As the first gush came pouring, one of the girls flicked her fingers, while another one waved her palm. Instead of the gushing into the bucket, the water flung up on a magic induced wind and whacked him in the face.
He stumbled back, stunned at the trick, soaking wet. “What the…?” he sputtered.
The girls all ran off shrieking and giggling.
Hazel was holding her sides, laughing as well. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.” She pulled a towel from behind her back and handed it to him.
“A little warning,” he said as he blotted his face.
“Where would the fun be in that?” She moved closer to help him. “They tried to do it to me a while ago and I spoiled their trick.”
“So you thought I’d be a better victim?”
“Yes.” She smirked. “Better you than me.”
He chuckled as he tossed the wet cloth at her head. She ducked, catching it in her hand. “The little devils are good, aren’t they?” she said as she glanced toward the group of girls who were still cackling.
“Promising witches for sure.” He motioned toward the tree line. “Hey, can we talk? Walk and talk?”
Hazel’s smile wavered for a second. She glanced back at the central fire where her cousin was chatting with some of the villagers. “Um, sure.”
They caught each other’s eye, a silent look passing between them. Duke couldn’t tell if this was going to be a good or bad conversation.
But it was a conversation that needed to happen.
It was dusk, the sun had set already and the last of its dying rays were blanketing the trees in warmth. Duke knew of a place. Quiet, peaceful. Not too far a trek.
“Like old times,” he said as they moved into the trees, his thoughts drifting to the nights they’d made love under the stars, with no earthly idea about what was to come.
The feel of her skin under his fingers, his lips having no boundaries, tasting every part of her, making her moan, covering her with his body. Her limbs moving, hands running down his back to squeeze his ass, digging her nails in as she cried out—
“I know what you’re going to say,” Hazel started, her face turning a lovely shade of pink, snapping him from his lusty thoughts.
He cleared his throat, wanting to adjust his pants, his cock rock hard and aching. “You do?”
“I told you so?” She ducked her head, letting her hair cover her face a bit. “I mean, I felt it—what you were talking about. When we formed the circle together, I felt like we were all connected. That I could make a difference.”
He stopped her, his hand on her arm, then swept her hair from her face. “You saved their lives. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to use that spell. That human witch would have died.”
“Well, it wasn’t just me…”
“No, it wasn’t. But if you hadn’t have suggested it, stood up to Bridget and demanded your role, it wouldn’t have happened. You believed in yourself and in your friends and you made it happen.”
“My friends?” Her voice was a whisper of disbelief.
“Yes, the beginning of friendships. That’s what happens when you train alongside one another. You learn to rely on each other’s strengths. You may not always agree. You might not always get along, but I believe you’ve formed the basis of a few friendships here.”
She was quiet, contemplating his words, maybe. He got her moving again. He had a destination in mind. One he thought she’d love.
He let the silence hang for a bit. Putting distance between them and the village. The sounds were changing, birds chatter becoming muffled, the air turning mistier. They were almost there. He put the call out, using his empathic magic to part the veil that separated the secret place from the forest.
“We can be friends too,” Duke said, his voice cracking a bit. It had to be said. He had to stop pushing or else he knew he was going to lose her completely. How could he compete with her mother and a lifetime of beliefs—a lifetime of identity building? They had a year together. He’d take that year, even if it was only a year. “I mean, if that’s what you want.”
“Duke…oh my… Where are we?”
As they passed through a curtain of mist, Hazel reacted just as he’d expected she would. Her smile was bright, all stress from the day disappearing. He’d found versions of these places all over the world, typically close by a human Wiccan or Pagan tribe where magic ebbed and flowed, waiting for someone to soak it up.
“It’s beautiful!” Hazel’s eyes were wide, taking it all in.
Waterfalls cascaded from a rock cliff in steps and jutting stones. Like a staircase that went up about twenty feet, moss covered and sparking with crystallized stones, it reflected a strange magical light that Duke had never been able to figure out. And the water was always warm.
“It’s like a fairy world or something.” Hazel brushed her hand along the colorful flowers that grew by the pool of water that the falls dropped into. Splashes bounced onto the leaves and petals, shimmering there before sliding off to the soft grass below. “How did you find this place?”
“They call to me but sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint location right away.” He shrugged. “I just found one back home, after we parted that last night. I was going to take you there on the solstice.”
Hazel looked up at him through her lashes. “Oh!”
He pulled her close, unable to resist her, his arms around her waist, hands clasped at the small of her back, body pressed close to his, almost every part touching. Special friends, for a year. At least so she could know a time in her life where she was loved by one man with all of his heart and devotion.
“Oh!” she gasped again.
He looked down at her, fighting to keep his senses closed. He didn’t want the disappointment of her rejection to come through his magic. If she didn’t want this…
“I love it,” she whispered.
And he could swear that she meant something else.
With a sweet smile, she stretched up and pressed her lips to his.
The feel of her soft kiss, her body moving into his, pressing her breasts against his chest, made him pull her closer. She threw her arms over his shoulders, hands draped around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair so that the tug sent a tingle down to his toes. He opened his mouth to her, tongue probing, tasting her sweet mouth like he’d been starved for decades.
She pulled away on a breath. “Are we alone?”
“Completely.”
“And no one will be able to find us?” Her eyes were dancing.
“Nope. Not unless we want them to.”
Her lips curled into the cunning little smirk he loved so much.
She pushed him backward, startling him into sliding down the embankment, and then all out flat on his back into the pool. The water encased him, sucking him down with the weight of his clothes.
He sputtered his shock as he resurfaced. The water was warm as usual, but for the briefest of moments, he thought maybe she’d tricked him, maybe he’d misread… But then his gaze fell on her. She was dancing as she kicked her pants off, flinging her tank top next. She twirled in her black panties and bra, nothing fancy about them, but showing just the right amount of skin to make his cock pulse all the harder.
“You’d better get in here,” he growled, splashing water her way.
She gasped when it hit her. “Oh, that’s so warm!”
He nodded as he popped the button on his pants, struggling to get them off his hips, the water making everything heavy and clingy.
She reached around her back, unclasped her bra and let it fall forward as she leaned down. He dived under so he could free his legs from the pants, swimming to the edge at the same time. When he came up, she was leaning closer, obviously looking out for him. He jumped up and grasped her ankle, toppling her into the water. She had barely enough time to utter a startled shriek.
Her naked body was slick against his, nipples hard little pearls that he sucked deep into his mouth, taking most of her breast as well.
Twirling his tongue, nipping with his teeth. She had her hands on his cock, stroking him, squeezing him, just the right amount of pressure, cupping his balls gently, reverently. He loved her touch. He loved everything about her.
You’ve got her for a year.
He wanted her for more.
With a moan, she took her hands away and replaced them with her pussy, using the water to glide, her hands on his hips, sheathing him deeply inside her. He trailed his mouth to her collarbone, her throat and then her lips, kissing as he shifted his cock, pumping her slowly. Making sure he was grinding deliciously against her clit. Making sure she gasped each time he withdrew and then slammed back inside. Deeper, as deep as he could go. He wanted her. He needed her. And if he dwelled too long, he would crumble on the knowledge that he’d never have her. Not really.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered against her ear, then sucked her lobe, earning another groan of passion.
“So are you,” she gasped, her hands encouraging him to go faster, harder, to take her until she couldn’t breathe.
His balls tightened, his climax rose swiftly. She flung her head back, moaning in a rush as he filled her full of his cum, her pussy squeezing until he had nothing left inside of him. Until he’d given her everything he had.
They floated together, his arms wrapped around her, just under her breasts, her head resting against his shoulder. A blissful existence that he could enjoy forever, if only he could keep his mind off of those nagging things…the hammering of his heart, the thudding of emotions wanting to crash in on him.
“Hazel—”
“I know what you’re going to say,” she whispered, then sighed.
He braced himself.
She turned, using a jolt of her magic to keep them afloat as she rested her arm across his chest and her chin on her hand. “We only have a year.”
She’d said it. What he’d been thinking. His heart was crushed. This is what he’d offered her. Friendship.
“How could I think…” she started, gulped, her eyes sparkled, wet. “How could I think that anything at all could compare to you?”
He frowned. Blinked. “Uh…what?”
She giggled, then sobered just as suddenly. “I was so sure, everything I’ve ever known, my whole life until I came on this trip. Until I felt and saw and experienced things on my own, without my mother here to guide and caution.” She broke the spell so that they both had to stand, neck deep in the water, hands clasped to arms to keep from floating apart. “Even though I’ve been fighting it, not wanting to face the truth, I realize that everything my mother had ever told me was meant for one purpose.”
He dared not speak.
“To serve her.” She stated it as fact. “To serve Healer-kind. To serve the Circle. But…” She shook her head, her hands moving to his chest, fingers splayed. “But how could I think that those things would mean the same thing to me after you?”
Duke couldn’t trust what he was hearing. “Hazel, I know—”
“You were right. My mother slanted everything so that all that mattered was my destiny, the destiny that she controlled. And maybe she was doing it for selfish reasons. Maybe she was using me. And if that’s true, if she can be so selfish and still be a great Healer, a great witch, then why can’t I?” She looked up at him, open, wide open. “Why can’t I be selfish too?”
“It’s not selfish to choose love, Hazel.” He kissed her forehead. “What you’ve done here, for the village, how you united your team, that is not selfish. You gave, you healed. And you can do that and still serve Healer-kind. And one day, when we’ve lived a long life and helped so many, we can join the Circle together and give the last of our power, if you want.” A compromise—better than a year of special friendship. “I’m the one being selfish, Hazel, because I just can’t imagine my life without you in it. Right here, with me, not part of a Circle where I’d never be able to touch you again.” He lifted his hand to her face, brushing back a stray bit of hair. “It’s selfish of me to want you all to myself, but I do because I love you. I fell in love with you when you were just a village girl and now I love you just the same. My heart is yours.”
“I feel blissful, like when we would meet in Salem Village, and I don’t want to deny myself that kind of happiness.” Hazel smiled, then curled into him, laying her head to his chest, arms wrapped tightly around him. “I do love you, Duke and I will do anything to keep you in my world, so I’m selfish too. I don’t want to live a lifetime without you in my arms.”
In that moment, without giving it too much thought, he opened himself to Hazel, to all that she was, taking in the emotion of her words, trusting what his gut had been screaming all night. She did love him. With everything she had, and he felt it slam into him like a tsunami of purity that would consume his very soul.
23
She’d had a current of panic riding her since she’d declared her feelings for Duke. Not because she regretted it. No, she’d spoken truly. Honestly. For once, she’d let her guard down and ignored expectation and obligation and instead focused on her wants and needs. She’d fallen in love with Duke over the past year. It had been foolish to think she could detach herself without it doing major damage to her psyche. And what kind of witch would she be then? How could she help others if she was crumbling in on herself because she’d denied true love? It sounded like a fairy tale, she knew, but maybe that’s what she deserved right now. Maybe it was time to put herself first.
So the panicked flutter in her stomach wasn’t that. This was something else. Maybe the thought of having to tell her mother all that she’d discovered on the trip? To stand up to her for once and confess that Hazel had decided she was not going to the Circle. She had a year to do that. Plenty of time to ease her mother into the decision. And she had Duke and Mahdyia’s support, maybe even her new friends.
No, that wasn’t it.
Something else.
“We should get back to the village,” she said as she pulled her panties on, her body still wet, making it tricky to get the cloth over her hips.
“You feel that too, huh?” He was using a spell to dry his clothes, which he’d just rescued from the bottom of the pond. “Thought I was the only one picking up on it.”
“Yeah, something isn’t right.” Hazel snapped her bra on and quickly got into her pants and tank top.
“Let’s go.” Duke held his hand out to her, the drying spell still crackling along the seams of his shirt.
She smiled, pushing aside her anxiety for a moment so she could enjoy him for one second more. Bypassing his hand, she wrapped her arms over his shoulders and kissed his lips. “If we must,” she giggled.
“It feels good to hold you.” He hugged her tight, squeezing her for a second longer before letting her go.
It did. Just being with Duke felt good. Right.
They held hands as they moved through the veil, and Hazel felt the change in everything as her body broke free. The air was different, thicker, more heavily scented with dirt and musk. The sounds seemed loud, harsh, and something was crashing through the trees toward them.
“Hazel! Duke!” It was Mahdyia, her hands cupping her mouth, shouting so loudly that she didn’t hear them respond.
“Mads, what’s wrong?” Hazel grabbed her cousin’s arm, swinging her around.
“Where have you two been?” Mahdyia looked frantic, incensed. “I’ve been looking… Oh, never mind.” She turned to Duke. “There’s something wrong with Bridget. She found the Hags.” Mahdyia gulped, wincing as she did. “It’s not pretty.”
“Let’s go.” Duke still clasped Hazel’s hand as they moved quickly back to the village.
“There, over there.” Mahdyia pointed to the central fire where a group of villagers were gathered.
They pushed their way through the throng.
“What happened?” Hazel couldn’t keep the shock from her voice, the horror at what was lying there.
Bridget was on the ground, gouges, deep ones, marring her chee
ks, her arms, her hands raw and ragged, fingernails torn down to the nubs. Convulsions raging. Everyone was clear of her, waiting for the seizure to pass. She was foaming at the mouth, her body covered in sweat.
And next to her lay another body—old and withered, blood covered, sunken cheeks, but somehow still conscious.
“I tried to stop it…” the Hag sputtered, pointing to Bridget.
“Shh.” Bas was kneeling next to her. “I’ve done what I can but there’s something infecting both of them. It’s too strong to fight.”
Hazel closed her eyes, shutting out the horror as she reached out with her senses, homing in on the thing that was ravaging Bridget.
But there was nothing there.
“I don’t understand.” Hazel opened her eyes again. “It’s not a Magika. It’s not anything.”
“What?” Duke knelt down next to Bridget, trying to take her hand, to check her pulse. “I don’t sense anything either.”
“So what the hell is going on?” Mahdyia waved her hands toward the Hag and Bridget. “They have catastrophic injuries, internal bleeding, broken bones, and it isn’t stopping. It’s happening right now.”
“But there’s nothing causing it!” Hazel said. There was no magic infection, nothing for Hazel to grab a hold of.
“I can’t find Bridget’s pulse,” Duke said, his expression grim. “Tate, you may have to zap her.”
“She’s dying,” Chanda was off to the side, biting at her nails as she stared at the bodies. “We were searching for the Hags. She was talking one minute, just a normal conversation, pointing out a plant or something and then wham! She went down. Like hard. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t see.”
“This is out of our league,” Tate said.
“We need my mother,” Hazel croaked, her mind swirling, panic grabbing her by the throat.
“Do not…do not…” the old woman mumbled, trying to push herself up on shaky arms, only to crumble back down with a weak scream.
The Witches of White Willow Page 19
