Night Witch (Weatherstone College, #2)(65)

Logan held me tighter, and I was relieved to feel his magic connect to mine with the same strength as always. “How are you feeling?” I asked. “Do you need the night to recharge?”

“Your power refueled mine as if I was struck by an energy source,” he admitted against my throat. “I’m more than ready to start our mission and get these ingredien—”

The chiming of our phones interrupted, and I pulled mine out to see a message in the group chat.

Noah: You can cross two everlasting candles off the list. We’re heading for Weatherstone now to gather the plants.





There was another from Alice that we must have missed earlier:

Alice: Snake venom procured. Lucky our magic worked to calm it because they’re vicious little biters.





My fingers flew over the letters as I replied.

Paisley: Great job! You’re killing it. Logan just cleansed my energy of the suppression potion. It was tough, but all good here. We’re about to head for the crypt.





“Looks like the rest of them are working fast,” I said. “We need to do the same.”

“Let’s get to the family crypt, then,” he said, pocketing his phone. “Your mom said we’d have to drive because there’s magic preventing transport pockets all over the area.”

The family crypt was about two hours from Spokane. It was where my mom’s family had been buried for generations—we owned a private burial ground, which was heavily protected by magic and wards.

When we reached the garage, I grabbed the keys to Mom’s Jeep. It was ten years old but ran well enough for this trip.

Logan held his hand out. “Want me to drive so you can play passenger princess?”

I snorted. “Look, this princess throws hands, but I won’t fight you if you want to drive.”

Logan’s energy wrapped around my body, drawing me to a halt. “I want to take care of you,” he corrected. “I protect what’s mine.”

“I protect what’s mine too.” I had a stupid grin on my face as I released my hold on the keys. “Let’s go, mate.”

Logan’s eyes darkened. “I’ll never grow tired of hearing that, soulmate.”

He opened the door for me, lifted me into the seat, and clipped my seat belt on, all before I got myself together. Soulmate. That hit me hard enough to leave a permanent mark.

One I was proud to wear.

Once Logan was in the driver’s seat, he opened the garage door and started the car. Silence descended between us as we left Spokane, the navigation system directing Logan toward the freeway. His large palm rested possessively on my thigh, while his thumb ran along my jeans. It was a relief to feel the strong beat of his magic against mine, his energy already back to full strength.

There was no ice in our bond, my reaper side dormant until needed, and I wondered if there were more reapers out there, hiding their gifts the way Gran had hidden hers. Families who passed on this secrecy to their offspring, leaving us alone and broken, unable to access our magic as we should.

“Now that my magic is unlocked again, do you think the council will track me through my energy?”

Logan took his eyes off the road to level his green gaze on me. “Yes.”

I jolted at the prospect, and he tightened his hold on my thigh, sending soothing heat through our bond. “Your power is strong and feels unlike any of the other affinities. We won’t be able to hide you for long, especially once the curse is broken. It’s still sapping your strength at the moment.”

I could feel it inside, like a tapeworm eating through my magic, one chomp at a time. I had power still, but it would be gone within a few weeks at this rate. Maybe less.

“We need a plan for how to deal with the council by the time we break the curse,” I said with a huff, dropping my head back against the seat. “Even if that plan is for me to go back on the suppression potion.”

Logan didn’t look particularly happy at the prospect of suppressing my magic again. “One step at a time, Precious,” he said, eyes on the road as he navigated a pocket of traffic. “First, we save our lives. Second, we destroy my father. Third, we bring the magical world to its knees. They will accept your affinity, and if they don’t, I’ll make my father’s mission for the last twenty years appear like a charity run.” His voice grew harsher with each statement, and I feared what might happen to him if he had to make the choice to fight his father or the council.





Chapter 30




I hadn’t been to the burial grounds for years. The last was when I was ten and we’d gone to share magic with our ancestors.

Dad’s family graveyard was halfway across the country, and we traveled out every few years to visit. Now that my magic had bloomed, it was my responsibility to commune with our ancestors.

Logan pulled onto a patch of ragged brown grass leading to the ancient burial grounds. I could feel the energy of my ancestors even before I neared the old stone wall, which stood no higher than my thighs, surrounding the parcel of land. There were no human dwellings nearby; magic and wards kept them out of this area. We weren’t the only private burial grounds in the vicinity, with other magic users having purchased parcels over the years.

“Do you know where your gran is entombed?” Logan asked, scanning for danger.