Page 24 of Witch's Fate

“Everything that’s happened—my mother’s death, meeting you, being here with you—makes me feel like I want to be part of something bigger,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Her heart fluttered with hope. She tried to crush it, but failed.

“You, Sofia. I want to be with you.” He rubbed her arms and kissed her temple. “Forever.”

“Forever?” A smile stretched across her face.

“Forever. I can help you protect your village. Once we’re warlocks, we can surely free you of the burden of providing tributes.”

The breath whooshed out of her. He wanted to be with her forever, and help free her from the High Witches. Even if they couldn’t manage it, to have him share the burden would be incredible. She wouldn’t be alone.

Better, she’d be with the man she loved.

She spun around, leaned up on her toes, and kissed him. He groaned and pulled her closer, his mouth slanting overhers and stealing her breath. Stealing her heart. She clutched his cloak tighter, trying to pull him closer to her. To never let him go.

If she lost this, lost him, it would break her.

6

Malcolm’s Castle

Glencoe, Scotland

Present Day

The bed shook hard enough that Sofia almost bounced out onto the floor. Her eyes flew open.

What the hell?

Sunlight filtered through the sheer drapes at the windows, illuminating the beautiful green room. Everything looked normal, except for the fact that the house was vibrating.

Kitty stood at the base of the bed, hissing. Sofia scrambled out from beneath the fluffy covers and found her footing. Everything continued to vibrate. The chandelier above tinkled as crystal clashed with crystal. Paintings rattled on the walls. It took her a second to remember why this felt familiar, then it hit her.

Malcolm must be accessing the aether in massive quantities.

“Come on, Kitty. Let’s go check this out.” She hadn’t seen the pure white light of harnessed aether energy in centuries. Only warlocks could harness and compress the cold darkness of the aether into pure magical energy.

She made her way out of the bedroom and down the hall, her whole body vibrating slightly. She followed the tremors, holding onto the stairwell, as she made her way down to the first floor. Every painting and artifact on the walls and tables sat calmly. Though the floor vibrated, even the furniture stayed still.

Malcolm must have enchanted everything in the house not to bounce and break. She’d taken the charms off of the bedroom, therefore the bed had shaken her awake. Sofia made her way down the house’s second main corridor—the one she hadn’t gone down last night—passing many closed doors and a few open ones.

She didn’t take time to explore—her gaze was trained on the door at the end of the hall, from which the vibrations were emanating. Of course, just like his office, his workspace was at the end of a hall.

How ominous. It was as if he liked being a scary warlock, or something. Frightening folks away before they could become bothersome.

Sofia didn’t hesitate when reaching for the doorknob. The door was made of heavy wood, dark and ornately carved. The iron knob turned easily beneath her hand. She pushed the door open to reveal a dark stairwell. Rough stone steps spiraled down into the basement. There were no lights on the wall or above, but a glow flared up from the beneath, lighting the way.

Kitty followed her, hissing occasionally. The nearly-unrestrained access to the aether had always made her nervous. Warlocks were specially trained to access and control it, but it was still a difficult job. Kitty was right to be wary.

Sofia reached the bottom of the stairwell and found a small antechamber. A door on the opposite wall a dozen feet away glowed around the edges. She moved quietly toward it, twisting the knob slowly and inching open the heavy wooden door.

A huge stone-walled room opened up before her. It was easily the size of the entire castle, if not larger, all built under the stone of the Glencoe Mountains.

In the center, a glowing white light shined. It was a great orb, outlined by a hazy, shimmering glow that floated in the middle of the room, bright as the sun but easier to look at. Malcolm stood between her and the orb, his tall form silhouetted by the bright light. His arms were outstretched toward the aether, both controlling it and drawing power from it.

The power of the aether bathed her in its glow, though she couldn’t harness it for her own use the way Malcolm could. She’d have to rely on what her soul could reap, which, while substantial, was nothing like this.

Jealousy streaked through Sofia. She’d wanted this. The unlimited power that could have helped her destroy the High Witches.

---