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“I will always come for you, little witch, however, it seems my attempt to be your prince charming and come to your rescue was unnecessary. I should have known you would save yourself. You are a strong woman, Etain, yet I will always wish to protect you. I failed horribly at the festival, and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, if you will have me?”
Etain smiled softly up at him. “Take me home, Ciaran.”
Thirty Six
AninandKeshadto port just outside the gates to the Silver Moon Coven due to heavy wards all around it. They were immediately greeted by several witches. All of them appeared to relax once they saw Anin, even if they were unsure of Kes. Anin smiled brightly as two curly blonde heads pushed through the throng of witches. Lyra and Penella were the closest things to real sisters Anin had. It had taken Anin a while to warm up to anyone after being chased to the Borderlands by the Day Court, when her mother had died. The two witches had been persistent and eventually broke down Anin’s barriers.
Lyra and Panella nearly tackled Anin while embracing her, causing Kes to growl low in warning. All three females ignored him, much to his annoyance. Finally, they parted, and Anin introduced her adoptive sisters to Kes. He visibly relaxed when he learned she claimed them as family.
She paused before introducing him to her sisters, because she wasn’t sure what she should call him. Anin’s words stumbled slightly as she called him “her Kes.” She felt her face flush immediately, knowing her sisters would never let her live it down. Based on Kes’s smug face, he would never let her live it down either.
Kes was polite to her sisters and kept a wary eye on the rest of the witches, who were regarding him with something just shy of hostility. He placed his hand on her lower back and then leaned in to whisper into her ear, the act making her knees feel wobbly. “As soon as I see you safe behind those walls, I will start my patrol. I will be back shortly, try not to take too long. I really am desperate to bathe.”
She had never met a male more concerned with his hygiene than potential danger. She nodded and followed her sisters into the coven. As the gates were closing, she saw him stretch out his massive black downy wings and shoot into the sky.
It was almost strange seeing the half and half sky after countless days gone. Since they were in the Borderlands, the sky showed exactly where one court ended and the other court began. They got the perfect amount of sun and moon at all times. Anin took a moment and put her face to the sun. Being a member of the Day Court, the sun always recharged her in a way no other thing could. She felt physically stronger, and her power felt like it grew even deeper. The longer she spent in the night court, the weaker she would grow. The thought worried her, because her mate was of the Night Court. She doubted he would want to leave it, and she wasn’t sure she could spend the rest of her days without the sun.
She sighed and considered this a problem for another day – first things first. She needed to meet with the head witch to tell her all she had learned. Her sisters looped their arms through hers and began to tease her, as she expected, about “her Kes” and his “large wing span.” When she blushed a dark green, her sisters roared with laughter.
“While we are always happy to see you dear sister, something tells me the reason you are here is rather dire if the condition of ‘your Kes’ was inferred correctly,” Panella said. Panella was slightly taller than Lyra and the two were blood sisters. They both shared the same rich brown skin, golden blonde curly hair, and near black eyes. They said the only thing that made people question if Anin truly was their sister, was her light green skin. Anin didn’t care if they looked alike or completely different, she loved them just the same.
“Unfortunately, you are as astute as ever, Panella. I must speak to the head witch urgently. Please tell me she’s in?”
They nodded in confirmation and the three set off towards her chambers. As they walked, the two witches peppered Anin with questions about Kes. Neither of them asked how they came to meet, somehow knowing it would be a long story, and one which couldn’t be rushed. They quickly determined he was her mate, and she told them about the fun she was having letting him figure it out. They all shared a laugh at Kes’s expense, and Anin hadn’t felt this light since the last time she had been around her sisters. She had missed them terribly.
Once they arrived at the head witch’s chambers, Anin knocked on the door. A few moments later, it opened on its own. The three sisters stepped into the receiving room and helped themselves to the refreshments that were always waiting for guests who came to visit the head witch. Anin had just finished her glass of herbal water when Galetia, the head witch, entered the room.
“Anin! What a wonderful surprise to see you! I had feared I would not see you again when you suddenly left without leaving any word.”
Her sisters made sounds of agreement.
“Have you returned to us permanently? We have all greatly missed you.” Galetia was a kind, old witch, and like most witches, she looked human. The only thing giving her away as “other” was the branch-like antlers sprouting from her gray streaked, dark red hair, marking her as having some bit of Day Court in her blood along the way. Galetia had gladly taken Anin in after her mother had died and she had been run out of the Day Court. She’d became a mother in kind to Anin over their many years together.
“Regrettably, I have much to tell you and none of it is good.”
Lyra was quick to amend Anin’s statement to remind her finding her mate was indeed a good thing, which had Galetia demanding all there was to know about Kes. Before things could get too out of hand and they ran out of time, Anin quickly turned the conversation to the missing witches. She told them all about what she believed the Day Court was doing. Additionally, she noted if witches were going missing right out from under the wards of the coven, they likely were not safe there. She then told them about the death of the Day King, and they all glanced at each other with wide eyes.
It was clear by the expressions they all wore they understood the gravity of the situation. The Day Court was always ambitious, but now the Queen would be unhinged with grief, and that would make her unpredictable. Anin told them about Etain, her incredible well of power, and their capture by the Day Court. She noted how Kes and Ciaran had come for her and now Ciaran was searching for his mate, Etain.
The witches all had a laugh knowing how confused the two most powerful members of the Night Court likely were. She laughed with them; they all needed to release some tension. Anin then mentioned Kes was patrolling the border to make sure no one slipped through with her.
It was a lot to lay at their feet, and honestly, Anin could not believe it had been a mere few days or nights, depending on what court you were in, since this whole nightmare had begun. Then again, if it hadn’t been for this nightmare, Anin was not sure she would have ever met Kes. She amended her thought to mostly nightmare, because Kes could be a real nightmare sometimes. Then she ultimately decided she was correct originally, this whole thing was a nightmare.
Galetia was highly interested in Etain and asked several questions about her. Anin could not hold back the secret she was keeping any longer. She revealed to Galetia that Etain was a Walsh witch, just like her. She smiled at the way the head witch’s eyes sparkled with emotion.
She immediately offered to train Etain personally to finally master her powers, and she would be overjoyed to meet someone of her line. She asked Anin if she had seen Etain with a grimoire by chance, and Anin told her she hadn’t, but that didn’t mean Etain didn’t have it with her in this realm.
Galetia explained that several generations ago the head witch of this same coven had been the Walsh witch who had cursed the ruling bloodline of the Night Court. As soon as she had become with child, she fled to the Human Realm to keep her child protected from the cursed King. When she and her sister concocted the plan, it had been decided the sister going into hiding would have greater need of the grimoire, and she took it with her to the Human Realm. Anin knew if Galetia was able to hold and read it, it would connect her to her ancestors and give her an even deeper sense of her power.
The four began to talk about what actions they would need to take to protect the witch community from the coming conflict between the two courts. Anin knew they would call a meeting of the whole coven and discuss the conflict, as well as options for multiple scenarios. Witches were amazing at thinking of the community over the individual, which was another reason it had been strange to see notes left on the beds of powerful witches stating they had joined the Day Court. Galetia said she would send word to the other covens immediately.
There was a knock at the door. A youngling witch opened it and informed Anin her “bird beast” was hollering for her outside the gate, and that his screech was starting to hurt her ears.
Anin laughed as she stood. She hugged Galetia and promised to bring Etain as soon as she was back safe and sound. Her sisters stood to walk her to the front gate. She patted the youngling on the head and thanked her for coming to get her. She promised she would be sure to let Kes know his screeching needed improvement. The youngling smiled conspiratorially up at Anin.
Anin’s sisters looped arms with her again, as was their custom when walking anywhere together, but this time they held on even tighter. None of them knowing when they would see each other next, or if they would all be able to survive what was coming. As they got closer to the gate, they could hear Kes bellowing. Her sisters began to applaud the young witch at her correct use of the word screech to describe the noise their new brother was making. Anin smiled and something loosened in her chest at her sisters’ acceptance of her mate. She hugged them both fiercely.
“I’m truly sorry for leaving in the night without any word.”
