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“Have you ever read any texts from the Aurora witches?” I asked, trying to hold in my excitement.Morgan might know something Val doesn’t. She’s always bragging about how much her niece knows, after all!
Morgan looked up, biting her lower lip. “Unfortunately, no,” she said, shaking her head. “The Aurora witches are, ah…a bit hostile toward all other covens. They aren’t willing to shareinformation like some of the others the Thalassa coven works with.”
Val stopped grinding the ingredients inside the mortar and glanced at us. “There was a time when folk within the paranormal world freely exchanged ideas and discoveries. However, the last time the Solar Sovereign was in power, several Aurora witches pledged to him. He’s long since gone, but I wouldn’t be surprised if several witches were still loyal to whoever is the Solar Sovereign now. They’ll most likely show up at the eclipse.” She frowned at the idea.
I sighed.Oh, Aurora witches will show,I thought, but didn’t dare say anything else. I didn’t know the limits of my death mark, but I didn’t want to test the boundaries. I let the topic go as Morgan continued to leaf through my grimoire, pausing when she came to an intricate sketch. “Oh!” she gasped. “Auntie, look!” She motioned Val closer.
They both murmured appreciations and pointed at the handwritten notes. I’d done nothing but inherit the old tome, yet still felt a swell of pride as the pair of witches appreciated the work my ancestors had recorded, glad I could help for once. It felt good to be part of a network, sharing what I could, even though I was still new to this world.
I watched until they flipped to a page with a beautiful illustration of a wolf. It was obvious that it wasn’t just a wolf but a shifter, and as I leaned in, I recognized my mother’s handwriting in a small note underneath the drawing. She’d referred to the psychic spell I’d come across before, the one used to name a wolf shifter’s fated mate.
Morgan flipped the page, and I realized my mother’s notes continued onto the next one.
Wolf shifters are often soothed by one another. They do not need to speak a word, as if the presence of their match alone is a balm for frayed nerves or open wounds. They’re trulytwo halves of one whole and will go to extraordinary lengths to keep others—even themselves—from causing harm to their fated mate. It is a truly beautiful bond. — Enora
I paused and bit my lip. When Fenris’s wolf was feral the first time I went to Antarctica, and he’d pinned me at that icy gorge, I could’ve sworn it wasFenris, not his inner wolf, who’d stopped the feral beast from killing me. It was Fenris who’d thrown himself off the cliff to keep me out of harm’s way.Does the curse impact how he views his fated mate when he’s that close to the full moon? Would all wolf shifters be that way if the Solar Sovereign reversed the curse and they all fell under it again?As terrifying as that idea was, a happier thought followed.If I can help Fenris lift his curse, will he be more in harmony with his inner wolf?
I wanted to help him if I could. I wanted peace for him. Security. If I was gone, at least he’d draw on his wolf’s strength instead of fighting against bloodthirsty urges.
“Ah, here’s one.” The sound of Val’s voice drew me back, and I looked at them leafing through the different psychic spells the Handmaiden witches had recorded over time.
Morgan nodded and tapped the book. “Yes, I think that’ll be helpful as we untangle some memories. It will help reduce some of the confusion. I think…” She went past a few more before returning to the previous page. “I think it will work nicely in conjunction with this one, which should provide more of a healing effect to the psyche.”
Val looked back at me. “If you’re feeling up to it, I think this would be a good place to start with your aunt. But I would still practice at night, as your magic will inherently be stronger then, and you may feel unstable after your recent…practice.”
“Of course!” I said, eager for any way to help my aunt.
Val gave me a stern look. “Remember,” she said gently, “we have no way of knowing what Sabine has done to her. Therecovery process may take weeks, even months. If it doesn’t seem like it’s working right away, we cannot get frustrated and give up.”
“I know,” I said, nodding.
But this can’t take months.
We started working with Esme that night, and the night after, but we’d made no real progress. As each day crept by, it felt like my death mark got heavier, and I had no more answers than what I’d started with.
For the third night in a row, Morgan and I were together, slowly smoothing the sharp, jagged edges Sabine had left in my aunt’s mind before Val stepped in with a soothing spell, gently lulling my aunt to sleep when she showed signs of distress. She hadn’t said anything to me beyond when Val had first let me see her, and I was beginning to worry she wouldn’t recover at all.
I should practice with Lyka, too,I thought as I bid goodnight to Val and Morgan.I need to be as strong as possible, and he hasn’t been doing any better since his run in with Sabine, either. I can get him on the right path before…before the eclipse.
Finding my way to Fenris’s office, I knocked on the door frame and poked my head inside. To my surprise, Grant Oakley was standing next to Fenris’s desk, leaning over as he murmured and Fenris nodded along.
“Oh!” I said. I’d been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t even heard them speaking before walking in. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Grant glanced up, his bushy, silvering eyebrows pushing together as he inclined his head, muttering what might’ve been “hello.” Fenris, on the other hand, trained his attention on me at once.
“You never interrupt me,” he said, his amber eyes warm. “Did you need anything?”
“I actually wanted to go and see Lyka,” I said, chewing on the inside of my cheek. “Val and Morgan and I have been working on some psychic healing spells for Esme, and I thought Lyka might benefit from them, too.”
Fenris nodded, getting to his feet. “I’ll accompany you,” he said. “It might help with what I have in mind, anyway.” He paused just long enough to nod to Grant, promising to speak to him later before he was at my side, leading me down to the silver-lined cell holding his brother.
“He has become more and more listless with each day,” Fenris said as we walked down the corridor. “I was always concerned he might hurt himself during one of his manic outbursts. Yet, seeing him so despondent is…disturbing.”
My heart ached at the hurt in Fenris’s voice, and I reached out to give his hand a quick squeeze. “I’ll do whatever I can,” I promised as we stopped in front of Lyka’s cell.
I stretched out my mental awareness and found Lyka easily. It was too easy for me to push past the first “barrier” into his mind, and I took a breath, readying myself to cast one of the smoothing spells we’d used for Esme when Lyka suddenly erupted into a savage snarl. He slammed his body into the door moments later, a heavy, metallic thump echoing around us while he forcibly recoiled from my presence.
I grimaced, realizing that even if he was despondent, he was still sensitive to someone prodding his mind.Why should he trust me? All he’s gotten from a psychic witch so far is pain.
