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“I said, we need to tell you what Ophelia said, what happened last night out at the hillocks.”
“Go on.”
And she goes on to tell me about finding Emrys and Ophelia kissing, about the magic disturbances, about Emrys’ strange daze and reactions, about Ophelia’s admission she siphons magic in order to become stronger, about a future Golden Moon event. Also, about Jason and Emrys acting as if they had a split personality, as if she infiltrates their thoughts and directs their desires.
Jax told me some of that already, and then distracted me. I remember Jason’s strong body underneath me, corded neck arched, sliding and rocking against me, his hard cock rubbing against mine—
“You okay, Ash?” Sindri shoots me a narrowed-eyed look. “You’ve gone very red in the face.”
“Yeah.” I swallow hard. “Fine.”
“Her enchantment is so subtle,” Mia says, “and yet so powerful.”
“That’s true,” Sindri says. “I don’t know anyone who controls elemental magic like that.”
“Say it,” Mia whispers.
“Say what?”
“She is the Queen Witch, like she said.”
He shakes his head, blue and black hair flying.
“When she came near me,” Mia whispers, “all my doubts overwhelmed me, all my fears, all the questions I’ve been asking myself—whether I’m holding you two back, whether you should be with her, let her help you. She told me to leave the Academy and at that point, I was ready to go.”
A jab goes through me, a spike of pain. My element flares, jagged blades cutting me up from the inside so that I’m bleeding magic. It doesn’t take much these days, not after what happened with Toby and the reminder of how I failed so many people. My family. My friends. The world.
“Mia…” Sindri whispers, pulling her into his arms. “No. Don’t let her make you doubt yourself.”
I groan, reaching for her, already closing the distance between us. “You can’t go,” I breathe and wrap my arms around her. Around him, too. She’s caught between us, pressed between our bodies. The relief of touching them both is mind-blowing.
We slide down to the floor, wrapped around each other, and it eases the panic in my chest, the flare of my magic. We huddle there, breathing unevenly, a tangle of limbs and racing heartbeats.
“So much for talking,” I say.
“Well,” Sindri mutters, a crease between his dark brows, his chin resting on Mia’s shoulder—he’s molded to her back while I’m facing her—“this is good. Let’s talk.”
Mia snuggles closer, in my lap, her arms around me, a hand stroking my back. “About Ophelia?”
“She makes her words powerful,” Sindri says, “but actions speak louder than words. Siphoning our magic for herself means she has to build up her power.”
“I don’t see how knowing that helps us in any way,” I mutter. “And what about the attack? We still don’t know who shot those arrows at us.”
“Don’t you think,” Mia says slowly, “that it’s too much of a coincidence that Ophelia appeared so soon after you were all attacked?”
“By that same token, though, isn’t it too much of a coincidence that you appeared rightbeforewe were attacked?” I mutter and Sindri huffs, scowling at me.
“What the fuck, Ash?” he breathes.
“I thought we were laying out the facts on the table.”
“We are,” Mia says, lifting her head. Her dark eyes have a starburst of gold in them. Her mouth is set in a determined line and all I can think of is that I want to kiss it. “Go on.”
“All I am saying,” I explain, “is that neither can be a coincidence. You have magic, Mia. And I don’t care how strong Ophelia is, I’m not going over to her. What matters is how you use magic, and if we’re about to have another Golden Moon event, all I can think of is that Ophelia should be stopped.”
“Witchcraft is like a hook,” Mia says. “That’s what she told me. Hooking into others’ magic. Like a parasite.” She makes a face. “Is that all there is to it? Sucking magic out of others? And then what?”
“If you become powerful enough,” I say, “you can control magical creatures.”
