone.”
The heartache in her voice made him want to weep. “I know.” He cupped her face and lifted it up, pressed his lips against her forehead again despite the pain it caused him. “But she’s not alone now. We’re all here.”
“That’s right,” Tamuel said. “And we’re going to put an end to this. And then you can be with your love. You just have to believe.”
“Yes.” She didn’t sound too thrilled. She swallowed hard, pulled back a little. He let go of her but she gripped his hands, held on. “I couldn’t see him. I still don’t know who he is.”
“That’s okay,” Tamuel said. “I—”
Bastien said quickly, “We can cover all of what we have discovered after we get some food into Jules. You must be starving.”
She nodded slowly. “I am hungry.”
“Then let’s go get you something to eat. The rest can wait.” At least, it had to, until she’d had a chance to recover. Right now, she felt too much like she might slip away from him.
* * *
Jules ate her pasta hungrily, eating almost as much as Bastien did – he’d not eaten properly after any of his changes because he’d been worried about her, so he was like a bag of bones. She was glad to see him making up for some of that now.
As she ate, Tomaso apologised to her. “My powers were pulled back, I assure you. I had no idea just shaking your bare hand could push you into a vision. I didn’t mean to put you through that.”
“I’m glad you did,” she said around a mouthful of delicious salty spaghetti Puttanesca. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have found out about the HeartsBlood Gem. You think you can find it?”
He nodded. “The books in the Roman Coven I tracked down all say it’s rumoured to be buried somewhere in Roma, although nobody’s been able to figure out where – which is strange given the magical signature it should give off. But now we know Clodia used it in her spell to help hold Sebastio and Lianna and leach their powers, I think I’ll be able to recalibrate the magical signature and track it down.”
“It could be anywhere in Rome,” Violetta said. “It’s a long shot to think we’ll find it.”
“I don’t think so,” Jules said. They all turned to look at her and she waved her hand. “Given how Clodia used it, the gem would be tied to the area where the spell was cast.” They kept staring at her. “Am I the only one here who’s read Varagustus’ Treatise on the Properties of Powerful Stones?”
“I think you’re the only one ever to read Varagustus’ treatises on anything,” Tomaso said dryly. “The man was a positive bore. Not to mention all his treatises are thousands of pages long. And most of them are written in a lost language.”
“Not lost,” she said. “I understood it.”
“What did it say?” Bastien asked her.
She took a sip of water, ordering her thoughts. “Gems like that need a link to someone or something with ties to the Gods. I don’t think the link was made to Clodia given her spell backfired.”
“Of course,” Tomaso said. “The link was made with the place, and to a smaller extent, Lianna and Sebastio.” He pointed to the Temple of Vesta. “It must be somewhere here, close to wherever the curse was cast.”
“This is fantastic,” Bastien said.
“Really?” she asked. “But we’ll need to use magic to find it and,” she waved her hand at herself, “you can’t do that when we’re down there looking for the curse-spot.”
“We don’t have to wait until night to find it,” Tomaso said. “I can start to look for it during the day when I can use my magic without it affecting you. I’ll find it. I promise.”
She nodded, managed a smile. Somehow, despite what he’d done to her, she couldn’t help but like and trust him. She supposed it was because Violetta and Bastien did. And he seemed to have so much knowledge about all sorts of things – even if he thought Varagustus boring.
She finished the last mouthful of pasta, drank down another glass of water, then pushed her plate away. “So, what’s next?”
Tomaso let out a loud breath. “I want you to look at this map and see if there’s anything familiar to you. It might help us to pinpoint where to look if there is.”
Jules stared at the yellowing map he placed in front of her.
“It just looks like lines and squares and squiggles.”
“I know.”
“We’re not very good with maps.”
“I know.”
She stared hard at it, trying to see something. Nothing came. She made a sound of frustration. “I’m sorry. This doesn’t look familiar at all.”
“It’s all right, dearest,” Violetta said. “We don’t expect you to know much of anything.”
“What? Why?” Her gaze jerked to Violetta. Did her grandmama have such little faith in her?
Violetta waved her hand. “The curse, of course. Its purpose is to actively stop you from doing anything that might break it.”
“Oh … of course.” Her shoulders slumped. “So, I’m virtually useless.”
“Not at all,” Tomaso and Bastien said together.
“You’re the only one who can find the place the curse was cast,” Tomaso said. “You’re vital to the success of our endeavour.”
“What about the pentacle?” Bastien asked, frowning Violetta’s way. “Surely that left some magical trace – it was so strong.”
Violetta nodded as she and Tomaso shared a look. “From what we saw in your vision, it looked like it was burned up in the final burst of power. Even if it wasn’t, the strongest magic would barely register after all these years. You would have to be a super-sensitive to find it.”
Jules jerked upright from her slump. “I am.” They all turned to stare at her. “What you said about the sensitive thing. I’m that. Maybe not in how you meant, but my allergy to magic makes me super sensitive to it. I might pick something up.”
Bastien stilled beside her. “That might be what Esta referred to – about Lianna’s soul finding the place. Perhaps she guessed the curse would make Lianna’s reincarnations allergic to magic.”
“That’s a supposition. I don’t remember her being certain of anything of the sort,” Violetta said carefully.
“But it makes sense.” Bastien stood. “We have to get down there and check it out.”
“Julianna has only just recovered from her vision. Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow night,” Violetta said, her concerned gaze on Jules.
“I want to do this,” Jules said, standing. “I might not be able to help track down the HeartsBlood Gem, and I can’t help with finding the lover—”
“That’s what I tried to tell you before,” Tomaso interrupted. “I did an invocation spell when Violetta called to say this was happening. It took a few tries, but I eventually found this Sebastio. I have contacted him and he is excited to be able to meet you … again.”
“When is he coming?”
“Not until just before midnight on Valentine’s Eve. He can’t reveal himself until then because of the curse.”
She nodded, relieved Tomaso’s knowledge extended to knowing God invocation spells – she’d have to ask him about that one day. But for now … “The only thing I can do is go to the Forum and find where the spell was cast. So let’s go.”
“We should wait until midnight – it’s quietest then.” Tomaso looked her up and down. “That will give you time to shower and change. You’ll need to dress warmly. It’s cold outside.”