Chapter 192
Kiana
Clam
I woke up alone. For a moment, I thought I was back in Claudine’s grip, chained to the wall, listening to Finn’s cries as they tormented him. Tears pricked my eyes until I heard a voice in the
room.
“Kiana.”
The hoarse whisper calmed me, and I took a deep breath. I was not alone. Claudine was dead. I’d
been certain that Troy had been in the room with me at one point, but he was gone now. Sitting up, I looked over at the other bed. Lunessa looked only marginally better than she did before as she
smiled at me. “You did it.”
When she started to cough, I rolled out of bed and made my way to her. Snuggling up next to her, I grabbed her water and held it up to her. “So did you. Lunessa, the amount of magic you displayed
was insane. How are you?”
“Depleted,” she admitted as she sipped her water. “And scared that I might not bounce back.”
“How did you do it?”
She sipped the water more and leaned against me. Less than a year ago, she was the Maiden, a witch who’d saved my life once, earned my fierce loyalty and helped blossom a kernel of hope that
I could have friends, that I could be loved.
Now, she was my cousin, and we leaned on each other like we’d done it our whole lives.
“A modified version of the spell they used on Irene. Claudine’s ritual opened up the land, and I
asked it to connect me to the other witches. I wasn’t even sure it would work, but it gave me the
chance to amplify my magic.”
“I’ll say. You transported a hundred wolves. That must have felt incredible.”
“I think it’s what a goddess might feel like,” she admitted. “If I get my magic back, I will never do
anything to jeopardize it again. But, even if I don’t, it was worth it. It was worth it to see those bitches drop like flies.”
I snorted softly.
“Kiana, what did you do?”
Part of me thought I should wait and tell Troy first. It was his child whose life I’d forever changed, but this was Lunessa. She’d sacrificed for me. She was family. “I gift my witch magic to my child.”
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In shock, she bolted upright and immediately winced. “Okay, no rapid movements for a bit. You did
what?”
“I’ve been haunted by ghosts, and honestly, I don’t know where they came from. I don’t know if they were triggered by my magic or my subconscious or if the spell Claudine was weaving had some kind of red-button trigger, but they all told me, in their own horrible ways, what I needed to know. Katherine had made a horrid choice with me, but she said it was her gift to her child.
My father told me that I wasn’t meant to be a witch, and honestly, I believed him. And Morven, well Morven apparently suspected that breeding me was the solution. He wasn’t wrong. In that instant, before Claudine started to bleed me, I knew that the magic wasn’t meant to be mine. It was always for my child, and I gave it to him.”
“Him?”
“My wolf thinks it’s a son.” I cradled my belly and smiled. “And now I’ve made him a witch. All three housed inside of me but not all three a part of me. The ternary was gone, and Claudine’s spell was over. It can never be cast again.”
Something pulsed inside of me, and I realized that I wasn’t paying any attention to my bonds. Troy was nearby. He must have felt me wake up. I jerked my head up to see him standing in the
doorway.
He’d overheard.
Holding my breath, I stared at him, waiting for him to react. His eyes gave nothing away as he nodded to us. “I’m glad to see you’re awake,” he said in a clipped tone. “I’ll have food brought up to you. And Irene, to look you over, Lunessa.”
Then, he was gone again. Swallowing hard, I opened myself up to the mating bond.
Pain. So much pain. Tears pricked my eyes.
“It’s going to be okay,” Lunessa whispered. “Your love saved the mountain. It’s not meant to die
here.”
So, I wasn’t the only one who noticed Troy’s odd behavior. “He’s just going to get food. And Irene. By this afternoon, we’ll both be on our feet and dancing circles around this joint.”
The day passed. Food was brought to us, but Troy never returned. Irene and Janelle both came to assess Lunessa, but they didn’t sense any magic within her. Irene told her not to give up. That she’d
felt the same way.
By the evening, we were both on our feet and slowly walking the grounds with Irene and Janelle. Finn joined us, and I hated the haunted look in his eyes. “Alpha Finn,” I teased softly.
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“Kiana.” After a moment, he gave me a grin and embraced me. “I’m sorry I haven’t been to see you, but Troy has been giving me updates. It’s good to see both you and Lunessa up and walking
around.”
“We’re on the mend. It’ll take time. How are you?”
“Same. On the mend, but it will take time,” he said tightly. “Ladies, do you mind if I steal Kiana
away?”
They shook their heads, and Finn and I slowly walked the grounds. We passed the ritual field behind Claudine’s home, and my stomach clenched at the sight of it. The bodies were gone, but the blood still remained, staining the grass. “I asked Irene if there was something I could do with Lucy’s blood. Something healing. She’s working on a ritual for me,” he said in a hollow voice.
There was nothing for me to say to that, so I remained silent. I didn’t know where we were going, but Finn seemed to have a direction in mind. He stopped suddenly, and I gasped.
“I don’t remember it,” I said softly, “and yet it looks exactly like I pictured it might.”
A small home stood in front of me. Log walls with a thatched roof. Simple and beautiful. Magic surrounded the area. Even if I couldn’t feel it, I could see it. It was the start of winter and yet beautiful roses climbed up the side of the home, and the evergreens were trimmed and vibrant. “I’ve been told that Claudine preserved it with magic immediately after your parents ran. She would come here often to meditate or to ask witches to use the auras here to see her future.” His lip curled in disgust before he shook his head. “It’s your childhood home and probably one of the only places you might have a happy memory. I thought you might want to see if you could conjure up a memory or spend some time here.”
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