Page 94 of The Fearless Witch

“Shut up and come here,” Isaac whispered, snaking a hand around my waist and pulling me against him. I didn’t resist when his lips found mine, nor when he bit on my lower one to make me open my mouth. A few people whistled and laughed as he kissed me like there was no one else around, and I was pretty sure I heard Kevin muttering, ‘That’s not appropriate for children!’ before Buddy started barking again.

When Isaac finally broke the kiss, my head was spinning in the most pleasant of ways. He turned me around to face the others, and all I could do was cling to his arm and breathe. His fingers brushed a few strands of my hair away from my nape while unfamiliar faces watched us with open mouths and eyes full of anticipation. Some of them looked like they were holding their breath; others, like Julia and Kevin, already had happy tears rolling down their cheeks.

‘This will only hurt a moment,’ Isaac spoke in my mind, pressing his lips against my skin where he had already marked me as his.

‘Pity. I like it when it hurts,’ I shot back and I could almost feel him rolling his eyes.

‘You’re impossible,’ he replied with a hint of a smile in his voice, and just as I was about to tease him some more, his teeth sank into my neck. A gasp of surprise escaped my lips, and the world seemed to stop momentarily while the last rays of sunshine disappeared behind the trees.

It didn’t feel any different from a normal bite, even Roman’s teeth brought more sensation than this, but as Isaac licked the wound he had reopened, I felt the bond between us grow taut. His emotions flooded my mind and body, love, lust, joy, and contentment mixing with anger, jealousy, and hurt, all tightly wound until they were both mine and his. He held me tighter against him like he needed me to ground himself, and I realized I was doing the same.

The crowd exploded into cheers, bringing me down to earth right before Julia and Kevin moved to congratulate us. After an awkward hug from Kevin, an enthusiastic one from Jake, and a suffocating one from Julia, they moved aside. I smiled and nodded as people I barely knew gave us their well wishes, trying to remember names and whose pack or shifter group each belonged to.

Once Malakai and Beleth stopped before us, I was ready to laugh at the latter’s expression.

“I told you that you’d look beautiful in white, my lovely rose,” Malakai whispered in my ear before kissing my cheeks. “Roman has a point, too. You’ll make an outstanding princess.” He winked at me as he stepped back and I turned my eyes to Beleth. He still wore that unreadable face of his, and it annoyed me more than usual.

“You should bow, Isaac. You’re in the presence of royalty,” I said, holding the demon’s gaze and smirking in triumph when he glared at me. That was much better.

“I bow to no one,” Isaac said in a low, cold tone and I sighed in defeat. How did I end up not with one, but two people in my life who had the worst sense of humor?

“You’re lucky you have several men trying to get under your skirt, Red, because this one alone won’t be much of a use when it comes to protecting you,” Beleth said with an exasperated tone, looking Isaac over as if he didn’t notice the way he bristled.

“You’re lucky we are too busy trying to get under her skirt,” a low, smooth voice spoke, and I glanced over my shoulder to find Roman approaching with hands in his pockets, “or we might all remember how you dragged her to Hell, Beleth. Royalty or not, you stand no chance against us, especially up here. As for Isaac…” He looked at the werewolf and to my surprise, Isaac met his gaze without making any face. “It’s irrelevant if he can protect her alone or not because he won’t have to. He’s not alone.”

I wanted to throw my hands around Roman’s neck and kiss him, but I had a feeling my hold on Isaac’s hand might be the only thing stopping him from putting it through Beleth’s face. While Roman could hide his hostility with his carefully crafted mask of politeness, Isaac was… a ticking time bomb at best. Maybe having the demon that kidnapped me at my mating ceremony wasn’t the brightest idea, but I couldn’t help but think about how much Cyrus would enjoy all of this and how much Beleth would hate it. It was a win-win situation.

“This is a joyous occasion, let’s not sour it with talk of fighting, please,” Malakai said softly, catching Beleth’s shoulder and squeezing hard enough to make the demon tense. I gave him a thankful look, and he beamed at me. “We have better things to do than quarrel about the past, don’t we?” He leaned closer to Beleth and to my surprise, the latter didn’t pull back like he did when I invaded his space. “And you, try to smile a little! Today is all about love and acceptance!”

“I’ll pass,” Beleth spat. Malakai let out an exasperated sigh, looking back just before someone cleared their throat, making us all turn. Allison stood a few feet away, glancing between us while the rest of the shifters had cleared the garden, no doubt boarding their vehicles so they could get to the barrier. Judging by the clothes hanging from several chairs, some of them were already on their way.

“We are ready to go,” she said, looking at each of us before her eyes settled on me. “You’re still doing this, right?”

I felt everyone’s attention switch to me, so I took a deep breath and smiled.

“Let’s go take down that fucking ward.”

Chapter 37

Celeste

“You might want to step back,” I said as I picked up my skirts and strode toward the barrier that shimmered gently around the city. I could see the glowing lights of the massive buildings in the distance, but the spell distorted them like I was looking through dirty glass.

The magic pulsing within the ward was truly impressive—I couldn’t have done all of this by myself without exhausting every last bit of the power I currently had. But then again, it had taken a whole Coven to create it and I was sure that sustaining it was draining them faster than they could figure out their next move. So I was going to make it for them.

“Be careful,” Roman warned, and when I glanced over my shoulder, he was standing just a few steps away, his body tense like he was ready to charge at the first sign of anything going wrong. Most of the werewolves had heeded my warning, but Malakai, Beleth, and Isaac were right behind him, looking at the ward like it was an enemy they didn’t want to face.

Turning away from them, I raised my hands and buried my bare feet into the soil. Whispers rose among the shifters, but it was hard to focus on their words when the magic in my veins started to sing.

Truth be told, taking down this ward would have left me spent if I had tried breaching it head-on. The spell above was perfect, but the foundation was feeble. If crawling out of the earth hundreds of times had taught me something, it was that if the roots were weak, the whole thing could easily fall under the right pressure. And the tethers that held the spell together… they were like trees. Now was the time to uproot one of them.

I dropped to my knees and dug my fingers into the ground, ignoring the dirt that stained my white dress. My power erupted, coiling around the base of the spell. Inch by inch, it twisted it towards me until I felt the first fracture. Gasps of surprise and awe made me look up just as the crack appeared above the surface, spreading through the dome of the ward.

Smiling, I sent another wave of magic down, willing it to twist, push, and bend until the whole thing collapsed. More cracks surged, and the air sizzled with energy, like a storm was about to break out and rain fire and brimstone upon us.

I felt it when it happened—the final break that made the spell crumble.

“I’d cover your eyes if I were you,” I shouted, shielding mine as the barrier glowed brighter and brighter. The words had barely left my mouth when a powerful thunder echoed, swallowing all the noise in the world. A moment later, the ward exploded.

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