At the same time, I was glad that I had done it. It had felt good letting that side of me loose for once, when I typically held it so close to my chest. I had held onto those emotions forso long that to finally let them out, to finally admit to them in a raw, vulnerable way, had felt like a breath of fresh air. I was fairly certain I had wanted to have that conversation with him for years now.
Except he still hadn’t apologized.
He’d had several chances to do so. I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t. Was it because he didn’t believe he’d done anything wrong? Or was he just the type of guy who never even thought about apologizing? In the end, the reasoning didn’t matter. The result was the same.
Emma and Rachel were watching me expectantly. My cheeks flushed as I realized I had been lost in my own world for who knew how long. I coughed, using the motion to clear my head as I took a deep breath.
“So, how exactly does this work?” I asked.
Rachel and Emma both laughed.
“Good question,” Emma said. “Because we’re still working that out ourselves. It feels like it changes all the time.”
“Considering how long witches were distrusted and hated here, it’s not surprising that we don’t have much information,” Rachel said. “We’ve been able to go through a few old books and learn the theories and a few spells, which was how we found out how to create the wards, but for the most part, we have to experiment and learn as we go. We’re keeping notes for posterity, though.”
“So no casting runes or hunching over a cauldron, muttering spells while warts grow all over our faces?” I asked, earning another laugh.
“Nothing like that,” Emma promised. “Though, considering we’ve stumbled across recipes for potions, I haveno doubt that there are plenty of witches who cackle over cauldrons.”
“Probably wart-free, though,” Rachel mused. “We should try creating potions at some point. They’re typically element-based, so we shouldn’t have too much trouble.”
“You two won’t,” I countered, grimacing. “Right now, all I can do is get things to fly around the room.”
“And I started off making water hot,” Emma countered, one eyebrow raised. “We all have to begin somewhere. That doesn’t make your powers any less useful. We don’t know what you can do. For all we know, it’s better than anything Rachel or I could do.”
“I highly doubt it,” I said.
The other two women both flashed amused grins.
“Only one way to find out, isn’t there?” Emma said, her eyes sparkling.
That encouragement warmed me more than the summer heat. I took a deep breath, rolling my head from side to side. They were right. I couldn’t let that insecurity get the better of me. I needed to focus. I was here to help the town. I just needed to focus on that.
I broke into a wide smile. “All right, then,” I said. “Let’s get started.”
Chapter 18 - Drake
Not for the first time, Oz summoned us to a meeting in Elias’s office. If the alpha was annoyed with Oz for doing so, he had long since given up on lecturing Oz for the practice. As a result, a cluster of us were crammed into the office, all looking at Oz as he cradled a pile of papers.
“I’ve been doing some research,” Oz said by way of greeting.
“There’s a shock,” Sam said. “Oz doing research. Who would have thought? The real question is: How much sleep did you get?”
Oz blinked blearily, fighting back a yawn. “I think I got a thirty-minute nap at some point? Maybe twenty?”
Letting out a puff of air, Elias rolled his eyes. “If I thought that strapping you down to a bed to get you to sleep would do anything, I would,” he lectured Oz, who shrugged, indifferent.
“Gripe at me all you want,” he said. “I’m still the one who has all the information.”
“And that is…?”
“Azaret manages to absorb the power from magical areas. He saps the life out of them, causing chaos behind him. His entire thing is that he’s always craving more power. He can’t get enough of it.”
“How does he absorb it?” Elias asked.
“It takes some time,” Oz said. “Like a couple of days. And if he doesn’t drain the magic entirely, then it’s possible to get it restarted. But, considering everything, I think it’s best if we don’t let him get that far.”
“Which means there’s no way he’s going to share with the wraith,” Sam said.
