Page 76 of Magic in the Woods
“Do you know how to get out of here?” I asked.
He wagged his tail before turning around and trotting a few feet toward the door.
Dirt continued to rain from the ceiling, and the tremors were becoming more frequent.
“Come on,” Annabel called out from beside Luke. She held Emily’s hand, keeping her close. Emily reached out to Brooke, offering her other hand, and my friend smiled as she took it. My aunt glanced up at the ceiling. “It’s time to go.”
I turned to face the witches who now looked to me for direction. “Let’s go, everyone.” I motioned with my hands and began trailing the Velkans. Gideon walked behind me and almost bumped into me when I turned around just to see. Just to check.
Gideon was right—they were following me.
We made our way through the Academy. Gideon used his fire to melt the hinges off the kitchen door that locked from the inside, and we walked through the kitchen and up a steep set of stairs to the surface.
I closed my eyes as soon as the sunlight hit my face. Luke’s wolf ran around the Velkans and Brooke, yipping and jumping.
Some of the witches cried out, the sun hitting their faces for the first time in years. They fell to their knees rubbing their eyes with their hands. I hadn’t realized how dark the Academy had been. It was something I’d gotten used to along with everyone else.
It was a beautiful day, the sun was bright, but the rays not too strong. I closed my eyes, letting the light hit my face. It stung, having been without sunlight for so long. Holding my hand like a visor above my eyes, I looked out into the woods that surrounded us. The trees were a mix of yellow, orange, and red, signaling fall had arrived.
For the first time in weeks, I heard the birds chirp and the crickets rub their back legs together in a melody only the northern woods could create. It sounded like home. The smell of wind blowing off the trees, of bark and sap and just the crispness of fall reminded me of my time at my grandmother’s cottage. When I’d been the happiest I’d ever been.
Gideon looked down from where he stood beside me, his eyes watering with the sunlight. It almost looked like he was crying.
He grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. “Are we really out?”
“Yes, we are.”
The black of Gideon’s eyes looked darker under the natural light. I brought my thumb up beneath his left eye, running it along the black skin beneath them.
Maybe now that we were out, that color would disappear. What would he look like without it?
What did I look like in the sunlight?I looked down at my feet. This was also the first time Gideon was seeing me in the naturallight.
His finger hooked beneath my chin, lifting my face up. “Your freckles are even brighter in the sun.”
I wrapped my fingers around his wrist, pulling him closer to me.
“What are you going to do now that you’re out?” I asked. Gideon had wanted to get out, to escape the Coven since I’d met him. My feelings for him couldn’t get in the way of that. Now he had the whole world at his fingertips, he could go wherever he wanted.
Gideon leaned over, his lips brushing against my ear. “I’ll be your shadow, following your sparks wherever they go,” he whispered.
My breath caught as his thumb traced my bottom lip. He planted kisses along the side of my cheek, following my freckles to the tip of my nose. Gideon pulled back, looking down and searching my eyes for a reaction.
“What if I don’t want a shadow?” I asked. “What if I want a partner?”
“A partner?”
I nodded.
“Who would you choose?” He swung his arm out over the open field. “You could choose anyone. You’ve proven you’re the most powerful witch in the Coven.”
I smiled. “I pick you, Gideon.” I wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him close. “Will you have me as your partner?”
“Oh, kitten,” Gideon purred. “I chose you the moment you kissed me.”
His lips crashed into mine, this kiss so much better than the first.
We pulled apart, before looking out onto the field. The witches who had acclimated to the sunlight stared at each other’s faces, every blemish and unsightly bump glaringly visible.I brought my hand to my own face, feeling that bump I’d found days ago. There had to be something that would help—a cure.
