by Ava Walsh
She paused to look up at her house before unlocking the door. She walked inside and locked the door behind her. Her mom sat in the living room, watching her. She motioned for Kiara to join her.
“Hey, kid,” she said when Kiara walked in.
“Hey.”
“I just talked to Spencer’s parents.”
“And?”
“Well, they told me the magical cat is out of the bag.”
“Yeah.” She let her bag fall to the floor with a thump. “You could have told me sooner.”
“No, I couldn’t. Mr. James said they explained all that.”
“I guess.” She slumped onto the sofa across from her mom.
“So now that you know and we can talk about it, do you have any questions?”
She swallowed and noticed that her throat hurt. Her eyelids drooped with exhaustion and she wanted to sleep. But this could be the last time she had a serious talk with her mom. Her last chance to get answers to any questions she might have. “How often did you use magic on me?”
“Oh, often enough. You’ll find that the children of magical parents are surprisingly well behaved.” She chuckled. “You’ll see when it’s your turn. Don’t be mad about it; we all do it. When your baby won’t sleep or your toddler is throwing a fit or your ten-year-old gets made fun of at school. You just want a way to make them feel better, and when all it takes is one spell there’s no reason not to use magic.”
Kiara nodded. If she’d lived long enough to have her own kids then she probably would have done the same. It seemed like a much easier way to parent. Would her and Spence have stayed together that long? Would they have had kids and grown old together? Tears came to her eyes at the thought and she just wanted to be alone to think and cry.
“I’m really tired, Mom. And I think I’m getting sick. Can we talk more tomorrow?”
“Sure.” Her mom walked over to hug her and feel her forehead. “You do feel warm. I’ll bring you something.”
Kiara trudged up to her bedroom and got into her pajamas, adding a sweatshirt to keep away the growing chills running through her. Her mom came up later with some medicine and water. She cast a spell over her, and it did make her feel a little bit better. But she knew even her mother’s more practiced and powerful magic wouldn’t last long against this curse.
“I do have one more question,” Kiara said as her mom pulled her blanket up to cover her. “Was Dad a wizard?”
“Yes, and that’s how he died. A powerful spell went wrong.”
“What kind of spell?”
“That’s not important.”
“Mom. What kind of spell?”
Her mom sat at the edge of her bed. “When you were little, you fell into the ocean from a fishing boat. He jumped in to save you. You were under for too long and he cast a spell to give you oxygen because you were so far under the surface. It pulled all the oxygen out of the water and surrounded you so you could breathe, like being inside a giant bubble of air. But it took that oxygen from anything close to you. Including your father. He was too far down to make it up in time, but since you were in a bubble you floated to the surface.”
“He suffocated himself to save me?”
“Basically, yes. I don’t think he realized what would happen, but he did it to save you, yes.”
Kiara stared at the wall, where the photo of her and her dad hung. She was a toddler in the photo. She didn’t remember the place it was taken or anything about her father at all. Maybe when she died he would be there—wherever it was she was going—and maybe she’d finally get to know him.
“Now you know why I never wanted to give you details about how he died. Saying he drowned was a much easier explanation. And technically, that is what happened.” Her mother kissed her forehead. “Get some rest.”
Kiara’s eyes closed quickly and she fell into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 14
“Kiki, wake up.”
She heard his voice and peeled open heavy eyelids to see a blurry Spence looking down at her. Her whole body ached. She pushed herself up in bed and covered her mouth, her eyes wild as she realized she was about to throw up. Spence, sitting on the edge of the bed, handed her a trash can and helped keep her hair out of the way while she threw up.
When she’d finished, Spence handed her a glass of water and took the trash can into the bathroom. The smell in the room didn’t fade enough, though. She could just reach her tote bag on the floor and pulled out her wand, then pointed it at the window and cast a spell to open it. The breeze felt nice on her clammy skin.
Spence came back in and took his seat beside her again. “Everything is going to be okay.” He beamed at her and handed her a small glass bottle filled with a red-brown potion. “Drink this.”
“What is it?”
“Just drink it. It will cure you.”
“Spence. What is it? Where did you get it? What does it do?”
He closed his eyes briefly and looked frustrated. “I will explain everything after you drink it.”
“Well, I’m not drinking it until you do.”
“Kiara!” He punched the bed with his fist. “I went through a lot to get this, now just drink the freaking potion before I hold you down and pour it down your throat.”
“You went through a lot?”
He groaned and rubbed his face. “Yes. I had to convince Sindri to make it, okay? I went to the haven—and boy that was fun—but he made it and he said it’ll cure you.”
“What did you have to do for it?”
“I gave him my blood.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. Now drink.” He pulled the stopper out of the glass bottle and handed the bottle to her.
She poured the liquid into her mouth and swallowed. It wouldn’t matter at this point if what he said wasn’t true. She was dying anyway. No potion could do worse damage than that. The liquid tasted horrible, and she could taste the blood he’d mentioned. The thought made her want to throw up again.
She closed her eyes, still holding the bottle in her hand. Within seconds she started to feel better. She smiled at Spencer. “I feel better already.”
He beamed and kissed her.
“I can’t believe Sindri made a potion to cure me! Wait, how did you know his name?”
“Ah, you slipped up once when you were talking about him.”
“And all he wanted was your blood?”
“Yup. Well, sort of.”
She sat up straighter and pushed the covers back. Her stomach didn’t feel like it would turn anymore, but there was a new sense of dread that settled there. What had he done? “I knew it. I knew it couldn’t be that simple. What did you do?”
“It’s not that big of a deal, relax. He took my ability to shift. And yours.”
“What?” She sat back against her headboard, stunned. She couldn’t change into a dragon anymore and neither could he? If it meant she was going to live it shouldn’t matter that much, but this felt like a huge loss. Her heart felt hollow, as if someone had just reached in and ripped out a piece of her. She hadn’t been able to become a dragon for more than a few months, but she loved it and it felt like part of her. She’d been powerful and special. And now she was just a witch again? A witch with limited, human senses and human power?
“I’m sorry I tricked you. I should have told you, but it was the only way. I was able to convince Sindri to make the potion because none of the dragons liked that I was more powerful and was basically a freak of nature or whatever. So I gave it up and unfortunately they said that because we caused too much trouble together you had to give up your powers, too. Honestly, I think they were kind of happy to make that exchange. Though Sindri said he’ll show up at some point and wipe our memories so we don’t remember any of this.”
“But I’ll live?”
“Duh. You think I would have bothered otherwise?”
She tried to let that sink in. Slowly, little pieces of what this meant came to her. There was one thing that wo
uld be better. “And now you can be in the moonlight without having to worry.”
“True. I guess there’s one positive. And my dad won’t freak out about us crushing nature anymore with our giant tails.”
“Can we still do magic, though?”
“Of course. You can’t lose that ability, it’s in our blood. And you were right. I asked my dad. There’s no way to give anyone the ability to use magic. It only comes through the bloodline. Not even a blood transfusion would work because their real blood would replace it, though they could technically do spells while they had the magic blood in them. It’s complicated, but anyway. We’re just a witch and wizard couple now from magical families.”
“Okay.” She nodded her head slowly. She still felt sad about losing her dragon form, but it meant they would live, and they wouldn’t have this awful secret to keep anymore. And if they could still do magic, it wasn’t that bad. “I can live with that. So long as we’re alive and together.”
“We’re alive and we’re together.” He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “I was thinking about something.”
“What?”
“Do you know anything about the bonding ritual?”
“The one that bonds two people forever through their blood?”
He nodded. “And allows them to better sense each other and know each other?”
“Yeah. It’s like having a part of that person inside you.”
He pulled his lips into a sly grin. “Not that I don’t like having other parts inside of you, but what if we did it?”
“You want to do the bonding ritual with me?”
He nodded. “It’s more powerful than marriage. Though I guess we could do that eventually, too. If you wanted to.”
“I wouldn’t dare miss my chance to wear a white dress and throw a huge party.” She giggled. “You really want to do this?”
“Yes.” He took out a knife and looked at her questioningly. “As long as you want it.”
“Yes.” She took a long, deep breath. “This is huge, Spence. You know that, right? People get divorced, but there is no undoing this spell. Once we’re bonded, we’re bonded for life.”
“For all of the eternity, actually.” He winked. “Kiara, I love you more than anything. More than dragons or magic or even life itself. When you were sick, I thought about what it would be like if you died. Then I started thinking of how I could go with you, because I don’t want to live without you. You sacrificed to save me, I sacrificed to save you. It’s clear we’d do anything for each other. I want to be connected to you forever.”
Tears came to her eyes at his words. She never thought she’d have someone want to be bonded with her. Not even all married couples did it because it was so permanent.
“I love you, Spence. More than anything.”
He held her gaze for a long, intense moment before he made a small cut in his right wrist and cut hers in the same place. They pressed their wrists together and said the words of the spell in unison. She felt a new warmth enter her body and then a strange, minty taste in her mouth.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you chewing gum?”
He smirked and pulled back his lips to reveal a white clump of gum. “Can you taste it?”
“Yes.” She giggled. “Wow. So weird.”
“Drink this.” He handed her the cup of ginger ale her mom had left her earlier. He closed his eyes while she drank. “Wild.”
“I wonder how it would feel…” She bit her lip and looked over at her bed, then back at him.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “You sure you’re up for that?”
She nodded and grinned. “Definitely.”
He put a hand to her cheek. “I love you. So much.”
“You gave up power, strength, riches, and increased magical ability for me, then bonded your life to mine. How could I ever doubt your love?” She kissed him and they didn’t let go for a very long time.
*****
THE END
Bonus Book 34: The Rich Cowboy's Baby
By: Ava Walsh
Description
OMG. He is so hot and so rich... but what if he finds out about this?
Nadine couldn’t believe that Cole would cheat on her after they moved from her home state to start a new life together.
Not only did he cheat, but he did it in his truck in a parking lot. She had given up a good job and a future to come here and support him in his dreams of becoming a rancher so he could live a more peaceful life. Nadine had given up everything.
Is it fate when she meets Owen in the crowd as she runs away from the end of her relationship? Is it fate that she crashes into him, and he helps her to pick up the pieces of her life over the course of a night?
Nadine never knew that a man could make her feel like that, but makes the hard choice to return to Chicago to start a new life for herself.
But as fate would have it, she must return to break the news to Owen that he is going to be a father...
It was so unexpected, and she is scared, but Nadine hopes there is a chance that they can rekindle things between them with their new situation.
Will new information break all of that hope? Can she get past the idea that she got used all over again?
Can Owen and Nadine find love through the turmoil and form a family?
Chapter One
The rodeo felt crowded as Nadine searched through the crowd for her boyfriend, Cole. He had just run to get them some beers while she waited in the stands for the bull riding event, but that had been half an hour ago. It wasn’t like she knew anyone here in Texas. She had come with Cole to learn the farming life so he could take over for his father down the line. They were both accountants back in Chicago and fortunate enough to make a decent enough severance pay to come here. She loved Cole, but she also loved the city life and missed it a lot. Nadine sighed and wondered if he’d gotten sick and headed back to his truck to leave.
For someone who claimed he loved her, Cole could be strange sometimes. She ran a hand through her curls and cursed the humidity before making her way through the crowd. Nadine didn’t feel right here, even after being in Austin for a month now. She was one of the few black women in Cole’s scene, and everyone just seemed to shun her most of the time. Maybe following him here based on promises of wealth and a peaceful life wasn’t the best idea, but Nadine had fallen in love with him during their two-year relationship. He seemed to be worth fighting for.
Nadine checked the concession stand for her handsome cowboy, but there was no sign of him in any of the long lines. She shook her head and, after stumbling in the cowboy boots that he’d bought her again, she stared down at the pink leather. They were admittedly pretty, but she missed the heels she used to wear to work. Nadine left the food area as she took in the tempting scent of barbecue and corn dogs with a small sigh. They could get something when she found him.
Nadine made her way out to the parking lot, pulling her black cardigan around her body to protect herself against the cool spring breeze she walked and listening to the sounds of the crowd cheering all of the action. She looked up at the sky for a moment to take in the stars before Nadine glanced forward to see Cole’s massive red truck at the edge of the dusty lot. The closer that Nadine got to it, the louder the sounds of moaning became and Nadine widened her whiskey-colored eyes as she moved a little faster. She crossed her arms over her generous chest as she watched Cole’s bare white ass moving between the legs of some woman as she eagerly begged him for more. “What the fuck, Cole?”
He stopped moving and shifted onto his knees in the steel bed of the truck before he fell onto the woman, who was trying to cover herself as Nadine glared at the both of them. “I came here with you from a whole life that I had back home. Why did you even ask me of you didn’t want me to begin with?”
“Nadine, let me explain.” He tried to get his pants on before the crowd that was listening to them drew closer, as he begged her to hear him out. “Nadine!”
She pushed her wa
y through the crowd as the anger turned into sadness, then desperation. Nadine had given up a fantastic job to move here. Even with the generous severance pay, the money had gone primarily into moving into their new condo at the edge of town, leaving her nothing. “Fuck. What am I supposed to do now?” Nadine didn’t know anyone well enough even to ask to stay with them, and there was no way in hell that she was going to forgive Cole. She ran around to the entrance of the parking lot, then she turned sharply and crashed into a sturdy body, falling to the ground.
“Are you okay?” Nadine was crying too hard to answer as he helped her up and looked her over before she nodded and kept going to a part of the rodeo where she could be alone and collect her thoughts. She had seen it earlier when they arrived, and Nadine leaned against a tree as she played the whole scene back in her head. Their entire relationship seemed like a joke when she thought back to when they’d met at a deli in the city when she and Cole were both still in school. Despite their skin color being completely different, they had clicked and moved quickly into a long term relationship. Moving in together in Chicago happened within six months after they were both settled in accounting firms, and the move here had seemed like a no-brainer at the time. She loved him and expected marriage at some point shortly, but all Nadine had now was the shame of returning to Chicago only to tell everybody what had happened.
That is, if she figured out how. Nadine had had no real need for a high-limit credit card before now, so she had nothing to work with. She hadn’t even found a job yet, though she’d been looking.
She slid down the tree trunk in the dark, and her ass hit the soft grass as she started to cry again. So many emotions flooded her brain: rage, betrayal, heartbreak, disappointment and confusion, just to name a few. Nadine buried her face in her arms as she let it all out to try to get to a place where she could figure out just what to do.