Fae Magic

DELILAH

I crossed my arms as I looked at my mother, feeling a sudden calm come over me as I felt my magic seep back into my body.

Folding my hands in my lap, I assessed her.

She looked frightened as my sister snorted around the tree my aunt had become, her eyes darting occasionally to the two.

I hadn’t said a word, and yet had fired off a spell that should have taken several witches and days of preparation to cast.

How it had happened, I wasn’t particularly sure, but I had an inkling that the Fae magic that I thought had killed me had instead somehow reshaped a piece of who I was.

How much it had changed me, I wasn’t sure.

For now, I had my mother to deal with.

“You told me not to do the spell, and I did it anyway. Tell me what I need to know. Why didn’t you want it done?”

My voice was hard and sure. My mother had always been a force to be reckoned with, and never had I seen her so distraught.

Something about it was…empowering, after years of being under her thumb.

She narrowed her eyes at me, her lower lip trembling. Her eyes darted back to what used to be my sister and aunt.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath before opening them once more.

Her face became passive and relaxed, as if I didn’t faze her for a moment. It was the same, brave face I had seen right after my dad had died.

“I made a deal with the wolves that the Fae endorsed. In exchange for the bones of their ancestors, we would give them one of our own.”

I frowned. “You took the bones of werewolves? They are rare, and precious, sure, but why?”

“It was the war between us and the Mexico witches,” Mother answered. “We needed to be able to shift some of our own in order to overwhelm their forces.

“We knew a Fae who said she could strike a deal with a power-hungry wolf.”

She sniffed. “Even though we could never know the reasons behind the deals that Fae conducted. That was the deal offered. We get the bones of their ancestors, all of them.

Her lip curled. “In return, they get to have a witch mated with one of their own. Until then, in order to maintain our deal, we would offer our services—for a fee—to keep them safe. It was profitable for us.”

It was all becoming clear. “So I was that one, the witch you promised the pack? How did you know?”

My mother scoffed.

“You think I didn’t immediately cast some sort of divination to see even a glimpse of what the fates had in store for my children? Yours was the only one that came up murky.”

She moved to sit at her desk, folding her hands to rest her chin on, her elbows on the desk as she glowered at me with annoyance.

“I thought I had found a loophole in the deal, and either your true love no longer existed, or would be reborn. I was informed the Fae was dead on your ninth birthday, so I never thought of it again.”

“What do you mean, you found a loophole?”

She lifted her brows. “It’s not hard to end a pregnancy with a spell. You of all people should know that.”

My eyes widened as I put together the pieces.

My mother had attempted to kill my mate—one of the twins whose mother the Fae had helped.

She negated the spell to take the soul of the one that wasn't my mate—and had split that soul in two, locking each piece in one body.

But even though my mother’s intention had been to kill my mate, the Fae had found a way to save both babies—both souls.

My mate’s, and the others, effectively hiding him from my mother.

Or rather…them.

The spell sends you your true love—your mate, your other half.

But if that half was only a quarter, then it wouldn’t work.

It would be as if your true love was on another plane. Or even Fae.

My hand touched the spot between my breasts, covered by my outfit.

I could almost feel the cross of arrows pulsing, calling me to them.

Doing something of that magnitude though—even with Fae magic—would require great sacrifice.

This Fae had seen so far ahead even to imbue me with some magic from their land to combat my mother.

Clarice already held very little love for me. And if I were mated to a wolf—with witch powers—especially to an alpha…

It was one thing to send a weak witch, but even without a mate I had been strong. One day, I may have been able to combat her level of power especially as she grew older and weaker, even without a mate of my own.

What couldn’t I do, with a mate?

My mother had seen me as a threat to keep in check.

I should have felt angry or upset, but instead I felt only pity.

Fear motivated her just like power motivated her—to do things that I would never approve of.

It wasn’t my duty to take over the coven, not now that I knew where I belonged.

But I also couldn’t leave it in my mother’s hands. I was in charge now.

My spell pulled me toward them once more, making my body ache.

Taking a slow breath, I centered myself. “I’m going to go get dressed properly, and deal with certain matters. I will be in touch.”

“Aren’t you going to fix your sister and aunt?” Mother asked in a hard, commanding voice.

Something told me that I could fix them easily, if I wanted. But did I?

A new strange part of me whispered that it would be a terrible idea, even though I held love for both of them.

They only did as my mother wished—and that was the rub.

“Not until I return. Be sure to water Aunt Bailie and feed Adriana. Keep her skin safe from the sun,” I said flippantly before walking out of her office.

I went to the recruitment center where they left spare clothes for new witches-in-training, or those transferring from the other covens.

It was midday by the time I had showered, changed into a white shirt and black cutoffs, and eaten some food.

I found shoes that were a tad big and decided to put them back—I didn’t mind going barefoot as I had the last few days.

Now it sounded like the most natural thing; after all, I would be returning to the forest.

I left to check a few emails and send some off to the leaders of other local covens, informing them to speak directly to me.

To be sure to pack an extra punch, I also cast a spell—a spell that was powerful enough to burn my initials into sacred spaces.

An order—and a warning—that the coven was not to follow my mother’s orders.

Then I bound her, a temporary measure, but I could hear her shrieking across campus as soon as it happened, as if someone had died.

That was my cue to finally leave.

~Blood. It always comes down to blood~, I thought to myself as I cut my hand with a pocket knife I found—the last cut I would ever have to make to find my fated ones.

The rune tattoo I’d told the twins would allow me to leave in a moment was now my fast ticket back to them.

As soon as I cast it I felt my whole world shift, only this time I felt no sickness or pain as my feet sunk into the loamy soil.

It was midday, and the sun was shining on a dark mound of fur with an ear with a white spiral.

~Cole.~

The only thing I could think of doing was sinking down and burying my hair in his fur. It was warm and soft, making me giggle in response as he cracked up an eye, annoyed.

“Sorry, your fur just looked warm and I never got to pet you,” I said breathlessly.

I wanted to lie down next to him as I saw his eyes slowly register who I was. I smiled as he pulled away, shifting before my eyes into a crouch in front of me.

“Delilah…?” Cole asked in a half-broken whisper.

My heart broke for him, and tears gathered in my eyes as I jumped forward, unable to contain myself.

Half of my reaction was from the spell, and half because of the grief I clearly had caused him.

He had thought I was dead. It was obvious from the pain in his eyes.

To be honest, I thought I had been dead as well.

Holding him close, I began to sob—the feeling so right as I held him to me.