“I hope sooner rather than later,” Easton mumbled. “I love you.”
“I love you too. It will be fine.”
“When are you going to tell me who this mystery person is?” He took her hand and placed a kiss on her palm. “And where are they coming from?”
Tegan grabbed the table and closed her eyes. “I prayed that this could wait until she was here, but you ask so many questions.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” He felt his heart thumping in his chest. Somehow, he felt Tegan was about to change his world again, but in a way he wasn’t quite sure he was ready for.
Chapter Eleven
“Your grandmother is coming here to meet with us.” Her eyes searched his face as if she needed to see his reaction.
“My grandmother? What are you talking about? I don’t have a grandmother. If I did, I think I would have met her before now.” Easton raked a hand through his hair.
“You have a grandmother. Your maternal grandmother.” She reached for his hand, twining her fingers in his. “She has been waiting for the right time to come to you.”
“If my grandmother is still alive, why didn’t she come to me before?” He pulled his hand away from hers. “Why didn’t she get me out of that house where I lived in hell for the last twenty-one years? Why would she leave me with a man who abused me every day after my mom died?”
“She had to stay away to protect you,” Tegan whispered as tears fell from her eyes.
“Protect me? She stayed away to protect me? From what?” Easton pushed his plate away. “Wouldn’t it have protected me more if she would have removed me from that house when I was eight?”
Tegan shook her head. “Trust me, she wanted to come get you, to take you back to the other world where she lives. But there are things you do not understand that were put in place many years ago. Things that she could not change.”
Easton lifted his head and met her eyes. “Other world? What the hell are you talking about?”
She sighed and clasped her hands together. “Your grandmother is a very important witch, who had to stay away to protect you and your identity until it was time to reveal herself to you. Even now, she is waiting until the time is right to come to you.”
“A witch?” Shaking his head, he laughed harshly. “We talked about this, Tegan. I told you I don’t believe in all that mumbo jumbo stuff.”
“And I told you, the song your mother sang was a protection spell she was placing on you. Your grandmother has kept that spell going to keep you protected.”
“So what? Now you’re going to tell me my mother was a witch as well?”
“She was.”
He stood and started pacing the room, thoughts running through his head, memories of his mother holding him, singing her song. If his mother was a witch, why would she have taken her own life and left him alone? Why wouldn’t she do some magic and get them away from Thomas Ruden?
He spun around, rushing to Tegan and taking her by the shoulders. “If she was a witch, why’d she kill herself? Can you tell me that? Why didn’t she weave a spell to take us away or make him leave? Why didn’t she bring us back to my grandmother?” He walked to the cabinet, leaned back, and slid to the floor. “I don’t understand.”
“I know you do not. I don’t understand all of it either, but I know your mother was a very important witch.” She sat down beside him.
“If she was so important, why’d she leave?”
“That is something we should discuss with your grandmother.”
He lifted his head and met her eyes. “Am I going to truly meet her?”
Tegan nodded.
“Is she really a witch?” He watched her nod again. “What is this other world you mentioned?”
“It is actually another world where our coven lives. This house is a bridge between the two worlds.”
“Will I get to see it?”
“I am hoping you do. I would like to go home. I have been here a long time, helping your uncle and waiting to meet you.”
He put his arm around her and pulled her against him. “I’m not sure I believe any of this.”
She placed her hand on his chest as she leaned her head against his shoulder. “It is true whether you believe it or not. I am sorry to cause you so much confusion and hurt. I was hoping we would be able to wait for her.”
“So, this grandmother of mine really is a witch?” He kissed the top of her head.
“Yes. As I said, she is a very important witch.”
He sat quietly for a bit, trying to digest all the information she’d given him. Leaning his head back on the cabinet, he wondered for the millionth time why his mother didn’t take them away from the Thomas. Now, more than ever, it perplexed him. If she was a witch, why didn’t she do something?
“I want to change my name,” he muttered.
“What?” She pushed away from him, looking up into his eyes. “Why would you change your name?”
Easton glanced down at her. “I want all ties to that man erased. I don’t want to carry his name. I want to take my mother’s maiden name. Her maiden name was Ross.” He watched her eyes widen.
“Ross? No, that was not your mother’s maiden name.”
“Yes it was.” Easton tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know that was her name.”
“That was the name she used in this world. It was for her protection.” She traced her hand down his jaw. “Her true name was Arietta Brack.” She tilted her head and it looked to him as if she had gotten lost in thought for a moment.
“Hey.” He lifted her chin. “Where’d you go?”
“I have to tell you something. Your mother was a powerful witch who left our coven years ago, saying she wanted to find her own way. She was told to not use her last name to protect herself and her line. If an enemy found out who you truly are, it would not be good since you are of witch blood.”
“Why would anyone be my enemy?”
She placed her hand on his chest. “Your mother was royalty.”
“How can that be?”
She sighed. “It just is. We must keep your true name secret, for both of our protection. If we do not, I shudder at what may happen. Please. I think you know deep in your heart that I speak the truth. When you open your mind, you will know it is so.” She stood and smoothed the front of her dress before turning to face Easton. “In the meantime, we will wait for your grandmother to meet us so she can tell you everything.” She reached out her hand. “Please, let’s eat. You will need your strength.”
He nodded his head as one side of his mouth curled up just enough to crease his dimple. “If any of this is true, which I don’t believe it is, will there be magic involved?”
She laughed. “Aw, it’s true, even if you do not believe it.”
“May I ask you another question?” He stuck his fork into a piece of meat he’d just cut. When she nodded, he continued, “What is my grandmother protecting me from? Why would my mother have put a spell on me to hide me? I’m confused about that part.”
“I do not know yet. It may have something to do about hiding you from the man you lived with. But I am worried that it may have something more to do with who your father is. If he was also part of our world, he may have been involved in dark magic. Perhaps something sinister your mother did not know about at first.”
He dropped his head and swallowed hard. His real father may not even know he existed. Easton sincerely hoped his father wasn’t evil. Damn, he’d lived with a horrible person for his entire life. Could he just get a break?
Tegan hurried to the fridge and returned with a pitcher of lemonade she’d made earlier, pouring some into each glass. She placed the pitcher on the table after setting down each glass. “I hope you will continue to try to keep an open mind. It is important for you to.”
“I will try.” He leaned forward and grabbed her hand, pulling it to his lips and placing a kiss on the back of her hand. “I feel overwhelmed.” He raked a hand through his hair.
> “This has been overwhelming for both of us. There has been so many changes in such a short time. You went from living a normal, human life to being told magic and witches not only exist, but you could be one.” She raised a brow. “I think anyone would feel overwhelmed.” She winked at him.
Chapter Twelve
The next morning, Tegan shook him awake. “You need to come with me right now. Hurry, get your clothes on.” She stood rocking from foot to foot as he dressed quickly before pulling on his sneakers. She motioned him to follow her as she walked quickly out of the room and down the stairs. He followed her past the kitchen to a door that led down to the basement. Once down the stairs, she walked to a corner, motioning for him to follow her. Tugging a dark cloth off a large mirror, Tegan started a singsong chant. The face of the mirror began to swirl.
“Come. Follow me quickly.” She stepped into the mirror as Easton stared after her. “Hurry!” Her voice echoed around the room.
Easton stepped through, holding onto the side of the mirror for just a moment. Dizziness hit him for a second as nausea clenched his stomach. Darkness swallowed him, and just as he thought he was lost, he suddenly found himself on secure footing in a beautiful meadow of grass and wildflowers surrounded by a forest. The scent of flowers and the sight of the bright blue, cloudless sky meeting the dark green of the trees assaulted his senses.
He swore he could feel the energy of the earth beneath his feet, pulsing through him. He blinked and rubbed his eyes before he turned to find Tegan standing in front of a beautiful, slender woman in a dark emerald gown. Her long, flowing, auburn hair framed her heart-shaped face, eyes the same green as her dress peered at him. She had the stance of someone from royalty, and he had the thought she would look more at home in a palace than standing barefoot on the thick carpet of grass. A halo of light surrounded her as she spoke softly to Tegan.
He stepped beside her. “Where are we?”
“In the other realm. This is the Witch Mother, Nalia. She is your grandmother.”
“It is nice to meet you, Easton.” Nalia took his hand. “I am so sorry for not reaching out to you sooner. I have spent years protecting you from afar. I could not come to you sooner for your own protection. I could not risk your life.”
Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at him before reaching out to touch his face. “I see the pain in your eyes, and I am so sorry to have any part of that. Please, both of you follow me.” Nalia turned and walked softly over the grass, leading them to the one large tree standing in the center of the field. They stepped under the large canopy into the coolness of the shade. The old tree had great roots that oddly formed beautiful benches. Nalia motioned for them to sit. “Easton, sit here please.” She patted a spot by her.
“I know you have many questions. I will let you ask them once I have explained some things to you. You are a descendant of the Brack bloodline. A royal bloodline of witches that goes back generations. Arietta, your mother, wished to leave the safety of our world. She went to explore the human world where you were born. It is not uncommon for young witches to do this.”
She took his hand in hers. “Unfortunately, you are also a descendant of a powerful, but dark bloodline of druids that is full of dark magic and deception, in which our main problem lies. Between our bloodline and theirs, your line will be the most magical line ever born because of the combination of good and evil. The problem being that since this has never happened before, we did not know what side you would reign over. This would be decided when you were older. That is why we had to keep you hidden in the human world and keep you safe from the darkness that is your father’s line.”
“What?” He blinked. “Did you see how my life was? Did you know that I was bullied every day after my mother died?”
Nalia hung her head. “I did. But we had to keep you hidden from those who would wish to use you for evil or destroy you if you refused.”
“I was not sure why your mother was with your father. But I believe that she fell in love with him, and contrary to what I thought possible, he fell in love with her. Once you were born, your mother cast a powerful spell of protection on you that kept you hidden for years. But I have been watching you all along, and I have had witches in place to keep you safe since your mother died.”
“You do know my mother killed herself, right?” His voice broke with the pain of saying it out loud.
“She did not,” Nalia said softly. “It is the story that man told you. I hated that you had to think that all these years. She did not leave you Easton, she was taken from you.”
“How will you learn anything, since his father left without knowing he was even conceived?” Tegan reached over to touch his hand. Easton grabbed onto it as if it were a life preserver thrown into an ocean to keep him from drowning.
Nalia smiled. “Patience my child. A druid knows from conception, they hear and are aware of more than you can understand.” She turned to Easton and placed her hand over his. Her eyes widened, a smile crossed her lips, and her light radiated brightly. The forest went silent. “You are a very powerful Druid. You have strong magic inside of you. Because of the danger you are in now, we need to train you quickly. Now that you have been with Tegan, there has been a ripple in the force that divides the worlds. The dark realm is looking for you.”
Easton’s eyes met hers. “I’m in danger?”
“Your mother’s magic is strong. She wove it deep into your mind, singing spells from the moment she knew you were conceived. She also wove a spell preventing any witch or druid to see who your father was.”
“She was in love with him, and he fell in love with her. When she told him she was with child, they made the decision that he would leave to protect you. He left her, telling her not to seek him out, to keep the child they had made secret, and to never tell anyone lest it get back to his realm.”
Her eyes focused on his for a moment. “He knew—he protected you as well. He has watched you from the dark realm, reinforcing her spells along with mine to keep you hidden. He protects you at great peril to himself, and you, if he fails. I have never known of a dark Druid to have such compassion and love. Let go of the hate and anger you harbor for him. He is a father who has been making the ultimate sacrifice for his child. He has been in contact with me through secret means, so we could both work to keep you safe. We never involved anyone else.” She turned to Tegan. “I am sorry I could not tell you any of this. We needed you to be in the dark as well.”
Nalia stood. “We have much to do and quickly. Come with me. We must prepare for the possibility of what may soon come for you. Easton, I am going to contact your father so he knows you are with me now. He needs to be aware of what is going on, and he will know how close the threat is. I do not think they have been able to get past your mother’s protective spells yet, or they would be at your door by now, but they are getting closer. We just need to know how much time we have.”
She stood and moved around the tree, motioning for them to follow. “We are safe here, but let us move out of sight and into my home. Even the trees can switch sides should they become angry.” She placed her hand on the enormous tree’s bark and said some words Easton didn’t understand. A glow radiated from her palm, and a door appeared in the wood. Nalia opened it and motioned for Easton to enter. “Welcome to my home.”
After they walked through the door, Nalia pulled it closed and said some more words, sealing it shut. She then lifted her hand and a small flame illuminated the area. Easton saw a stairway leading upwards.
“How is this here?” he asked Tegan. The tree was enormous on the outside, but how could it have such an intricate stairway inside its trunk?
“Many things are not what they seem.” She took his hand and they followed Nalia up the stairway. When they came to the end of the stairs, they entered an open circular room.
“Now I’m even more confused,” he whispered. In the center, Easton saw a low table with an assortment of candles, stones, and bottles of oils and herbs. Nalia w
alked to the table and lit a red candle. “What’s going on?”
“The Witch Mother is going to have us perform magic that will put a protection spell on us while we are here in this realm. It is customary, especially when we are in her home.”
Nalia walked behind the table. “It will also help to hide you longer, Easton. Sometimes, when there is a ripple between realms, it can be followed. I have druids and witches working in the human realm to try to place further spells around the house. I ask your permission for us to do this spell.”
Tegan lowered her head. “I give you my permission.”
“I give you mine too.” He lowered his head when Tegan tightened her hold on his hand.
“If you will, both of you choose a glass from there.” She pointed to a set of shelves along the wall. “Then bring it to me, and we will get started.”
Easton moved slowly to the wall and glanced at the shelves. He reached for a small glass but stopped when he saw the crystal goblet embellished with a dragon, sitting near the corner of the shelf. He picked it up and walked back to the table, followed closely by Tegan, who held a long stemmed glass.
“Good. Set them down in front of you on the table.” She lifted a bottle of red wine from the table and poured some into each glass before she uncorked a small bottle and sprinkled something into the air. “Cinnamon,” she said just before Easton could ask. “Now dip your finger in and give it a little stir.” She nodded for them to do as she bid.
Easton felt foolish doing as she asked, but he did it, watching Tegan to make sure he was doing it correctly.
“Good, now run that fingertip around the rim of the glass until you hear a ringing tone. When you hear the tone, watch the flame of the candle and visualize it shining out of you.”
Easton watched the flame, very aware that Nalia was watching him intently.
“Drink the wine and feel the warmth of it flow through you.”
Easton picked up his glass and drank the wine quickly, glancing over at Tegan to find her watching the candle as well.
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