“I made up with me parents,” she blurted.
“Huh?” When did that happen? I was such a good guardian—forgetting to make sure she wasn’t getting high on paint fumes, feeding her microwave meals, making her do her own laundry, and not even knowing what was going on in her life. Superb parenting.
“They want me to come home,” she went on. “For Christmas, then…” She shrugged. “I gave them a paintin’ I did. The one of the gyrfalcon in the hawthorn tree outside of Irish Moon.”
“You did another painting?” I frowned. “Man, I’m such a bad parent.”
“No, you’re pretty cool.”
“So you’re moving back?”
She nodded. “They are me parents… Even though they kicked me out.”
“As long as they don’t try to force you to go back to Trinity.”
Mairead shrugged. “I don’t think they understood about me art. Now they’ve seen, I guess they came around. They were disappointed about how I came home…”
I nodded. She couldn’t exactly tell them about being kidnapped by evil fae who mistook her for me, could she? She hadn’t been happy at Trinity, but being snatched off the street had ultimately pushed her into coming back to Derrydun.
“Do they still think I’m the devil incarnate?” I asked, my lips quirking.
She grinned and backed away, weaving between Mary Donnelly and Cheese Wheel Aoife before using Mrs. Boyle as a buffer.
“Mairead!” I stamped my foot. “Don’t you walk away from me, young lady!”
“What’s going on?” Boone asked, appearing beside me.
“Mairead’s moving out.”
“Well, you did ask for a Christmas miracle.”
I gasped and slapped him on the arm.
“Ow.” He rubbed his bicep.
“I’m glad they made up. It was an awful side effect of her kidnapping.”
“See, Skye? Everythin’ is starting to work out.” Boone smiled and guided me to a spot he’d saved for us at the table by the fireplace.
Sliding into a chair, I fiddled with the cutlery as food started to appear. Maggie moved from table to table, laying out platters and jugs. Even Sean McKinnon was giving her a hand and walking more steadily than usual.
“Is Sean…sober?” I asked, leaning toward Boone.
“See?” he said with a wink. “Christmas brings out the best in everyone.”
I glanced around the pub, taking in everyone’s smiling faces. Roy was wearing a paper hat from the inside of a Christmas cracker. Mary Donnelly was decked out in pink and completely sloshed on mulled wine. Maggie was still flitting between tables, topping up beer glasses and ferrying out bowls of mushy peas. Mairead was sitting between her parents, looking pleased as punch, her black fuzzy Santa hat askew on her head. Fergus was feeding his dog scraps under the table. Even Mrs. Boyle looked as if she had a smile on her face.
An overwhelming pang of despair came over me at the thought of what was coming. How was I supposed to protect them from Carman? If she managed to take the hawthorn and open the doorway… The thought of what might come out of there was the stuff of nightmares. An army of fae just like the scout who’d threatened me at Halloween. Derrydun wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Skye.” Boone placed his hand on my thigh under the table and squeezed. “Don’t dwell on what-ifs.”
“I just…” I trailed off, knowing anything I said would sound lame. I was supposed to be the strong one. I was the last Crescent Witch, the sole member of the most badass coven there ever was. I was meant to know what to do. Watching and waiting didn’t seem like the Crescent thing to do.
“Ever since the craglorn, you’ve been stressin’,” he murmured into my ear. “We can only do what’s in our power.”
“You sound like a broken record,” I drawled.
“Life’s too short,” he murmured. Picking up his glass, he stood and bashed the side with his fork. Ding, ding, ding.
“What are you doing?” I said with a hiss, glancing around uneasily.
“Can I have your attention,” he called out to the room. “I’ve got somethin’ important to say.”
I tugged on his shirt as the din faded to curious murmurings. Mary Donnelly caught my gaze and gave me an enthusiastic thumbs up. All eyes turned our way, and I tugged at Boone more furiously.
“Sit down,” I whispered, trying to smile and glare at the same time. I must’ve looked frightening, especially since I was flushed red with embarrassment. “You can’t tell them…”
But Boone wasn’t listening. I was full-on ready to whoop his ass if he began changing into a silver fox when he started talking. Boone talking? I’d always taken him for ‘the silent and in the corner’ type, not a public speaker.
“Seven months ago, this curious Australian with her smart mouth and uncanny resemblance to her late mother, Aileen, landed in our laps quite unexpectedly. In that seven months, there’ve been untold amounts of chaos, excitement, and scandal,” he said.
“Hear, hear!” Roy bellowed, stamping his foot on the ground much to the amusement of the villagers.
“She’s filled me life with excitement, countless pop culture references that go straight over me head, frightful danger, and unwaverin’ support, and a smack on the back of me head when I’m throwin’ a tantrum. That’s why I cannae bear to be apart from her another day.” Boone turned to me and lowered himself to one knee. “Skye Williams…” He fished about in his pocket—while I tried to get my heart to start beating again—and produced a silver and gold ring. “An bpósfaidh tú mé?” Then in English, he said, “Will ye marry me?”
I dropped my fork, and it clattered to the floor. Fergus’s Jack Russell darted under the table and began gnawing at the choice bit of roast beef I’d been about to put into my mouth when Boone had stood.
“Skye?” he asked hesitantly.
“Yes!” I shrieked, almost falling off my chair.
“I told you,” Mary said to Roy. “Spring.”
Boone grasped my face in his hands and kissed me hard. “Cac, I almost didn’t think you’d say yes…”
“Put it on,” I demanded. “It isn’t real until the ring is on.”
“Is that true?”
“Dunno, but it sounds like the official thing to do.” I held out my hand and wiggled my fingers.
“Like I said,” Boone murmured, sliding the silver and gold ring on. “Untold amounts of chaos.”
“I’ll agree with the chaos but untold amounts?” I made a face. “I’m disputing that.”
Abruptly, Sean shot to his feet and exclaimed, “Maggie!”
The entire pub fell silent as he leaped around the table and knelt at Maggie’s feet.
“Sean, you’re makin’ a scene,” she said through her teeth. “You’re stealin’ Boone’s moment, you eejit!”
“I love you, Maggie!” he exclaimed, clutching at her legs. “I’ve been fightin’ it for so long, but it’s time!”
Roy snorted, earning himself a kick from Mary under the table. The cutlery jingled, and beer sloshed from the old farmer’s pint glass.
Maggie shot me a look that said ‘help,’ and I rose to my feet.
“Sean McKinnon!” I exclaimed. “I always thought you were a gentleman.”
He stared at me, looking vacant, blinked twice, then let Maggie go.
“Even when you were calling me a witch,” I added, much to the everyone’s amusement.
“You’ve got to know when a woman doesn’t want your attention, boy,” Roy bellowed. “Go dtachta grá leatromach do bhall fearga!”
The entire pub burst out into riotous laughter, but as usual, I had no clue what any of it meant. Leaning over to Boone, I opened my mouth to ask him, but his seat was empty.
He was gone.
Chapter 9
It was freezing outside.
I huddled into my jacket and shoved my gloved hands into my pockets as deep as they could go. My breath vaporized in plumes as I glanced up and down the darkening street. The wool Ch
eese Wheel Aoife had knitted the gloves in was soft against my skin, and the matching beanie was toasty over my delicate ears.
It wasn’t like Boone to disappear like he had. Not after asking me to marry him in front of the whole village. I hoped everything was okay, and he wasn’t outside hyperventilating, but I couldn’t take any chances. There were too many magical unknowns hanging over our heads for me not to go and check.
“Boone?” I called, my voice coming out softer than I’d intended.
Great, I was freaking out like the heroine in a horror movie.
I took a step forward into the twilight. The days had become shorter and shorter the more winter had set in, and it got full-on dark at four p.m. It was madness. Did the sun set that early in Australia? I hardly remembered.
After a second, I sensed Boone further down the road. Sighing in relief, I stepped forward with more confidence. He was under the hawthorn, but I didn’t get far when I realized he wasn’t alone.
He was talking to another man who looked a lot like him. Tall, scruffy, dark hair, leather jacket, big boots. It could be his twin, but I’d never seen the guy before in my life. He was a stranger, and it only meant one thing. Stranger danger.
My immediate reaction was to launch into action and blast the guy with my magic, but something told me to stop. Stop, wait, listen. I felt an unknown force tugging me backward like little hands grasping at my jacket. Glancing down, there was nothing there, but I heeded the warning, anyway.
Ducking back behind the cover of Molly McCreedy’s, I steadied my breathing and cast out my hearing.
“It’s me. Dub,” the man said in a thick Irish accent.
“I don’t know you,” Boone said, his voice full of doubt.
“Of course, you don’t, but you did.”
“All I know is that you’ve got one eye,” Boone said, his voice sounding more like a growl with every word he spoke. “And I know a wolf who lost an eye…”
The man—who seemed to be called Dub—sighed and threw his hands into the air. “You always had the power to unlock your memories, Dain. She took them for your own good, you know.”
“What are you talkin’ about? Who took them?” Boone stepped forward and grasped the lapels of the man’s coat and almost lifted him clear off the ground. “You better start answerin’ before I rip your head off.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Dub shoved Boone back and dusted off his coat.
“I can sense the magic in you, shapeshifter. Start explainin’ or…”
“Or your little Crescent will come out here and smack me ass?” Dub laughed and thumped Boone on the shoulder. “Unlikely. We’re under the hawthorn for starters. She wouldn’t risk damagin’ it.”
“She’s got a good aim.”
Damn right, I did.
“I’ve had enough of your smart mouth.” The man was getting more exasperated as their conversation went on. “She’s going to be so mad at me for this.”
I felt the burst of magic before Boone did. Even with the hawthorn shielding them, the wave washed over me like sludge, weighing down my limbs. Wait, a shapeshifter couldn’t use magic like that.
Boone gasped and clutched his head, his eyes widening.
“What did you do?” he exclaimed.
“What you were too cowardly to,” Dub said with a sneer. “You were always the runt of the litter.”
“No, no, no,” Boone murmured, looking distraught. “I cannae… She cannae…”
“Dain,” he said, placing a hand on Boone’s shoulder. “It’s time to come home. Mother is waiting for you.”
“Mother?”
“Think about it,” Dub said with a sneer. “Think about it real hard.”
“Carman.”
I gasped. Slapping a hand over my mouth, I darted back around the corner and held my breath as my heart slammed into the wall of my chest cavity.
Boone’s forgotten identity! He was Carman’s son? She’d locked away his memories and sent his brothers after him. Why? Was it all an elaborate trick to get to Aileen and me?
I didn’t know, but it explained a great deal. Boone wasn’t just a shapeshifter. He was half witch. The things he’d known I’d attributed to Aileen teaching him, but what if he knew because of his own forgotten witch Legacy? Suddenly, the ring he’d given me moments before felt heavy on my finger. Marriage, love, loyalty. Those things seemed like nothing compared to this.
“She’s forgiven you for your indiscretion, Dain,” Dub went on. “You’re fighting on the wrong side, little brother. You belong with us.”
Boone’s brother. Oh, shite! Carman’s three sons… I wanted to puke. There was another one. Three shapeshifting wolves with witch abilities. The mountain I had to climb was growing, and the odds were piling up against little old me. Boone… What was he going to do now that he knew?
I’d said it didn’t matter who he’d been all this time, but it did. It did matter. Boone was the son of the enemy.
Wiping away a big fat tear that had rolled down my cheek, I slipped back into the pub and plastered a fake smile on my face.
“Where’d Boone disappear to?” Maggie asked as I pulled off my gloves and hat.
“I think it hit him,” I replied.
“What?”
“What he just got himself into. He’s outside contemplating the rest of his life hitched to me.”
“Oh, it’s not that bad. He’s lucky to have you if you ask me. Besides, Boone is a catch and a half.”
I smiled, but the light didn’t reach my eyes. If she only knew the truth.
Sitting back down at the table, I went on like nothing had happened. I let Mary Donnelly prattle on about her plans for the wedding in one ear while Sean McKinnon grumbled in the other about taking away his best mate. If only they knew the truth, too.
My heart was dissolving the longer I sat there alone, waiting for the man I was supposedly going to marry to return. What if he didn’t? Maybe he’d already run off with his long-lost brother to join his thousand-year-old mother as a soldier in her plot to destroy the world. I didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that Boone might be right up there in the age department, either.
I was a clueless little witch, and he was—
“Are you okay?”
My heart twisted in fright as Boone sat next to me. His cheeks were flushed with the cold, and the longer I stared at him, the more my anxiety rose.
“Skye?” His forehead crease deepened.
It was then I realized he wasn’t going to tell me. He was going to keep his identity a secret. Either he was still reconciling the fact his mum was a crazy, psychopathic, power hungry bitch or he’d decided to play both sides. Or just this one. He was in a prime position being all naked in my bed five nights a week…and now he was engaged to the last witch standing in Carman’s way.
Oh, hell, what was I supposed to do?
“Yeah,” I replied. “Yeah.”
“I should ask you to marry me every day,” he said with a smile. “It’s the only time I’ve ever seen you lost for words.”
“Yeah,” I said again. Lame.
“You do want this?” he asked, his grin fading.
“Of course, I do.” With the Boone who had amnesia. “I don’t know anyone else who’d be crazy enough to marry me.” Reaching for the plum pudding, I dished a slice each into our empty bowls. “Here. No Christmas feast is over until the pudding is gone.”
“Is that an Australian thing?”
“No,” I said, putting on my best ‘everything is going to be okay’ mask. “It’s a Skye thing.”
Chapter 10
I hadn’t even looked at the ring Boone had given me at Christmas. Not really.
I wore it every day, knew it was gold and silver, but if anyone asked me about the design, I couldn’t tell them what it was. All I could see when I stared at him was Carman. He didn’t have her coloring, but his eyes could be hers. I’d only met her once in the vision she’d pulled me into—the one with the creepy doors that
opened endlessly in the same room—but I would never forget her face. She was a ginger minge. Minge being slang for female pubic hair.
The point was, Boone must take after his father. Whoever that was.
Two days before New Year, I sat behind the counter at Irish Moon, the laptop in front of me, a Goth girl uploading photographs, and the tarot card that had been the bane of my existence since the ritual—the Chariot—beside me.
While Mairead chattered happily about moving back home and her trip to Belfast for New Year’s Eve, I wallowed in the pit of my own misery. She couldn’t stop talking about the alternative pub she was going to—a place called Voodoo where all the Goths, punks, and rockers hung out—with some new friends she’d made online. After giving her a stern talking to about stranger danger and who and who not to let into her hotel room, we went back to listing crystals on the Irish Moon online store.
Maybe if I meditated on the tarot card, it might be able to reveal something else to me. Something I’d obviously missed. Had there been clues? Obviously, Boone’s new wolf shape was a glaring indicator, and the fact his mind didn’t want me to break open the barrier keeping his memories locked up. Had I been that blind?
I’d believed the Chariot had been forewarning about Carman’s return but in hindsight…
The bell above the door rang, and I froze as Boone walked in. He stomped his boots on the mat before crossing the shop floor and leaning against the counter. He just stood there, all comfortable and handsome like he hadn’t just found out his secret past was the bombshell of the century. I couldn’t handle it.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, the question coming out a little more forcibly than I’d intended.
“I’ve finished up at Roy’s, and I’m free for lunch before I have to be at Molly McCreedy’s,” he said with a frown. “Do you want to go to Mary’s for somethin’ to eat?”
“I’m not hungry,” I muttered, looking at the tarot card.
I sensed Mairead’s scowl burning into the side of my face.
“Skye?”
I glanced up at Boone, my heart twisting to the point I wasn’t sure there was any blood left in it.
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