***
“I think the mountain air is good for us,” he laughed.
I let out a long sigh and smacked him backhandedly with a pillow, while spooning into him completely. He cradled me in his arms as the beating of our hearts slowed, and the chill in the air became noticeable. We had the comforters wrapped around us, but the temperature was dropping too quickly to ignore.
“I think I like imagining that this will be our life someday. Just you and me —forever —enjoying each other’s company…” I said softly. “fully.”
I knew he was smiling as he imagined that same life too, and I couldn’t help but snuggle in deeper.
“I think I like yurts too,” I giggled.
“Now it’s my turn,” he replied, dropping a pillow on top of my head. He slowly started to edge away from me, and I let out an accidental moan.
“You do think this could happen someday right? That there might be a future where we weren’t running toward or away from evil?”
“Honestly that’s a hope I’m holding onto every second of every day,” he replied gruffly. “It’s gotta stop at some point.”
“How about we forget everything and move away, go into hiding. The covens can put themselves back together, and we can be together somewhere in peace, enjoying more of this.” I wriggled against him and his body stiffened around mine a little more. It was pretty incredible knowing I had this power over him.
“You bring me to places I never imagined so I’d say a lifetime filled with that kind of excitement and love is complete paradise on earth. To be able to spend the rest of my life with someone as incredible as you is the best gift I could ever have received. And I haven’t even unwrapped you fully.”
I tried so hard not to giggle that my body shuddered.
“Did you just roll your eyes?” he accused.
“Did you just grin wider?” I asked.
“Possibly,” he replied, his mouth entangled in my hair. “I’m sorry, babe. I’ve gotta get the fire going or we’ll be sorry.”
He stood up with only a sheet wrapped around his waist, and I forced myself to hide my grin. God, he was sexy. I turned on my back and let out a groan.
“What’s up, babe?” He threw me a lopsided grin, and I pulled the comforter over my head.
“Carry on,” I mumbled from under the covers.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grumbled innocently. I could feel his smile wrap around me without ever seeing it surface.
“You know exactly what you’re doing to me,” I said wryly.
“Hmm.”
“Maybe we could stay here forever. I could totally see us growing old here and with only the fairies being able to find us? I’m totally game.”
“Agreed,” his voice softened, but he switched subjects. Apparently neither of us could pretend for very long.
“It was nice of them to put stacks of wood right here by the fireplace. It would’ve sucked to go out there and try to find it all.”
“Especially with as little as you’re wearing.” I sat up, letting the covers fall from my grasp, but quickly gathered them back up, realizing how icy the air was.
“You need to come back over here,” I ordered.
“No complaints from me.” He secured the fireplace door and dusted off his hands.
A sharp pain shot through my hand but then it was gone.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, rushing to my side.
“It’s… How did you know?” I asked curiously.
“You looked like you were in pain.”
I shook my head. “It was nothing. If it registered on my face that quickly, I must be a real wimp.”
“Or it hurt pretty badly,” he offered, sitting on the bed next to me.
I turned toward him and a huge pressure began forming along my temples. My head was pounding, my vision clouding. Something was clearly wrong. Pressing my fingertips on my head, I took deep steady breaths to try to dismiss the ache.
“The pain’s back. It’s in your head now?” Logan asked.
I nodded slowly, worried the movement would make the pounding worse, but it managed to intensify on its own.
“Trevor.”
“What?” Logan asked, pulling back.
“He’s in danger.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Logan whispered under his breath. I threw him a cutting glance and he immediately came to.
“What are you seeing?”
“The Venators are after him too. But they managed to get him. We’ve gotta go help.” I started sliding off the bed when Logan’s hand slapped onto mine.
“We aren’t going anywhere,” he replied ominously.
I snapped my eyes open, glaring at him. “I thought you’d gotten over everything with him.”
“It has nothing to do with that. It could be a trap, and we have to stay here until the time is right. You’re skills aren’t where they need to be. We’d get destroyed in a heartbeat.” His expression hardened, shooting me a warning look.
“I don’t care what you say, I’m going. It’s Lara who’s after him. I’m not going to let her put her claws in any of my friends or family.”
“Do you realize what you’re saying? It’s Lara. It’s Lara!” he raised his voice and tightened his grip on my hand. “They’ve made their decision to go after him. You’ve seen it. I get it. But we don’t know when they plan on going after him. It could be days, weeks, months even. You need this time to prepare. If it’s Lara, you need to be able to win under any circumstance.” His voice softened, as did his expression.
“You’re right,” I replied, feeling the pressure in my temples begin to dissipate. “I saw some choices it looks like he must’ve made in the last week or so. Maybe we can trust —”
“What?” Logan interrupted me, his eyes brooding. He released his hand from mine and if I didn’t know better, I’d say his hand was trembling.
“I said that I saw that he had most recently made some choices that were clearly for our benefit. What’s the big deal?”
“It doesn’t strike you odd that you just told me you saw some choices he made in the past?” Logan kept his eyes toward the floor. “Has that ever happened before?”
“I…hmm. I don’t think so. I guess that is weird. I just...I don’t know. I didn’t even think about it. Kind of went with the whole seeing into the future thing.”
Logan was shaking his head. “But it doesn’t. It doesn’t go with the whole seeing into the future thing. That’s the problem. You saw into the past,” he whispered the last word.
Logan stood up and walked to the other side of the yurt, throwing his hand at the wall in anger. The fabric rippled from the force of his palm slamming into it. I’d never seen this side of him. I didn’t understand what was going on. He couldn’t possibly be this angry with me for mentioning Trevor. Could he?
He turned away from me, grabbing his shirt and jeans, and pulled them on. He walked to the sitting area and collapsed into the chair, and I couldn’t fathom what just happened.
He was silent. I couldn’t even hear his breathing.
What was going on? Shoot! If I saw images of Caitlin possibly being injured or killed, I’m sure I’d try to stop it. Well, maybe not that quickly, but I certainly would put it on a to-do list at some point.
I got up and wandered over to Logan to try to calm him down, but I wasn’t sure I could. I had no idea what had just transpired, but maybe I could bring back the lightness we shared only minutes ago. God, how I longed for that feeling again.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” I asked, sliding my hand along his shoulder. His body was shaking, and I suddenly knew whatever was going on had nothing to do with Trevor.
Several moments passed before he turned to me. His eyes were rimmed with a hint of pink.
“Your father… actually I guess it would really be your grandfather, thought he was the key to something bigger, except he was missing some vital abilities. But he refused to see it.”
I slowly let o
ut my breath.
“A prophet is someone who can see the past, present and future,” he stated.
“What? He thinks he’s a prophet?” I spurted out. “That’s ridiculous. There’s no such thing.”
He ignored me and continued, “Triss, you’re as close as they come. You can see the past, the present, and the future. You’re more than I thought possible. You’re everything every black sorcerer craves. It’s what drives them to continue their craft. You’re everything they want to be, all bundled into one. I know that’s what I envisioned when I was practicing.”
“You’re kinda losing me here. I don’t understand why you’re so upset.”
“You have the abilities that prophets claim to possess. You’re a Divinus Witch too,” his voice cracked slightly. “Or maybe I should say that’s what you’ve been all along.”
“I thought I was a Trifecta,” I said perplexed.
“You’re beyond anything I’ve even heard of.” He pushed his fingers through his dark hair and let out a deep breath. “I don’t even think there’s a name for it.”
“Good!” I crossed my arms in front of me, giving him a sloppy smile as I rolled my eyes. “I was really getting tired of all these labels. But the diviner thing isn’t really me. That’s just with the help of the fairies.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s not with the help of the fairies. That was just their way of getting you used to the idea.” He wouldn’t look at me. “A Divinus witch’s powers are to be hidden from the world and yours clearly aren’t. That’s why they took the credit for your skills once they realized you were who you were. You are what they’ve been looking for since the beginning of time.”
He rested his head in his palms, still not looking at me. “I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming.”
The anger was back in his voice, lacing through every word, breath, and shrug.
“What’s the problem then? Isn’t this kind of more good news? Like yeah good guys and all that? The more power the better for us?”
Finally looking up at me, he took a deep breath in and grabbed my hands, clasping them tightly in his own.
“A Divinus witch never lives past their twentieth birthday.” His eyes glistened with the tears I wanted to cry, but none would come.
***
“Let’s take a walk outside.” Logan reached around me, placing his arms around my shoulders. I leaned my head against him, feeling the strength that I hoped I’d somehow be able to borrow. My hand slowly traveled up his arm, feeling the softness of his skin. I had planned on feeling this for decades, feeling us for decades. Now my head was in a fog, and I didn’t want to move from his embrace. I didn’t want to lose one moment away from him.
“It’s dark. You think it’s okay?” I whispered, turning to look at him but not allowing my body to veer from his.
“I think it’s a necessity. This yurt seems to be getting smaller by the second, and I don’t think I can handle it any longer. I need to be out in the fresh air, with you.”
I nodded and let him pull me through the door.
The darkness of the night had already covered the mountainside, and the stars were brilliantly shining down on us as we walked quietly through the field.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Just walking…existing.”
That sounded so simple.
His hand squeezed mine a little tighter as I let my other hand fall along the dried grass, feeling the pricks and slices against my fingertips as we walked through the meadow.
“Do you hear that?” I asked, listening to the cooing that fell into a gentle rhythm of the night. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Mmm,” he murmured, coming to a stop. “It is.”
“This is what I needed,” I said, looking into his eyes.
I began kicking the grass down, smashing it any way I could to make a clearing for us to sit. Logan began helping, which made it a much quicker process. He took off his sweatshirt and laid it on the ground — always the gentleman. I couldn’t help but let the smile come as the tears slowly joined in.
I couldn’t fathom not getting to be here on earth with him. We were supposed to grow old together.
“Vocatio ad Feras Vitam Habeant Gratiam et ob Pennae Juxta me,” I whispered, feeling the chill of the night as I settled in.
“You’ve been practicing Latin, I see.” His smile widened, bringing me close to him.
“It always sounded so lovely rolling off your tongue,” I replied.
“Please don’t start saying your goodbyes,” he whispered, softly kissing my forehead.
“I’m not saying my goodbyes. I’m saying my thank you’s.” I looked up at the night sky, impressed by its beauty. It felt like the first time I saw it, truly saw it. There were no clouds in sight, making a perfect clearing for the glitter in the sky to speak to me. I may have inherited many things from my father, but I certainly wasn’t going to leave everything I’d inherited from my mom behind. The power of nature was stirring in my core, but I knew I was only a fluke of genetics. What I truly cared about was the natural world and coexisting. I had to learn how to control nature instead of letting nature run its course on me.
“A call to the wild, feathers and furs of life, thank you for being by my side… sounds like a little of both,” he replied, interrupting my thoughts.
I turned to face him, letting my eyes connect with his. “I know I’m going to need them in the coming months, and I wanted to send a thank you. Simple as that… I’m not planning on going anywhere, regardless of what kind of witch I am.”
He let out a heavy sigh, and I placed my head on his chest, listening to the soft beating of his heart.
“We can’t let this break us down,” I whispered, feeling his finger tracing my arm steadily.
“It’ll only make us stronger,” he spoke softly.
“Agreed. I’m not going to be satisfied with only having a solid year or two left of awesomeness. That’s not how this is going to flush out.”
I looked over at Logan, but my joke didn’t really sit well. It was all too fresh.
He hugged me tightly, and I felt his breath catch as I forced back tears. Maybe it was too soon for me to joke as well.
“Do you think anyone knows besides the fairies?” I asked.
“I don’t.”
“So you don’t think Lara or Eben had any idea?”
“There’s no way they could’ve put it together.”
“At least that’s in our favor.”
“There are a lot of things in our favor. We simply have to sort them all out and,” he broke off.
“The stars in the sky are just as beautiful with tears in my eyes,” I replied softly.
As we stared at the night’s sky in silence I noticed that friends were coming for a visit, and I couldn’t help but giggle as the bats began circling in numbers far too great for most people’s comfort level. Logan even shifted nervously.
“Guess they heard your thank you,” he laughed.
The tiny shadows swooping and circling, diving and gliding were actually of great comfort, and I enjoyed the show they were putting on for us as my spirit slowly started to lift.
“Do you think the fairies knew even at my father’s compound about me being a Divinus witch?” I asked.
He shook his head, his hand following down my arm. “I don’t know, babe. Probably.”
“I guess Bakula’s statement about how it won’t go on forever, one way or the other it will end, certainly makes more sense now. No wonder she didn’t want to answer my question.” I let out a deep sigh. “It seems if the fairies don’t answer a question, we’d better pay attention. So far it hasn’t proven to be a comforting pattern. What do you think, babe?”
It was like my mind was going a million-miles an hour, and there was no stopping it. It was racing so quickly from one topic to the next I wasn’t sure if it was my nerves or I was on the verge of a breakdown.
“Do you think Lara will ever stop hun
ting us down?” I asked next, watching the bats still performing their acrobatics.
“You’re full of questions,” he surmised.
“A nervous reaction.” I tried to smile. “But do you?”
There was silence for a few moments before he turned to face me. His eyes held something back.
“I’ve had to fight Lara’s kind before. They aren’t as difficult to take out as it might seem.”
I sobered immediately with his chilling admission. I was unable to move.
“What do you mean?” This could not be happening.
“When I left the dark arts I had an encounter with the Venators. They paid me a visit.” He grabbed my hand, but I looked away.
He had lied to me. Were there other things he had lied to me about?
“And?” my voice was hoarse and trembling.
“They wouldn’t leave me alone. They were threatening my mom.” He placed his other hand on my shoulder, but I continued staring straight ahead.
“I had no choice.”
I felt his eyes searching me for a reaction, but I didn’t think he’d enjoy the one I was experiencing. Betrayal and hurt were running through me at a violent pace.
“So you knew they’d be coming for you sooner or later.” I took a deep breath in. “And you never told me. You lied to me.”
“I never lied to you,” he said concerned. “It didn’t come up.”
“Ever heard of lying by omission?” I challenged, sliding away from him. “There were plenty of times you could have slipped it in; plenty of opportunities to fill me in.”
“I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t do it to hurt you, only to protect you.”
“See, so you’ve just admitted that you held it back on purpose.”
“I thought it was taken care of. My life had been in danger, but I thought I sent a strong message. I was worried about my mom’s life too. I honestly believed that my actions stopped them from coming after me though. I thought I had taken care of the problem. I can see now that I was wrong, but it wasn’t intentional.”
Something in his voice told me there was more.
“And?” I finally turned to him and sat up.
“I left that life behind for you. I will never go back to it.”
Witch Avenue Series (The Complete Set) Page 54
