A Legacy of the Damned: Daughter of Astaroth

Chapter 47 - The Heiress Witch

"Sacha didn't get to properly introduce us this morning. I'm Katherine," she says, offering me her hand. Her other hand is stroking Yokai that's sitting on her lap.

Katherine Blackwell, the heiress of the Blackwell empire. I've seen her on the news not too long ago. Her grandmother had just died then. She was on my radar because of her connection to the Gauthiers and therefore to Sacha.

The media could be brutal. They talked about her parents' tragic death and tried to unearth the skeletons in their family closet. If only they uncovered that she came from a long line of witches.

I look at her outstretched hand and then at her face. Two pairs of eyes- hers and Yokai's blue ones are intently watching me, it's kind of unnerving. Then I stare back at her hand before slowly taking it and say, "Danica."

She nods before she lets my hand go. "Have a seat. Grab something from the cooler if you want something to drink." Even sitting on the grassy riverbank with her bare feet dipped in the water, she still looks regal and classy. Back straight and head held high. A pedigreed socialite who bleeds blue blood and comes from old money.

"I'm good, thanks," I say but I lower myself to sit on the ground about two feet away from her. I don't trust Nephilims but I trust witches even less and I think the feeling is mutual.

It's very peaceful here, all you can hear is the rushing sound of the water, the rustling of the leaves, and the birds chirping.

I feel Katherine's gaze lingers on me. Her own feet are swinging, stirring the crystal clear water. It looks deceivingly shallow, you can see the stones and the pebbles at the bottom.

I feel like dipping my feet into the river like she does but I don't feel like taking my shoes off so I tuck my feet in as I fold my knees up to my chest.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she says, as though she knows what I'm thinking.

"Yes, it is," I reply, glancing back at her. "You own some of the lands here too. You're very lucky."

"These are all theirs," she says. "My family owns a couple of hundred acres to the North. If you stand on the highest point..." She points towards the hill. "You can see my family home."

I nod and we both sit in silence. It's not an uncomfortable silence, but more...contemplative.

"I'm sorry for the awkwardness this morning," she says, breaking the silence again. "We're usually not that rude."

I shrug. "It's not every day that you have a half-demon showing up for breakfast," I reply, glancing back at her. "And it's not like you trust me now or anything."

She nods. "If Yokai didn't choose to have anything to do with you, I might not be talking to you right now," she says. "But I have to admit, I'm still wary of your intentions."

"I'm the one Sacha fell for. I'm what he needs," I tell her. I want to add that I don't think my intentions are any of her business but I hold my tongue, only because I don't feel any malicious vibes coming from her.

"Maybe so," she says. "But I'm with Elias, so, trust me, I know how it feels and how the curse works." Her eyes flash and she stares into the distance as though she can see what I can't see. "Unfortunately, not all of the Gauthier men fell for the right women. Their grandfather Gaspard Gauthier, for example, fell for the wrong woman. A married woman who wouldn't leave her husband for him. My grandmother. He fell for my grandmother but he couldn't have her...so he married another." She suddenly turns to aim her piercing eyes at me. "I know you think that it's none of my business but the Gauthiers are family to me. I don't want to see Sacha hurt. I don't want to see any of them hurt.

"Antoine and all the others don't trust or approve of you. But Sacha is willing to stick his neck out for you. So if you wouldn't commit yourself fully to him, you'd better let him go. Leave him. It might hurt him now, but at least you wouldn't do much damage and you'd give him the chance to be with someone else who truly cares.

"But you if decided to stay, He'll love you till the end and he'll protect you with his life. You'll have the family standing behind you.

"You have to make a decision and you have to do it soon. I see trouble coming our way."

I can feel it too. Astaroth is getting impatient. But I've been dragging my feet in trying to find information that he wants. Usually, by now I'd have dug up a whole lot of information that he wanted plus something extra. Any other time, I might even be on my way back to Astaroth with the Grimoire in my hands. Normally, I'd have seduced, lied, stolen, or killed to get what my father demanded. But this time around, I didn't do any of that and I have nothing.

I hear twigs snapped and his familiar footsteps before he appears from behind the bushes.

"Hey, Sacha," says Katherine, without even bother to look behind her.

"Katherine," he greets her back but his eyes are locked on me. Intense and full of heat. My pulse races and my cheeks warmed up from that look in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

His lips curl up. "Looking for you," he replies and my stomach is swarmed with the butterflies.

I can't deny that I'd missed him even though he'd been away just for a few hours. And now that he's here, my heart is bursting and I can barely breathe. Even the air feels different when he's around. He's so gorgeous, it hurts just to look at him.

I tear my eyes off of him to find Katherine watching me intently. There's a look I can't decipher on her face and the corners of her lips tug up just a tiny bit.

Sacha grabs a couple of drinks from the cooler before he sits on the ground with his legs on either side of me. His arm comes up to wrap around me and he buries his face in the nape of my neck, inhaling deeply.

Ronan and Elias show up a few minutes later. They both grab a drink each from the cooler and sit back in their chairs. Elias pulls Katherine to sit on his lap this time and she doesn't even complain that he's still dripping wet.

Sacha doesn't talk much but I love listening to the conversation between the brothers. Despite the insults they freely throw at each other, it's undeniable that they love each other.

I'd like to think that Ronan's disposition improved after the swim but I can't. He's the same A-hole as he was before the swim.

"Wanna go for a walk?" asks Sacha quietly in my ear.

"Go for a walk? I just went for a swim, why would I want to go for a walk?" Ronan grumbles.

"I don't think the invitation's for you, douchebag," announces his twin brother, Elias.

"Let's go before they decided to tag along," whispers Sacha

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