Rae Rivers - The Keepers - Ethan

He deserved to know the truth – and she’d tell him. Soon.

The thought made her heart skip a beat. Not surprising. The Bennett brothers lived and breathed to protect witches. She’d been born into a lineage of Keepers exiled to live in Ameera as punishment for harming them. It wasn’t a conversation she looked forward to.

Especially if it altered the way they saw her.

Shaking her head, she tucked her hair behind her ears, needing to give her hands something to do. “It’s not important.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Jenna.” Despite his even expression, his tone held a serious edge. “Considering what we’re facing, who we protect, everything that goes on in my home is important.”

“Your home, Ethan. Yours. Your brothers, your witch, your town. Arriving here hasn’t been a picnic for me. Sometimes I need air and you don’t get to monitor me, so back off. Please,” she added quickly, not sure why she’d felt the need to.

He studied her for a long while before nodding. “Fair enough. But next time you go for a midnight cruise on your own, you should let someone know.”

“Same goes for you and your business trips.”

The lights flickered several times, extracting a ripple of surprised murmurs across the room. The crack of thunder echoed in the distance and Ethan glanced outside, a deep frown hardening his expression. “The storm’s getting closer.”

“The crows, the storm … Hazel’s near and I hate that we can’t stop her.”

“We’d need to find her first.”

She caught the frustration in his tone. “Even if Archer agreed, it’s no use. You’ve been tracking her for weeks and still have no idea where –”

A trickle of awareness raced down her spine, and a moment later Archer slid into the seat beside her. He had the ability to manipulate water and was the quietest of the three brothers, always brooding. But now, his green eyes blazed with fury and a muscle worked in his jaw.

He shot Ethan a raised brow. “You went searching for Hazel?”

“Eavesdropping again, brother?”

“Your recent trip to New York. Is that what you were doing?” Archer’s tone held a dangerous edge, but failed to evoke a response from Ethan. Archer turned to Jenna. “Did you know?”

“Leave her out of it, Archer,” Ethan said quietly, his voice unwavering. “We agreed we’d try locating Hazel.”

“We agreed we’d put out feelers, ask around. Not go hunting for her.” He slapped Ethan’s shoulder with the back of his hand. “ Alone , Ethan? What the hell were you thinking?”

“I’m sick of waiting for her to show.”

“She will, and when she does we’ll be ready for her.”

“But how many lives will be lost until she does?”

“Did you find her?”

“A few of her hideouts, a few followers.”

“But no Hazel?” When Ethan didn’t reply, Archer scowled. “Did they see you?”

“I’m frustrated, not stupid.”

Archer gave Ethan another smack on the shoulder. “Hunting down an evil witch caster alone is stupid.”

“It would’ve been nice to have company, brother, but you refuse –”

“We’re Keepers, Ethan. We vowed to protect, defend. We fight for peace. Going on a killing rampage is not what we vowed to do.”

“And sitting back letting innocent people die is?”

They glared at each other, tension simmering between them. Jenna caught a few curious glances sent their way and she quietly leaned forward, placing a hand on each of them.

“Guys, there are people watching,” Sienna muttered, coming up behind them. Her tone reminded Jenna of one a mother would use to reel in her squabbling children. “We can discuss this at home. Tonight’s supposed to be fun. For our friends, at least.”

Scowling, Ethan leaned forward, his face close to Archer’s. “Our duty is to our witches, to the people –” he nodded in the direction of the crowd behind him, “– and the balance. We’ll always honour that, but things have changed, brother. Our enemies are stronger, people are dying. The same rules don’t apply anymore.”

Archer’s eyes flared. “You think I don’t know that, brother? But if we start hunting our enemies, what separates us from them?”

Ethan didn’t reply. He stared back, his eyes a grey storm of emotion, the truth of Archer’s words striking a chord for them both. What Ethan was suggesting went against everything they believed in, everything they were. But sitting back and waiting for an attack seemed just as wrong.

The muscles in Ethan’s jaw slackened and he swallowed. Glaring at his brother, he turned around and headed for the door.

Anger churning in his gut, Ethan dodged a grey cat on the sidewalk and bolted up the steps to the roof. The brisk breeze that trailed behind him went ignored.

He went to the railing and drew in a few deep breaths.

The band had tempered their music, opting for more mellow songs to suit the mood. Dozens of fairy lights were cast across the street, creating a blanket of white below him. The air smelt of rain. At the end of the street, the senior kids were preparing for their march, a flurry of wild decor, extravagant floats, and costumes that ticked every colour of the rainbow. Visitors had cleared the street in anticipation, the sidewalks crawling with a stream of people.

Sienna and Kate had settled at a table in the park. Declan and Archer hovered nearby, their heads bowed together in a heated discussion.

Arguing about him, no doubt. He knew they’d be furious he’d gone to search for Hazel alone, but what was the alternative? To wait for another attack?

His chest tightened.

Being a Keeper was all he knew, a destiny he treasured, honoured, but sometimes, like now, he resented the hell out of it because of the stifling confines that came with it. Keepers were good, noble, respected – dedicated to protecting witches and the balance of nature. Protecting the innocent. That was the easy part, something he’d sworn to do, but over time, as their enemies had grown stronger and claimed more loved ones and innocent lives, something had altered inside him. A rebellion against everything he was.

Their war was a constant, monotonous battle, where they only attacked when absolutely necessary. Self defence.

They defended.

And it was bullshit.

Their enemies had killed his parents, Sienna’s parents, Rose, his sister, and many other innocent people. They’d attacked Sienna. Kate.

And yet, despite all that, their nobility and duty prevented any retaliation.

A rush of air swept across the floor, unsettling a pot plant at the top of the stairs. The railing groaned beneath his grip, caving from the pressure. He relaxed his hand, the motion triggering the flow of colour to his whitened knuckles. He frowned at the indentation he’d left in the metal.

Turning back to the street, he breathed in again, but it did nothing for his agitation, only calmed the breeze. The overturned plant he’d deal with later.

“Ethan?” Jenna murmured from the top of the stairs. She’d moved so quietly and he wondered how he’d missed her approach.

A few strands of blond hair had escaped the messy knot at the nape of her neck, softening her features. She wore a sleeveless black shirt tucked into jeans, the cut neat and simple. Not a frill or bow in sight.

She held up two beers, the sight of her easing his frustration. But instead of going to him, she held back and glanced at the steps. “I can leave if you’d prefer to be alone.”

The flash of uncertainty in her eyes surprised him. She was a powerful warrior. A kick-ass ninja . Always sure. Always certain. Seeing that flicker of doubt intrigued him. Why, he wasn’t sure. But it did. More than he’d care to admit.