“Labradorite. It is a reflective stone for looking deep inside and helps with learning of oneself but also spiritual awareness.”
“Did you not already have one of those?” He looked over the crystals on the altar. “The Lapis Lazuli because he is a man.”
Samantha chuckled. “If I had only one, this would be for Antonia alone, but I am wondering if one should not be left for Chedworth as well.”
“He is a man without magic and may need the assistance,” Cassian reminded her.
“I will leave one for him.” She placed it on the altar. “But only because you said so and if he questions me, I will tell him that you had no faith in him.” She smiled as she reached into the basket and pulled out a simple white quartz crystal. “This is to help with the overall release of energy and cleansing of the mind and emotions and opening a clearer path to the spiritual.”
Samantha arranged the crystals in the center of the stone altar, separated enough so that the sun could touch on all sides as it rose high in the sky, except for the part, the smallest side, that rested on the stone, then returned the crystals she had set aside back to the basket and stood. With half of the crystals gone, it was not nearly as heavy.
“Thank you for your assistance, Cassian, but I do not believe I need you to carry this for me any longer.”
He almost looked crestfallen when she dismissed him. His eyes dulled and his smile faded.
Yes, well maybe he now understood how she had felt this morning when he almost kissed her and then didn’t.
“Eugenia ordered me to carry the basket and that is what I will do,” he insisted as he took it from her.
Ordered! In other words, he would not otherwise be here.
“Then follow me,” she said right before she turned and marched away.
Why did it have to hurt badly? Why couldn’t he like her as much as she liked him?
What would be so horrible about kissing her?
And this afternoon, her situation was made even worse because he listened to her, asked questions, let her teach him. He had made fun of Chedworth, but it was not malicious because she had no doubt that had Chedworth been present, Cassian still would have said the same to him.
She paused when they reached the hedges and looked for the hidden entrance. Cassian stepped beside her and led the way. She followed and once again passed through a ring of wildflowers surrounding a dead tree in the meadow before continuing on to the temple.
He had not spoken a word to her since they left the garden and she had nothing to say to him.
What was there to say? He wasn’t here because he wanted to be, and that was what hurt.
She also wished she understood him better because one day they were sharing conversations and watching the sunrise or shopping and then the next he avoided her. It was so frustrating.
No, what she needed to do was carry the amethyst with her for emotional protection, which in turn brought peace to the soul. She should keep it with her whenever she was with Cassian and then maybe she wouldn’t suffer disappointment.
She supposed there was no reason to keep the black tourmaline with her now, but it also would do her no harm and would save her from a trip down to the cabinet near the magical vault.
But she would also need to make certain they were charged or they would be of no benefit whatsoever.
When they reached the temple, she located an area that would likely receive full sun until it set, which would charge the crystals for that night, then pulled them from the basket and set them in a similar pattern as she had done in the garden. Maybe she should have never told Cassian that the garnet was to inspire love and devotion and made him carry it, but that would also be unfair. No different than using a spell to trick someone into falling in love when they normally would not and might be resentful when it wore off. Instead, she would leave it for Antonia so that she and Chedworth had the same number of crystals—a balance.
“I thought witches usually charged their crystals in the moonlight,” Cassian wondered into the silence.
“It is safer to do so because there is no risk in damaging it. However, nobody thought to set them out under the moon last night.” At least that was her assumption, and it was odd that not one witch thought to do so.
Maybe it was because there was so much going on with Yule, Christmas, the Wedding, Lunar Eclipse and then Haloa, which she still did not understand. Each time she had asked the subject was changed.
Was it possible that nobody really knew?
“Are you not afraid that they can be damaged today?” he asked.
Oh yes, they were talking about the crystals. “I am not because they will not be left out for days, just one. And a charge by the sun brings more intensity to the crystals and makes their power stronger. They are also not in a space where the heat of the sun could spark a fire.”
It was then she noticed the baskets and blankets placed on a table in the center of the temple, safe from the sun and likely always shaded. She walked over and peeked in each one to discover bread, wine, and fruit. There were also other baskets of wine glasses, cutlery, cloth napkins and plates.
