Page 113 of Soul of a Witch

“Naturally,” my grandmother said. “The coven needed to defend themselves, and some preferred the sturdiness of a sword over magic. There are very few creatures that cannot be killed with steel and iron.”

“There’s something I still don’t understand,” I said with a frown. “An offering of sweetness and liquor is obvious, but an offering of pain? What does that mean?”

“It’s a mating ritual,” Callum said, his voice rumbling against my back as he pulled me closer. “Sex can conjure highly potent magic; the more heightened the sensations, the more powerful the magic. Pleasure and pain, as you know, can be very intense.”

His claws scratched down my back, making me shiver, and my grandmother coughed loudly. “Well then! I’ll be off before you two decide to start practicing. You too, Darragh! Come, we’ll prune the rose bushes in the garden together.”

Darragh sighed as if he was being terribly put out, but said dutifully before vanishing, “Yes, Grandmother.”

Leaning back against Callum’s chest, I stared at the boughs of the tree above, watching the colorful finches as they flew. His claws stroked over my arm, both his wings now drawn around me. Within them, I felt safe.

“Do you think it will work?”

“We won’t know until we try,” he said. “And it’s always worth it to try.”

My fingers tightened on his arm, my mind spinning in endless circles from everything I’d learned. “What if I’m not strong enough? Sybil was a Grand Mistress when she attempted this ritual. I’m nowhere near that.”

“She entrusted you with her knowledge. Her spirit lingers in this house, although we cannot hear her. Would a Grand Mistress give you something you weren’t ready for?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she thinks I’m stronger than I am.”

His claws scratched lightly over my scalp, and he gripped my hair, tugging it lightly. “If she does not doubt you, you shouldn’t doubt yourself either. Regardless of whether the ritual works, whether we go into battle with a blessed weapon or not, your strength is a force the God fears. Don’t forget that.” He nuzzled against my neck, and he kissed me softly before playfully nipped my skin. “A powerful being from another worldfears you. It has tried everything in Its power to destroy you, to keep you weak. But you are not weak, my lady.”

A little red fitch came to perch near my hand, chirping. It fluttered its wings and flew away, effortless in its flight. If only I had as much confidence to rise, to soar without a second thought.

“You must get tired of my worries,” I said. “Of making the same reassurances day after day.”

My demon growled. “Do I think I grow tired of embracing you? Holding you? Fucking you?” I shook my head, smiling at how tightly he gripped me. “Then why would I ever be tired of assuring you? When I can use mere words to make you smile, to give you joy. Why would I ever tire of that?”

My chest felt so warm. It ached in a way I never wanted to end.

40

Everly

The air smelled of charred frankincense and pungent cinnamon. Smoke drifted before my half-lidded eyes as I inhaled, filling my lungs until they ached.

Distantly, a clock ticked. It was my lifeline, the measure by which I knew I was still alive and not merely a ghost drifting through the Betwixt.

The Veil was thin. Midnight was approaching.

There were whispers all around me. Some kind, some cruel. My vision was little more than a haze of white smoke, and the edges of my limbs felt fuzzy, almost incorporeal.

Tick, tick, tick. A countdown. But where it started, and when it would end, I had no idea.

The wolf was coming.

When I stretched out my mind, I could sense my father’s energy. It presented itself to me like a bad taste in my mouth, a smell in my nostrils that made my stomach twist with anxiety.

Callum was close. In reality, where my body sat still and silent like an empty husk, he wouldn’t take his eyes off me for even a moment.

If something went wrong, he would know. He would guide me back.

Tick, tick, tick.

The scent of blood flooded my nose. The wolf had arrived.

My father’s energy churned, like the air before a storm. I sensed anger.Rage. It bubbled up inside me, like a pot boiling over.Hatred. It sunk its claws into my skin, it ripped and tore at my chest like a predator trying to claw its way out.

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