Page 24 of Ensnared
“They suck it from her.” Aunt Georgia’s face is serious now, devoid of her usual good humor. “Imagine cutting yourself off from your dragon. You couldn’t shift, couldn’t smell like you do, couldn’t feel the call of the seas anymore. It’s enough to drive witches crazy.”
Maya is staring at her in shock, her palm on her chest. “Why would she do that to herself?”
My stomach churns, the quiche threatening to make a reappearance. “Because she doesn’t want to hurt others.”
They fall silent.
But there’s something more I need them to know. “You can’t tell anyone. About her. Okay? We…dragons don’t like witches. I don’t want her to get hurt.”
They all nod, their eyes wide, probably imagining what a village of sea dragons could do to a lone witch. I breathe through my nose, trying not to be sick.
“Well, you should certainly make sureshedoesn’t contact the other witches.” Aunt Georgia sighs and puts down her fork. “Ty, how do you feel about her?”
As always, she hits dead center with her question. I wonder briefly if it’s a thing you learn instinctively as a teenage kid’s guardian. Even when I was still shorter than her, she had a way of getting straight to the point.
And I want to lie to her. It would be so much easier to keep it all in and not peel myself raw. But I can’t. Not about something this big. The question of Skye Jones and my feelings about her is so complicated, I don’t even know where to begin.
“She’s…” I falter, then try again. “She’s notfromhere. She’ll leave, and—they all leave.”
The words are torn from me, the real reason behind my anger at Skye. I let myself get close to her, and she lied to me. And IknowI did the same, I’m aware of what a hypocrite I am. I’m still no closer to figuring out what I need to do.
Maya stares at me with tears in her eyes. They all grew up here: they know what happened with my parents. I glance at the ceiling to escape their pity. I’ve seen enough of it over the years, and I thought I was over it.
I guess I was wrong.
After a moment, Aunt Georgia clears her throat. “Have you asked her to stay?”
Ten
Skye
At dawn next morning,Aiden arrives at my door. Jack has left early for work because the days are getting shorter and the guest cabins must be repaired before the first snows. We’ve talked about my cabin and decided that I’ll be wintering with him in the Lodge rather than freezing out here on my own. He promised he’ll inform Aiden of our decision.
But I guess I can do that now that the man himself is here.
His blue eyes are the same color as the clear sky, and it’s indecent how well his plain green parka and knit hat suit him.
“What?” I ask, not bothering with a greeting.
After our argument two nights ago, I have zero politeness left in me, not for him. I’ve been working like a maniac on figuring out how to manage his requests for the satellite connection and a safe communication platform. There’s not much I can do without access to internet, though, so I’ve put one very unpleasant item on my agenda this morning: Talk to Aiden about a trip to Anchorage.
I’ll need to buy routers, cables, and about a ton of other gadgets to set up a network large enough to cover the entire village. But it can be done. It’ll just take time, and this might be another thing that would best be finished before winter puts the land in a white shell of ice.
Aiden doesn’t react to my tone, but his eye twitches almost imperceptibly. Am I getting to him? The thought gives me no small dose of satisfaction.
“Get ready. We’re going training.”
I stare at him, incredulous. “You can’t be serious.”
He regards me with that cool gaze of his. “We agreed.”
“But—” I splutter. “That was before you said nasty things about me and basically told me I was a prisoner here.”
“Do you want to wear those bracelets forever?” he asks. “This isn’t even about the protection spell. I just…” He breaks off and rubs the back of his neck. “You’re dangerous if you can’t control your magic.”
My cheeks flame. Just what I needed this morning: another reminder of how incompetent I am.
“Fine,” I snap. “But you’re waiting outside.”
