Page 69 of The Powerless Witch

I opened my mouth to say that it was too early to decide on territories, but stopped myself. I needed him—I needed him more than the others. He had morepower than all of them combined. There was a reason he was on the previous council, even when there were only four dragons in the entire north side of the country.

“Fine by me.” I shrugged, and he gave me a knowing smile. His eyes darted to the others, but nobody protested.

“What about after?” Someone asked, and I turned to find one of the bird shifters cocking his head, his beady eyes boring into me.

“After?”

“If we win,” he continued, crossing his arms. “What do we get after? Even when we were at peace, you thought of us below you. We didn’t even get a voice about what happened in this city. Your so-called Council made all the decisions.” He looked at his flock and they nodded. “We are fucking done being silenced. We’d rather fly away.”

Several of the others nodded, the cat shifter hissing in agreement.

“Then we make a new Council,” I said, ignoring Gideon’s eyes on me. I wasn’t sure if I had the authority to make that decision, but Roman was AWOL, Malakai was busy with Celeste, Beleth rarely showed up, and Regina was an enemy. Gideon was the only one who could…

“Have a seat. Have two if you like!” Gideon shrugged, looking around with exasperation. “It’s not as fun as you think. In fact, someone can take my seat. I ran out of excuses not to go, anyway.” I glanced at him and he just gave me a beaming smile. I very much doubted he meant giving away his power, but I appreciated the help nonetheless.

“And new rules,” another shifter chimed in. I wasn’t sure what exactly she could turn into, but her slanted green eyes and straight black hair suggested it might be a reptile.

“Let’s leave that for the first Council meeting,” I said with a hesitant smile. “We have to get rid of the witches first. A lone witch shouldn’t be much of a problem, but when they are together…they are deadly. So we need to hit them where it matters. We need to take down the heart of the coven and send them scrambling for cover.”

“You want to attack the Head Witch?” the mer shifter leader gasped.

“Cut off the head of the snake…” I said pointedly, and the dark-haired woman hissed at me. “Sorry. What I meant is—she is the center of their power. Taking her down will weaken and destabilize them. With the numbers we have here, we must aim to do maximum damage with minimum effort.”

More exchanged looks, more murmurs. Finally, the mer shifter nodded.

“We are in.”

“Us too. Me too.” The others slowly followed until only Gideon and the vampires hadn’t spoken. I looked at Oscar, who was still standing further from the group, his lips pursed while his red eyes darted between each of us. I gave him a challenging look, and I was pretty sure I heard him grind his teeth before speaking.

“We are in,” he said in a clipped voice. “But our offspring stays out of it.”

I nodded. I wouldn’t want recently turned, uncontrollable vampires at my back, anyway.

“Well, then.” Gideon clapped his hands. “When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow night,” I replied, trying to keep the triumph out of my voice, but when I met Allison and Peter’s relieved gazes, I smiled. “We kill Regina tomorrow night.”

Chapter 31

Celeste

“You look like one of the Fae.”

I turned away from the mirror, giving Myra a loaded snort. The young female wore a long, free-falling dress for a change, her short hair clipped back, revealing the pointy ends of her ears. She moved with the usual intrinsic grace of her kind, but her expression showed a great deal of discomfort.

Myra took in my long hair that one of the other Fae had so carefully arranged, her eyes gliding down the delicate green dress that seemed to be made of air and not much else. Her hand stopped just short of the heavy jewelry wrapped in spirals around my forearms and sneaking down my neck in an intricate design that ended right between my breasts. I had no idea where Malakai had found so much iron—or why he insisted on me wearing it so openly—but I felt like I was clad in armor, even with so much of my flesh exposed.

I was no longer powerless. After that night in the meadow, I could feel my magic—really feel it—rising inside of me in tides that slammed against the walls that barely contained it. I could touch it too, let some of it slip out, but Malakai had warned me not to do it because once I started, there would be no going back.

I could tell a lot had accumulated over the past weeks, but I couldn’t understand why he was making me wait. We could go somewhere, away from the grove and otherhumans, and I could release it, flooding the paths inside of me. There would be some destruction and I might actually make him reach his physical limit first for once, but it would be over. This whole thing would be over. I could have it all back. I could feel whole again.

Still, I waited, because he asked me to trust him. BecauseI didtrust him.

My face heated up at the last thought, bringing forth a memory of the words he made me repeat as he fucked….as he madeloveto me that night. I had had my fair share of sex over the centuries, and what happened that night was definitely not a mindless tryst under the stars. I had felt the same with Roman, in the days when he’d turn especially gentle and loving, and even with Isaac the night we consummated the bond. But I had refused to give it the name it deserved back then.

“Are you alright?” Myra’s voice pulled me out of my reverie. “I’m not sure if bringing you to the princess’s wedding is the smartest idea, but then again, he must go, and if he left you here…who knows what they’d do behind his back again? Even with your magic returning…”

Before I could assure her that I’d be fine, somebody knocked on the door. Myra hurried to open it, stepping aside to let Malakai in. Draped in robes in the darkest shade of gold, with purple threads sewn over the hems and sleeves, the Fae prince looked every bit the royal he was. He even wore a small golden crown woven between the soft curls of his hair, exposing the sharp lines of his cheekbones and making his unusual eyes look even more stunning.

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