Page 34 of Rejected Sold Mate
When we reached the clearing, I slowed and let Rhie go ahead of me. She glared at me suspiciously, but pushed forward, coming to a stumbling stop when she saw what was waiting for her.
Two women were already there, Kiera and Gwen, sitting on a large plaid blanket with a spell bowl and a few bundles of herbs in front of them. They were both beaming up at Rhie, their smiles almost giddy.
Rhie whipped around to me, “What is going on?”
I reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, even as she batted my hand away. “I think you’ve already put two and two together, mate.”
“You should have asked me first.”
“They wanted to help.”
“I don’twantany help,” she hissed, but I could already see the defeat in the way she held her shoulders. Her friends had come all the way to her new territory to help her, and she wasn’t going to turn them away. “I thought this was just between me and you, Jayce.”
I lowered my voice so only she could hear, “I only told them that something had sparked for you, and that you might need some support, because you’ve got a complicated history with magic. Nothing more, I swear.”
Rhie swallowed, turning around as Kiera approached her to pull her into a careful hug. “There’s no pressure,” the Saltfang Luna said, “But if you ever wondered what you could do, or what that little missing piece of yourself might be, this is a good place to start.”
Rhie blinked rapidly, her eyes suspiciously bright as she hugged her friend back. “It’s…it’s so tangled up for me, Kiera.”
Gwen spoke up from where she was still seated on the ground. “I know magic doesn’t always feel safe, but it can be, as long as you pace yourself.”
“But…what if I lose control? What if I hurt someone?”
Kiera pulled back, holding Rhie by her shoulders. “Then you’re in luck, because you’ve got two very capable witches here with you. And if all else fails, we’re both pretty darn good at healing spells.”
Tentatively, Rhie nodded, clasping her hands in front of herself. “And you won’t leave me if things get ugly?” She turned back to me, “Any of you?”
“I’ll be right here to catch you if you need it,” I swore, stepping back to the edge of the clearing to give the three of them space. “You’ve got this.”
All three women sat on the blanket, but I stayed on my feet, muscles tensed and ready to jump in if something went wrong. I’d been around magic before—there were a few older witches in my pack—but I worried about Rhie, not the power shewielded. If she panicked, I’d step in. I wasn’t afraid, but I was concerned about my mate’s heart.
She was obviously cautious at first, her movements stiff, her pupils wide with fear. I could already feel the power crackling in the air around us, which made Kiera and Gwen frown, but then they led Rhie through a grounding ritual. They moved her through it, slow and steady, until the energy in the atmosphere ebbed and Rhie’s shoulders stopped being so tense.
When she opened her eyes, her pupils were back to normal, her breathing nice and even. She was ready.
Kiera and Gwen were endlessly patient and gentle with her, making her laugh when things started to feel heavy, and layering on the encouragement when she needed it. They built a small fire in the bowl, sprinkling herbs in, explaining that the fire would help her harness her magic in the beginning, but she wouldn’t need it anymore once she was confident in calling her power forth.
Rhie inhaled and exhaled slowly, holding her hands up, palms open to the sky. Something shifted in the air, but instead of the manic energy of before, it was calm and controlled. The fire flickered, Rhie closed her eyes…
And her hands began to glow. The shimmer arced between her fingers, pale in the sunlight, graceful as it wrapped around her wrists and upper arms, almost like a greeting.
“Open your eyes,” Kiera breathed, and Rhie did so, gasping at what she saw.
For a long moment, Rhie just looked at the magic in her hands, her expression blank. Then, slowly, she began to smile in wonder. Her joy fed into the magic, and it grew, pure but totally under Rhie’s control.
Something in my own chest twisted, and it took me a second to realize that it was pride.
I was so damned proud of my mate.
The other two witches stood, coaxing Rhie to her feet, and she moved about the clearing, letting her magic curl up into the trees and all around the three of them. A tendril coiled forward, nearly brushing my face, and Rhie laughed, her eyes meeting mine. Cheeks flushed, she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
I knew in that instant that I’d remember that moment for the rest of my life. Everything between Rhie and me had been leading to that clearing, her newfound trust in herself, and the healing she had finally been gifted. Kiera and Gwen laughed with her, and when the magic flowed back into her fingertips like strands of moonlight, they hugged her close.
The energy in the air dissipated, and the fire went out. In the quiet that followed, Rhie came to me, looping her arms around my neck and embracing me, her body quivering from the adrenaline of her first casting.
“Thank you,” she whispered, the words just for her and me. “Thank you, Jayce. Thank you.”
Chapter 17 - Rhie
