I barely remembered running into the forest even though I had little red marks speckling my face and arms from how fast I’d been going. Branches both barren and full of leaves slapped at my bare skin, but the proof of it faded within seconds.
Her scent was faint, but I followed the thread until it withered away in my hands. The shadows scurried into the darkest corners of the forest, retreating farther with every step I took. I had just noticed it when the sound of a wet gasp sounded from close by.
The sight of her face, and the paleness of her skin as she lay sprawled out in the grass nearly sent me into shock. My mind was shutting down my senses one at a time until I could make sense of reality. There was one thing alone that propelled me forwards, making me stumble and scrape my knees as I fell at her side.
It was the slow thud of her heart and the way her lips formed a small smile as her eyes focused on me.
I didn’t hesitate as I tore her shirt op
I apologize for the long break in between chapters! For the time being I'm not operating under a schedule, but I will be spending the day of 2/25 working only on Asher!
It wasn’t the sunlight streaming through open curtains that woke me, but Beta Drake’s gruff baritone. His voice drowned out the steady thud of Asher’s heart which was right below where my head was resting.‘Lola, are you with Asher right now?’My spine protested angrily as I rolled off Asher’s chest, which I had been sprawled across seconds ago, and plopped down on the floor. The last thing I remembered was being wrapped in his arms, letting his warmth and strength flow into me as I told him how Breyona almost died.I didn’t want to tell him what I’d done. There wasn’t a single part of me that regretted it, not once I saw the look of pure relief in Giovanni’s eyes and knew how close he had been to snapping, but I was still ashamed and horrified. There was no telling what or who they would take.Instead of saying the words out loud, I let Asher relive every agonizing second through our bond. Every
The moment the caution tape fluttered to the ground, Sean and Mason were at my back. Breyona was there too, and I had to resist the urge to raise my eyebrows when I spotted the knife she had hidden in her hand.I noticed the resemblance between him and Devin the moment he came up close. They had the same arched eyebrows and thin lips that made them look perpetually angry all of the time. When I first found out Devin was the son of a judge, I had hoped the piss poor attitude wasn’t genetic.“I’m Luna—”“I know who you are.” Judge Clint Armstrong snapped, his voice sharp like razor blades. I held back my irritation since it was his son that was murdered, but the venom in his voice sounded far beyond that of a grieving father. “I asked you a question, girl.”I had seen death’s many faces, suffered through so much loss, and stepped into a role I wasn’t sure I could handle, all to be ca
“Sacrifices…” I said for the third time, narrowing my eyes as I followed the curvy backroad in the new car Asher reluctantly loaned me.“The red-haired witch, doesn’t she know how to do blood-magic?” Mason asked, refusing to let me stew in silence. “She really can’t think of a reason for these…sacrifices?”“She doesn’t know much blood-magic. It runs in her family, but they don’t practice it themselves.” I explained. “I just wanted Holly to know where she comes from. As much as she can, anyway.”I hated having control over Holly’s life. Making decisions for her, forcing her to see a therapist, it made me feel like she was a prisoner and not part of the pack. I didn’t want to make her feel how our father did, like pretty bird shoved into a cage, left to rot as it sang itself to death.Only one other person truly knew how I felt, and it was Tristan.
“Quit sulking.” Mason scolded me from the driver’s seat. “If you wanted to drive you shouldn’t have tried to drive us off the cliff.”“That’s not what I was trying to do, and I already apologized.” I griped and folded my arms over my chest. “…you’re just angry I made you scream.”The trees that grew out of the rocky cliff side whooshed by in shades of shamrock and olive. I wondered if Lars were in there somewhere, deep within their protective cover. Were the witches there too?“You didn’t make me scream, your reckless driving did.” His voice had an edge of defensiveness that made me snort. Warm hazel eyes slid over to where I sat in the passenger, “…you won’t tell anyone about this, right?”“I won’t.” I reassured him, and waited until relief flooded his eyes to say, “…if you let me drive
“She’s not answering me.” I tried to sigh, but it was hard to do in my current position.Cassidy’s pouty frown and furrowed eyebrows flipped upside down as she bent forward and brought her head in between her legs. As I did the same, her expression was flipped right side up. Each of us were in the same pose, stretching our hamstrings as we mixed our own routine with the recommendations of our trainer.Emilia carried an air of intimidation as she walked into the room, but it melted away the moment her tan lips lifted into a welcoming smile. Her voice was a steady soprano that provided instruction end endless encouragement, despite her height and broad shoulders. It was unsurprising that she towered over me, but she had almost every male in the room beat as well.A jolt of excitement danced in my stomach when she pulled the oversized t-shirt she wore over her head, and I saw the muscle that coated her body. Any decent warrior could see her
“You tell anyone, and you won’t see a cent of your inheritance when I’m gone.” Grandma narrowed her eyes, but the frown that tugged at her lips made the flimsy threat ineffective.“I didn’t even know we had an inheritance.” I snorted as I stood at her side in the kitchen.Like I had hundreds of times when we lived in the little cottage, I began gathering the dirty bowls and pans that collected in the sink as she baked. A thin layer of silence settled over us, one that reminded me of long days training with Chris and cherry pies that sat on the windowsill to cool.“So, you don’t want me to tell anyone you were here or that you were here and using magic?”She swatted at me with a rag until I chuckled and moved away from the sink. Breyona finished putting the rest of the dried dishes away and perched herself on the edge of the counter, her eyes curious and eager. Her obvious love of magic m
It was when we reached the third chapter of Rowena’s book that Cordelia’s knowledge came into play. The chapter on sigils and their unique brand of magic was one of the longest in the book.“Sigil’s tie into the other forms of magic since there’s a symbol for just about everything. There are ones to scare off enemies, capture memories and fool the human eye. There are a few witches, who after decades of practice, manage to create their own but it’s dangerous and tricky work.” Cordelia said as she entered the room, a small and unassuming book in her hand.“So, a sigil that’s meant to shield someone from an enemy has protection magic mixed in with it?” Breyona questioned. She’d deny it vehemently, but it was clear she got her love of magic and myths from her scholarly parents.“For the most part, yes. Let’s say you’re exceptional with sigils. You should be able to use ones that var
After promising another three times, grandma finally left to beat dad home. He had no clue she’d overheard him talking to Flora on the phone and found out about their get together, even though he should’ve realized you can’t hide anything from grandma.Rowena slipped away to her bedroom after making me swear an oath I’d tell her, or Cordelia should something like that happen again. She left the three of us to eat grandma’s leftovers and brush through various sigil books. Beneath each hand drawn symbol was a tip to help make the spell stronger.Many called for white chalk or paint, others wanted black, and the harsher sigils called for animal blood. Some of the symbols became so complex my eyes couldn’t discern where one line began and another ended.There was one sigil that sent my thoughts veering towards the marks on my neck. It wasn’t Asher’s on my mind, even though I showed off the cobalt mark every chance I ha