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“Shit,” I swore under my breath, crouching down to pinch the ash between my fingers. I ignored the stares of Keziah’s pack members and my own allies as I grit my teeth, glancing around the forest, but I already knew it wasn’t an attack. I’d have felt someone else’s presence.
No, this man must have been cursed if he betrayed whoever he was working with. As I stood, turning back toward the others, another thought dawned on me.
If he’s cursed by an undoubted dark spell, Celeste is, too.Someone has dared hex my fated mate, and I still don’t know how.
Chapter 11
Celeste
Fenris’s Private Villa
Isla Lobo, Panama
Time Until the Eclipse: 15 Days
Fenris was gone overnight, and though the pain I felt through our shared bond peaked shortly after he’d taken off with the others, I was happy to practice magic under the moonlight for the evening. I could feel Fenris, and I’d know if he was in grievous harm, though I didn’t particularly like how faint the bond felt sometimes. I wished I could share more with him— wanted to take his hurt away, or at least ease it. He’d shouldered it alone for so long, and any way I could be there for him, I wanted to be.
I wonder how different the bond would feel if we claimed one another.
I was afraid I’d never find out.
I sighed and took another bite of the salad Walter had made for my lunch, briefly drawn out of my ruminations by just howgoodit was. It always amazed me how Walter had the abilityto take even meals I normally considered mundane—salads, sandwiches, pasta—and make them so interesting and unique. I ate because I needed to, apart from an occasional night out with friends, but I was starting to realize how little I’d explored the culinary world.
I wish I really could explore the world with Fenris.
The places I could see—the food we could try! Instead, I might only have fifteen days left to live. As much as I wanted to go with Fenris, I knew he was right—I needed every precious moment to keep honing my magic if I wanted to work around the alpha command Zyanya had set upon me.
“Do you mind if I sit with you?”
I blinked and looked up, smiling as I realized Liana had joined me on the patio behind Fenris’s home. “Not at all,” I said. “Too loud inside?” Abi, Morgan, and Grant were in the kitchen, involved in a lively discussion about faeries and how to deal with them. I appreciated the discourse, but I’d needed time alone with my thoughts.
“Yeah.” Liana’s smile was watery as she settled in the chair next to me. Instead of tucking into her meal, her gaze drifted out past the patio to the sand and the water beyond.
I took another bite of my salad and frowned. “Are you alright?” I asked after a few minutes. “I know we’ve shared alotwith you over the last couple of days. It’s okay if you aren’t, you know.”
Liana shook herself and looked back at me. Her smile was small, but more genuine this time. “It really is a lot,” she said, allowing herself a breathless chuckle. “And it’s overwhelming, but…it’s also confirming in a way. I loved my summer with my godfather and Alyssa. That was such a happy memory for me…then I spent the following years doubting it. And myself. I convinced myself I’d imagined it, and I was crazy, and I had to be careful what I told people. It’s…amazing that it’sreal, andafter all those years, it’s still hard for me to really believe I’m…I don’t know…living all of this.” Her smile grew. “Every morning, I wake up and have to make sure I’m not back in my one-bedroom apartment, you know?”
I laughed and nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, I know,” I said. “I still feel like I need to pinch myself. I was studying the stars and giving tours, you know? Sometimes, I feel like…I don’t know, I’m not qualified.”
It was Liana’s turn to laugh. “Qualified? Are there exams for witches? Do you have to carry a magic license?”
“I hope not. I’d be in big trouble!”
We both laughed at that, and as we quieted back down, Liana ate. I was glad I’d been able to relieve some of her tension, and though I couldn’t take credit for validating her, I was so happy for my friend. Having no one believe you, let alone your own parent, sounded like an awful experience, much less at age six.
“You know,” Liana said thoughtfully as she finished her salad, “as intimidating as this world is, Iamhappy to know about it. I just want to make sure you know that.”
“You’re handling it beautifully,” I said, smiling warmly. “Far more gracefully than I did.”
“Really?” My friend looked terribly intrigued, and I knew I wasn’t going to wiggle my way out of that. Honestly, I didn’t mind much. I felt like after not believing Liana’s shaman story, I owed her at least a few embarrassing truths.
“Yes, really,” I said, looking down at my empty bowl for a moment. “We had gone to Antarctica, and I was having a really hard time adjusting. There was a…misunderstanding,” I said, trying not to roll my eyes at the memory of Piers’s embellishments. “And I just freaked out. I tried to run away in the middle of an Antarctic storm!” Even now, it seemed like such a silly plan.Even without Fenris out there, the chances of mefreezing to death were wild.I’d really been at one of my lowest points.
Liana gasped, looking horrified. “What happened? How did you get back?”
“Fenris found me,” I said, deciding not to go into the full details yet. “And I realized I liked him more than I admitted. Not likethat, exactly, but enough to realize running away in a blizzard was foolish. I turned around and got back before anything too bad happened. No frostbite.”
Liana gave me a look and shook her head. “You’re normally so practical, Celeste! I don’t know I’d believe it if that story came from anyone other than you.”
