Page 2 of Shadowed Summer Sun

Wiping the juice from my chin with the back of my hand, I finished up my snack and tossed the chamomile into my pack. It disappeared inside, to be called up when I needed it. I stopped once more before entering the greenhouse, snagging another tomato and quickly stuffing it in my mouth.

The shelves inside the glass room were littered with every type of plant and herb you could imagine, particularly the magical kind that brought the power of the Earth to our spellwork. I retrieved more hyssop, having used the last in my bath, and then took a sprig of lavender from the pot growing near the door. It was always good to have on hand, no matter what you were doing, and I had the uncanny feeling that I would need all the luck I could muster.

I snagged a dried chili pepper to add more power to the Invoking ritual and a stalk of dried horehound. It would prove useful should I need to contend with any spirits. Taking a deep breath and enjoying the complex aromas of all the fragrant herbs and flowers, particularly attracted to the scent of lemongrass and vetiver, I found myself scooping up some of the sweet briar we kept on the back shelf and sprinkling it over my hair and skin.

I stilled. I hadn’t needed that particular herb today and couldn’t explain how or why I’d grabbed it. Sweet briar was for an entirelydifferenttype of invoking. My skin prickled where it landed, and an intense heat licked through my body, making me moan.

“Gods, no. Wait—“

And then my fingers flew across the shelves, snatching ingredients and rubbing them into my skin like I might perish without them. Soft slivers of moss, nettles that I touched without care, ground Queen Elizabeth root, passion flower, black pepper and poppy dust, and bright red saffron that I crushed over newly blooming violets.

As the herbs coated my flesh, I lept to a rose bush growing at the door to the greenhouse, grasping a deep red flower and pricking myself on the thorns. My blood mingled with the warming magic as it grew and grew.

As the arousing burn lapped at me so strongly I thought I might go up in flames, I stuffed my hand into a fresh bunch of strawberries. Feasting on them as if truly starved, my body hummed—desperate and edged.

The sweet taste of strawberry juice filled my mouth, finishing with the bright tang of copper as my injured hand smeared blood past my lips. A moan finally broke free.

It was him, whoever or whatever he might be.

I’d felt it before and was all too familiar with my actions not being my own. The exquisite heat swirled inside me, and I arched back as it crested over me, clutching my throat. Unbidden, unwanted, and undoubtedly the only magic of pleasure I’d ever known. Only when I tasted that edge of oblivion, squeezing out my air as it caressed me with raking coals and Darkness, did I experience something like what so many of the Coven talked about.

It washed over me, throwing me beyond the edge of reason as I writhed under the delirious torment.

“Stop, dammit. Stop.” My words were strangled cries.

My other hand went beneath my skirts, pressing against the inferno of my core. It must stop. I wanted it to stop. Didn’t I?

“Oh, fuck.”

I came in a great wave that stole my vision and breath, helpless against the onslaught and dripping down my legs.

When it released me, I collapsed against the wooden counter in the center of the greenhouse. I breathed hard, collecting myself as my heartbeat slowed. A vial of dragon’s blood resin sat before me. I took it and rubbed it across my shoulders, streaking them with red. The concentrated formula seeped into me, enhancing my abilities and giving me the strength to fend off further… assaults.

Still reeling from the attack, I stood up straighter, shaking the sweet briar from my hair, but I was still covered in the evidence of my encounter. I tried to direct the substances away from my skin, channeling cleansing magic to wipe the slate clean.

The herbs continued to glow a deep red, leaving my skin to inhabit the endless space inside my pack. Apparently, I was bringing the spell with me.Wonderful.

When I could, I went inside to where the Coven waited for me.

All thirteen of the Coven—Sisters, Brothers, Siblings, Matrons, and Crones—were chatting around the table in our large kitchen, the soft murmur of their voices traveling through the beloved house. Reaching them, I nodded to our High Priestess, who waved me over to the table to sit.

“Summer. Are you alright, child?” My surrogate mother eyed me with worry.

I quickly plastered on a smile, cursing my fair skin for the red it showed so easily. “I’m fine. My apologies for keeping you waiting.”

“Would you be Summer if you did not?” She smiled. “The Solstice calls. This night will be a fateful one.”

Betty’s craggy voice coaxed the magic out of us all, reaching into the Coven and drawing our complete attention. She’d taken me as her charge after my parent’s car crash when I was ten, and were it not for her, I’d likely fall victim to too many unchecked bad choices.

Teenage rebellion and I were constant bedfellows until I finally settled, now twenty-eight. A bit, anyway. Even I couldn’t deny the joy of bending the rules or how many nights I stayed awake far past a reasonable hour because I was mucking about with potions and charms. While I may have left a trail of some broken hearts, I heeded the strictest rules and was never callous to someone’s emotions.

Shaking my head, I refocused on Betty with a grin.

“I will not let you down. We will be granted the power to stop whatever is keeping the natural cycle from progressing.” I forced as much confidence and strength into my words as possible, willing it to be so.

“It is not just for the good of all, Summer. This night will determine your personal fate. It is your crossroads.” Betty laid a hand on my shoulder, guiding me to a seat at our long dining table.

“Hekate be watchful,” the Coven sounded around me.

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