Page 11 of Ransomed to the World
Chapter Four
Annora stifled her groan and plastered a smile on her face.
Both girls just laughed.
Loulou unearthed a bag of marshmallows from somewhere and made herself at home. “Don’t mind me. I’m just here for the show.”
Annora rolled her eyes. “You mean you want front row seats if we set the forest on fire.”
The bunny just grinned, not denying it as she shoved a marshmallow in her mouth, then stabbed another one onto a stick. Prem darted to her side and sat back on his haunches and begged. Loulou grinned and tossed him a marshmallow.
Just as Loulou moved her stick over the flames, Willa snatched it from her. “This will do.”
She brandished the stick in challenge.
Annora glanced at it, then back at Willa, not sure she wanted to know why the witch’s expression had turned gleeful.
The guys decided to collect more firewood and secure the campsite, giving them time to work, but she could see all of them watching her from the woods. Instead of feeling crowded, she found their nearness reassuring.
Edgar saw her worry and gave her a confident nod. If anything went wrong, he’d be there to catch her.
“Okay.” Taking a deep breath, Annora scooted off the log and sat cross-legged on the ground. “Let’s do this.”
Willa grinned and copied her pose. Then she leaned forward and stabbed the bottom of the stake into the ground so the marshmallow stood between them. Loulou scooped up the ferret and wisely moved to the opposite side of the fire, where she and Prem had a front-row seat. Her blue eyes were a little too big, like she wore Coke-bottle glasses, excitement making her twitchy.
“We’re going to take turns roasting the marshmallow to a golden brown.” Willa gave Annora a bright smile.
“We’re going to need more marshmallows,” Loulou muttered, watching them avidly, then crammed another of said marshmallows in her mouth like they were popcorn.
While Willa was a witch who specialized in fire and could no doubt perform her trick without a problem, it was different when using dark matter.
It was like a lit match compared to a bonfire.
Dark matter was a forgotten magic…ifforgottenmeant killing everyone born with the ability so it stayed lost. If a witch used dark matter, it would only be a matter of time before they burned themselves out, the magic too potent for them to wield.
There was no coming back from burnout.
Once a witch lost their magic, they died.
That didn’t stop them from coveting dark magic. If they could learn to control it, they could easily become the most powerful branch of the supernatural.
“You first. Ready?” Annora waited for Willa to nod, then held out her hand and called up the darkness. Tiny streams of black smoke curled up from her palm. The urge to play with it was like an addiction. It soothed the rough edges of her soul, made her feel strong and untouchable.
No one could hurt her here.
No one would harm her mates, not while she had a say in the matter.
“Annora?” Willa tossed a marshmallow at her, pegging her right between the eyes.
Annora flinched and focused on the present. It was only then that she noticed the magic had wrapped around her arm up to her shoulder, gently urging her to disappear into the afterworld. It took longer than it should for her to gain control. When she had a tiny wisp in her hand, she nodded to Willa. “Sorry. Ready?”
Willa narrowed her eyes, then held out her hand, trusting Annora not to fry her to a crisp. She allowed a tiny wisp to kick up and lick against Willa’s finger.
It completely incinerated the marshmallow and the stick, leaving only a dusting of ash to drift to the ground between them.
“Shit.” Willa scowled.
“At least you didn’t set the forest on fire,” Loulou said brightly, handing over another stick and marshmallow.
