Page 52 of Witches and Wine
Dion cupped my elbow and, not realizing I had closed them, opened my eyes. “Can you feel your magic more? The moon, the stars, it should all heighten your power if what Stilts said was true.”
Pausing to pet a leaf covered in starlit dew, I smiled. “Considering how much he lied about, something in my gut tells me there wasn’t a reason for him to lie about that a second time.”
“Damn,” Dion breathed out, staring at me.
I fought the compulsion to run my hand through my hair in case it’d become unruly. “What is it?”
“You’re beautiful, Chelsea, but in this moonlight, you’re drop-dead fucking gorgeous,” Dion confessed, the word “gorgeous” escaping his throat wrapped in a delicious snarl.
Trailing my fingers up Dion’s stomach, I landed on his chest. “Thank you. And as much as I want to have my way with you in the middle of these woods with the stars as our only witnesses, the Crone could very well beanotherwitness. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if she knew I delayed finding her, my High Priestess, to bang my mate.”
Dion winced and scratched one of his horns. “I know, I know. I was onlyhalfpropositioning you.”
“By the way,” I started, curling a finger around the tip of one horn, hissing lightly at how unexpectedly sharp it was. “You should leave those out more often.” Grinning at him, I strolled past, letting my hand drag over his stomach, my nails catching on his shirt.
Dion groaned and snatched my wrist. “You’re not playing fair, Stewart.”
A twig snapped nearby, making us both stiffen. The mood changed from sensual to acute awareness within seconds.
A small brown rabbit with a fluffy white tail hopped from behind a thicket, its nose and whiskers twitching as it stared up at us with a curious gaze. Once satisfied we weren’t a threat, it scampered along, disappearing into a log.
Groaning, I spun several circles. “This is worse than trying to find a needle in a haystack. Because at least the needle would be visible atsomepoint.”
“You’re so certain she’s hidden in plain sight. You keep mentioning that. Any particular reason?” Dion twirled his staff like Darth Maul inA Phantom Menace, and it had my core tightening.
After looking away to keep from being unfathomably distracted, I tilted my chin toward the sky. “Instinct.”
Dion started swinging his staff haphazardly as if he’d inexplicably smack an invisible High Priestess and find her that way. The sight brought a much-needed smile to my lips. This was where Dion and I balanced each other. This wasmyterritory. This was my moment to dig deep, find my magic, and save the day without ever raising a weapon or throwing a punch.
Concentrating on the moon’s soothing light, I closed my eyes, listening to the air entering my lungs and escaping my nose. My magic flickered over my skin, but it was no more than a blip. It had no desire to do anything or answer my command. It was content on settling there, using me as a conduit.
If only my mother could have had the chance to explainanyof it to me.
Mom, if you can hear me. If we have some form of tie beyond the living realm as related witches, I beg you to give me a sign. Please guide me in any way you can. I feel so—lost.
“Chelsea,” my mother’s voice whispered as if she were behind me.
I gasped but didn’t dare break the connection by opening my eyes and checking if she was there, because I knew she wasn’t.
Mom?
“I wondered if you would have ever discovered this about yourself. And for that, I’m grateful Elani was a gift from the gods. Otherwise, neither of you would’ve known about this incredible other side to life.”
You know about that? Da never got a chance to tell you. He would have, but he?—
Tears threatened, my bottom lip trembling, but I gulped them back.
“That is all well in the past, my dear daughter. I’m using what energy I have left. I’ve been saving it in hopes of this moment.”
Can you help me? I feel the magic. It wants me to use it at my will, but I justcan’t.
A faint fluttering chuckle echoed in my skull. “Yes, you can. That’s always been both your greatest gift and most debilitating curse. You think your hardest and never give yourself grace for not succeeding.”
She couldn’t have been more right because even now, I was devastated at the thought of already failing her.
I don’t know how to do those things. I’m sorry.
“As a lunar witch, Chelsea, the night sky with the moon and stars is not the only entity that gives you strength. You’re also attuned to emotions. Feed off of your mate’s feelings, use it to calm your mind, and you’ll be unstoppable.”
