Page 33 of A Touch of Flame
Sheba chose that moment to look back at her. Was it possible the cat was frowning? Though scowling was a more appropriate word-choice.
Sheba released a hoarse meow as if to say, ‘Get over yourself’.
Braden added, “And in case you’d like to know, I’ve got my deceased wife telling me to give you a chance and Sheba here appears to have already accepted me and you’re pissed.”
“Your wife said what? But I don’t want you to give me a chance.” She waved a hand between them. “I don’t want what’s going on here. I mean the sex was amazing, but it was just sex. Please don’t get any ideas.” She felt uneasy in a way she didn’t understand.
Her thoughts flew back to being in the shower and having part of her memory return of the night she’d killed the witches. A terrible sensation fell on her, and she wished more than anything she could have kept the memories repressed. Something lived there, something having to do with Veyda that she never wanted to know.
But what did Braden have to do with her memories of that night? Why were they surging forward now? He had to be right about what was happening, but the whole thing frightened her.
She rubbed her forehead.
“Maeve, listen to me. As I said before, you’re in a time of transition. I can’t explain it. I’ve just see it a few dozen times. I can tell you one thing. There’s no use trying to get everything worked out in your head right now. Not gonna happen. Try to relax and go with the flow even if it means something strange like your cat purring at a wolf’s touch.”
She felt like she was swimming in a deep, dark ocean and waves kept crashing over her. She would barely catch her breath, then another one would hit. She wasn’t mistaken, though. All this had started when she’d brought Braden out of the Graveyard.
She moved close to the workbench, then stepped around Braden to stare at her shelves of herbs. She’d worked a long time on her collection, though more by instinct than a result of study or teaching.
She felt foolish as though she should have been doing a hundred other things all these months in preparation for this moment.
She held her hand out to Braden. “I need your support.”
He took her hand readily. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t say, exactly, because I don’t know.” She shifted in his direction. “But I’ve got to go back to that night. Something is there that can help me get Kiara out of her cell. Whatever it was that I accessed, the power that not only freed me from my own captivity but which ended the lives of some evil witches, will be what we need.
“I think that’s what you’ve been trying to tell me as well. And even the sudden return of a portion of my memory, though it hurt as bad as it did, tells me this is the path.”
He nodded. “You’ve got courage, Maeve.” His lips curved slightly. “As much as any female wolf I’ve ever seen. You can do this.”
She felt like little streaks of lightning kept firing up her nerves. “I know I need to remember. It’s on me now. I just never wanted to.”
He drew close. “Lock forearms with me. I’ll support you all the way.”
It meant a lot to have him so close.
She met his gaze, the beautiful green of his eyes. He bore an expression that seemed so noble to her, very wolf-like, and something inside her heart began to crack open. Maybe it was the physical contact, or the recent sex, or the fact that he was so present with her, but she suddenly realized she was in trouble with this man.
Great.
She gave herself a shake and turned to the matter at hand.
She drew in a deep breath and for the first time since that terrible night, she began to roll back the veil.
At first, the familiar pain streaked through her head, sharp cuts that almost made her turn back. She pressed on anyway and let her mind move past the agonizing darts. Eventually, they disappeared.
She focused on what she could remember clearly which was the witch choir running for shelter.
This time, she shifted her focus away from the women and instead turned her attention to the room. She didn’t consider anything else, just the room. She saw the mirrors Kiara had referred to and knew they were exactly as she’d thought. When Maeve had been in this room, her back had been to the mirrors the entire time. Maeve had little doubt they were intended for viewing, but she had no idea what or who was behind them. She could only deal with what she’d actually seen and where she’d been.
As she explored the memory, she could feel Veyda’s presence behind her and off to the left, but not far. Veyda’s emotions flowed over Maeve. Fury was one of them that her ceremony had been disrupted. But there was also a sense of shock and an inability to move.
Had Maeve done that to her? Immobilized the powerful witch?
What had occurred had happened quickly, in great swathes of dark energy. But they’d come from her, not Veyda.
Maeve had somehow tapped into her killing power, but perhaps not in the way her captor had hoped. There was a strong smell as well, but it wasn’t bad. It seemed almost neutral as though the herbal-based potion she’d been given was mild by comparison. She even detected mint, of all things.
