“The world’s most powerful warlock’s coming here?”
“The warlock who attacked you,” Fox corrected.
Sagely shivered, her fingers clutching the edge of the table involuntarily. Glancing around the table at the fae and the witches, she saw sober, knowing faces. No one looks shocked. “You knew?” she whispered.
“We weren’t sure, but we suspected,” Yordine said quietly.
“We’re sure,” Fox said. “He has attacked and killed a dozen of our people in the last quarter century. Only ones with void magic.”
“But why?”
“When a witch dies, her magic is released into the universal energy field of magic,” Yordine said. “But if she’s murdered, her murderer has a chance, the moment the magic is released, to steal it.”
“Our people don’t do that,” Shaneesha said.
“No, but a power-hungry warlock who has practiced the dark arts will,” Yordine said. “We’ve known Viziri is the strongest in the world for some time. We just weren’t sure how he was gaining such power.”
“And now you know,” Fox said. “All you had to do was ask. We have the void magic, and he has found those of our people with it, murdered them, and stolen the bound magic.”
“Can’t you fight him with it?” Sagely asked.
“Faeries don’t use the kind of magic witches do,” he said. “Though we do have our own powers. As you witnessed.” He gave her a smile that made her pulse race and her skin crawl simultaneously.
“That’s why he attacked me,” she mused.
“Yes,” Fox said. “And it’s likely the reason he killed your parents.”
Sagely choked, gasping for breath as if he’d punched her in the gut. “What?” she whispered.
“I told you I knew about your parents.” The heartless bastard was gloating.
“How do you know?” she demanded, strengthened by her anger at his smugness.
“We’ve been keeping tabs on him for about twenty-five years,” he said. “He probably came across your parents by chance, saw them hiking alone, and thought they were a childless couple. He didn’t know that the magic would be transferred to you upon your mother’s death.”
Sagely gripped the edge of the table to steady herself. Fox’s gloating smile had turned to one of sympathy, and he reached across the table. In his outstretched palm was an iridescent stone that looked almost like a pearlized piece of sea glass. “It’s a seeing stone,” he said softly.
The fae let out gasps of shock. The fuchsia faery they’d fought during their first confrontation covered his lips with his fingers, his eyes bugging.
“Thank you,” Sagely said, bowing her head, aware that he had given her something precious, though she didn’t know exactly what it was.
“Take it,” Fox murmured. “It holds their last moments. I could have transferred the memory to you now by touch, but I thought you’d rather watch it in privacy. Put it behind a mirror, and it will show you what you wish to see.”
Touched by his thoughtfulness, she reached out and took the stone. It was smooth and almost greasy feeling in her fingers, artificially cool in the summer heat.
“Thank you.” She swallowed and tucked it away for later, forcing her mind back to the present, back to the man who had killed her parents and tried to kill her. Now she had answers. She knew who had attacked her and why. And she knew her parents fall had been no accident.
“How did he know about my magic?” she asked. “Even I didn’t know I had it. It was bound up until Quill released it.”
“Like magic calls to like magic,” Yordine said. “The more void magic he hoards, the easier he’ll be able to find others who possess it.”
“We can help protect you,” Fox said. “And our own kind, as well. We would rather return your magic than have a faery murdered for it.”
“How do we get it back?” Sagely asked.
“That’s what we don’t know,” Fox said, turning to Yordine. “None of our people have been around long enough to remember the transfer.”
“Nor ours,” Yordine said. “There was a book that told of its uses, but it disappeared twenty years ago.”
Thirty-One
They all sat there staring dumbly at each other. The obvious answer was that they could get the magic back the way Viziri did—by killing the faeries who possessed it. But that wasn’t going to fly with the peace-loving witches or the fearsome fae.
“Do you know which faeries in your troupe possess the parcels of bound void magic?” Sagely asked at last, surveying the row of faeries.
“No,” Fox said. “That’s why we wanted you. Your magic may call to theirs, and we can identify who is in mortal danger from Viziri.”
Sagely threw up her hands in frustration. “And you couldn’t just come ask? You had to try to kidnap and murder me and Quill, and get your queen killed?”
“It was her idea,” he said, rising halfway from the table, as if he’d leap across it and throttle her.
“Down, boy,” she said.
“Faeries are quick-tempered,” Ory murmured. “Don’t provoke him.”
“Sorry,” she muttered to Fox, shooting him a dark look. He looked like he might leap across the table and rip into her throat with those sharp little teeth of his.
A shiver of delight passed through her traitorous body at the thought. What was wrong with her? No wonder witches looked down on faeries. She had nothing but scorn for this weakness, and it was part of her!
“The ambush on the road was not my best idea,” Fox admitted, returning her glower. “I realize now that probably scared you. I was alerted by your use of strange magic in town. The same magic I am cursed with. And I knew you must be part fae to possess it. So you may understand why I was overly eager to find out what you knew.”
“By attacking us? Because that’s obviously the best way to get someone to talk.”
“It may have been impulsive,” Fox said. “But I never tried to kill you, or your leader. Amaranth injected venom into him. The day I led the attack, I instructed them not to give venom. And no one was killed.”
“No, just mangled when you chewed on them like an animal.” Sagely touched her neck where Fox had bitten her, but there was no pain and no wound, just an indentation in the shape of his teeth.
Fox smiled. “We use the weapons we’re given. No one asks you to fight without using your fists.”
“Okay, truce,” Sagely said, holding up her hands. “I’m sorry. You’re not like an animal.”
Fox wiggled his dark brows at her. “I’m only an animal in one place.”
Yordine cleared her throat. “Working together, with all the magic of the coven and the strength of the fae…”
“Our magic cannot defeat void magic,” the Wise One’s quavering voice said from her perch on the swing. They all turned to her as one. “Fire and water both defeat and balance each other,” she said. “As do earth and air. That’s why we have a few of each element in our coven, though it is an earth coven.”
Sagely glanced around, counting the elementals. The Majoris were all earth mages, as well as most of the coven. Besides Raina and Willow and Shaneesha, she thought everyone was a dirt-worshipper.
“The only way to fight the void is with the void,” the Wise One said. “Void magic can destroy, but it can also create something out of the void, out of nothing. Right now, only one member of our coven possesses the ability to fight Viziri.”
Sagely froze as all eyes landed on her. Her blood ran cold as she remembered that man-shaped nothingness looming over her, filling her with dread and terror beyond measure. The flash of his knife, the bewildered helplessness as he flipped her over so she could see him while he slit her throat. She was jolted by the thought of what she’d gone through as a child, after she lost her parents. Because of him. Had he killed her parents in the same sadistic way he’d almost killed her?
Rage electrified her like a lightning bolt.
She was yanked out of the grip of fury by a thrumming
of magic inside her, pulling her towards the house with irresistible force.
“Then I’ll have to find out which faeries have the void magic,” she said, standing. “Because I’m going to need help taking down the bastard. But right now, there’s someone who needs me. So I’ll leave you to do your blood sacrifices or whatever ceremonies unite us with the faeries. I have to go.”
“You agree to an alliance?” Fox asked, his eyes appreciating her body a little too much as she turned back to answer.
“Yes,” she said. “If it gives us the best chance of defeating that sick freak, I’m all in.”
“Good,” he said. “We’ll fill you in after you answer the call of your loins.”
She turned and stomped up the steps, her face raging with heat. How dare he make fun of what she and Quill had? It was much more than sexual—unlike whatever magical pull he had on her.
As she descended the stairs into the cavern, the magic and coolness of the place calmed her, bringing her down to an even, peaceful state. That was the power of earth magic, she guessed. By the time she reached Quill’s room, she was almost running. But when she stepped into the tunnel with the bedrooms off it, Raina was waiting for her.
“He’s asking for you,” she said, avoiding Sagely’s eyes.
Sagely forced herself past the resentment. “Thank you for taking care of him.”
“Of course,” Raina said, finally meeting her gaze. “He’s a great guy, Sagely. Not just powerful, but good. I don’t mean his magic. I mean him. He’s good through and through. Take care of him.”
“I will.”
“You’re lucky to have him in your collective,” Raina said. “I knew it was inevitable, but I can’t say it doesn’t hurt. Be good to him, okay? He’s vulnerable right now.”
“I wouldn’t hurt him.”
Sagely watched the other girl working to swallow. “He’s lucky to have you, too. What you did today… I respect your claim to him, not just because it’s the way of our people, but because you’re a good match. I can see that.”
“Thank you,” Sagely said, glancing past her at the constellation on his door. This conversation could wait.
Raina sensed her impatience and stepped back, a sad smile on her face. “Go on,” she said. “He’s all yours.”
Sagely stepped into the room to find Quill propped up on his pillows next to his familiar, looking sheepish and groggy. “Come here, Little Red,” he said, motioning lazily with one hand. She sat carefully on the edge of the bed.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “Your magic, it’s all…wrong.”
“Dark,” he said. “I had to kill someone, Sagely. That’s the darkest act there is. The laws of magic don’t differentiate between a person with good deeds and one with evil. All life is equally sacred to the universe.”
“So your magic turned to dark magic because you killed a faery protecting your coven? That doesn’t seem fair.”
“Protecting someone I love,” he said, catching her hand.
Sagely swallowed hard. “How can we fix it, change it back to good?”
“There is one way,” he said, giving her that charming smile. His green eyes crinkled at the corners, and the dimple sank into his stubbly cheek.
“Nice try,” she said.
“A burst of creative energy,” he said. “What could be more fitting to balance taking life than making life?”
“Whoa there, buddy,” she said, pulling her hand away. “That is waaaay too fast. I’m not having kids for years.”
“I’m joking,” he said, snagging her hand and pulling her closer. His rock-hard pectorals flexed under her palms when she leaned over him, and suddenly, her heart was hammering. “Unless you’re ready…”
“I’m not. I’m barely an adult myself.”
“Not for kids,” he said. “Though I think you’ll be a great mom one day. But we could mimic the process…you know. Practice.”
“You’re shameless, you know that?”
He wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her even closer. She stretched out on top of him and kissed his gorgeous lips.
“We’re connected by more than magic now,” he said, suddenly serious. “Did you mean that? About your collective? Because you did it under duress. You can release me, if you want.”
“You said you can break it off whenever you’re not happy, anyway, right?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean we don’t take it seriously,” he said. “It’s a sacred covenant between two people. There’s a bond of magic, too, not just words. That’s why it can flow freely between us now. We don’t take commitment lightly. If you release someone from your collective, you sever the ties of your love together.”
“Do we?” she asked, suddenly nervous as she searched his serious eyes. “Love each other, I mean? Maybe I did it too soon, and it’ll mess up what we have.”
“You didn’t,” he said, linking his fingers through hers. He kissed the back of her hand, his eyes still on hers. “I love you, Sagely. I want to be your husband. If you meant it when you took me into your collective, I’m honored. I meant it when I accepted.”
“I meant it.”
He kissed her gently but passionately, and she could feel his magic pulsing into her, against her. Their bond was different now, stronger and filled with need as well as want. She reached back and pulled the tie from his hair, burying her fingers in his thick blonde mane.
“Good,” he said, rolling them over so they were lying on their sides, faces inches apart. He circled her waist with his hands and pulled her tight against him, his mouth finding hers and hungrily claiming it.
“Wait,” she said, pulling away before she completely lost her head. “So this is like our wedding night?”
“Don’t look so panicked,” he said, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a smile. “I’ll be a gentleman.”
“But I want a wedding,” she said, sitting up and swinging her legs off the bed. “I mean, I know I don’t have parents to walk me down the aisle, or family to come, but…I just always thought I’d have at least a small wedding.”
“It’s not really our wedding night,” he said, sitting up and rubbing her back. “Think of it as our engagement night. If you want a wedding, we’ll have a wedding. Whatever size you want. I want you to be happy, Sagely.”
“So I proposed? This must be the least romantic proposal of all time. Propose or your fiancé dies?”
“I told you, we can call it off,” he said. “I’m not going to make you marry me. Whatever you want, whatever makes you happy, that’s what I want. For the rest of my life, all I want to do is make you happy, and protect you, and be the man you want me to be.” He took her hand and gazed into her eyes. “I love you, Sagely. Be my wife.”
“That sounded like a proposal,” she whispered.
“That didn’t sound like a yes.”
“Yes.” Somehow, she was laughing and crying at the same time. He leaned in and kissed her, an intense, lingering kiss. “But this,” she said, putting a hand on his chest and pushing him back gently. “This will have to wait until the wedding night. Not the engagement night.”
“Of course,” he said. “If that’s what you want. But you have to give me something I want tonight.”
“What’s that?” she asked, leaning away from him and searching his face.
“You have to stay here and let me kiss you all night long.” His blonde hair fell in loose curls around his chin, almost to his shoulders, and his smoldering bedroom eyes did her in.
She swallowed hard and nodded. “All night’s a long time,” she said with a nervous laugh. “I might fall asleep.”
“I think I can find ways to keep you up,” he said. “But if you get too tired, spooning is an acceptable compromise.”
“Okay,” she said, laughing as she kicked off her boots. She slid her bare legs between his sheets, pleased at the way his eyes followed her every move.
Thirty-Two
The next morning, Sagely took some time alone to sho
wer and sit in her room in front of the mirror, combing her wet hair straight. She had to talk herself into slipping the stone behind the mirror. She wasn’t sure she actually wanted to see her parents being murdered by a dark warlock.
At the same time, it felt like cheating not to watch. After all the years of wondering, of thinking it was impossible that they’d both slip off the same ledge and fall to their deaths together. After all the years of thinking it couldn’t be true. Now she knew. It wasn’t true. It wasn’t an accident. They were murdered.
And maybe, when she watched it, she’d get some clue as to how it happened.
But when she scooted back and looked into the mirror, nothing happened. She spoke to the mirror, feeling silly, calling upon it to show her what was stored in the stone, what she wanted to see.
Maybe it was all a trick, Fox’s way of getting her to sympathize with him and think he was giving her a gift. It could be nothing but an odd pebble. When she retrieved it from where she’d set it beside the mirror, she knew that wasn’t true, though. She could feel the magic in it, not like hers, but something supernatural.
With a sigh, she left her room. She didn’t know how Quill would react to the news that Fox had given her something special on the night she was engaged to him. But she didn’t want to keep secrets, and she needed to unlock the memories in the stone. She slipped into his room, only to find him sitting on the edge of the bed with Raina.
A growl built inside her, and her magic pulsed red with anger and jealousy. Quill’s eyes flashed up and meet hers. His magic was still all wrong—not as dark as the previous night, but not the usual warm energy radiating from him. He smiled and dropped his hand from Raina’s back, which he’d been rubbing in a comforting way. Her eyes were red, but she wouldn’t look at Sagely.
Sagely pushed away her jealousies for now. She could ask him about it later, or he could tell her himself. There were more important questions than whether her fiancé could innocently rub his ex-girlfriend’s back.
“Fox gave me a seeing stone,” she said, holding out her palm for them to see. “But I can’t get it to work. Do you know how to activate it?”
Magic of the Void: A Reverse Harem Witch Series (Winslow Witch Chronicles Book 1) Page 16