Page 41 of Blood Witch

“Not the left one, darling, I like that one. Offer the right,” Maia teased. Lightening the mood.

“Let’s stroll outside a bit, yeah?” Jade asked, and I nodded.

A bit of fresh air sounded divine.

EPILOGUE

I leaned on Fin,hearing, but not really listening to the others’ chatter. Instead, I focused on their heartbeats.

Bum-bum bum-bum bum-bum.

I felt older and tired, but maybe a little wiser. Fin kissed my head, rubbing my arm, and I finally admitted to what Armstrong had said. He was mycor lucis, my heart light, and I was completely in love with him. Didn’t mean I had to tell him.

Not yet.

I grinned, knowing I would not last the night before I blurted the words I never thought I would say to anyone. But Fin was right. He got me, and I had him. And nothing else was as important as that.

Except maybe my friends.

Rio was teasing Tana, and the two were having a mini water fire battle, using a miniscule amount of magic to send tiny sparks and sprinkles at each other. Laughter and jokes followed, and I had never felt more at ease.

No matter what made us different, our appearances, our backgrounds, our heritage, our covens, it all boiled down to one thing that connected every living being.

Blood.

Blood was magic. And not the kind that made my roommates fear me in the beginning. I understood that now, down to my soul.

We walked all the way to Brin Lake, and without hesitation, Magnus and Rio jumped into the cold, salty water. Tana lit a bonfire on the shores, and the rest of us gathered around it.

“How are you holding up?” Jade asked, handing me a bottle of water from her bag.

At some point, I would have to ask her if it was some kind of Hermione spell she had going on in there or what, cause the woman always seemed to have anything you needed at her fingertips.

“I’m good,” I replied, watching Fin as he laughed at something Enok and Arlo were arguing about.

“I’m glad Arlo made friends with you, Mabe. I’m glad Armstrong brought you here.”

“Second that,” Tana yelled from the other side of the bonfire.

“And third,” Maia said, raising her bottle of water in salute.

“Thanks,” I whispered, ducking my head.

“I am sorry about your folks, though. It’s a bummer you can’t meet them,” Enid added, sitting next to me.

I nodded, closing my eyes and drowning out the sounds around me as I focused on the steady roar of blood pulsing through veins.

Then I heard something new.

A tinny sort of sound.

I gasped. Opening my eyes, I found myself in that in-between place I sometimes saw when I was sated on magic or gorged on blood. Only, I had somehow accessed it without trying.

Everyone around me seemed to slow down, almost like time had stopped, but I knew it hadn’t. I stood up, straining my ears until I heard it again. That metallic thumping, then I ran.

“Mabel?”

I heard Fin shouting after me. He was behind me, but moving too slowly. Still, I felt better knowing he followed me and the others with him.

---