“This part of him, three, two, one, and so the spell is nearly done.” She picked up a small knife, ran a shallow slice across the heart line of her left palm. “Now add my heart blood and my tears…”
She let the blood drip into the bowl and, as she’d had the talent since childhood, willed tears to her eyes. Leaning over, she let them fall into the mix. “So when he drinks, he drinks of me, and his love is mine for all my years.
“Stir and seal and bubble and blend.” Circling the candle over the bowl, she watched three drops of red wax slide in, and with it, the mix simmered and smoked. “And so his love will never end. When this potion he drinks, his heart with mine links. It will forever belong to me. As I will, so mote it be.”
With a little shiver, Shana blew the candle out.
She’d done a few spells before—coaxing Loren to show her. But she’d never done anything this complex, or anything on her own.
Now she smiled at the clear, quiet liquid in the bowl. She would learn more, she decided. She had a few drops of Wise in her, after all, from her mother’s mother’s mother.
She poured the potion from the bowl into a small vial, closed it with a stopper.
She would dress, aye, she would be sure to look her very best, then go up to Keegan’s chambers before the Welcome.
She knew just what to do, what to say.
And before the moons rose, she would have all she’d ever wanted.
Breen Kelly would be sent back to her own world, Tarryn back to the valley.
And she would take her place at the council table. She’d share Keegan’s handsome chambers in the tower—and make a few changes there, of course. And she’d plan a lavish wedding, one suited for a queen.
Imagining it, she opened her wardrobe to select which gown she should wear when Keegan pronounced his love.
Even as she reached for one, someone tap-tapped on her door. Before she could call out, it opened.
With a hesitant smile, her styling case in hand, Kiara poked her head in. “I’ve come to do your hair. Are you still angry with me? Oh, Shana, I don’t want you to be angry with me. I can’t bear it!”
As she hadn’t given Kiara a thought all day, it took Shana a moment. Remembering, she put on a pout. She wanted her hair styled, of course, but wanted a bit of groveling first.
“Ah, so you’ve done your new friend’s hair already, have you then? And now have a bit of time for me?”
“Oh, Shana, no!” Hurrying in, Kiara closed the door behind her. “I’ve come straight to you after minding some of the littles. Never would I want to hurt your feelings so, and I’ve been half-sick on it all day. I won’t do her hair again, I promise you. So come and sit, won’t you? I’ve a style in mind for you that will turn heads.”
Kiara started for the dressing table, and stopped when she saw the red candle, the bowl, the remainder of the ingredients used in the spell.
“What are you doing here, Shana?”
Cursing herself, Shana waved a hand as she strolled over to gather up herbs and oils. “I thought to try making a scent for myself, but I couldn’t get it right.”
Kiara laid a hand on Shana’s arm. “No, that’s not what you were about, no, it isn’t. You mustn’t do this, Shana, you mustn’t do such a bad thing as this.”
“I don’t know what you could be talking about.” Furious all over again, Shana yanked open a drawer, intending to shove everything inside to deal with later.
“You’ve already done it, I can see it on your face.” Heartsick, fearful with it, Kiara tightened her grip. “I can see the candle’s already been lit and put out again. Oh, Shana, why would you do such a thing? It’s against our laws, and you know full well. A love spell takes choice away, and can cause the one bespelled to do things he’d never do, do them out of jealousy or despair.”
“Now you lecture me? Go, just go. I’ll do my own hair.”
Truly shocked, Kiara took a step back. “Oh, gods help us, Shana, you mean to bespell Keegan. The taoiseach! Shana, you would be banned from the Capital, and your family disgraced! Worse, you could be banished altogether, for you’d break one of the First Laws.”
“I’ll not be banned or banished or anything of the sort, as he’ll be devoted to me, as I’ll take my place as his wife and his hand. And I’ve earned that, right enough.
“And you’ll be quiet about this,” Shana added, giving Kiara a shove. “You’ll say nothing, do you hear me, or you’ll be the one sent from the Capital.”