Page 20 of The Witch's Spell
Cathal wrinkles his upper lip as he scents the air.
I nod for him to step into it, and without hesitation, he does. The fog parts around him, swallowing his body whole.
A minute passes, but he doesn’t emerge.
And I’m still standing there, staring into the gray mist stretching into the trees ahead, when he pads up behind me, the scent of the honeyed fog clinging to his fur.
Chapter 12
Aurora
“IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO withhim,” Faolan growls, blue eyes pinned on Thorne.
I glance at Thorne. He’s standing in the trees with us, leaning on his cane. In the daylight, his white hair shimmers, not so unlike the ice and snow piled around us. But his silver eyes burn.
“I had nothing to do with this,” he retorts firmly.
Not for the first time, I’m impressed by how fearless he appears despite Faolan’s snarl. I know he saw Faolan and Cathal transform earlier today, but he seems to have no apprehension around them, even knowing they’re wolf shifters.
Add it to the list of things that seem just slightlydifferentabout him.
“What makes you think he’s responsible?” Alden asks. He’s standing with his hands on his hips, brow furrowed as he looks from Faolan to the dense fog drifting through the trees.
“It smells like him,” Cathal says matter-of-factly.
We all turn to look at him. He’s standing a short distance from us, Orla at his side. I know he and Faolan are twins, but I still find their mirrored appearances uncanny. If not for Cathal’s short hair, it would be a challenge to tell them apart.
Unless they’re shirtless. Then Faolan’s scars are on full display, and it’s impossible to forget what Cathal did to him.
A bit of heat flares to life in my belly, and I tear my eyes away from Cathal as anger crawls up my spine.
Now Thorne looks a bit different. His eyes are still narrowed, mouth pressed into a firm line, but there seems to be a hint of curiosity in his stare.
“Well?” Faolan growls. “Care to explain?”
Thorne shrugs one shoulder. “I can’t. Like I said, I had nothing to do with this. I was caught in the storm and needed a place to stay. I know nothing else.”
Faolan’s fingers curl into fists. Through our bond, his frustration burns.
I’m about to try to distract him, to pull him away lest he try to attack Thorne, but Alden interrupts.
“What do you think, Aurora?”
I blink and look up at him, realizing for the first time that I haven’t said a single word since Faolan guided us into the woods and pointed out the strange fog.
“Well...” Everyone stares at me as I tip my head and regard the fog. “It’s obviously not natural. But if it’s of a magical origin...”
If it’s of a magical origin, how will we do away with it?
I sigh. “I’m sorry. I’ve never seen something like this before.”
Stepping forward, I reach for the fog. Faolan and Alden tense behind me, and Thorne watches closely as I reach out a hand and trail it through the mist. It’s cold, much colder than the winter air surrounding us, and there’s an energy to it, like a soft vibration.
Magic indeed.
Seated on a boulder near me, Harrison cants his head and says, “I believe Rowan is home. Perhaps he knows more.”
Again, everyone looks at me, waiting for the translation.
