Page 126 of A Bolt of Magic

Kian would be so proud. He would love this. He doesn’t move. He doesn’t do anything. There is no change.

“Noooooooo! This is an outrage.” My mother lifts her hands, preparing to attempt to strike us all down, but we act as one. Our combined magic overwhelms her defenses, binding her with ropes of magical energy before she can unleash her fury. Shestruggles and screams, but many witches working together are more than a match for even her considerable power.

It is proof that we can beat Snow as well.

We can do it.

I watch as my mother is carted away, screaming all the while.

“Where will they take her?” I ask.

“The dungeons,” Lydia says. “She will have to stand trial. I’m so sorry about Kian. If I had known… Do you think he can be helped?”

I shrug. “I don’t know.” My voice cracks. I look into Kian’s vacant eyes. “I fear that he may be lost.”

And this time for good.

40

McColl

My eyes remain fixed on the heavy wooden door, willing it to open, desperate for any sign of hope. The healer has been in there with Kian for what feels like forever, and the waiting is slowly driving me mad. Every second that passes feels like an eternity stretching between me and the answers I so desperately need.

I shift on the hard bench in the hallway, my hands clenched so tightly in my lap that my knuckles are aching. The silence from behind that door is deafening.

“It’s going to be alright, I’m sure it is,” Lydia says softly, placing a gentle hand on my arm. Her voice carries a warmth I appreciate. “The healer from the Silvermoon Coven is one of the best in the whole realm.”

“I know,” I choke out. When none of our own coven healers could help him. Blaise and several of the Children of the Veil rode hard to fetch Morwyn.

“If anyone can help Kian, it will be her. Have faith.” She looks at me, her eyes filled with concern.

I nod absently, though her words don’t ease the knot of anxiety in my chest.

“Even the Silvermoon witches are horrified by what your mother did.”

A bitter laugh escapes me. “It’s been days since Mother turned him into…a shell of who he was. Days, Lydia. And there’s been no change whatsoever.” My voice cracks with the weight of my desperation. “He’s alive, but that’s where it ends. This is his last hope. What if—?”

“No, you can’t think like that. You need to wait and see.”

“I know. You’re right. It’s just that it’s…it’s so hard.” I bite on my lip and blink to stop the well of tears threatening to fall…yet again. I’ve cried altogether too many times in the last few days.

Every time I see Kian and what he has become… He’ll dress himself, wash, eat when food is put in front of him, but that’s it. He’ll go through the motions of living, but I can’t say that he is truly alive. Not one emotion has crossed his face. There’s just…endless nothingness staring back at me.

“I know, and I’m so sorry this happened. If only we had known what she was planning.”

“My mother is clever. She knew that if she told anyone or brought this to the Circle, that they might vote against her. She knew she had a better chance if she had already turned Kian. If she had already set the wheels in motion.”

“If not for you, she might have gotten away with it.”

“And you, Lydia. Thank you for—”

She smiles. “You’re not going to thank me again, are you? You’ve thanked me enough.”

“It will never be enough. You sent everyone in the right direction.”

“No. You did, McColl. If I hadn’t stepped forward first to stand with you, someone else would have.”

I’m not entirely convinced of that. Sometimes, it takes one brave soul to change the course of things. I’m grateful to Lydia. If anyone had told me not so long ago that she would become my greatest ally and a good friend, I would not have believed it. It’s strange how quickly things can change.

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