“Be careful.” Moira turned the car off and unbuckled her seatbelt. “If you’re not back in forty-five, we’re coming to find you.”
I smiled. “You know I can take care of myself.”
Moira grinned. “It’s not you I’m worried about.”
I laughed and shut the door. Fresh, hill country air ruffled my hair as I kicked off my sandals and set them on top of the hood. I loosened my hair from my ponytail and shrugged off my cardigan, neatly folding it and setting it beside my shoes. In just my tank top and a pair of loose linen pants, I walked off the side of the road and up the hill.
No traffic passed by. Moira turned off the headlights and darkness fell, but I had no trouble seeing.
Cernunnos’ words—the words I’d shoved away for over a week now—surfaced in my mind. Embrace who I was meant to be.
But who was I?
As I strolled, flowers bloomed under my feet. Vines stretched from below the surface and slithered along the ground. Tree branches reached down and gently brushed strands of hair away from my face. Magic poured from my body, soaking into the earth, the release weeks in the making. Once I reached the top of the hill, I sat cross-legged on the ground and closed my eyes, content for the first time in weeks.
Chapter
Nine
CAELAN
She was so fucking beautiful. I lay low to the ground in wolf form, peering through a canopy of wispy flowers. Her power beat through the earth, pulsing all around me, peaceful and content. The air was charged with magic, unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
I’d been following her for a week now, with absolutely nothing to show for it. Evie went to work. She went home. And she went back to work. I hadn’t even seen her go to the grocery store.
It was maddening. Evie was young, beautiful, and powerful. Why was she living such a lonely existence?
Her hair had grown at least three inches. Brightly colored flowers wove through the dark strands. Evie’s eyes glowed a swirling mix of pink and green, and a soft smile rested on her lips. Blooming vines curled around her wrists and arms, and her bare feet were buried deep into the soil.
The trees stretched and groaned as Evie’s magic fortified them, the leaves a dry rattle in the gentle wind. Owls hooted and swooped through the air. But then the strangest thing happened.
A raven cut through the air on wings of ebony, heading straight for Evie. My muscles bunched, but I waited. If it cameclose enough to attack her, I would act, but it would ruin any hope of peace between us if she caught me stalking her.
Just as I was poised to leap, the raven’s cry shattered the night air, and it banked, slowing its flight until it lowered its feet and landed right on Evie’s shoulder.
What in the world?
Evie reached up and stroked the raven behind the neck. “Hey Poe. Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Called home.”
“Mmm. You okay?”
“Hurt.”
“I know,” she said quietly. “Glad you’re back.”
The raven nuzzled her cheek.
“Moira and the others are in the van if you want a ride home.”
“Stay.”
“I’m almost finished.” Evie inhaled and raised her hands, palms up. Swirling balls of magic rose from her fingers, and she gently batted them into the air. With a soft sigh, she rose, gently extricating herself from the flora. The floating balls of power swirled around her as she headed down the hill, the raven still on her shoulder.
I rose and slowly crept behind her, carefully navigating all the extra plant life.
When she reached the van, she flicked her hand and the glowing balls rose and flew in different directions, painting the ground in a wash of tourmaline colored magic.
