Nicholas gazed into the fire for a moment. “So you’re absolutely sure they knew the whole time that your dad wasn’t your dad? And they kept this truth from you on purpose?”
I paused. “Well, sort of. They said they’d heard a rumor that my mom might’ve been pregnant when she ran away from Crystal Cove.”
He angled his head to the side. “So you’re upset that they didn’t tell you about a gossipy rumor they’d heard about your deceased mom that may or may not have even been true?”
“Yes… No… I don’t know.”
“And they told you right away about it when you mentioned seeing my Mark, something that then threw your bloodline into question, when it hadn’t been before. Is this right?”
“Well, okay, yeah. See, this is why I need you. Help me understand this… why does it hurt so bad? I need them, but I feel like they betrayed me, even though I admit it doesn’t make a lot of sense. I know I shouldn’t be this upset with them, but I am. Although on the other hand, they certainly had no problem ratting us both out to Ana.”
“I think they were just really worried, scared even. They thought I might be a danger to you,” he whispered. “I can’t fault them for wanting to protect you. I actually like them more for it.”
“Well, I can fault them. We’re supposed to be one. A unified team. A Morningstar Trinity. Not a Morningstar two-against-one.”
“I wonder…” Nicholas searched my eyes. “I wonder if you being an Empath is making this harder on you. I’ve known a few in my day, and I know in times of heightened stress or anxiety they tend to feel emotions much more strongly than the rest of us.”
I uncrossed my legs and stretched them out in front of me. Then I reached over and grabbed a long poker and aimlessly stabbed at the fire until the log flipped over. Lily had said something similar to me a while ago when Nicholas and Justin were away, their fates uncertain. She’d said something about it being harder on me because I was an Empathion, so I felt things so much more. Could she and Nicholas be right? Could that explain the intense range of emotions storming through me now?
I shook my head. “So are you telling me I’m a big emo mess all the time because of my Empath abilities? That’s just great. Just when I thought I couldn’t despise this useless power any more than I already do—”
“An Empath draws her powers from her emotions. That’s what makes her so strong. But yeah, it can mess with your head at first until you really learn to manage it. And the more intensely an Empath feels, the stronger her power.”
“How do you know all this?”
“As I said, I’ve known a few in my day. And believe me, you do not want to cross an Empath. When they tune in and turn it on…well, I just wouldn’t want to be in one’s way. They can move heaven and Earth if they want to.”
“I wish,” I muttered.
“Don’t wish...make it happen. What do you want, really want, right now?”
I didn’t even have to think; my response was automatic. “I want Lily and Sophie back. I want us to be sisters again. I want to trust them and love them like I did before. I want my mom back, I want Justin to be okay and happy again, I want Ana to accept you and love you as much as I do.”
Nicholas looked me square in the eye, his jaw rigid. “Then make it happen. Only you have the power. Decide to do it and make it happen.”
I leaned back on my elbows. “If only it were that simple.”
“Oh, I never said it was going to be simple. You have your work cut out for you, no doubt about it. But only you can make it happen. Calista, you create your own reality, no one else. Are you going to be the master of your fate, or are you going to sit passively by and wait for fate to happen to you?”
I chuckled. “Now you sound like Saffron.” I recalled her ‘game-master’ speech, and her saying how each of us was in control of our own world and created our own destiny. She’d also told me that she thought I was powerful…one of the most powerful witches she’d ever seen. I’d wondered why she’d said that.
Nicholas smiled. “Saffron is probably the wisest sorceress I’ve ever met, so I’ll take that as a compliment.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay, step one—make up with Sophie and Lily and re-forge our sisterhood. But what about Ana? What do I do with her?”
Nicholas shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t know. She doesn’t like me, that’s for sure.”
“She won’t want you anywhere near me or her house. In fact, I’m a little worried she might find us here and try something—”
“Not a chance. This whole area is magically cloaked. No one can see us. As far as she’s concerned, we’ve fallen off the face of the earth.”
The moment he said those words, my heart clenched. Dad. He’d be out of his mind with grief and despair if I stayed away too long. I knew my absence could be explained away for a night, maybe two, but any longer, and short of a magical spell, he would freak out. There was no way I wanted to be responsible for causing him a moment’s pain. Lord knows he’d had enough.
“I can’t stay here much longer. I have to go home right away,” I whispered, almost disbelieving the next words out of my mouth. “And I have to go it alone. I need to get back in Ana’s good graces, and get her to trust me again. It’s the only way to win her over, and I need her help in finding my mom. I’ll have to respect her wishes to stay away from you, at least until I can get her to accept us being together.”
Nicholas pursed his lips and nodded solemnly. “I thought you might say something like that. I don’t want to stay away from you, but if you think that’s the only way…”
“It’s just for a short while, hopefully, and just around the house. So no shimmering in anymore…for now, at least. And I don’t know how strict she’ll be about me seeing you, or if she’ll try to do something to stop it. But I’ll talk with her. She’s being completely unreasonable, and I’ll do everything in my power to get her to come around.”
Nicholas clenched his jaw. “I dunno, she seemed pretty mad. If she blames my coven for the death of her husband and for her daughter disappearing, it might take a lot of convincing.”
I pulled him to me and ran my fingers through his thick, tousled hair. “I can move heaven and Earth, remember?” I whispered, and nuzzled his neck. “I will get her to understand. You’ll see.”
Our lips met in a passionate kiss, and we lay down by the fire, our legs entwined. He caressed my face, and I ran my hands over his muscular back. My fingers paused over the spot where I knew his Mark was, the silly symbol that was causing us so much trouble. But there was no way I was going to let it—or anything else— stand in the way of being with the guy I loved.
“You don’t really have to go back right away, do you?” Nicholas whispered in my ear as he buried his face in my hair. “If I’m not going to be able to see you as much as I want, at least let me have the rest of the day with you.”
I was hostage to his loving gaze inches above my own. “I guess I don’t have to go back right away… I’m all yours.”
He smiled and lowered his mouth to mine again.
In way too short a time, the sun began its cruel descent, and before I knew it my magical day with Nicholas was over. We’d agreed to go back after dusk, and since we’d spent most of the day just hanging out, exploring more of the areas surrounding the cabin, and then eating a romantic early dinner by the fire, time had flown by far too quickly.
I took one last glance around the cabin that I’d grown so fond of in the past twenty-four hours, and hoped that we’d be able to come back here again soon. Together. As we should be.
Nicholas came over and wrapped his arms around my waist. “You ready to do this?”
I gave him a small smile. “Sure. All I need to do is make up with Lily and Sophie, get Ana to trust me and accept you as a significant part of my life, make sure Justin is okay and help him recover from his dangerous mind spell, and track down my long-lost magical mother who’s been ‘dead’ for sixteen years. Piece of cake.” I sh
rugged, and he grinned down at me.
“So what now?”
“Now…now we go back to Crystal Cove.”
Chapter 4. Sweet Sorrow
We landed just south of the pier near the base of the rocky cliffs, and the first thing I noticed was the thick ocean mist blanketing the shore. There was no way anyone saw us arrive, even if someone had been crazy enough to be out at the beach on such a chilly winter’s evening.
“We’re safe here,” Nicholas said. “Ana’s protection spell doesn’t reach this far.”
I looked at him. “How do you know?”
He shrugged. “I can feel it…it’s like going through a thin layer of Jell-O or something whenever I run past her house. So far it’s never hurt me, but I assume that has changed.”
“Funny, I’ve never felt anything,” I murmured.
We weren’t too far away from the spot where Savannah was attacked the night of the bonfire, and immediately my mind flashed to Justin. He and I had saved her in time, but unfortunately there was no saving Justin now. I could only hope and pray that the spell had gone off without a hitch, and he’d still be the same ol’ Justin we all knew and loved.
I took a deep breath and glanced around nervously. Now that we were here I suddenly felt a rush of fear, which was totally stupid. How could I be afraid to go to my own home? Despite Ana’s insane anger last night, I knew she loved me and would never intentionally hurt me, at least not physically. That I knew for a fact.
Too bad I couldn’t say she felt the same about Nicholas.
Everything was fine with Dad, and as far as he knew, nothing had changed between us—
I let out a horrified gasp and covered my mouth with my hands.
Nicholas stared at me and gripped my arm. “What is it? Are you okay?”
I shook my head, shocked that the thought hadn’t occurred to me sooner. I’d been so wrapped up in my own devastation and self-pity about my mother’s deceit, it hadn’t even crossed my mind.
“I wonder if my dad knows the truth. I wonder if he thinks he’s my real father, or if he knows he’s just a surrogate. If my mom put a spell over me all these years, who knows what she did to him? She was into some dark stuff and seemed to have no qualms with manipulating things—” I frowned as I recalled some of her spells I’d discovered in the Book of Shadows.
“I don’t know,” he murmured. “Anything’s possible, I suppose. But right now you have a lot of things to worry about and focus on. Your dad loves you more than anything, so just try and remember that.”
I shut my eyes, ashamed. After Nicholas had made it so clear that he missed out on what I had, I felt a little foolish for continuing to dwell on it, even if my feelings were perfectly valid. Maybe this was an issue better saved for Lily and Sophie to help me work through. I didn’t want to keep rubbing it in his face that I was hung up on technicalities.
“I wish I could see the future again. I hate that I have no idea what’s going to happen with us. I can’t stand the thought of having to stay away from you, even if it does end up only being for a short time.”
Nicholas chuckled. “This is all feeling so ‘Romeo and Juliet’,” he said with a wry smirk.
My eyebrows shot up. “Don’t say that! Romeo and Juliet were doomed and everyone around them died, including them. That won’t happen to us. We will be a ‘happily ever after’. Not a tragedy!”
“I just meant with our magical families hating each other, although I’m at a bit of a loss as to why anyone from my coven would want to hurt anyone from yours.”
I shook my head. “There’s so much that I need to find out. But maybe you can help me on that front. While I’m trying to make peace with Ana and the girls and getting them to accept you, maybe you can talk to some of your connections and see if you can get some information on what really happened…who started the feud, and why they killed my grandfather. It seems like there’s a lot we don’t know, and I’m not sure I trust Ana to be totally forthcoming with information.”
Nicholas shifted his feet. “I have some people I can talk with. But what about us? I need to have a way to get in touch with you and make sure you’re okay.”
I inched closer to him and clasped my arms around his waist, tilting my head up to stare into his dark green eyes. I loved it when he looked down at me this way, with his thick lashes half-lowered, and the left side of mouth turned up the slightest bit. “You know I won’t let her keep me from you,” I whispered. “She can’t lock me on the grounds or chain me to my bed, and she can’t keep me from dreaming…” I gave him a coy smile.
But even though our nocturnal meetings on the magical Isle of Druantia were blissful, they weren’t exactly coherent…or corporeal, for that matter. I was getting better at feeling more present and awake during them, but they were still kind of surreal in a dream-like kind of way. I never really felt like I was a hundred percent in control of what was happening…it felt more like something that was happening to me than something I was consciously doing. But as long as it allowed me to still see Nicholas, I’d take it.
He gave me a strange look. “Wait right here… I’ll be back in a sec.” And just like that he was gone.
I gave a quick glance around, wondering if anyone had seen his sudden disappearing act. But of course no one had. I was all alone on this dark, deserted beach.
I shifted my sights to where the crescent moon hung low in the sky, casting its dull yellow glow on the churning gray waters slapping beneath the pier. I couldn’t see Ana’s house from here, but deep down I knew that she was up there, high on her perch, waiting for me. Although Nicholas had assured me her protection spell didn’t reach this far, that was only for him. I knew she’d already felt my arrival. Maybe she could even See me right now in her Looking Stone.
Before I had a chance to give this much thought, Nicholas wavered back in view. “Here…” He pressed a small, silver phone in my hand. “My number is already programmed in there. Keep it hidden, and call me only when you aren’t on Ana’s property, like at school or something, unless it’s an emergency. I don’t want her knowing you have it.”
I let out a low chuckle. “I’m not sure that school is exactly on the agenda these days.”
He put his arms around my shoulders and pulled me into his broad chest. I closed my eyes and breathed him in, savoring this last moment of peace. Although I tried to act brave, a small part of me…okay, a very big part… worried that seeing Nicholas again wasn’t going to be as easy as I had thought. Who knows what lengths Ana would go to to keep us apart?
“I’m not going anywhere, you know,” he whispered. “I’ll always be right here for you. As close as I can be without putting you at risk. But if you need me, I’m here. Always.”
I nodded, dreading the moment of our separation. I looked up to give him a hug and a kiss. “Wait a moment,” he said. “I have something for you.”
“You do? What?”
His lips twisted into what almost passed as a smile. “It’s a surprise. Turn around and close your eyes.”
I was confused, but did as instructed.
He gently lifted my long hair and put it over my left shoulder. Then something hard landed on my chest, and I gasped.
“My amulet! You got it back! But how?” My hands rose to hold the warm tangerine diamond, and I started to turn back around to him.
“Hold on, let me get it fastened,” Nicholas laughed. When the chain was finally locked securely into place, I spun around and held him tight.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I kissed his face and neck a dozen times. I’d felt terrible for giving up my necklace. Maybe Nicholas getting it back was a good omen…a sign that things were going to get back on the right track.
I pulled away and looked into his pleased face. “Is that where you ran off to after breakfast this morning? Australia?”
He nodded. “Justin may no longer be a threat to you, but there are still other Hunters out there. Just because Justin doesn’t know about them doesn�
�t mean they don’t exist. I hate thinking of you being unprotected, even for a minute.”
I gulped. I hadn’t even thought of other Witch Hunters. Just one more thing for me to deal with these days, I suppose. “How did you do it? How did you get Saffron to give it back to you?”
He shrugged. “Actually, it wasn’t hard at all. It was a symbolic payment. She never really wanted it in the first place; she just needed to see that you were serious, that you were willing to sacrifice something valuable. She doesn’t want you in harm’s way any more than I do.”
For a long time we stood there on the beach holding each other, neither of us wanting to be the first to say anything. But finally, he loosened his grip and whispered, “It’s time.”
I gave him a small nod and squeezed my eyes shut as our lips met one last time.
Chapter 5. Home
I began the slow trudge up the beach. Nicholas couldn’t come much closer without crossing the barrier and most likely alerting the sentries, the fierce gargoyles that screamed like death and were trained to shred enemies to pieces. So he stayed behind until he could no longer see me, and then he was going to shimmer to his mother’s, four houses away.
I decided to wait until I got back to my room before calling to Sophie and Lily. I wasn’t sure what was waiting for me at home… if Ana would confront me, or if Dad would be angry that I took off without telling him. I needed some time to come up with a plausible explanation for Dad, but I knew I could never prepare for whatever Ana might say or do. I’d just have to wing it with her.
Although I felt Nicholas’s eyes on me most of the way, I didn’t once look back. I had to do this myself. But I could feel his unwavering love and support, even from a mile away. And I adored him for it.
“Callie,” Lily’s soft voice suddenly rang in my head. I jumped and spun around. “Callie, where are you?” She sounded so tired and drained.
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