Let It Flow: A witch's coming of age (Letting Go Book 1)

by H Kinani

  We didn't have to live like this. We would have been fine, just the two of us. Of course, we would have suffered anyway without dad, but not like this. We had each other to lean on. We were supposed to be stronger together.

  And… Lucien was draining me too... so I had to have some powers after all, he'd just never let me use them. He’d taken them all.

  A strangled laugh left me, and I shook my head. Once again, I was blindsided. This man had destroyed my life, and why? For power?

  "What do we have here?"

  The cold voice, speaking behind me chilled me to the core. I gasped, swivelling around. Lucien stood in the open doorway, the tall intimidating figure he always was, but there was a glint in his eyes that I had never seen there before of open hostility, pure and manic.

  He glanced around the room, almost thoughtfully.

  “I thought I might find you in here,” he said, tutting softly, dangerously, before turning his gaze back to me. “You know you’re not allowed in the library.”

  I stared up at Lucien.

  What I thought I felt for the man—what I thought was hatred—paled in comparison to the feelings whirling in me now.

  I despised him. I hated him with everything in me.

  Now I knew what he was doing, I couldn’t pretend anymore.

  And he knew it too, because the way he was watching me was different. No longer was I the scared little girl he could crush under his shoe. Now I was the woman who knew his ways but was still powerless to stop him. And he loved it.

  “How are you convincing my mom that you aren’t draining our powers?” I demanded. I could hardly believe the words that came out of my mouth. So direct. So brazen. I’d never spoken to him like this before.

  He didn’t so much as twitch. I pressed on, unable to stop, now that I’d started.

  “Is it a love potion?” I demanded. “Or a spell? How are you controlling her? Tell me!”

  Slowly, he arched a brow.

  To my shock, a smile tilted his lip.

  “Figured it all out, have you?” he asked, quietly. His smile grew. “I must admit, I thought you would catch on a lot sooner.”

  Suddenly, the window, still rattling loudly behind me, shattered with a crash, spraying the floor with glass.

  I screamed, hands flying up to shield me and Lucien threw his head back and laughed.

  "You, child," he said, shaking his head and brushing a tear from his eyes. "Have truly been, quite the catch."

  I stepped back, felt the wind buffeting against me, filling me with energy. I would fight him if I had to. Even though he would kill me. I would die trying.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked, finally voicing the question that had been plaguing me. “And what do you mean, I’m a catch?”

  “Wow. I’m disappointed Farah,” he said, tone mocking. “And here I thought you figured everything out.”

  “I—I have,” I insisted, and then every fleeting thought I’d had suddenly magnified in my mind and clicked together. Everything was suddenly so clear.

  “You manipulated my mom… Tricked her with magic so that she let you in—”

  “Much easier than I anticipated. After all, at the time she was known to be a powerful witch.”

  He quoted the air with his long skeletal fingers and abruptly, I laughed.

  “Of course, you would have had to use magic. No one would anyone actually want you.”

  His gaze hardened and I knew the game was over a moment before my feet were swept out from under me.

  I hit the hardwood flat on my back and groaned even though I didn’t want to give him that. I didn’t want him to have the satisfaction of knowing that he hurt me.

  Struggling to hide the ache in my ribs, I pushed to my feet and faced him again.

  “You tricked her and then you moved in. You’ve kept her close so that you could keep draining her. You’re only strong because you’re using her magic.”

  Lucien shook his head darkly.

  “You forgot the best part,” he informed me.

  My mind raced, all the little clues and realizations I’d had running through me in a jumble.

  “When I found Aurora to be less potent than I wanted…” he prompted.

  And just like that, everything became clear.

  “You found me…” I continued. “And I was even stronger—”

  “The strongest,” he hissed, taking a step toward me, into the library.

  I backed up instinctively, but the wind pushed me forward.

  “Only the purest of witches, whose bloodline has been uninterrupted for generations possess the type of magic that you, Farah, possess.”

  He grinned.

  “And you my dear, are all I need.”

  “For what?” I breathed.

  “For power,” Lucien said, softly. “For strength. For longevity.”

  His smile turned almost warm for the first time since he’d torn into my life all those years ago.

  “You alone, will keep me going, for a very long time.”

  “No,” I whispered.

  I couldn’t let him get away with this. I wouldn’t.

  Lucien was only strong because I was strong. It was my strength that coursed through his veins. It was my magic that controlled me and my mother.

  I was the powerful one here.

  Lucien was nothing but a leech.

  Power filled me. Energy so electric that I was suddenly sure lightening was about to burst through my veins.

  "This ends now," I said.

  Lucien grinned.

  "Oh no, child. I'm going to keep you as long as possible."

  "No." This time, my voice was calm. Sure. "It's over."

  I didn't know what exactly I planned to do. Somehow, it didn't matter. I wanted Lucien gone. I wanted my life back. I wanted my mom back.

  My hands swung out in front of me and the wind whipping wildly through the room, followed my direction, shooting toward him. A smile lit Lucien's lips and too late, I saw the figure, creeping up the hall behind him. Mother, looking confused, her gaze fixed on me.

  My eyes widened, heart stopped, but the wind was already whipping through my fingertips.

  It flew toward Lucien and he flew back, through the library door and crashed into mother. Together, they cascaded down the stairs.

  I screamed as the wind howled, louder and louder and ran after them.

  "No!”

  The railing was splintered, the dust already settling as I reached the bottom.

  “Mom!” I cried.

  She was lying in a heap on the floor, splintered wood all around her, blood beneath her. She was still. So still.

  “Mom,” I whispered, slowly lowering next to her.

  At her other side, Lucien slowly rose to his long height, dusting his black suit as though he was completely unaffected.

  Slowly, I looked up at him.

  “Over and over, you make your stepfather proud,” he said. “After all, I would have had to do the dirty deed myself, but you decided to help me by finishing your mother off for me just as she’d become too used up to be any good.”

  He didn’t so much as spare my mother’s prone form a glance.

  “And on top of that. You’re finally growing into your own powers. How generous of you to offer more for me to drain.”

  I was numb. Nothing made sense for a moment, except that mother was gone and Lucien was alive, and he would never stop.

  Never, ever, until every last drop had been taken from me and I was nothing but a corpse.

  Suddenly, I was moving.

  I nearly made it to the door and then a power gripped me, Lucien’s cold intent wrapped like a vice around my ankles, dragging me.

  I hit the floor again and panic overtook me.

  With a shout I lashed against the invisible force, sending wind buffeting through the room. All of the windows shattered with a deafening crash and then suddenly, Lucien flew back, hitting the wall—just like he’d done to me countless times before, b
ut this time, the wall cracked, the whole house shook, and I was free.

  Without thinking, I was through the front door, running as the wind whipped me. It was so strong that it knocked me down twice as I went, wild and unpredictable, just like me.

  I was doing it. I was controlling it. I knew that now, but I couldn’t stop it.

  All I could do was run.

  To Be Continued

  About the Author

  H. Kinani is a Mermaid at heart, a witch in mind and a fairy in spirit. She loves simple things like the sunshine of a still summer day and the scent of the forest after rainfall.

  She has big dreams of bringing stories to life and sharing them with the world and can’t wait to release her many plot bunnies.

  Join her mailing list to keep on top of what’s coming next

  http://eepurl.com/hqzyOH

  Also by H. Kinani

  Elements Unleashed

  Let It Flow

  Let It Pour

  Let It Burn

  Shelter Pack Series

  Finding Shelter

  Building Shelter

  Accepting Shelter

  Princess Clones

  Cinder Unit