Page 20 of The Witch's Fate
Maybe I was not able to summon Ryker’s portal because it has been so long since I cast in the presence of anyone else.
Without thinking, almost as if I am in a dream, I choose a few crystals from the windowsill and set them in a small triangle. It will not behisportal, but if I could summonaportal, I could begin to understand why it did not work the first time.
I gather my thoughts and intentions, then ease power into the group of crystals, calling for a portal to come to me.
No portal appears. Not even the hint of one. A morbid unease settles through me. I cannot remember a time when magic hasleft my side. And now…it fails to open a portal. When I need it most.
I try twice more. All the while holding my breath.
One more try, and I let my hands fall to my sides, breathing hard, fear and dread cold in my stomach.
He’s trapped here.
I’m trapped here with him. A true fear of this man being trapped here consumes me. Without a portal he would have to travel on foot either north or south, and both directions are unsafe. Why would fate do this? Trap him here? Why would fate take away my magic?
Swallowing thickly I stare outside at the storm and I know it to be the cause. It must be and it cannot last. With a flick of my fingers I light a candle and raise my hand to the flame, feeling the energy that exists between the heat and my palm. As the thunder cracks through the sky, a chill settles in the space, and as the storm is quieted, the warmth grows.
It is the storm. There is no doubt that once it’s passed, magic between spaces will be restored. It must be so. My confidence grows as lightning crashes down and the flame of the fire reacts.
Once the storm passes, I am sure the portals will be restored. With a steadying breath, I convince myself of it.
With the heat at my palm, I wonder how long that may be.
What if I just crawled into Ryker’s makeshift bed? What if I warmed myself by his body? Would that solve the problem?
My face sears hot at the thought.Where did that come from? Does he have some hold over me?
I blow out my next breath, straighten up, and cross the cottage so I may try to sleep once more, but his hazel eyes catch me in the dead of night.
He is watching me, wide awake.
I startle backward, my hand flying to my throat. Only after I’ve recovered from a minor heart attack, I speak. “I thought you were asleep,” I gasp. “You do not have to pretend to sleep.”
He looks at me, his eyes somehow catching the last of the light from the fire’s ember. “I didn’t mean to alarm you... I couldn’t sleep.”
RYKER
She’s beautifully awkward. Out of place in her own home. She blushes when she peers at me over her shoulder…as if I wouldn’t notice her stolen glances. She clears her throat in this adorable dainty way and seems as if she’ll say something, but words fail her. This all-powerful witch that so many fear is no doubt potent with her magic, but she is more of a prey than a hunter. My wolf is tempted and yet sated merely in her presence.
It’s obvious that I get to her and I enjoy knowing that fact. Idalis peers down at me, appearing innocent with her wide doe eyes and almost delicate in the waning firelight. Her fingers flutter at her throat as if she wants to drop her hand and look stoic but can’t.
“You didn’t alarm me,” she lies. Again she clears her throat in a way that’s cute. I never thought that was possible before laying eyes on her. “I wasn’t alarmed. I only thought you were sleeping.”
“You weren’t sleeping either.” My response comes with a casual tone, easy and as if unimportant although every nerve ending in my body stands on edge just from talking to her. Just from being up in the late hours with sleep at our fingertips…justas close as the bed is. My cock hardens at the thought of taking her to bed and truly exhausting ourselves how desire intends. Now I find myself clearing my throat and attempting to rid my mind of the image lest the witch finds out my sordid thoughts. I must be a gentleman.
“No.” Finally, she lowers her hand, only to clasp it with her other hand. “No, I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I would try to cast a portal.” Disappointment lingers in her tone, and I wish it didn’t. I have no desire for her to create a portal tonight.
I thought that is what she might be doing, though I could not tell with her back turned.
“Did it work?” I question without hinting at my hope that it failed.
“It didn’t,” she answers, shaking her head and pursing her lips.
My gaze lingers over the curves of her nightgown, the hem well within my reach; another level of hardship. Idalis’ scent is sweet, like fresh flowers and a sugary confection that I cannot name. I want to grab the hem of her nightgown and pull her down to the blanket with me. I could suckle the curve of her delicate neck until the worried look disappears from her face, replaced with want and ecstasy. I could spread her thighs and taste her there until I found where all that sweetness comes from. I could make her moan out my name and?—
“I’m sorry if I woke you,” she says quickly, thankfully interrupting my inappropriate thoughts, then steps around me and pads to her bed.
“You didn’t and it’s alright,” I manage, my throat tight and tense.
