And some of the instincts
And the ability to apparently be anîkâkîstis.
“Her and I can hang out while you’re all running around on four legs. Finally, someone my age and not one of the elders.”
Leah glows a bit at that. I suppose it’d be difficult learning that a woman, a witch of all people, developed shifting abilities before the one born from two healthy shifters herself. Her excitement kills me nearly as much as Carina’s absence. She’s not only absent from my life, but those who’ve come to consider her a friend.
“But for real,” Leah’s tone flattens, “she doesn’t even want to be a High Priestess. She sounds scared and is panicking, doing what she thinks she should by hiding from all the potential futures. Give it time, and she’ll come back when she realizes it isn’t what she wants anymore.”
“The Darkness apparently talks to her.”
Xander grimaces. “It’d explain her behaviours this morning.”
“Apparently it’s begging her to kill again. Urging her to be stronger.”
“She’s already strong.” Leah rests a hand over mine. “She needs to realize shecanlearn to control it before it takes her over. From Xander’s story, it doesn’t sound like every Dark witch is evil.”
Archer is completely Dark yet chose his own path today by siding with us. And he isn’t the only example she gave.
“She also has a friend. Half-witch, half-vampire. They believe her vampire side reins in the Darkness, since they’re Dark creatures, but what if it’s Harlow herself choosing not to be evil?” A theory to present one day, if given the chance.
“Exactly.” Leah taps my hand before taking it back. “Once realizing she’s strong enough to control it, she’ll come back.”
“Yeah? How long do you think that’d take?”
“Forever if you don’t clean this place up.” Leah scans the room, her nose scrunching. “I wouldn’t come back if I learned my mate’s been trashing our cabin, and believe me, Ryder, I will stalk that barrier until I’m able to tell her myself, just to see you clean.”
With my mate a distance away and one of my best friends dead, it physically pains me to feel any level of happiness or amusement, but fuck me, I laugh for the first time in days.
“You’re right.” Swiping a hand over my hair, I get to my feet and start collecting my clothes to replace them in the chest. “You’re both right. Thanks.”
A heavy hand slaps me on my shoulder before he starts scooping up the scattered debris from the broken chair. “Thank us by bringing her home. Seriously, Ryder, I’ll toss myself off a mountain before putting up with your moody ass for the next fifty years.”
For the second time today, I laugh.
Sixty-Six
CARINA
One Week Later
Everyday feelslike I’m living a million lifetimes.
Every day is a genuine struggle to get out of bed and go to work, returning to my old routine of helping at Mom’s crystal shop on the main strip while pretending the past few weeks never happened.
Like every morning since returning from Twilight Grove, Mom looks up from her coffee with a million and one statements in her expression but only says one, by the time I full up my own mug with the black liquid of life I’ve been relying on more and more.
“Morning.”
“Morning. Today, I’ll be reviewing all the incantations for the ceremony.” The full moon is in a few days and preparing keeps me focused.
Again, with the many statements, all of which she hides behind her mug.
The front door opens without invitation, which means it’ll be one of three people: Jasper or his parents. Being direct family, they’re the only ones with access to our house.
“I brought muffins!” he calls seconds before appearing in the doorway and then resting a box from a nearby bakery in front of us.
Mom flicks the lid, examining over the choices. “You’ve shown up unannounced with food. What do you actually want?”
