The Tanglewood Witches

by Genevieve Jack

  “You don’t understand. I am bound—” Tavyss paused his pacing in front of her. A dark thought entered his mind. Her magic was strong, as strong as a god’s. He grabbed her by the shoulders. “Where did you learn the spell you used to project me to Paragon?”

  Her mouth dropped open, and he could see fear in her eyes. Good, she needed to be afraid. If it was what he thought it was…

  “I learned it from our book of magic.”

  “Your book?” Relief washed over him. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe she’d learned everything she knew from her parents. “Your parents taught you everything you know? A family grimoire?”

  She looked away. “Not my family’s. Mine and my sister’s. We needed to learn how to use our power, and ours is so different than our parents’. Our magic stems from our tree, you understand. The tanglewood tree. As Tanglewoods, we need to know how to wield the power we were born with; so we used our magic to conjure a teacher, and the book came to us.”

  Cold horror crept up his spine, and he gripped her elbows. His dragon was dangerously close to the surface, and he saw the glow of his eyes light up her face. “Show me the book, Medea.”

  With a shaking hand, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the gemstone. It was a diamond the size of a walnut, the same one she’d used to cast him into Paragon. At her suggestion, he held the stone up to his eye. He shouldn’t be able to see a thing, not with only the light of a single moon to go by, but the grimoire inside the stone put off its own golden glow. There, contained within the facets of the stone, was a book with an ornate golden cover inscribed with a peacock. Shards of ice formed in his stomach as he turned the stone and watched the pages flip, expand, and come into focus.

  Magic spells. A collection of charms and incantations designed by the gods themselves.

  There could be no mistake. This was Hera’s golden grimoire!

  Chapter Eleven

  Confusion pounded against the inside of Medea’s skull until her head ached. She’d never seen Tavyss so furious. His skin roiled as if his inner dragon fought him for control. Talons sprang from the knuckles of his hand, and his eyes glowed gold in the darkness. If they hadn’t just made love, she would have thought he wanted to kill her. Maybe he would kill her. She remembered the day she’d surprised him and he’d thrown her against the tree. He’d said he was a warrior. Her father had called him a furious beast. Was it possible she’d overestimated his capacity for compassion?

  It was full dark now. Late. Her mother and father would be looking for her. Her sisters must be worried sick. But Medea dared not leave him now. Something was desperately wrong.

  Tavyss backed away, shaking his head. “I have to return this to Hera. I’ll find a way to do it that makes her assume it came from Paragon.”

  As quick as she could move, Medea drew her wand from her sleeve and uttered a retrieval spell. The gem flew from Tavyss’s hand into hers. “No, you will not! It’s mine and my sisters’. You shall not take it. Not even for the goddess.” She didn’t know where she got the courage to defy him, because Tavyss in this state was terrifying.

  He bared his teeth. “It’s Hera’s book, Medea. She won’t rest until it is returned. She’s charged me with recovering it.” He held out a hand expectantly to her. “I won’t be able to lie. If she finds out you have it, she will smite you from this world and the next.”

  Medea straightened. “And what gives her the right? She abandoned the book in the underworld. I retrieved it fairly with my own skill and resources. Isn’t that the way of the gods and men? Did not Jason secure the golden fleece in the same such manner? And Hercules, the head of Medusa?” She watched him recoil. “We both know all the stories. Hers is not the only book we’ve conjured. My sisters and I are well studied in the ways of man.”

  He snatched her wrist and squeezed. The gem dropped into his opposite hand.

  “Oww! You’re hurting me!”

  “I’m sorry, but it is my duty to return this to the goddess. I do this for us, Medea. She will not leave us alone without it.”

  “My sisters and I are still learning the limits of our magic. This is our guide. We use the book every day. You can’t take it.” She raised her wand, her body tensing with her growing ire.

  “She’ll. Kill. You.” Tavyss’s ring radiated gold. The spell she cast bounced harmlessly off his shield.

  Medea trembled with the awful emotions overwhelming her. “Tavyss, you can’t possibly think that simply giving this back to Hera will stop her bitter tirade. She’ll want to know where you found it, and then she’ll come for me anyway.”

  Tavyss growled, his wings snapping out to their full glory. Would he shift into that dark and deadly dragon she’d seen outside the gates?

  “Medea? Medea?” Orpheus’s voice drifted out from the garden.

  “That’s my father. I have to go. Please, Tavyss. Don’t give it back to her, not before we have time to talk again. Come back tomorrow please. Think about what you are doing!”

  For a long moment, she stared at him, her heart breaking with disappointment. How could he even consider hurting her family? He simply shook his head. She could wait no more. Her father was close, and this was no time to make acquaintances. With one last pleading glance, she tucked her wand away and raced for home.

  Chapter Twelve

  Tavyss landed in front of the stone cottage and barged through the door, the gem clutched in his hand. Rage glowed bright and hot in his chest, and he spit fire into the hearth, setting the logs ablaze. He paced the small room, blood burning, and watched the flames dance in the grate.

  She’d played him for a fool! Even if she hadn’t directly lied to him, she’d known she was misleading him. Had she realized all along he’d been searching for the grimoire when she’d cast him to Paragon? No, she couldn’t have. He’d purposely not mentioned exactly what the goddess was looking for, wanting to spare her the details. Still, she’d taken the book without permission. She was a thief and a liar.

  By the Mountain, she was his mate.

  He ran a hand down his face. Flashes of her body under him filled his mind, what it felt like to bury himself deep between her thighs. Instantly his flesh responded to the memory. He was ready for her again. Wanted her again. Was desperate to have her here, to hold her tonight.

  Fuck, what was he thinking? She couldn’t live here. Now that he knew what she was, the safest place for her was in that garden where Hera’s attention never strayed. The only other place she’d be safe from the goddess was on Paragon, and that destination would most assuredly not be safe for him.

  He cursed. She’d have to continue living in the garden, but he could not be apart from her. Not now that they were mated. Perhaps he could build a cottage of their own next to the orchard. He couldn’t shirk his duty guarding the gate, but they could have their own place, their own stolen moments.

  Fuck, he wanted more than stolen moments. He wanted all of her moments.

  He stormed toward the bed and tossed the gem onto the small table beside it. Stretching out on the lumpy mattress, he stared at it, wishing there was some way he could both appease the goddess and serve his mate. The worst part was, she was right. She’d won the book by her own merits, through cunning and magical strength, and by Hera’s own admission, the goddess had not noticed it was gone. Hera admitted she hadn’t looked for the book in decades, and Medea wasn’t old enough to have taken it that long ago. Which meant that Hera didn’t care about the book itself, only her pride and revenge.

  A growl rumbled in his chest. Maybe he should return the book to Medea. Nothing about Hera was deserving. But then, that was a ridiculous, impossible idea. Hera would expect him to deliver the book. She was already obsessed. He could only put her off for so long. What he needed was to sleep. An idea would come to him in the morning.

  He closed his eyes and slipped away, drawn into dreams of Medea, his mate.

  Light and heat flooded Tavyss’s face. Had morning come so soon? He’d spent the night tossing and
turning, made restless by the decision before him. Now his eyes burned as he cracked them open.

  “Hera!” The light that woke him was not the sun but radiated from the goddess who hovered over him.

  “Good morning, dragon. You’ll excuse the early visit, but I came as soon as I saw it in my looking glass. You found the book!”

  She lifted the diamond from his bedside table and held it up toward the window. Never before had she called up the garden in her looking glass, but that did not mean she couldn’t see his cottage. He was stupid not to have foreseen this turn of events.

  “I told you to bring this to me immediately upon its retrieval. I trust you have reason for the delay.”

  He cleared his throat. “I don’t know how to free it from the jewel.”

  She stared down her nose at him in quiet condescension. “I care not about the state of it. Only that it is back in my possession.”

  His head began to pound. “Why go through such trouble to get it back if you have no intention of using it?”

  Her face morphed into a monstrous visage. “Because it’s mine. I don’t want it, but I don’t want anyone else to have it.” Her sleek blond eyebrow arched toward her hairline as she clenched her teeth. “You’re a fool if you don’t realize that this book in the wrong hands could be a weapon of mass destruction.”

  What was it Medea had said? Her parents had kept the book out of the wrong hands. That was how they ended up here to begin with, as a reward for saving the realm of men from this book. They’d proven themselves worthy of it but had selflessly let it go.

  “What will you do with it now?” Tavyss asked quietly.

  She shrugged as if it didn’t matter one way or the other. “Return it to the protection of the underworld.”

  He frowned. How was that safe? The book had almost been retrieved by a tyrant and had been called up by an untrained sorceress. It was clear the goddess didn’t care. She was already growing restless and easing toward the peacock feather.

  “Leave it in my care,” he blurted, an idea sparking somewhere in his aching brain.

  She turned slowly back toward him, her eyes narrowing. “What are you talking about?”

  “The book was stolen from the underworld to begin with. It’s not safe. Dragons are experts at protecting their treasure. Leave it with me, and you’ll never lose it again.”

  She paused, rolling the gem between her thumb and forefinger. “Strange that the book is sealed within a jewel. Paragon is known for its many jewels, is it not?”

  He said nothing.

  “And now you offer to guard this treasure. Where exactly did you find this, Tavyss?”

  “I think you know where.”

  “Hmm. Yes. It must be Paragon. I can see everywhere else. It appeared in my looking glass quite suddenly last night, didn’t it? Clearly when you arrived from your homeland.”

  He watched her slither around the room like a viper.

  “The question is, where in Paragon did you find it?” She smiled wickedly. “Was it with your mate?”

  He clenched his jaw and shook his head.

  “Ahhh. You do wear your heart on your sleeve, dragon. You know she’ll have to pay. No one steals from me and gets away with it.”

  He blinked slowly, his head beginning to pound. “You have your book. Just go.”

  She scanned him from head to toe, her eyes narrowing to slits. “All right,” she said softly. Too softly. His body tensed, ready for anything. “For now.”

  She turned, touched the feather, and was gone.

  Tavyss wasted no time seeking out Medea. He needed to tell her he’d been wrong. He needed to beg her forgiveness.

  At first he couldn’t find her, but then she appeared quite suddenly beside a clearing.

  “Medea. I looked everywhere for you.”

  She scowled. “It’s good to know the wards around the house are working. Perhaps I should disappear inside them again.” She turned as if to leave.

  “You’ve warded your home?” He should have known a witch would, but still the sophistication of the spell surprised him. She was undeniably powerful.

  “Against supernatural creatures, yes. Shall we put it to the test?”

  She took a step, and he picked up a slight shimmer in the air before her.

  “No!” He held up his hands to her. “Medea, please. I need to speak with you.”

  “About what? About how you plan to bring about the certain death of my parents? How you plan to crawl on your knees back to a bitter, hateful goddess who cares nothing for anyone but herself?”

  He shook his head. “No. I came to apologize. You were right. I shouldn’t have taken the book from you.”

  All the tension drained from Medea’s expression, her softened features overflowing with relief. “Then you’ll give it back?”

  “I can’t. Hera has it.”

  Medea blew out a breath as if he’d physically punched her, light dwindling from her eyes. Her disappointment was a bitter, palpable thing that made his bones turn to lead. He could almost smell her disgust.

  “And I suppose she plans to seal it away somewhere.” She scoffed.

  “I—” Tavyss was about to admit he had no idea what Hera would do when a blinding light blasted between them, painful in its intensity.

  He turned his face away and shielded his eyes. When he turned back, Hera was there, her teeth bared, her hands balled into fists. She unclenched her right hand to reveal the jewel that held the book nestled in her palm.

  “What business is it of yours what I do with my book?”

  Medea’s skin was flushed from the blast of heat they’d endured, but her head didn’t bend at all as she answered. “I won the book fairly. It is mine.”

  “Insolent girl!” Hera hissed. “Living in my garden without my permission, using my book, wooing my dragon.” Fury rolled off the goddess in bright, hot waves, her body growing to seven… eight… nine feet tall.

  “Hera…” Tavyss said, but the goddess was livid. He’d never get through to her.

  “If you want the book so much, perhaps you belong in the underworld with it!” Hera snarled at Medea, raising her hands above her head as if to strike his mate.

  Tavyss had often heard talk of Zeus and his lightning bolt, but he wondered why Hera’s weapon wasn’t similarly feared. A great ring of celestial fire appeared in her hand, its edges razor-sharp and molten red against the blue sky. Medea’s expression morphed into terror as the goddess aimed for her head.

  Tavyss’s dragon tore from his body, transforming so quickly it felt as if he’d exploded from a shell. He’d placed his dragon scales between Hera and Medea before he even had time to consider if they’d be strong enough to withstand the goddess’s power. Dragon scales were fireproof and laced with inherent magic, but Hera’s weapon was charged with celestial fire. Would they stand the test?

  The ring cracked against his scales. Searing pain radiated through him, but his scales held. Uninjured, he coiled and snapped, his teeth passing harmlessly through Hera’s form. She reappeared a few yards away, her eyes wide in surprise.

  “Anaktó,” Medea called from behind him. The gem flew from Hera’s hand and landed in her own. Her sisters were there, flanking her, wands drawn.

  Hera’s eyes flicked to his, the fire forming again in her hand. “You can’t win this, dragon. You’ll never defeat me in battle, and there is nowhere you can run that I can’t go.”

  He growled, low and menacing, but even his dragon brain understood that only half of that statement was true. Hera released her ring of fire, hurling it at the three sisters with a vengeful hiss. Tavyss knocked it from the air, then swiped, his claws slashing through the goddess. In a flurry, he transformed back into his two-legged form and grabbed Medea’s hand. Her sisters clung on, Circe to Medea’s elbow and Isis to his own.

  Tavyss’s ring radiated gold light. He slashed an x through the air, opening a portal to Paragon even as Hera formed again, shrieking behind him. Heat from the goddess�
��s weapon flamed against his back, but they had already stepped through to the world she was forbidden to inhabit. His feet touched down on rocky soil, and the portal closed quickly behind them.

  Epilogue

  Six months later…

  The day Tavyss had brought her to the world of Ouros, the land of the five kingdoms, Medea had believed the trip was temporary. After all, he’d explained to her that he’d abdicated the throne and that his siblings would murder him if he ever set foot in Paragon again. But Tavyss rightly warned that they could not return to the garden. Hera would likely be watching. And while they’d managed to get a message back to her parents using magic—they were well, thank the stars—she had no desire to call unnecessary attention to them living right under Hera’s nose.

  Fortunately, the kingdom of Paragon was only one of the five kingdoms of Ouros. Although Paragonians were the only ones to worship the Goddess of the Mountain, all five fell under the protection of the goddess Aitna, the daughter of a titan whose affair with Zeus had bound her to this island realm. Once Isis, Circe, Tavyss, and she had discussed their options and the most likely places to take them in, they settled on Darnuith, the kingdom of the witches. Notoriously isolated, it was the perfect place for Tavyss to avoid detection by his siblings.

  Darnuith was a mountainous territory, and Medea and her sisters had made a perilous journey to the capital city of Mistcraven. There they beseeched the leader of the coven, Queen Ferula, an ancient but powerful presence dressed in purple robes, fur, and bones, for a home among the witches. Queen Ferula’s advisor, Zelaria, insisted she and her sisters perform a display of strength to prove their magic was strong enough to warrant a home among the witches. Together, the three sisters stopped the snow from falling, caused the sun to shine on the people of Mistcraven, and enchanted the clouds to perform a short, silent play in the sky above about a turtle who fell in love with a fish.