“I can’t.” Sagely heard the sadness, the finality, in Raina’s voice, and she knew this battle was over.
Summoning the last bits of her strength, she gathered all the void inside her. Swirling emptiness swam through her veins, centering in her heart, where a black hole opened. Viziri’s fingers tightened, and blackness overtook her vision. With the last bit of energy she possessed, she turned the black hole inside out. And blasted it into Viziri’s face.
Forty-Two
It was only a few seconds before her vision cleared. Viziri was gone. So was the coven. And so was all the void magic she’d had inside. He’d gotten what he came for.
Sobbing, she rolled onto her side. Around her, a handful of witches were left—the ones that had arrived late and had never been under Viziri’s control. A few of them ran to loved ones who had been injured or killed in the fight. The cries of fallen fighters sounded all over the yard.
But Sagely hadn’t given up for them. Forcing herself to her knees, she began to crawl across the dirt.
Ingrid ran across her path, nearly stepping on her hand. “Eli,” she called desperately, though it was obvious he was gone.
But Quill was still there.
Sagely crawled forward another pace. Suddenly, strong arms circled her waist and lifted her off her feet as if she were weightless. She struck out, but she was no match for Fox’s faerie strength. He shifted around to cradle her in his arms.
“Someday, when it’s you and I who need each other, I hope he will return this favor,” Fox said. With that, he sprang across the yard in a single bound and knelt at Quill’s side. Gently, he lowered Sagely to the ground.
“Thank you,” she breathed.
Fox bent and pressed his lips to her forehead, then stood and leapt back to his people, giving her and Quill a moment together.
Quill glared at her with undisguised anger. “Why didn’t you kiss him while he was here, maybe rub it in my face a little more.”
Stunned, Sagely opened her mouth to defend herself. But then she stopped. She wouldn’t react the way he wanted, the way his magic wanted. That would only feed his anger.
The opposite of fighting was peace. And the opposite of dark was light. She’d only been a witch for a few months, and her magic had always been tainted with darkness. It didn’t bother her, because she didn’t know anything else. And now, it let her slip into her bond with Quill, although his magic was all hard and bitter.
“Come on,” she said, taking his face between her hands. “You told me how to make dark magic light. Creation. Love. Being my intended.” With those words, she kissed him.
At first he resisted, bitterness and shame and hatred coloring even this. After a moment, though, his lips responded, his kiss demanding and forceful. He rolled over onto her and pressed her to the hard ground. A flicker of fear shivered through her when she felt his unrelenting, hard body crushing hers. She couldn’t get away. If she tried, he could stop her. His lips crushed hers so violently she tasted blood. A spasm of panic wracked her body.
But she didn’t break the kiss. She knew Quill. Deep, deep down, he was good, no matter what shade of darkness had cast a shadow acros his magic. His magic may have gotten twisted, but he wasn’t. Quill would never hurt her. He couldn’t. It was not in his nature, not anywhere in his makeup. He was incapable of harming her.
Relaxing away from her instinctual fear, she ran her hands down his taut muscles, relishing the strength of him, letting it thrill her with excitement rather than fear. Softening her lips against his, she surrendered for the second time that hour, giving herself up completely to his control. Trusting that no matter what he did to her, it was out of love.
At last, she felt a trace of tenderness slip into his embrace.
At last, she pulled away. “I love you, you big, beautiful warlock,” she said, forcing his green eyes to meet hers, to see her sincerity. “And I’m never going to stop. So you better just get that doubt off your face and show me some of that superior warlock skill you’ve been talking about for months.”
“We’re going to need some privacy for that,” he said, his lips twisting into the slightest smile. A bit of light filtered through that darkness.
“Just like a man,” she said, rolling her eyes. “The thought of sex can literally cure anything.”
“No, but the act can,” he said, his eyes growing warmer, sparkling again.
“When we tell our kids about this, I’ll say my love brought you back.”
“Okay,” he said, a dimple sinking into his stubbly cheek. “You do that.”
Forty-Three
A few days later, they met in the big cavern, which felt empty with only a dozen witches and their familiars in it. Most of them were not students, and Sagely hardly knew them.
“I still don’t understand how everyone disappeared,” Quill said. “It doesn’t make sense. It’s…it’s impossible.”
“I’m telling you, he just went…poof! Sucked up into a black hole.”
“Along with your magic,” Quill grumbled, a deep frown creasing his brow.
“But why us?” asked an older man. “Why didn’t we get taken over?”
“I don’t know,” Quill said, his shoulders hunched. He stared miserably at the table where they’d measured their magic that first day. Sagely wondered how much he’d have now, if he placed his hands on the table.
But it measured capacity, and he’d still have just as large a capacity for magic. Whatever he’d spent, it would eventually come back to him. He just needed time to recharge.
So did she, but she knew she wouldn’t get it. Not yet.
“I know,” she said quietly.
“What? You do?” Raina asked, her eyes narrowing.
Sagely nodded, knowing this confession was not going to win her any points with Raina. “I think…it’s my fault.”
“Figures,” Raina said, but she didn’t look like she wanted to murder Sagely, so that was an improvement. Maybe they were still friends after all.
“It’s not your fault,” Quill said.
But she’d heard that too many times from him. He always wanted to protect her, but sometimes, it really was her fault.
“I think they were taken over because they had void magic. That’s how he was able to control them. Because he had similar magic, but stronger. Like calls to like, right?”
The other witches looked around at each other.
“Willow took your blood at the initiation,” Quill pointed out.
“And she started to be taken over,” Shaneesha reminded him.
“Maybe she could resist because of her faerie blood, the same way I’m immune to their venom,” Sagley said.
“I like that answer,” Fox said with a grin. “And you’re not immune to the venom. It just does other things to you.”
Sagely ignored him, but she could feel her face warming at the memory of exactly how much she’d enjoyed that venom. It had made her stronger, though. Maybe that’s how she’d resisted Viziri, though he’d gotten control of her for a bit. But she hadn’t been devoured like the other witches. She’d come back to herself.
“Maybe it was her shifter blood,” Quill suggested, glowering at Fox.
Unlike Quill, Fox had been unharmed in the fight. While Quill was still recovering, Fox was as spry and irritating as ever.
“Did anyone here drink the brew that had Sagely’s blood?” Raina asked. As they surveyed the witches, one by one, the others shook their heads.
“She’s right,” Shaneesha said. “That’s got to be it.”
“It’s my fault they’re gone,” Sagely said. “So I’m going to bring them back.”
“Like hell you are,” Quill said, jumping to his feet. “You are not fighting Viziri again.”
“I won’t fight him,” she said, holding up her hands. “But I’m going to get the coven back. I can’t leave them to be his puppets.”
“And Eli,” Ingrid said softly. Sagely gave her a reassuring smile.
“You don
’t even know where they went,” Quill said. “Or if…they’re alive.” He muttered the last words, wincing as he said it.
“But she can look,” Fox said. “Because of the stone I gave her.”
“About that…” Sagely darted a glance at Raina. “Actually, I kind of…gave it away.”
“You what?” Fox barked, spinning on her. “I gave you that as a…a…”
While he spluttered, Sagely shrugged. “I know it’s rare, but Raina needed it.”
“You have it?” Fox demanded of Raina.
“Yes, but—.”
“Give it back.”
“There’s no need to fight over it,” Quill said hurriedly. “It’s still here. Raina, why do you need it?”
“I used it to see my brother,” Raina said quietly.
“Your brother?” Quill asked. “What brother?”
A tiny part of Sagely was pleased that he didn’t know everything about Raina.
“I had a brother,” Raina said. “He was kidnapped by faeries when I was a kid. I wanted to see if he was alive.”
Sagely found herself holding her breath as she waited for Raina to go on. She hadn’t wanted to pry after giving her the stone, so she hadn’t asked.
“And?” Shaneesha said at last.
“And he’s alive,” Raina said.
Sagely let out a breath. “That’s great.”
“I was thinking…maybe I’d go and find him. You don’t need me here, and it’s…time I moved on.”
“We do need you,” Quill said quietly. “You’re part of the coven.”
“I’m a water witch,” she said. “I don’t belong here. I never belonged here. I stayed, for you, for a while. But there’s no reason for me to stay now.”
“I can think of one reason,” Shaneesha said. “Who’s going to balance my fire?”
“Where’s your brother?” Sagely cut in.
“He’s at the sea.”
“We’ll help you find him, and then take the stone and use it to find the coven. Is everyone agreeable to that?”
Quill sank back onto his stool, fixing his eyes on the table again. Sagely could feel the magic he’d given her, the only magic she had left. She could feel the dark, muddled hue of it. It had yet to recover. But she could also feel Quill’s resistance to the idea of going after the coven.
“They’ll come back,” he said at last.
“Look, I know it’s your father,” she said softly, sliding in across from him. “You don’t have to go.”
“It’s not that,” he said. “It’s…Willow. I promised my mother I’d always protect her. And I failed. And now she’s with those shifters, and I don’t trust them. Not after seeing how they changed her. And my mother is gone, with the others…”
“And you made a promise to her.”
He raised his eyes, misery pooling there. “I can’t leave Willow now.”
“And what about us?” asked another warlock. “What about the coven that’s still here?”
“I’ll go with Sagely,” Fox said with a wink. “I’ll take good care of her.”
“The four of us will go,” Sagely said. “We’ll look out for each other. Stronger together, right?”
“And I’m supposed to sit on my ass while you go off into danger?”
“Yes,” she said, leaning across the table to kiss him. “You said witches are matriarchal. So it should be fine for me to go off on a dangerous quest while you take care of things at home.”
“Not funny,” he growled, slipping a hand around the back of her neck. He pulled her in for a rough kiss.
“Let’s talk more in private,” she whispered. “I think we should be alone for this.”
Back in Quill’s room, he sank down onto the edge of the bed and dropped his head into his hands. “I can’t let you go,” he said miserably. “I’ll find a way to come with you. I’ll bring my sister along.”
“Willow’s not going to leave the shifters,” Sagely pointed out, resting a hand on his shoulder. “She won’t even come back here. How are you going to make her leave the state?”
“I’ll make her,” he growled. “She’s not old enough to make that decision.”
“You can’t kidnap your sister,” Sagely said gently. “I’ll be careful, I promise. I’ll call you from the road. And I’ll see you with the stone. How about every night at ten, I’ll look and see what you’re doing, and you can talk to me?”
“I won’t be able to see you,” he said, lifting his head. “I can’t let you put yourself in danger because of me.”
“Not because of you,” she said. “Because of your father. You’re not your father, remember? He would have come after me for the void magic with or without your interference. It was me he was after all along. All you did was save my life. No big deal, right?” She smiled, hoping to lighten the mood.
Quill answered with a half-hearted smile. “And you repay me by running off with your other fiancé.”
Sagely put a hand on his chest to push him back and straddled his lap. “Is that what you’re worried about?”
“No,” he said, leaning back on his elbows. His warm hands rested on her knees, and this time, his smile was more genuine.
She let her red hair cascade over her shoulder as she leaned forward and kissed him. “Liar.”
“Hmm, maybe a little,” he said, stretching up to kiss her again.
Lacing her hands around his neck, she sank down against him, pressing deeper into the kiss. His magic was still chaotic and darker than it should be, but instead of making her wary, it excited her. She couldn’t read him so well now, but their connection buzzed across her skin, down her back, up her thighs.
“Then you better give me something worth remembering when I’m on the road,” she said, pulling away at last. She reached for the hem of her shirt and peeled it off over her head.
Quill’s eyes went muzzy with desire as his fingers traced over her hips, up her sides. His ring put off a slight vibration as it grazed her skin. “Now? Tonight?”
“What are we waiting for?”
For a second, he ran his fingertips over her skin, watching as if transfixed. Tracers lit up along every nerve ending as his fingers skimmed over her back. But then he met her eyes, and she saw a resolve there she hadn’t expected. “It feels too much like a goodbye,” he said. “Like a final farewell.”
“It’s a promise,” she said. She thought she might scream if she couldn’t have him. She was finally ready. “A promise I’ll be back.”
“I’ve waited this long,” he said. “I can wait until you’re back.”
“Then I better make it a short trip,” she said. “I don’t know how long I can wait.”
His expression darkened, and he worked to swallow. “You’ll have Fox there.”
“Don’t even say that,” she said, giving his shoulders a shove. But a part of her knew that it would be even harder to resist Fox, with his faerie blood calling to her. And he wouldn’t be so gentlemanly and patient as Quill had been.
“It’s okay,” Quill said. “I know it’s going to happen eventually. You’re going marry him, too.”
“I’m going to marry you first,” she said. “You’ll always be my first love, Quill. My first husband.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.” She leaned down and kissed him again, this time with the same resolve he had. “You’ll be my first. I promise. I want you to. You’ve waited for me all this time. I can wait for you when we’re apart.”
He swallowed hard, his hands tightening on her hips. “I’m honored.”
“You should be.”
“I do have one request for tonight, though,” he said, smiling up at her.
“What’s that?” she asked, unbuttoning his jeans.
He caught her wrists in his hand. “You’re not leaving this room until morning.”
She smiled coyly at him. “That sounds more like a command than a request.”
He sat up, his arms circling her waist. When h
e pulled her body against his, the explosion of sparkles through her blood almost made her cry out. “Tomorrow you get to lead your troops off on your mission,” he growled. “Tonight, I’m the boss.”
Forty-Four
The morning came too soon. As they loaded up Raina’s car, Sagely lingered, trying to catch moments alone with Quill.
“Are you sure you have to do this now?” he asked. “Couldn’t you wait until my sister’s gotten over this craziness?”
“I’m responsible for what happened to them,” she said. “And it’s my coven now, too. You can take care of what’s left here. The precious few members left need your protection.”
“I want to protect you,” he said, taking her hand.
“That’s what I’m here for,” Fox said, stepping up behind Sagely.
She sighed. “Exactly. He’s disposable. I’ll just use him as a shield.”
Quill looked pleased by this answer. “And you’ll have two of our most powerful witches to guard you.”
“Exactly,” she said. “You’re the one we should be worrying about.”
Quill walked her to the car, and after the others had gotten in, he pulled her into a long, tight embrace. She stood on tiptoes, her arms circling his neck, and kissed him with all the passion and pain and uncertainty of the moment. When she finally let him go, he pressed his fist to his heart. “If you need me, I’ll feel it in your magic.”
She climbed in the car, trying not to cry in front of him. “Take good care of Muffy,” she said, and closed the door. Her cat didn’t even bother to look up from where she was sunning herself on the porch.
“I will,” Quill said. “I’ll treat her like my own familiar.”
As the car pulled away, Sagely could feel their magic stretching thin. An almost unbearable pain thrummed through her, along the channel of their shared bond. How could she do this? How could she leave him? She doubled over, fighting for breath. She had to go back. She couldn’t do it. She wasn’t strong enough.
But when she opened her mouth, no words came out. She bit her lips together and clenched her fists in her lap. She would not turn back. Quill needed her to be strong. He needed to fulfill his promise to his mother, to take care of his sister. And he needed her to bring back his coven.
Magic of the Void: A Reverse Harem Witch Series (Winslow Witch Chronicles Book 1) Page 22