Page 42 of Emerald Flame
Instead, she waited, letting him gather his thoughts. She could see what this was costing him and wondered yet again what was going on with the witch that she could become a pseudo-ghost.
Finally, Warren released her wrist. He looked over her head as he said. “She hasalterdementia. It’s very rare and happened within days of our arrival in Five Bridges.” He touched the side of his face. “She was the witch who did this, my own wife. I still don’t know how she managed it, but she was gifted from the start and had put her spellroom together before the week was out. I should have known something was wrong because she practically lived in that room and had stopped engaging with me. But I was too new to this world to know any different.
“We’d chosen to live in Elegance for her sake. I’d contacted Savage and had been put in touch with Fergus. He was my wolf mentor at the time. He was the one who found me and got me to a witch he knew who reversed the spell. If the paste had hit the center of the bones and entered the marrow, you know all too well what would have happened.”
He shook his head. It took him a moment before he could continue.
“Several witches examined Tonya. The Tribunal had a physician, an expert, who was able to diagnose her condition. She was moved to an asylum in Revel Territory not long after. Fergus brought me to Savage. But even he didn’t know about the origin of the killing spell. I’d let him believe it was a dark witch and that my wife had been killed.”
Kiara had heard ofalterdementia, but she’d never known anyone afflicted with the genetic mutation. It only occurred during the initial transformation process but wasn’t always detectable. “I’m so sorry, Warren. That must have been a nightmare for you.”
His voice was quiet as he said, “I visit her every week. She’s rail-thin. The nurses don’t know why she’s still alive.”
“Does she know you when you visit?”
He released a heavy breath. “She knew me last week for about a minute. She held my hand and kept apologizing. She wept. Then her mind slipped back into unreality. For a moment, though, I saw the woman I’d fallen in love with.” His lips curved, but it was the saddest smile she’d ever seen. “We got married on the beach in Doheny, in California. She loved to surf. She had fair skin and always wore a lot of sunblock. There’s not much left of the woman I once knew.”
Kiara had long since made peace with heralterwitch state. In fact, her ability to recover from her recent incarceration and torture was because of the acceptance she had for her life in Five Bridges. But even she wasn’t sure how she could have borne seeing someone she loved living a half-life in analterasylum.
She didn’t know she was shaking her head and staring at the rocks in the path until he caught her arm. “What?”
She looked up at him, at the scarred face that had become so dear to her. “Thank you for telling me. I know it wasn’t easy.”
He looked away. “Not sure why I did. We’ve been through some stuff the last couple of nights, though. It felt right.” But he was frowning.
She grabbed his hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
His frown deepened to a scowl. He glanced toward the house then back to her. “What do you mean? Shouldn’t we see to your wolves?”
“I have a competent staff that is taking good care of them. How would you feel about shifting right now? And running? I’ve heard some wolves are so powerful, they can carry a passenger.”
His brows rose and something like hope darted through his green eyes. Without giving it a thought, she leaned up and kissed him on the lips, a quick, firm kiss.
Still holding his hand, she nodded and smiled. “Come on, Warren. Let’s do this. Just a little bit of fun in the middle of all this nightmare stuff. I can hide us both in my spell and you can run anywhere you like. No one will see either of us. And, frankly, I’d like a ride. I’ve been wanting one for ages.”
This time, he smiled for real and the frown eased from his brow. “You sure you want a ride?”
“Hell, yeah.” It was odd to think she’d had this particular fantasy about Warren. It wasn’t the usual thing, to climb on a shifter’s back and enjoy his run. Of course, in the privacy of her bedroom fantasy world, a jaunt on Warren’s back usually ended in a bout of wild, wolf sex. But she wouldn’t tell him that.
Instead, she knew this was what he needed, to let loose and go wolf for a while.
He planted his hands on her hips which gave her permission to ease her palms over the swell of his biceps. She tingled head-to-foot just touching him and his wolf-storm scent rose to fill her nostrils.
She knew he was teasing her with his ‘ride’ quip, but she wanted to make sure he knew she was game. She lowered her voice and held his gaze. “Take me for a ride through the forest, then I want the other ride on my bed, or anywhere else for that matter. How does that sound?”
“What if it rains?”
“I don’t care.”
His smile angled off to the side. “Then I’d say it sounds perfect.”
“Let me get us cloaked.” She closed her eyes and this time she could feel he was completely relaxed.
As she invoked the spell, summoning her witch power, she felt the air rearrange itself around her. The density felt just right.
She opened her eyes, her hands still fixed to his warm arms. She met his gaze. “No pain that time?”
“None.”
