Page 9 of Sinful Shifters

Chapter7

Ali

You don't know how much you love someone until you've lost them and discover you're willing to do anything,anythingto get them back. That's what I realize as I beg Greta for a spell, any spell, that will break through the shields.

"Please, you have to know something," I tell her, trailing her around the Mating Circle as she throws spells at different parts of the battlefield. "You're our most powerful war witch."

"I don't have any spells for you."

"If I burn out, I won't blame you," I tell her, putting a hand on her sleeve. "Please, Greta. It'sRina.You have to have something that can help me."

Finally, the war witch turns to me.

But I don't like the look no her face, pale and frightened. "I've tried all of them," she admits, glancing over at the other witches and lowering her voice. "Even the most dangerous, hands-off magic. I've tried them all and none have worked."

My heart wails. "How? How is that possible?"

"Ancient magic," she says in a quiet voice, "is the most powerful stuff at all. We have nothing to use against it—not unless we draw on it ourselves and burn out. With ancient magic, burning out is death, because it burns right through you."

It would be worth it, to draw on too much powerful magic and burn out, if it meant saving everyone we love.

"I'll do it," I insist to her fiercely. "I'll draw on ancient magic."

"No you won't." Rhea apparently overheard me, and her voice is quite firm as she tugs me away from Greta. "There's a possibility it may go that far, I'll admit. But we have to try everything else before we even think of it."

"Why?"

"We could do a lot more damage if we attempt to wield ancient magic without being able to control it. It isn't just about burning out. Ancient magic is so powerful that we could inadvertently hurt or even kill someone—or worse, destroy the wellspring."

"Some people channel it, though."

Rhea sighs. "Few lucky witches can, and it turns their hair white, then makes them strange and distant. May we one day be lucky enough to have such a witch in our coven. Until then, focus on battle magic, and go after the enemies that have gone past our wards. There are plenty of those left."

My heart cries out for more, but Rhea is right. There are plenty of enemies to go after, and I've been unfocused for too long. Turning to the battlefield, I raise my arms and begin chanting a battle magic spell, hating how much longer it takes me than the other witches.

I'm supposed to have great, powerful magic-channeling skills. Every spell has indicated as much. But when I try to work spells, they come out wrong. It's only my stubbornness and inherited skills from my father that have turned me into a potions witch. Otherwise, I'm next to useless at spells.

Something I feel fiercely as I try to join our ranks in battle. There are so many dead warriors at our feet already that my eyes prick with tears, even as I spear a dozen vampires at once with a battle spell. And if the word from the front lines is correct, Alpha Morgan is dead, though I'm hopeful that it's just his bond that's gone.

I'm so distressed by our losses that I almost don't feel it at first. The itch on the back of my hand. Then I reach out to scratch it and feel a shock of memory tremble through me.

When we were children, Rina and I came up with a spell. It was one I stole, really, but it worked all the same. Even a werewolf could use it—or a human with a little bit of magic inside them.

It's the sort of spell that isn't supposed to exist.

Whispering that ill-gotten spell to myself, I trace the mirrored rune on the back of my hand. My heart surges as I feel them: the pack bonds. They're weakened and half-destroyed, all of them swirling around the black void where Alpha Morgan was.

I didn't quite believe it until now, but he really is dead.

Suppressing off my grief, I feel for Rina, desperate for my best friend. And I find her, alive, in the middle of the war camp.

She's not alone.

As soon as I see the man who's taken her, I'm thrown out of the spell. Panic chokes me, and I search the field for the gods. Running to them, I find Lucian in human form, floating on a breeze.

"Lucian!" I wave my arms to him. "I've found Rina."

"Tell me at once."

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