Page 41 of Magic and Matrimony

Josephine, Ava, Stellan, and Bram spot us as we come out of the woods. They’re grinning, but that quickly disappears when they see an unconscious Danielle in Roman’s arms. Josephine rushes over and reaches out to place a hand on Danielle’s face.

“What happened?”

“My uncle,” I grit out. Josephine’s face blanches as she sees me holding my hand.

“You’re hurt too?”

“Help Danielle first. I’ll be fine.” I turn toward Ambrose. “You guys need to go. Time is running out.”

Ambrose hesitates, but I push him with my good hand. “Go.”

Bram takes Danielle from Roman so he and Ambrose can head back into the woods. Odie comes out with a triumphant grin from a completely different direction a few seconds later. Her face falls when she sees what’s happened. Others from the coven have gathered around us and Lucida has to push through them to get to us.

Danielle is waking up just as Lucida reaches us. Josephine steps back and Bram sets a now conscious Danielle on her feet.Lucida reaches out and offers her a steadying hand. “Danielle, what happened?”

Josephine picks up my hand and apologizes when I drag in a pained breath. Her healing magic starts to work immediately, but it’s not like in the movies. She can’t reset broken bones with her magic alone.

“I’m going to have to straighten your fingers.” Her long dark hair is whipping around in the wind and so is mine. My red swirls with her nearly black strands, and I close my eyes, nodding for her to go on.

“Stellan,” Josephine barks out. He’s holding me up in the next instant as Josephine sets the bones in two fingers back in place. My breaths come out in heavy pants, and I fight to stave off the nausea. I don’t want to puke in front of everyone. More of Josephine’s healing magic flows through me, until the pain is a dull, tolerable throb.

Josephine’s hands are trembling when she’s done.

“Thank you,” I whisper, and she squeezes my arm in reply.

“I’m going to really need a nap now.”

21

AMBROSE

Idon’t want to leave Piper. She’s injured and that piece of shit uncle of hers is still out here somewhere in the woods. I’ve never wanted to kill a man before, but today might just be a first.

“I’ll go this way.” Roman points to his right. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I’m fine. Go and find your damn object so this night isn’t a fucking waste.”

“We’re going to need to talk about this new angry side, Ambrose,” Roman says as he jogs off.

“It’s not anger,” I call after him, but then head off in my own direction. It isn’t just anger. It’s a consuming rage to make Tucker pay.

In the past, all the shit with the coven was never important enough to hold my attention. It wasn’t my responsibility; therefore, I didn’t care. But I care what happens to Piper. I fucking hate that she was being abused all this time and no one helped her. Fuck, her uncle was part of the council that leadthis coven. They probably helped him keep shit quiet. Corrupt doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Stomping through the woods, a branch smacks me across the face. I bat it away with a grunt, and it rebounds to smack me a second time.

“Motherfucker.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I need to calm down. Never before have I been this quick to anger. I’ve perfected compacting my emotions in a tiny little ball and sweeping them under the rug until I forget they exist. I seem to be having a problem doing that lately.

“Concentrate.” I exhale and close my eyes. How am I supposed to find this object? Before I beat the shit out of Tucker, I was wandering around the woods waiting to trip over something. I assumed I’d know it was the enchanted item I was seeking when I saw it. That didn’t work, so now I need to figure something else out.

I check my phone. I have ten minutes.

Lucida said to use your intuition. My magic is illusion magic. I can cast illusions so real, a person would question what reality is. How does that help me in this challenge? I doubt Lucida wants me to conjure up an illusion of the object we’re trying to find.

However, my magic also sees through illusion. I can use it to show me what’s real and what’s magic. I reach deep into my chest, into the well of golden power that thrums always at the ready, and cast it out. My magic rolls away from me in a wave, rippling over rocks, and fallen trees, touching downed leaves and desiccated bushes.

Nothing looks off. I turn and do the same facing the opposite direction.

Nothing.

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