Page 48 of Pure Magic
“Because she’s vowed not to interfere in the lives of mortals.”
He shakes his head. “I know, but her life is at stake as well. I don’t understand this divine right of half helping, full of riddles and half stories. Either she should help or not.”
“I share your frustration, but there’s no sense worrying over what we don’t know. We must use what she did tell us to keep our world and Goddess’s safe.” What she did say was that Adam would go with his sister, and that leaves a knot in my gut.
Dropping to his knees before me, he takes my hand and kisses it. “I will not betray you, Beth. She’s wrong about that.”
“Goddess is never wrong.” I pull my hand away.
“Then it’s a half truth. Even if I must go with Ariana, you have to believe in me. I won’t do anything to harm you, this world, or the light.” He bows his head and sits back on his heels.
My heart aches for him, and if he goes with his sister, it will break. Still, he means what he’s saying now. Leaning down, I kiss his forehead. “I know, and I will try.”
As I move to walk away and gather my bag, he grips my hand. “I am not like the man from your youth. He should have stayed and fought for you. Maybe you should have left with him. I will not abandon what we have together. My pledge to you, Sara Beth Ware, I’ll never betray you. I love you, and my heart is true.”
The last man to tell me he loved me left at my mother’s order and did not return. Orin was little more than a boy at the time. After he left, he looked for power in dark magic, allowed a demon to possess him.
Adam comes from a family with darkness in it, yet I know he means what he says in this moment. He loves me.
I drop to my knees and cup his cheeks. “I love you too. I know you believe every word, but Goddess is never wrong. You will go with your sister.”
Pressing his lips to mine, he devours me. His arms wrap around me, and full of desperation, he deepens the kiss.
Heart pounding, I open for him. I would give almost anything to allow my mind and body to be his for all time.
Breaking the kiss, he presses his forehead to mine. “If Goddess is right, then I will go to Ariana. Still, you must know, I will be with you.”
I want to believe him. I want to love him for a hundred lifetimes. My heart believes him, but my mind says to be cautious. “I will try, Adam. It’s the best I can offer you at this moment.”
A sad smile tugs at his lips. “You said you love me, and that will carry me for a lifetime if need be. Your love is more than I ever dreamed of.”
At the table, Jasper stirs, letting out a soft sigh.
I stand, cross to our host, and whisper in his ear. “Thank you, dear friend. We shall meet again. I feel certain of it.”
Before Jasper comes to full wakefulness, we gather our meager belongings, leave him money for the food and care of the horses, and quietly leave the hidden stone house.
Chapter
Sixteen
ADAM
Zephyr is determined to head due north. Goddess said the horses would lead the way, so we give them their head.
“I don’t know why we can’t ride northwest. That’s the direction Goddess said the staff was in.” Even sounding petulant, inside I’m brimming with joy. Sara Beth loves me. What more can I need in life? Nothing.
“She said to ride north, then west, and to let the horses lead. There must be a reason.”
“Why are you so apt to follow her blindly?” I nudge my horse to ride beside her where the path widens.
Looking at me, she says, “Not blindly. If the path brought us directly into danger, I would alter our route. I have faith, and at the moment, there is no danger. We ride quietly through the woods on an old path. We’ve not seen a soul, and the day is fine. Why are you so apt to work against her directions?”
It’s a fair question. I do want to go some other way. “Ever since I began communicating with the great mother, I’ve felt a tug. It’s as if someone were pushing me this way and that. I’d been running from Ariana for years, but where I would land each week was aimless. I had no destination, only backward was forbidden.”
“How did your letter writing begin?” The path narrows, and she trots in front of me.
I check that the protection spell is still in place around us then pat my breast pocket, where I’ve placed the black wand. Finding all as it should be, I stay close on her heels. “There was an advertisement on the back of a pamphlet in Edinburgh that caught my eye. It said Windsor seeks you, and you should come.”
