Page 57 of Castings & Curses

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Amari asked.

“What’s that?” Natalie asked, thrilled Amari was finally coming out of her shell, at least when surrounded by the coven.

“It means, all you really have to do is accept your mate. It’s the final piece to truly controlling your power. At least, that’s what the legend says.”

“What legend?” Rowan asked.

“The legend of the Witch Queen and her mate.”

Oh, dear goddess. “Don’t tell me you actually listened to those silly stories, Amari.”

“Of course, I did! They were so romantic. I used to dream of growing up one day, only to discover I was the Witch Queen with a destined, fated mate and a love that would span the ages.” She sighed, a faraway look in her eyes.

Natalie stared at her.

This was the most she’d ever heard Amari speak at one time and it was to swoon over stories Natalie’s grandmother used to tell her.

Stories of the old Witch Queens and their immortal loves.

She’d always thought it sounded like nonsense.

Then again, she’d absolutelybelievedin the power of the blessing Morana had cast for Pippa and Jared, gifting their love with eternal life, so that even death could not end it.

Was the fairy tale Amari had dreamed about as a child so very different from that blessing?

“Tell us the stories, Amari,” Jo said. “Exactly the way you heard them told to you.”

And so the evening passed with Amari sharing the stories she’d been told, with Natalie occasionally contributing little details her grandmother had shared that Amari hadn’t known.

It was a beautiful way to end a rather hectic, exhausting day.

When they finally stumbled to their beds, Natalie fell asleep with her head full of stories from those long-ago queens and with a tiny spark of hope kindling inside, that perhaps one day soon, she too might find herself blessed with a legendary, immortal love.

CHAPTER6

“See it kind of worked!”Soraya claimed.

“In what world is an army of dead trees a successful mission?” Bygul demanded.

“Well, the wolf got a chance to show off his warrior side, didn’t he?”

“I’m not sure the witch really cares about his warrior side,” Tivali said. “Besides, he looked like an idiot.”

Muezza snorted. “They all did, but you know what? That’s what she gets for mating with a wolf. Might as well learn early on that they’re a bunch of goofy, pseudo-lovable idiots.”

“Pseudo is right,” Bygul said.

“Well, I think he was adorable,” Soraya said.

Bygul didn’t say what he was thinking, which was he wasn’t surprised.

At all.

One good idiot loves another, after all.

“So what are we going to do next?” Tivali demanded. “Because I’m beginning to seriously doubt whether these two are a match at all.”

“Beginning to?” Bygul demanded. “You’ve doubted it all along.”

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