Page 48 of Witch Unexpected
“What aren’t you telling me, Bramble?”
“Shit, I don’t even know meself. But things aren’t all they seem, never have been. Just be wise and trust me. I’ll take care of ya.”
I’d noticed how her speech patterns changed when she was angry or excited. It was quirky and kinda cool. Bramble was my kinda gal, and Elijah seemed to trust her, so that was good enough for me.
“So, what happened at the testing?” she prompted.
I filled her in, and when I got to the part where the elders called me Hecate Blessed, she let out a squeak.
Wren babbled in his sleep as if in response.
I shot Bramble a sharp look.
She put her finger to her lips. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I assume from your reaction that you know what Hecate Blessed is?”
“It’s fecking awesome.”
“Yeah… That doesn’t help.”
“Hecate Blessed is a term used to mean uber power. Like the last Hecate Blessed witch was the anchor before Charlotte, and before that, it was the first anchor. E said you were special. I guess he was right.”
But I wasn’t powerful, not with this amulet on. I fingered the pendant.
Her gaze dropped to my neck. “Ah feck, that thing. Look, don’t worry, once you’re the official anchor, that amulet won’t have such a muting effect on your powers. Your bond to the wolves will feed you miasma and strengthen the connection to the cosmos that you already have.”
Sothatwas the well I’d been drawing from. “You know a lot about this witchy stuff.”
She shrugged. “Kinda goes with the territory when you live among them.”
Which begged the question. “And whydoyou live among them?”
Her smile was wry. “It’s all I’ve ever known. I was raised here by Charlotte. She found me when I was a child, abandoned, and wandering the forest. I don’t remember anything about the time before.” She shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t care. Charlotte never told me this, but I’m a fecking good snooper, and I caught on to the rumors about me.” She raised her hand and swept it across the air as if highlighting a headline. “Battered pixie found in the woods. Apparently, my body was littered with cuts, welts, and bruises.” She dropped her hand and snorted. “Whoever I belonged to before were wankers, and Charlotte… She loves me. She raised me as her own. I guess not being allowed to have kids of her own made it easier for her to see me as hers.”
Not being able to have kids. “Wait, what?”
“Urgh, they didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“You can’t have kids, Cora. Ever.”
No kids. I’d never thought of having children. Heck, I didn’t even know if I could but being told I wasn’t allowed had my back up.
“There’s more,” she said with a wince. “The seal requires that you remain chaste. So, from the moment you don the anchor mantle, it’s no penetrative sex for you.” She leaned in. “You can use toys and stuff but no living dick.”
No dick? “You have got to be kidding me.”
“Nope.”
I stared at her, waiting for her to break and tell me it was a joke. She didn’t.
“Fuck me.”
“I mean, I could, but I don’t swing that way.” She winked and smiled.
I didn’t return it.
