Page 108 of Love's a Witch
“Sloane likes coffee,” Knox said, and picked up a different pitcher.
“Oh, but tea is fine too.” Henry was being so incredibly nice, I didn’t want to offend him.
“Nae bother. Coffee it is.” Henry switched out and poured me a cup of coffee. Once we were all settled, I dug into breakfast, dancing lightly in my seat as the delicious food warmed me.
“Henry, I think you may be able to help us.” Knox leaned back and took a sip of his tea, his expression thoughtful. “As you know, Sloane’s been dealing with discovering different magick each day. But after last night’s ritual, she discovered she had fire this morning. But she’s had it already.”
All of our gazes swept to where the beautiful gold curtains had once hung by the windows, and heat bloomed on my cheeks.
“Sorry about that,” I muttered, forking up some eggs.
“Nae bother, hen. Time for a refresh anyway,” Henry promised me, reaching out to pat the back of my hand lightly.
I highly doubted that, but then a thought occurred to me that made my blood run cold.
“Knox.” His name came out a choked gasp. “Am I going to have to live here with your mother?” There was no nice way to say it, and I hoped I hadn’t insulted him, but the way I’d heard his mum speaking of me didn’t bode well for our future potential familial relationship, let alone that of roommates.
Henry laughed softly into his napkin.
“No, Sloane, you won’t. While, of course, they’ll come back to stay once in a while, my parents have no wish to be in Briarhaven anymore. They’ve made that abundantly clear. The castle is mine.”
“What about your brothers?”
“There’s plenty of room for them if they decide to come back, but I think maybe we cross the bridge if we come to it? They’re having too much fun at the moment to dip their toes in the responsibility pond anytime soon.”
Relieved, I sat back and took a sip of my coffee, my pulse returning to a normal rate.
“And, about the fire?” Henry looked between Knox and me. “You’re concerned she’s repeating magick now?”
“No, we think that with ending her part of the curse, we also broke that particular malady. I think she may have landed on her actual magick.”
“Ah.” Interest bloomed in Henry’s eyes. “Tell me about the fire.”
“Glowing ball. Hanging out in a stream of water like it wasn’t bothered in the slightest.” I gestured with my cup.
“That’s…” Henry’s gaze darted to Knox and then back to me. Happiness flushed across his face and he stood, unable to contain himself. “Do you know what that means? You’re a Fireheart witch. Och, it’s been ages since we’ve had one of those here.”
“A Fireheart witch?” But even as he said the words, I felt a physical click inside me, like the final piece of a puzzle sliding into place, and I rubbed at a spot on my chest.
“You’re not just a keeper of dragons, like your father, miss, but you can pull from their magick. Transmuting fire, in all ways, is a massive power.”
“Transmuting how, exactly?”
“You can summon the power of dragon fire. This can transmute into many things.” Henry’s eyes gleamed. “One of my favorites is that you’ll be able to communicate through fire.”
“That sounds… terrifying.” I gaped at him.
“No, like whispers through the fireplace. Not fireballs at their head.” Henry chuckled. “Though you can do that too. You’ll also be able to use fire to imbue elemental magick to mundane things. A fork or a piece of jewelry, for example. You’ll also be able to pull from other elements, like Knox can, but yours will be specific to all things dragon. It’s quite exciting.” Henry clapped his hands. “Och, just think! They’ll likely visit us more now if they know we have a Fireheart witch. I must ready the stables. We’ll need to build a bigger opening, more space.”
Henry whirled, his eyes wide, and Knox gave him a nod.
“Do as you see fit, Henry. We welcome dragons here.”
More friends?
I looked down at where Blue pawed my leg and smiled.
“Aye, sweet baby. More friends. It looks like Broca was right. It seems my abilities are quite strong.” It felt good to say that. For the first time, I was no longer scared of my magick. I’d spent years worrying over what would happen with it, then when I’d finally gotten it, it had immediately malfunctioned. But now I could finally say I was proud of my own powers and feel it in my very soul. I was powerful. Me, Sloane MacGregor, a strong witch who was going to use her magick for good, help others, and break the curse on her bloodline. It made me feel a bit like a superhero.
