Page 158 of Castings & Curses

Jessica’s jaw dropped, but a small smile played at the corners of her lips, and she sprinted away.

“Don’t go.” Rafael dug his hands in her hair, his grip pulling her head closer. His lips landed on hers possessively, tempting, and oh so evocative that Sage felt like drowning in him. “I remember this. Kissing you. You’re like a drug. My salvation.”

“Then don’t stop kissing me.” She once again parted her lips to deepen the exquisite kiss.

He tangoed his tongue around hers. No one had ever kissed Sage the way Rafael kissed her, like he’d chosen her from a stadium packed with all the women in the world. Like she was his air, his heart, and soul.

So absorbed in Rafael’s masterful kiss, Sage didn’t hear the door burst open.

“Hands off my warlock, you slut!” A blast of wind preceded Zelda onto the patio, a squall shoving Sage and Rafael apart.

CHAPTER12

Zelda’s witch-airhowled and gusted against Sage. Each time Rafael reached for her, the tempest blasted Sage farther across the patio until she landed at the perimeter of the woods. Sage’s own magic kicked in and prevented her from crashing to the ground. A ring of blue fire encapsulated her, and she tossed out fire-tinged air magic to deflect Zelda’s magic.

Rafael remembered Sage telling him a secret that she held all natural magical elements, a rarity among the witchworld. Then why had he accepted Zelda’s offer? Why wouldn't he want to join forces with a more powerful witch? One as beautiful, smart, and sexy as Sage. One who he’d connected with on a more emotional and visceral level than magic. The memories of their night together emerged from the shallow grave unearthed in his mind. Rage smothered the memories to concentrate on his current predicament. His fury at Zelda for treating him like a possession, stealing his freedom, and for her betrayal of Sage howled inside him.

The tug on his derived witch-air from Zelda brought him closer to her. He fought the compulsion to keep his distance. But she called the shots, and he had no magical leg to stand on considering his untrained abilities.

Witches and warlocks surrounded them on the patio, attempting to stop Zelda or trying to aid her, depending on which side of the sandbox they played in. Magic whipped the air in tangible air ropes. Leafy vines and lightning bolts tried to slice through Zelda’s solid walls of air separating him and her from the rest of the world.

A booming voice cut through the chaos, and he drilled through the foggy air to see Jessica Wilde standing on the picnic table, a megaphone hiding her face.

“Stop this at once. Stand down,” she bellowed.

It took a few more commands before the magic simmered. The jittery, tense crowd lingered in groups around the patio’s perimeter. A light wind of air magic ruffled hair and clothing. The lightning bolts fizzled, and the thick vines retreated into the ground. Familiars leaped, flew, and scurried to their witches. Sage’s owl familiar soared above their heads, dragging glowing ropes of magic in its feet and beak. A fluffy gray and brown tabby squatted on guard at Jessica’s feet, hissing and yowling at anyone attempting to approach her except for Wilde coven members.

Sage charged toward him from the woods where the wind had caged her. He liquified at her fierce beauty, her hair swirling in tangles around her head. Panting and vibrating with emotions, she came abreast of him. He picked leaves out of her hair and brushed dirt off her arm, then took her hand in his. The moment he touched her, a strange magic inside her linked to that deep untapped well inside him that not even Zelda’s magic touched.

The fire searing his insides erupted anew, and the pain of Zelda’s illegal acts killed any other sensation. He dropped Sage’s hand and clutched his arms over his chest, needing to staunch the pain. He swallowed bile, looked for an escape route before he made a fool of himself.

“What in the goddess’s name, Zelda?” Sage yelled. “You bonded Rafael without his permission. A major-ass infraction.” Gasps broke the silence, but Sage continued, undeterred by their hundred or so witnesses. “I demand that you break your bond now or you’ll suffer the fullest extent of the witchworld law.”

“Tack on illegal magic raising and a boatload of other charges,” Jessica spat out. “What were you thinking, Zelda? Not only did you break the warlock lottery rules by not giving Rafael a choice, but you bonded him without his permission? Who does that?”

“Howdid she do it, is what I want to know?” Another High Priestess stepped to Sage’s other side. “Well, speak up, witch. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Zelda finger-brushed her snarled hair and smoothed down her skewed blouse. A small bobcat familiar leaped off her upper arm, crouched at her feet, and glared at Jessica’s tabby. “I did nothing of the kind. Mr. Reyes and I reached an understanding earlier. If you read the bylaws regarding the warlock lottery, you’ll find a clause that allows a warlock to choose a High Priestess without going through the lottery if he finds the perfect fit.” She folded the long sleeves of her tunic up, then down, something Rafael had seen her sister do. She did another fold, then down and he realized it was a sign. Imelda Helwig nodded at her sister.

All eyes shifted to Rafael. The blood rushed down his face, and he sucked in fresh air before he crashed. “Zelda’s warlocks abducted me and locked me in a room at her covenstead. She spelled me. Next thing I know, I’m here. Sage broke the spell and released my memories.”

Zelda’s inky eyebrows arched. “How did I spell you, Rafael?”

He scratched his head. “How the fuck do I know? I’m not a witch.”

“You used a coercion spell on him, a mix of henbane, datura, and belladonna.” Sage gauged the shocked reactions of the witches. “I tore a charmed bracelet off Rafael that kept the spell alive. She smothered his memories so he wouldn’t remember he had chosen me.”

A tiny smile curled the corners of Zelda’s mouth. “Find the charm. Prove these accusations you’re slinging.” A handful of witches and warlocks began combing the wind-blown patio and nearby woods.

Fiery pain lanced Rafael in two. “Sage,” he whispered. “I don’t feel so hot.”

She touched his arm, a soothing press of her fingers. “He’s fighting her magic. Isn’t that proof enough of a coerced bond?” Sage took his hand in hers, her slender fingers soft and inviting. He never wanted to let her go again. “Let’s sit inside,” she suggested. “Don’t fight it.” She addressed the nearest witch. “Where’s Aspen? I need a potion to soothe his pain.”

“I can remove his pain,” Zelda tossed in. “He’s suffering the usual new-bonded-warlock affects.”

“Does that lie keep you warm at night?” Sage rebutted, and Rafael knew how much he was out of his depths. Holding Sage’s hand offered him the impetus to stay and learn about his new world… as long as she stood by his side.

A Helwig warlock stepped between Zelda and Rafael, one of the ones who’d kidnapped him. With all his lagging strength, Rafael hauled back his arm and slugged the warlock so hard and fast the warlock didn’t have time to raise magic before he slumped to the ground, out like a light. “That’s for kidnapping me, asshole.” He shoved his fist against Zelda’s upper arm. He didn’t give a rat’s ass that she was a woman. “Kill the bond, or so help me god, I will bury you.”

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