Page 341 of Sigils & Spells

“Just us?”

“Yes. We have not seen a ripple effect yet, on other creatures, but we can’t rule it out. Fire magic is important, Tana—”

“For making candles?” I snorted, annoyed.

“No,” she replied, and shook her head, moving closer to me. “Fire magic is rebirth. It is the very thing every practicing witch should know, but is no longer taught. It is why we light candles during rituals and bonfires to ward off the dark. Fire is the replenishment of magic. It is why, when you wielded yours against Stolbright, you felt its hunger, yes?”

“Yes,” I admitted, shocked to my core.

“You felt your fire’s hunger and feared it. It made you sick, right?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“That feeling happened because it was not your magic to keep. The important part of a fire practitioner’s arsenal is in the release.”

“The release,” I parroted, and understanding dawned.

Every fire used heat energy, releasing it as light and gas and other matter. Magic fire consumed other magic, releasing it back into the universe, sending it to the ether. But fire witches had been damn near crippled. Reduced to candle makers and bonfire keepers. Important aspects, yes, but it was not all we did.

“So, you’re telling me this, why?” I asked, my gaze darting to Gran and Brandon.

I worried about them being present.

Would this hurt them in some way?

I sat up straighter, wishing I could somehow send them from the room. One determined look from my Gran, and I knew she would never move. Neither would my protective mate. His dragon rumbled, and I reached out with my hand to touch his arm, drawing strength and warmth from the contact.

“I know you might find this hard to believe, Miss McKenna, but I am working on a solution.”

“How do I know that? How can I trust you to free the covens and the witches and wizards who are bound by Council law, your law, when you just want to control everything?” I asked, anger coursing through my veins.

“The Council was formed to stop war. At least, that was what they told us,” she admitted. “They did not want individual covens to inherit too much power, and as we know from seeing you and your roommates working together, elementals are stronger when they mix with others,” Armstrong said. She turned a circle around the room, shaking her head sadly.

“We all lost kin in the war. But what’s worse is the fact we lost sight of the truth.”

“You’re telling me I was sent to dorm room 563W, because you wanted to recreate some sort of multi-elemental coven experiment?”

Damn.

That was a lot to take in.

My new friends, the sisters of my heart, we only knew each other because Armstrong was playing at something.

“After all, what is fire without air or a storm without water? Can there be growth if plants are not nourished? Witches need each other, Miss McKenna, and the old Council laws are stifling us. I’m trying to make changes—”

“You used us!” I accused, shaking with rage.

Brandon moved in front of me, assuming a protective stance, and I felt his growl reverberate in the small room.

“She’s right, Armstrong,” Gran said, backing me up. “You put a bunch of girls in danger to be your test subjects. That’s unconscionable.”

“I know the situation was not ideal, but I think you will agree, Tana, it was not all bad,” she said, casting her gaze toward Brandon, then back to me.

I hated she might be right. After all, I would not know Brandon or any of them without Armstrong’s little experiment. Trying to imagine my life without them was difficult, to say the least. Rio, Maia, Jade, and Enid were a part of my life. I did not want to give them up. Along with Magnus, Enok, and Brandon, they were the best of me.

“What about my parents? I want my Da freed. And I want answers about my mother.”

“I can assure you, your father will be free tonight. Yes, Mrs. McKenna, the lawyer you hired, has already petitioned the Council on his behalf. I signed the paperwork for his release before I came in here,” Armstrong told my Gran.

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