Page 73 of The Witch's Spell
My lips pull into a smile. “They help keep the small creatures warm in the winter. When the wind blows, they put off heat, like a torch on a cold night.”
“Amazing,” she whispers, staring closely for another moment before pulling away.
We meander through the woods for a short time, and I give Aurora the names for the creatures and plants she points out along the way. Seeing her excitement and the wonder in her eyes makes me see this place differently too. I’ve known it all my life, have barely stopped to consider how this realm varies from the human one. But such is not the case for Aurora. She appreciates everything, down to the small frozen fractals that drift through the air, glittering in the sunlight before vanishing into the shadows of the trees.
I’ve just finished telling Aurora what an icelume is—a type of insect that looks like a butterfly with glacial wingsand lives in these woods in the wintertime—when we’re both jolted by a voice echoing through the trees.
Aurora’s brows climb up. “Is that . . . ?”
“Aurora!” he calls again, voice loud and jagged against the softness of this place.
She blushes. “That’s definitely Faolan.”
I shake my head with a groan. “I can’t believe you both came through that portal. You’re lucky you didn’t get lost. It could’ve spit him out miles from here.”
“Make sure to tell him that,” Aurora says, her light pink lips pulling back into a laugh that makes my heart warmer inside my chest. “Helovesbeing reprimanded.”
I’ll admit, throwing him and his brother aroundwasa tad bit of fun, but I’d rather get along with him, especially if I’m going to be staying at Brookside with everyone.
The thought of staying there with Aurora, not having to leave, makes my veins tingle with excitement.
“I think I’ll leave the discipline to you.” I hold out my hand, and Aurora takes it. “Come on, let’s go find him. And don’t you have a Yule celebration to prepare for?”
She nods once as she presses herself against me. “And you’ll be there, right? For Yule?”
Leaning down, I press a kiss to her head. “So long as you want me, I’ll be there.”
Then we set off to find her shifter so I can take them both home.
Chapter 35
Rowan
WHEN I ARRIVE IN FAUNWOOD the following day, Alden and Aurora trailing behind me, I find the village bustling with activity. Now that the fog has been lifted, people can come and go as they please, and it seems plenty of people are pouring in from Wysteria and the other outlying hamlets and villages. The fog is on everyone’s lips: they want to know what it was, where it came from, where it went.
But the most important thing is that it’s gone, and life can finally return to normal.
We had a feeling things would be topsy-turvy in the village, which is why Aurora and Alden opted to join me. Thorne needed a day of rest after all the walking he’s been doing, and Faolan still doesn’t like people, for the most part, so the two of them stayed at Brookside with Harrison.
“Hello!” a voice calls, and I turn my head to see Lydia standing on the mercantile’s doorstep, one hand propped onher hip and the other waving in the cold winter air, puffs of steam drifting from her smiling mouth.
The three of us head in her direction, and she immediately pulls me in for a hug, followed by Aurora and Alden.
“It’s gone!” she announces, voice full of relief as she leans her head on Alden’s broad chest. Her brown eyes flick to Aurora, and her lips quirk up on one side. “I take it you had something to do with this?”
Aurora’s cheeks are already pink from the cold, as is the tip of her nose, but she still goes a deeper shade of red before glancing away in that shy sort of way that I love about her. “Something like that.”
“Well, we’re all incredibly grateful. Thank you for everything, Aurora. I’m not sure what we would’ve done without you here.”
“It was nothing, really.”
Alden and I exchange a glance.
It was nothing?
We were all there. We watched the power of Thorne’s storm, felt its might. At one point, Harrison even lost his grip on Alden’s shoulders, and if not for Faolan catching him, he may have blown clean away.
I haven’t said anything about it, but I’ve noticed Harrison hanging around Faolan more, and I even spied Faolan scratching him behind the ear last night before I went to bed. Guess saving someone’s life helps them warm up to you.
