Page 34 of Captive Witch

“Oh… that’s good to know.” I give her a small smile. “What do the blue ones do?”

“Make you feel like you’re in the sky.”

“Explains why you shouldn’t chase the sunshine ones, huh?” Wren says, laughing.

“Yeah, I learned the hard way,” Jules shakes her head. “I ended up with third degree sunburns for aweek.”

Raising my brows, I stare at her wide eyed. “Juliana!”

She holds up both hands. “I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear!”

“Alright, alright,” Wren says, coming between us and grabbing each of our wrists. “It’s dance time!” She pulls us toward the stereo at the end of the table, the bare wood floor around it packed with groups of witches and a few couples.

The music flows through me, and my body relaxes into it. Raising my hands over my head, I sway my hips along to the beat, my hair tickling my lower back where my shirt rises. Closing my eyes, the beat thumps through me, my heart hammering along with it, and my eyes open as a smile breaks across my face, watching Jules and Wren jump up and down, screaming the lyrics to the song together.

I’ve never seen her so happy and carefree—everything my baby sister deserves to be.

A few more songs go by before we go back to the table, swiping Jules’s favorite blue potion. I clink my small cup against theirs and tip the contents down my throat. Immediately, the back of my hand comes up to my mouth, lightheadedness making me dizzy and nauseated.

I close my eyes, leaning hard on the table, as my head spins, but then a stillness washes over me. The air cools, chilling my lungs, and my limbs feel weightless. Slowly cracking my eyes open, I find Jules and Wren watching me, amusement dancing in their eyes.

“First time is such a trip,” Wren says, wrinkling her nose.

“It’s so incredible,” Jules gushes. “It feels like you’re flying.”

And it does. Everything around me is brighter, shinier, and more alive, and every step I take is featherlight, as if I’m walking on clouds. Gliding back toward the music, we move around the room, floating and twirling around. I spin, faster and faster, letting the lights around me blur and twinkle like stars.

I slam into a body at the edge of the dance floor and stumble to the side, falling onto my hip with a grunt. The room keeps spinning without me, and I clamp my eyes shut, waiting for the wave of dizziness to pass.

“Here.”

I freeze, recognizing the voice—the chipper sound like a crisp spring morning. Peeking, I look at the offered hand holding outa small cup of a mint green liquid, and follow their arm up to find misty cerulean eyes staring right at my forehead. “Um, t-thanks… I just took that, uh, the—”

“The indigo?” Ruya asks.

I nod, quickly realizing she probably can’t see that. “Yes, the sky one.”

“This one will help.” She smiles sweetly. “It brings you back down to earth and cancels out the indigo.”

“Oh…” I slowly reach out, taking the liquid and bringing it to my mouth. The smell of fresh cut grass and wildflowers envelops me as I drink it. The lightheadedness from earlier fades immediately, and I feel more myself than I have since taking the first potion. I sigh, smiling. “Thank you. I don’t know what any of them do, or if they’re safe to take together, but… thank you.”

Ruya holds out her hand again and helps me back to my feet. “I was looking for you.”

“For… me?” I ask, glancing around, Jules and Wren still dancing together, their eyes closed as they sway and twirl. Looking back at the strange girl standing before me, the nervousness I expected to feel is missing. Instead, a strange comfort takes its place. “Why me?”

“Is that the question you need to ask me?” She tucks her hair behind her ears. “I’m afraid I’m not as familiar with my sight as I should be.”

Sight. She’s an oracle! Ask her, girl,my wolf says, eagerness blooming in her.

I suck in a sharp breath. “I… Only one question?”

She nods, pressing her lips into a tight line. “I’m afraid so.”

I press my fingers into my thigh, thankful that the earthy liquid helped to ground me. “Um… I…” I clear my throat, wishing my wolf would be a bit more specific on what to ask. “Gideon is hiding something from me,” I whisper, inching closerto the girl. “I-I don’t know what I’m supposed to do when I don’t know, well… everything.”

Taking my hands in hers, Ruya closes her eyes. Her mouth moves, her voice almost inaudible under her breath, but I can pick up bits and pieces of a prayer to the gods, asking Hecate to grant her a vision for protection and peace.

I keep glancing around the room, feeling as if someone will notice us tucked into the corner of the room, huddled close. Will they interrupt us? Will Jules or Wren come to find me soon?

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