Night Witch (Weatherstone College, #2)(80)

Just as I found the will to shake off the thrall he held me under, Logan lifted me from the chair and settled in, pulling me onto his lap. Yep, okay. Thrall was back and much, much stronger.

Dad didn’t react to the way I was plastered against Logan, but then again, I’d seen him like this with Mom more times than I could count. He understood the driving need to be close to your mate, especially after almost losing them. “You have to take Paisley and run,” he said. “The council gathered today as a whole, which never happens. And it was called by Elder Monroe.”

Logan’s fingers, which had been gently tracing up my spine, stilled, and that darker energy returned. “What time were they called?”

The fact that my unflappable mate was taking this seriously had me forcing my focus back to the situation at hand. “Mom sent suppression potions for us both,” I told him, my voice now as weird as my laugh had been before. “Do you have cash stashed to get us through the next few months of lying low?”

Logan’s body was rigid beneath me. “I have plenty of cash, Precious, but we need to consider that Monroe won’t ever give up. He’s been making noise about me keeping him from the trial, even though he doesn’t have any evidence that I was involved. This is personal on two fronts now. Unless we want to hide forever—” he shifted me so he could meet my gaze “—and I will if that’s what you want. But if not, we need to think of another path.”

“What path?” Dad’s facade of cool was gone in a blaze of flames.

Logan didn’t pull his gaze from mine. “We should petition the council and ask for a public hearing. The entire magical world needs to know what they did to reapers in the past, and what they plan on doing again. We’re civilized in a way we never used to be, and I think a lot of magical families would be against outright executing a witch because she was born with an affinity they fear. Paisley has control now. She can show them that the creatures aren’t a risk.”

Dad looked like he’d rather take any suggestion over that one, but as we sat in silence, I could tell he had no better ideas. “What about the fact that a student died here last year because of her affinity? They’re not going to let that slide.”

Logan shook his head. “We have to convince them that she was let down by the magical community, shunned for her ability. That she has worked to control it, and that she deserves the same chance as any witch who loses control of their magic. It happens more than you’d think, that a witch or warlock from an elemental or necro family blooms as a spellcaster. They never anticipate how strong their magic will be, and when their energy blooms, it quite often destroys whoever is nearby. None of them are set for death . . . or even jail time. They all get another chance, and Paisley should be no different.”

It took a few fortifying breaths, but eventually Dad was on board with this new plan. “Okay, I’ll reach out to an elder I’ve been friends with for years. I’ll see if I can get this moving forward before they track Paisley down and take our choices away.”

Logan’s entire body shook beneath me, his magic as heated as Dad’s. “Not even I can go up against the entire council, especially since they’ll bring in spellcasters from the armed forces. We must make this work.”

No matter what happened, I wouldn’t let Logan get hurt to save me. I didn’t care what it took, or how many monsters I had to release, he would walk away from this meeting with the elders.

If it was the last thing I ever did.





Chapter 38




The feeling of dread I’d had from the moment Dad had called me to his office didn’t abate for the rest of the day. I could barely remember a word the professors said during class, and by the time I left Air Elemental 102 with Sara in the afternoon, I was on the edge of a panic attack. Through sheer force of will, I managed to block my loss of calm from Logan, but it was too late to save myself. “I can’t do this,” I huffed, my lungs constricting as I attempted to breathe deeper. “They’re going to kill me. They’ve killed every other reaper.”

“Pais!” Sara shouted my name as her hands wrapped around my biceps. She yanked me away from the curious bystanders in the hallway and got me into an empty classroom.

“You need to calm down, babe!” She sounded panicked now too. When I attempted to focus, two Saras stared back at me; flashing dots danced across my peripherals. “Breathe with me, Pais. In and out. Slow down. You’re going to pass out.”

As desperate as I was to make my way through this panic attack, I was equally as desperate not to lose it in case I accidentally called monsters. I’d grown accustomed to keeping my energy firmly here in the living plane, but I already knew it would be easy for it to slip.

Especially when I was slipping.

A firm slap of icy air in my face jolted me, startling me from the anxiety that had me trapped. Blinking, I rubbed my hand across what was no doubt a red welt and was relieved to breathe normally for the first time in minutes.

“Oh, thank the goddess,” Sara choked out as she tilted her head back and uttered another prayer. “You scared the magic out of me, witch.”

I opened my mouth to apologize, but she didn’t let me, throwing her arms around me and holding on in the tightest of hugs. “I’m sorry,” I said in a breathless whisper. “Thank you for helping me.”