Page 63 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy
“Agreed,” Anika adds. “We don’t want to get on the radar of mortals by changing reality too much.”
“You’re right,” Lisbeth says. Then, holding it to her chest, she takes out her shard of geo and giggles with glee. “But I just love having solo magic!”
I chuckle and set up my own plate of food. All-in-all, the Union has been accepting of witches. It helps that I consider myself a full-fledged part of our coven, and all of the wizards seem to venerate me. Still, with such big changes, there were bound to be difficulties. Some covens chose to leave the Union, and I pray to the stars they unlearn their bigotry against witches.
“I’m happy for you, Lisbeth,” Seb says.
“And I would be okay with providing you with meals again,” I add.
Lisbeth eats a bite of pasta and nods. “I’m grateful, Kai. But you won’t be here forever.”
I exchange a confused look with Seb. “What?” he asks.
She points her fork between the two of us. “I assume you two will move out eventually?”
My eyebrows rise and I freeze up.
“Come on, boys,” Lisbeth says. She sits back and crosses her legs. “You’re not going to want to live in Boysen House for the rest of your lives.”
“Wha…what?” Seb asks.
She shrugs. “Covens had to stick together because witches need each other to do spells. And many witches were, for lack of a better term, spinsters.”
“Let us hope for better fates,” Taina murmurs.
“We’re part of the Union now,” Lisbeth says.
“Plus, I won’t need to cast spells all the time,” Anika adds. “I appreciate you all, but there may come a day when I find a fine gentleman of my own.” She turns and points at Seb. “I’m so thrilled for the two of you. True fated mates.”
My cheeks warm and Seb bumps his shoulder with mine. “I’m more than thrilled,” he says with a grin.
I nod. “As long as no one tries to take my powers.” I take his hand and squeeze it.
“We’re really sorry about that,” Taina says.
I wave my hand. “You have apologized many times.”
“But we should have been a better coven,” Anika says. “Because you are one of us, Kai. You’ve given so much to us, and you’ll always be welcome here.”
“Until you outgrow us,” Lisbeth says. We all turn to her, and she shrugs. “We’ll always be a family, and you’ll always be Boysen Witches. But I don’t need to be a clairvoyant to know you’ll someday want to find a place of your own, get married, and start your own family.”
Seb looks at me with fear. “Um…uh…” His cheeks turn the cutest shade of pink.
I take his hand and squeeze it again. “One day at a time,” I say. He relaxes, and all feels well in the coven, my home. Whatever the future holds, I intend to spend most, if not all, of my evenings just like this, smiling and having dinner with my mate.
Hours later, my warm breath clouds in front of my face in the woods. I breathe in the cool November air, scenting the muddy ground, then high above. In my lion form, I am able to reach up higher with my snout. After a few moments, I detect his aroma.
With a grin, I leap up to a branch and cling to it with my claws. I launch myself with a growl through the night sky. I jump to another tree and cling, then repeat the process with two other large trees. At last, I land on the ground with a thud. I charge forward with my paws as the scent gets stronger.
My prey.
I run through a thicket that leads to a clearing, then launch myself forward. The figure running in front of me stops when I land before him. I grab hold and growl, satisfied that the hunt is over.
And my prey giggles in my hold. “Oh no! I’m caught by a big, ferocious lion!” he says through laughter.
Another growl escapes my furry mouth, and I grin. I turn him around and shift down to my human form. Seb, dressed in his gray track suit, laughs while I hold his shoulders. In the glow of the moonlight, he looks just as gorgeous as the day we met.
“How many minutes was that?” I ask with a smirk.
