by Lizzy Prince
That wasn’t why I’d touched him though. I needed to tell him what I was feeling. “I don’t blame you, Munro. For what happened at the warehouse. I just need a little bit more time.”
“Annie.” He uttered my name like he was in agony as he grasped my fingers, bringing his forehead down to meet the back of my hand reverently. I turned it so I could caress his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin and the rough shadow of a beard on his jaw, before I pulled it away. The loss of contact was a physical pain that pierced through my heart, but I knew I wasn’t ready for more just yet. We needed to get our footing back on solid ground before we went jumping for the clouds again.
Beside me, Munro lay his head against the steering wheel and inhaled a deep, shuddering breath, collecting himself. He straightened and stared down at the blinking lights of the city, resignation stiffening his shoulders.
“Let’s go talk to Butch.”
Chapter 10
I was dead on my feet by the time we got back to Munro’s house, but I’d be damned if I was going to fall asleep before I got some answers. When we walked into the living room, Theo was sitting on the couch next to Lola with a big grin on his face. Lola was looking slightly annoyed by Theo, but also kind of cozy. That description almost perfectly summed up Theo. He had this way of getting under your skin until you couldn’t help but like him. Even grumpy and stoic people like Lola.
Mari and Butch were in the kitchen cooking something that smelled amazing and I didn’t see Ryan which made me think he was in the den with Hattie. Mari looked up from the sauce she was stirring and smiled brightly when she saw me.
“Hey, you’re back. Did you get Maggie home?”
“Yeah, she’s good, thanks.”
Mari put her spoon down and rounded the corner of the island to stand in front of me. She grasped my shoulders in her hands and tilted her head to inspect me. “How about you? How are you doing?” she asked.
“Actually, I wanted to talk to everyone. Can you and Butch come into the living room?”
She squeezed my shoulders and nodded. “Sure, let me just turn the sauce down.”
Back in the living room Munro was talking to Theo. I watched as he got up, and they both went back to the den. A few moments later Ryan and Munro came back, and I assumed they’d left Theo to babysit Hattie.
Once everyone was back in the living room, I couldn’t help but feel a little like a fraud. I’d called a family meeting for the second time that day, and everyone was looking at me expectantly. I wished I’d grabbed a glass of water when I’d been out in the kitchen because my mouth was dry as a desert. This time I was standing in front of the fireplace with Munro to my left. Ryan and Butch sat in the chairs, while Mari and Lola took spots on the couch. Everyone had varying degrees of expectation and patience etched on their faces.
I directed my first question at Butch, “Munro mentioned that there was a prophecy you found in some of your research. Can you tell me about it?”
The room was quiet, and everyone looked confused, but I had this sense that the prophecy was something I needed to hear. Butch cleared his throat and leaned his big frame forward in the chair. He made it look dainty with his massive size, and I worried how structurally sound it was when it gave a loud creak.
“Well now, let me see if I can remember the gist of it.” He looked down at the floor as if it might help him recall the words. “There was a bit about the legend of the sisters and their magic being out of balance.” He paused, tapping his finger absently against his temple. “someone tempted by greed and power… hmm… I think there was something about the solstice moon.” He turned a perplexed expression on the others in the room, like maybe it was something they were familiar with, but there were only shrugs and shaking heads in response. “And the last of it was something about an elemental witch and redemption.” He winced and looked up at me apologetically.
“That’s the bastardized version of it. I don’t have the books here, so my memory will have to do for now.”
“What does all of that mean? The solstice, the elemental witch?” I asked.
Ryan was resting his forearms on his thighs, his hands clasped together loosely. “We’re not sure about the solstice. We know it happens twice a year, but we have no idea what solstice it’s referring to.”
As Ryan spoke, heat crept over my chest and up my neck, but I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or trepidation. I wasn’t sure I wanted to share what I was thinking so tossed out the words as if they were no big deal. For all I knew it wasn’t a big deal. “I was born on the summer solstice.”
Every head in the room whipped around to look at me. I heard a muttered oath from Munro beside me but didn’t catch what he said. Five pairs of eyes were staring at me and I started to squirm under their scrutiny. So, maybe it was kind of a big deal. Amazingly, it was Lola who refocused everyone’s attention.
“What about the elemental part. Do we know what that means?” She looked completely in control and poised, and I envied her posture. I was a mess about to combust inside, and I didn’t think I was hiding it very well.
Butch considered her question, squinting like that would help him form a response, “The best we can figure is an elemental has the ability to work with all of the elements, not just specialized to one.”
This time, all of the blood rushed out of my face, and I felt sweaty and weak. I thought about how I’d almost effortlessly tapped into all the elements in my small experiments with Munro, not to mention how I’d been manipulating the weather without even realizing it.
Butch looked at my sympathetically, obviously seeing the rising panic that was threatening to turn into a full-on attack because he rushed to assure me. “Don’t worry Annie, my memory is fuzzy at best. Once we get our hands on the actual prophecy we can figure things out. Besides the elementals are as good as a myth, kind of like the sisters. Soul magic is so rare it’s practically unheard of these days.” Butch chuckled like the idea was ludicrous.
A drop of cold sweat slid down my spine as my eyes darted over to Munro. He was doing a terrible job of trying to hide his worry which only scared me more. I hadn’t been around Butch much, and most of the time spent with him I’d been wearing a sweatshirt or layers of some sort. He hadn’t seen the scar that marked my arm.
I could tell Mari had already reached the same conclusion because I’d told her I’d done soul magic when we first met. She was biting the corner of her lip looking tense, but she forced a reassuring smile on her face when she saw me looking at her.
I pushed up the sleeve of the sweatshirt I was wearing so that my rune was exposed. “I’ve done soul magic,” I said quietly.
I needed to tell them, but also wanted to keep it a secret from the world, like it was something shameful. Lola had basically outright told me it was, and I was embarrassed to display my lack of control to a room full of knowledgeable, functioning witches.
Butch’s eyes twitched over the mark and he frowned. “I’ve never seen that rune before?” He sounded confused.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I’m not much help. My mom wore a pendant with this rune and told me it was an old family symbol.” I paused wondering what Munro had done with it. “I woke up after my parents’ death with this mark on my arm.”
Butch stood up abruptly and then dropped back down in his chair as if he forgot there were other people in the room. “Sorry. I think I should take a trip back home and get those books. I want to make sure I have the prophecy right. And I need to see if I can find out any more about elementals and that rune.”
Munro nodded beside me, speaking for the first time during all these revelations. “Agreed. Can you get back in a day or two?”
“I'll get the flights booked,” Butch said as he jumped up and hurried out to the kitchen.
Lola sighed on the couch. “He never can resist a good hunting expedition.”
I wondered how they could be siblings. Butch was so kind and gentle, and Lola was all edges and attitude. They looked like
complete opposites too, Butch huge and brawny and Lola thin and willowy. I had no idea what color Butch’s hair was because he shaved it completely, but Lola’s was a light brown. I’d have to ask Munro if they were really related when things calmed down for more than two seconds.
Ryan went back to the den, and Theo came out a minute later, obviously relieved from Hattie duty. He looked bored as he flopped on the couch in between Mari and Lola. Mari gave his knee a gentle pat then stood up and came over to my side.
“Ryan, Lola and I found a spell that we think we can use to permanently bind Hattie’s magic.” Her eyes shifted to Munro before they bounced back to me. “Some of the ingredients are difficult to find, but I have them at my store.”
She sounded uneasy and nervous telling me this, and I suspected she felt she would be abandoning me if she left so soon after getting here.
“Go. Absolutely. Go get what we need. I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Theo will stay, he can help with guard duty,” she said with a little smile in his direction.
“Oh, so I’m just the muscle?” Theo kissed his bicep as he spoke, and I could feel the eye rolls in the room.
I thought I heard Lola mutter a Jesus under her breath, but Theo just chuckled.
“Yes, honey. You’re so big and strong,” Mari clucked as if she was talking to a toddler, and Theo laughed in response, their easy banter making my heart warm.
Mari waved him off dismissively before she turned back to me. “Will you stay tonight? I’d love to talk some more before I have to leave in the morning.”
I ventured a nervous look at Munro and he gave me a small, encouraging smile. “You should stay. There’s plenty of rooms. Plus, I think it’s better if you’re close.”
He was standing next to me and his words were quiet, so I wasn’t even sure Mari could hear him. “If anything happens with Hattie we’ll all be here. I don’t want you out on your own right now,” he said, looking pained.
I had mixed feelings about staying in the same house as Hattie, but I also agreed with him. I’d rather be in the presence of a bunch of witches than try to stay safe on my own, and I agreed before I’d even realized I’d decided. “Yeah, sure. I’ll stay.”
Chapter 11
Once outside I gently shut the cottage door behind me, cringing when the door gave a small squeak that sounded loud enough to wake the dead in the silent night. Sighing with relief when the latch clicked, I turned and gasped, covering my mouth to stop the noise. My heart raced in my chest as my sister appeared like an apparition in front of me.
She wore her white nightgown, and the breeze was gently blowing, causing the fabric to mold to her limbs like it was caressing her. Her dark hair was down and wild, curls cascading down her back. Everything about her denoted power and strength, and she appeared to be a dark goddess standing there in front of me, and she was not pleased.
“What are you doing, sister? It’s late. You shouldn’t be out.” Her voice was scolding and deceptively gentle.
I unconsciously took a step back, running into the door I’d just closed. Our powers were equal, we were the balance of light and dark, but lately, she’d been unsteady. I’d seen darkness swirling in her eyes when she didn’t realize I was watching. She’d been taking on more power, I just didn’t know how. What I did know was that it was making her unstable.
“I couldn’t sleep. I thought a walk might clear my head.”
She tipped her head examining me as she took in my words. “What is it that weighs on your mind, sister?”
I stood up straighter, refusing to be intimidated by this woman who had been my companion since before our birth. “Just the harvest, sister. I always worry that we will have enough for the winter.”
She blinked at me, weighing whether or not she would accept my statement. It wasn’t a matter of whether she believed me or not, I could feel she didn’t. No, it was whether she chose to accept my lie. “Don’t let me keep you then. Enjoy your walk.” She stepped to the side like she was the Sphinx, and I’d answered her riddle correctly.
“Good night, sister,” I said, hurrying past her.
“Good night.”
I took a different path than planned, afraid she would follow me and find out I was meeting Connall. There should have been no reason for me to hide him, but since the spring planting festival, she’d been different. She’d seen us together and had become irrationally jealous. She told me that we weren’t allowed to marry, and our magic would be diluted if we lay with a man.
I’d told her that being with Connall was its own kind of magic, and I wouldn’t give it up for the world. It was after those words had been spoken that she’d started following me. She’d placed a hex on Connall as well, to keep him from me. But it didn’t work, because our love was pure and unadulterated. It couldn’t be tampered with, and she wasn’t strong enough to keep us apart.
Still, after that, we’d taken to meeting in secret. I feared she would do something else to hurt him just to keep us apart.
Even though I must have been an hour late, Connall was there, waiting for me.
“I’m sorry, my sister…”
Connall just put his arms around me, holding me tight. He brought his hands up to my face, the way I loved, and brought his lips to mine.
“I’d wait forever.”
Warm hands caressed my face, and I swayed into the touch feeling the uncertain limbo between dreaming and waking. There was a charge where our skin met that made my heart pump wildly. The contact was more than skin on skin, it was a connection that spanned creation. It was everything right in the universe. It was the reason for existing.
“Annie?” The voice was rough with sleep but still held the gentle lilt of the accent I loved so much. “Annie?” he said again, fingertips brushing over my eyelids and tracing over my cheek. I shivered at the caress, loving the contact.
The brush of his fingers slowly brought awareness to me, and I felt hardwood floors beneath my knees and something soft beneath my left cheek. The smell of sandalwood and rain slowly permeated the fog of sleep, and I opened my eyes, full of confusion about what my senses were telling me.
Munro was looking down at me, half propped up on his bed. Panic swirled inside of me in a flurry of emotion as I realized I was kneeling next to Munro’s bed with my head laying on the mattress close to his face. One of my hands was stretched out over the bed, touching Munro’s chest like a lover would. I was so startled that I didn’t move at first, I just looked at Munro who stared at me with concern shining through his eyes.
Slowly, like I was afraid of startling him or even myself, I pulled my hand back and picked up my head, rocking back to sit on my heels. Munro sat up more fully in bed, and even in my stunned state I couldn’t help but notice that he wore no shirt. His chest was sculpted and lacked any hint of extra body fat. If I hadn’t just woken up in his room with no idea how I’d ended up there, I would have been awed, but I was too panicked by my nighttime stroll for much else to register.
“Annie?” Munro whispered again.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know how I got here,” I said and as if that had set off a spark of awareness, I scrambled backward and hurried to my feet.
“I’m sorry,” I said again as I fled his room and went back to the spare room Munro had shown me to just hours before.
Hastily getting back under the covers, I tried to warm my frozen hands and feet, and I had to wonder how long I’d been out of bed. I lay there trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. The aching look on Munro’s face as I’d left his room burned itself into my mind and flashed every time I closed my eyes.
***
The sun had been up for a while and was shining into the bedroom with a radiant force that was nearly blinding. Since coming back from Munro’s room, I’d been laying in bed staring at the ceiling. My nighttime stroll and the dream I’d had of the couple in the glen was haunting me. I’d felt their love and connection like an ache in my bones, and it twisted ins
ide my heart. It had been so vivid and real like it was a memory instead of a dream.
It wasn’t just the dream haunting me, it was Munro’s eyes as he’d stared down at me. His hands on my face had sparked a longing inside of me. I wanted to forget what had happened at the warehouse. I wanted to trust him with my heart, but I still wasn’t ready yet.
When I finally gave up on sleep, it was barely after seven. I threw the covers off and decided to go find some coffee. After a quick trip to the bathroom to brush my teeth with a new in the package toothbrush that someone had left out for me, I headed downstairs. I found Lola sitting in the kitchen drinking her own cup of coffee.
She nodded toward the coffee maker in the corner. “There’s a fresh pot.”
I replied with a grunted thanks, feeling uncertain when it came to Lola. I got the sense she may have had feelings for Munro at some point, but also that she didn’t particularly care all that much for me. Whether those two things were connected was unknown.
She eyed me while I opened up cupboards looking for a mug before she took pity on me and stood, opening up a cupboard to the left of the sink. A spiteful pang of irritation flared in me that Lola knew where they kept the mugs, and I had no idea. I knew it was petty and dumb, but I guess that’s just how I operated.
I murmured another thanks, trying not to be a bitch as I poured myself a cup. I desperately wanted sugar, but I’d be damned if I asked her where that was too. Bitter black coffee it was, just like my soul.
Trying to make a small effort to be polite, I slid onto one of the other stools that was tucked under the kitchen island. We sat in silence while I considered how to break the ice with her. She wasn’t exactly full of warm fuzzies, and I got the vibe that she didn’t really want to talk to me that much anyway.
