Wedding Bells and Midnight Spells

by Sarina Dorie

  I just didn’t know how to do so yet.

  I humored Khaba and let him call in the minister the following morning to make our marriage official. I didn’t feel like getting married again, nor did I think it was necessary, but I didn’t have the energy to argue. Even if I didn’t feel it was necessary, the principal, with all his rules, did.

  Thatch and I were given a private ceremony in the romantic ambiance of the principal’s office to make it official. It seemed to please Thatch at least, even if he didn’t say so. Khaba served as one of our witnesses. Nurse Hilda as another. She wasn’t my first choice of staff members whom I wanted to be there, but she wasn’t busy. She cried profusely and loudly.

  “Always a bridesmaid and never a bride!” she said when the ceremony was over.

  Somehow I would have preferred Balthasar Llewelyn making farting noises.

  Khaba and the principal generously gave us a day off while students enjoyed another study day. I suspected very little studying was going on. Thatch helped me move my possessions into the dungeon where I would be living.

  Lucifer followed me everywhere I went.

  In the privacy of our room, Thatch sat me on his lap on the bed, kissing my cheek. “What would my wife like for her wedding present?”

  Had I been feeling playful and chipper, I would have teased him and asked him what he wanted. I had no time for indulgences.

  Trying to muster a sunny disposition I didn’t feel at the moment, I said, “I want you to teach me sex magic.”

  He laughed. “When?”

  “Right now. Tonight.”

  “Does this have something to do with Derrick?” His smile was as false as mine, though someone who didn’t know him well might not have seen the worry in his eyes. “You want a steamy wedding night full of passion and magic so that no night with any other man will compare?”

  “Yes,” I lied.

  “Or is it so you don’t have to think about anything else? You want oblivion to help you forget?” He took my hand and sandwiched my palm between his. “Those are two different kinds of magic: passion you want to remember and oblivion to make you forget.” He kissed my fingers.

  If I wasn’t careful, I would give myself away. If he found out what I was planning, he would stop me. “I want you to show me how to not get drunk on my magic. Instead of releasing my energy, I need to know how to contain it. I want you to teach me how to use pleasure to energize my affinity and make me stronger. Show me how to take someone’s pleasure for my benefit if I need to.”

  His voice was flat, a sign that he was guarding himself. “You want me to show you how to drain people. You want . . . forbidden magic.”

  “No. I don’t want to kill people. I just want to make myself powerful.” When he didn’t respond, I added, “You’ve taught me pain magic. That’s forbidden.”

  “Learning forbidden magic is a fine line to walk. One can cross that line and become addicted if he or she isn’t careful. It takes time to develop those skills. It takes hours of devotion.”

  I didn’t have time. All I had was determination.

  “I have devotion,” I said.

  “I believe you do.” He smiled at that. “We’ll work on one skill at a time. Tonight we can work on building up your magic without accidentally releasing it too soon. That will give you greater control over saving it for later.”

  I nodded emphatically. That was the skill I needed to learn the most. I would save up my magic so I could electrocute the queen and all of her court. She wouldn’t stand a chance.

  Thatch kissed me. There was a familiar comfort in his touch. He stroked my hair and shoulders, relaxing me into compliancy. I didn’t have to think or question his intentions when I was with him. It was a luxury not to have to worry about his motivations.

  His tongue slid against mine. A kiss was all it took to stir desire inside me. I was already wet with wanting. I unbuttoned his shirt, passionately, savagely, not caring if I turned into an animal. Wild magic coursed through me.

  Slowly, he undressed me, moving with deliberate care. He teased me with his leisurely pace, the sparkle in his eyes attesting that he knew exactly how much torture this was.

  He lifted me onto the bed. When he entered me, it eased the aching void of my soul as well as my body. My affinity flared.

  “Focus on the affinity in your core.” He buried his face against my neck. “Take some of your magic and funnel it just below your skin. You are creating a barrier between your nerves and your magic.”

  The throbbing rise of ecstasy built inside me, stealing my attention. My senses were overwhelmed by more pressing matters. He radiated magic, even when he didn’t try. Spicy starlight filled my nose. I wanted to eat him up. I turned my head and kissed him again.

  He stopped. I stared at him, confused.

  “You aren’t concentrating. Focus, or I will stop.” His tone was firm, his gaze steady. I had no doubt he would deny me gratification if it interfered with a lesson.

  As hard as it was to concentrate, I did it. I built that shield just below my skin, sectioning off my nerves from the magic inside me. The Red affinity inside stopped growing. It flickered uncertainly but didn’t die down.

  “Good.” Thatch rewarded me with a kiss before continuing his rhythm. “This isn’t the same as numbing your senses like with pain magic. Use the pleasure to build this shield. It will let in sensations, but not so much it overwhelms you.”

  I did so. I could concentrate enough to follow his instructions now. He talked me through adjustments in my energy so that I retained awareness and my magic, even as the pleasure crested higher.

  Yet the longer we went, the more challenging it became to keep this up.

  “I think I’m going to lose control,” I said. I didn’t want to release my energy in a burst of wasted rainbows.

  “No, I don’t think you’re going to. More likely, you’re about to orgasm. It will be interesting to see what you retain control of.” He stated it coolly, matter-of-factly. “Think of this as a scientific experiment.”

  I couldn’t tell if he was serious or teasing. Nor could I ask. The rising tide of pleasure stole my attention.

  The muscles in my pelvis clenched around him. My affinity shifted inside me. I could tell I was about to come.

  He whispered in my ear. “Does this please you?”

  “Yes,” I panted.

  The fire in my core burned, drowning out the misery housed inside my heart. His every thrust banished my worries. It was just me and him and my magic. I so completely lost myself, I couldn’t even remember why I had asked for a magic lesson.

  “How pleased are you? Please enough to do anything for me?” He thrust faster.

  I closed my eyes. “Yes. Anything.”

  “You will promise me not to go to the Raven Queen alone.”

  That was too much to process at this moment. I could only think about my body, about keeping my magic housed within. The red light stretching and pushing against the shield was as blissful as the orgasm hovering just out of sight.

  “Do you want me to stop?” He slowed.

  The ecstasy slipped away.

  “No. Don’t stop,” I said.

  He used his stern teacher tone. “Promise me.”

  “Okay.”

  He thrust faster only to completely stop again. “Say it. Promise you won’t go to the Raven Queen without me.”

  “I promise. I won’t go to her. Not without you.” My words came out in a rush.

  My words sparkled as they slipped from my lips. They wrapped around us like ropes, binding us together with magic.

  The air tingled against my naked flesh, either from sweat evaporating and leaving me chilled or from the hint of magic in the air. Yes, there was definitely magic. Something like an oath. I realized too late what he’d done.

  I was about to protest at the injustice of it.

  He started up again, harder, faster. The dam of physical pleasure
inside me broke. I came so quickly I didn’t have time for another thought. I screamed out in satisfaction. Light danced over my skin. Some of the shield had slipped, but most of the magic remained inside me. I felt full and strong.

  I felt stupid.

  I couldn’t contain the shock in my voice. “You tricked me.”

  He rolled off me and settled next to me. He covered me with a sheet. “You attempted to deceive me. Let that be a lesson to you.” He kissed my cheek. “I love you.”

  “But I have to save my mom. I need to learn the skills to protect myself so I can go there.”

  “I understand. That’s why I’m going to go with you.”

  “But you said—”

  “I said it was folly. It is. Nonetheless, you are tenacious, and if you mean to go, I am going to be at your side the entire time.”

  The full weight of my error came crashing down on me. I had agreed to something that would get him killed.

  I sat up. “You don’t understand. You can’t come with me.”

  He propped himself up on an elbow. “Give me a reason why.”

  “You’ll die.”

  He arched an eyebrow upward. “Is this your fear speaking or a fact?”

  “Your art. You saw your death?”

  He swept a strand of hair out of my face. “Indeed, but that might be twenty years from now.”

  I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. He had to know. “Baba Nata told me. She said my true love would sacrifice himself for me, but he would fail and . . . that’s all.”

  His lips remained pressed into a flat line. I could tell he knew I was lying.

  “Try again,” he said.

  I drew in a deep breath. “She said my true love would sacrifice himself, and I would die anyway. Before my twenty-fifth birthday.”

  “Is that all? She probably meant Elric.” Mischief danced in his eyes, and he nudged my leg, as if trying to prompt me to laugh. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’ve died before. I resurrected you.”

  I didn’t smile.

  “If you are repeating what she said verbatim, then notice the wording. If you assume I am your true love and I perform some kind of act to rescue you, I fail. That is not the same as dying. Furthermore, you have already died, and it was before your twenty-fifth birthday. When your soul left your body, I had to use first aid on you to revive you. Your heart stopped beating, you weren’t breathing, and I am inclined to believe your brain ceased to function. You were clinically dead. Do you follow me?”

  I crossed my arms over myself, shivering. “So you think Baba was telling me my past, not my future?”

  He drew more blankets up over me and circled an arm around me. “It is possible Baba Nata spoke the truth and the entirety of the truth without information withheld. If you believe she would. Perhaps I shall sacrifice myself so you live, but we will both die anyway. We could plan our lives around this fear and never do anything. We could run from this supposed fate and hide ourselves in caves for the next two months in order to try to prevent it.”

  “That was what Missy tried to do,” I said. My adopted sister had tried to shun me and built her powers to protect herself, but she’d only made things worse. “She tried to avoid her fate.”

  “And what good did it do her? Did she prevent her death? No.” He squeezed my hand. “That leaves us with another choice. We can take everything Baba Nata said with a grain of salt and do what we know we must.”

  “You’re saying you’ll help me? You promise me? You won’t try to persuade me not to?”

  “Indeed, but I will only do so after you build up your skills and show me how devoted you are to the singular cause of becoming the most powerful witch who ever lived.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s do this.”

  I would rescue my mom. Together, we would defeat the Raven Queen.

  Nothing would stand in my way.

  THE END

  Hex Appeal

  BOOK FIFTEEN PREVIEW

  CHAPTER ONE

  Lost Little Lucifer

  Art Club was supposed to be a joy, the highlight of teaching. These days, I wanted to get it over with so I could be alone. I had just started my after-school art club members on their paintings when Hailey Achilles and Maddy Jennings walked into the classroom.

  “Let’s get this party started, witches,” Hailey said.

  I was ready to correct her language, then laughed, realizing she hadn’t used profanity. It was a first for her. Maddy rolled her eyes behind her friend and seated herself next to Trevor. Hailey grinned at me. It seemed some of my teen delinquents at Womby’s School for Wayward Witches were actually improving in their behavior.

  Hailey had tied her chestnut hair back in a messy ponytail that showed off pointed elf ears usually hidden by her long hair. The girls collected their paintings from the cubbyholes in the cabinet near the sink and set up easels next to other students.

  Art Club was filled with a dozen of my favorite students. Too many for me to get away with sneaking off to practice clandestine magic. Most of the students, like Imani and Greenie, were naturally talented and enjoyed enhancing their skills. Some, like Maddy and Hailey, were there because they liked the social environment.

  This was Hailey’s last year at the school. She’d already been held back twice. She would be graduating in a month. I didn’t know if she was strong enough to survive in the Unseen Realm.

  If she went to the Morty Realm, she wouldn’t be able to use her magic. She would either have to be drained of her affinity by a skilled Witchkin who wouldn’t accidentally overdrain her and kill her, or she could choose not to use her magic skills and hope she didn’t cast spells accidentally. Knowing Hailey’s temper and attraction for trouble, I didn’t have a lot of faith in her following the rules. By Fae law, they could capture her and punish her as they saw fit if she used magic in the Morty Realm.

  I watched Hailey, my apprehension growing as I thought about what might happen to her in either realm. I wanted to protect her forever. For the first time, I understood my fairy godmother’s yearning to protect me from magic and all the monsters that came with it.

  Sorrow weighed heavily on my heart as I thought of my fairy godmother, Abigail Lawrence, the woman who had raised me. All my life she had tried to keep me safe from Fae. In the end, Mom was the one who had been snatched, not me. Tears filled my eyes as I considered all the ways the Raven Queen might be torturing my mom at that second.

  Felix Thatch said she was still alive. Even Elric and Khaba had assured me my bargain with the Raven Queen would keep Abigail Lawrence safe for another month. I had until June twelfth, the day after the school year ended, before the queen could harm her. My deal with Odette would ensure no one else in the Raven Court would harm her either.

  Yet, it didn’t make me feel a whole lot better.

  In the two weeks that had passed since my fairy godmother’s abduction at our wedding, Thatch’s sister, Odette, had sent us a letter stating I should go to the Raven Court if I wished to see my mom. I would have gone to the Raven Queen and traded myself for Abigail Lawrence if the choice had been mine. But I didn’t know how to get there. I was still learning the protective magic necessary to keep the Fae from using my magic against me.

  I had vowed I would devote myself to increasing the magic I needed to free her. Thatch said I was progressing. But I knew I wasn’t learning fast enough.

  I sat down at my desk, determined to practice the spell Thatch had taught me for powering up my affinity at will—something I still didn’t excel at. Thatch hadn’t wanted me to practice in front of my students, but there weren’t enough hours in the day to fit in everything I needed to do.

  I closed my eyes and centered my awareness in my core. My students’ cheerful chatter distracted me. My mind kept wandering back to my worries. I visualized the Red affinity swelling.

  “Is that your face? Or did your shoulders vomit?” Hailey said too loudly for me to ign
ore.

  My affinity shriveled up.

  “Will you be quiet?” I snapped. “I’m trying to concentrate!”

  The voices of my students silenced. I opened my eyes to find a dozen teens staring at me in shock. I didn’t usually yell at them, especially not for being happy. What was wrong with me? I was becoming a horrible teacher.

  A warm hand on my elbow startled me from my dark musings.

  Imani stood at my side, her brown eyes worried. “Are you all right, Ms. Lawrence?”

  I smiled, trying to mask the guilt and frustration that weighed me down. “Everything is wonderful. Are you excited about summer vacation? Who doesn’t love summer vacation? You’re going to have so much fun!” I injected enthusiasm I didn’t feel into every word.

  Trevor, the underage student allowed into Womby’s under special circumstances, laughed uncomfortably. He glanced at Maddy. Greenie whispered something to her.

  Hailey winked, nonplused by my outburst. “Ms. L is just sad because she’s going to miss having me in her classes next year.”

  Greenie snorted. “Right.”

  Imani glanced at the students working quietly on their paintings. She leaned in closer. “Is everything okay with you and Mr. Thatch? Ever since the wedding you’ve seemed . . . sad.”

  “Fine. We’re fine. Let’s look at your painting.” She didn’t know about what had happened. No one besides the staff knew about the Raven Queen kidnapping my mom during the ceremony, Derrick crashing the party with steampunk pirates, and the injuries and deaths that had occurred as a result.

  My students didn’t know I was a murderer. I drew back from Imani, not wanting to taint her with my wickedness.

  I walked over to Imani’s canvas, trying to make sense of the colors and composition. My brain was too overwhelmed by my inability to change this unfair world we lived in to want to make art.

  “Good. Beautiful. You’re doing great,” I said.