Page 18 of The Powerless Witch
“It is my belief that the Fae magic wrought in that blade infected the channels through which your power flows,” the witch said, scrunching her nose. “Just like the blood flows through your body in order to reach every part of it, so does your energy.” I nodded. I wasn’t a healer like them, but there was a lifetime when I thought I could be. I even studied with their Coven and then tried to practice, helping those who sought me out. That didn’t work out well for me since healing all those people caught the hunters’ attention and brought them to my door.
The Head Witch cleared her throat as if noticing I had grown distracted. “We found traces ofChimera Bone Ashinside your body as well as some other dangerous ingredients, which led me to assume the blade was coated in a potion that attacked your energy. With the blade’s magic infecting you, it allowed the concoction to spreadfaster and amplified its effects.” I nodded again, and the lines on her forehead deepened. “The hunters have become so much better at adapting than us. Their weapons are ones we can’t even counter when it matters the most. The combination of the blade and that potion purged the magic from your body and sealed the source. You are essentially no different from a human. If it wasn’t for the bond and the healing abilities of your mate, you would have died.”
I winced at the wordmate, and she gave me another understanding smile. Even her Second’s face seemed to soften.
“Can it be fixed?”
The Head Witch hesitated, looking up at her Second, their eyes locked in a silent conversation. The younger woman inclined her head, turning toward me.
“There might be a way,” she said, her shoulders tightening as she grasped her hands behind her back. “Witch magic cannot undo what has been done, but the Fae might. Should you find a powerful High Fae willing to unseal you, the flow of energy through your body might be restored. However,” she waited until I held her gaze, the lines on her face sharpening as her voice grew more serious. “There is no guarantee it will work or that it won’t kill you. Once your power is unsealed, it will flood out of you and if you cannot control it, you will die. So the longer you wait…”
“...the more magic will gather inside of me,” I finished, and she nodded in agreement.
“There is something else,” she continued. “You may not be able to reach your magic, but it’s there, and time, as well as strong stimuli, can make it unstable. And since there is no outlet for it to release, it will attack you. If left like that for long, not only will you be in pain, but you may burn yourself from the inside out. And that even the Fae cannot fix.” I closed my eyes, groaning quietly. “I recommend using intercourse as a way to manage it,” the Second added, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks while she tried to keep her expression neutral. “I hear it works best.”
“I know,” I said, torn between laughing and rolling my eyes. They might have been among the oldest of my kind, but they sure were young in comparison to me.
Silence filled the room, heavy and uncomfortable, as neither side had anything to say but didn’t know what to do next, either. I pushed myself up, almost sure the two witches held their breaths as they watched me. Why, it was beyond me. I was no threat to them in this state.
“Thank you for your help,” I said with a bow of the head. “After this, I consider your debt paid. I humbly ask that you allow me to stay here for a day or two to gather my strength. We’ll leave as soon as I’m able to travel.”
The Head Witch rose, swaying on her feet.
“The Coven of Eternal Light offers a sanctuary for all who come to heal,” she said in her hoarse, raspy voice, extending her hand toward me. “You are welcome to stay for as long as you need, Ancient one.”
I smiled, genuinely this time, and touched her palm with my fingers while the air between us crackled with her magic. I had none to offer, but the old show of respect for one’s elders made me smile. After a brief hesitation, the Second also extended her hand. I gave her a thankful nod, brushing my fingers against her palm and watching her shiver.
Bidding them goodbye, I allowed the witch standing outside to walk me to my chamber. She left me at the door without a word, then rushed back to her post. I waited for her to round the corner before sighing tiredly and pushing the door open.
I barely looked around the big oval room, my attention locking immediately on the person standing inside of it. Naked and with water dripping from his hair and shoulders, Isaac spun at the sound of my footsteps. His eyes widened in surprise before he seemed to remember his state. He looked down, his muscles rippling at the movement, then back at me.
With inhuman speed, he grabbed the towel lying on the edge of the bed and wrapped it around his waist. His mouth opened with what I had no doubt would be the most ridiculous excuse.
“Seduction stopped working on me centuries ago, puppy,” I said, closing the door behind me. “You’ll have to do better.”
Chapter 8
Isaac
“What are you doing here?” Celeste asked as she crossed the room. I was still fighting to find the right words when she pushed past me and headed toward the bathroom door.
When we arrived at the Coven, the place seemed like it was taken out of time, especially with the witches walking around in those old-fashioned dresses. But once I saw Celeste alive and awake, and once Alice left me here alone, I had more than enough time to explore. There was magic woven in the very walls, I could feel it, and contraptions and spells that kept the rooms warm, the water flowing and then cleaned afterward. There might not have been any electricity or technology, but they were comfortable in all the ways that mattered.
I turned when I heard water splashing. Celeste had disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the door wide open. My eyes landed on her just as she was pulling her dress over her head. The light of the candles I had lit up earlier slid over her skin, making the scars on her body gleam like silver. I had seen them before, back in that healing room, but I never realized how many there were. It made me wonder if those were from her past lives, from tortures and deaths she must have endured, or if they had already been seared into her flesh before she died the first time.
Once she got the sleeves off, she squashed the dress into a ball and without turning, tossed it toward the door, hitting the edge and forcing it to close halfway. Like she knew I was watching.
Shame filled my chest, and I turned my back to the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“They put me here because we are…” I started, but then I hesitated at the wordmates. She hadn’t reacted well to it before, and it was awkward to speak about it when she wasn’t even in the same room as me. As much as I disliked the idea of being tied to someone whom I, until recently, hated with every fiber in my body, I doubted it was any better for her. She didn’t look like she wanted to kill me anymore, but the cold, distasteful look she gave me cut even deeper. “Are you alright now? Is the danger over?”
She didn’t reply. The sound of splashing water and cloth rubbing on skin told me she had started bathing and when she didn’t speak for several minutes, I gave up on expecting an answer. Once I heard her get up from the tub, I jumped from the bed and headed to the other side of the room. Sitting on the sofa where I planned to stay until morning, I locked my eyes on the wall so I wouldn’t get tempted to look back. Then I realized there was a mirror there that gave me the perfect view of the bathroom door and the naked woman who stepped through it.
She had pinned her hair on the top of her head, and she was wiping her face with the towel, not even a tiny bit uncomfortable by her nakedness. I closed my eyes before she caught me looking again, but the image of her soft skin, her round, firm breasts, and thick thighs lingered.
Shaking my head to clear it, I tried to distract myself by saying, “Alice told me how you saved her and why you came to our pack.” She said nothing again, and I opened one eye to find her sitting at the edge of the bed and drying her body with slow, distracted movements. Her quietness unsettled me almost as much as the blank look on her face. I was used to her mocking remarks, her annoyed expressions, and clipped answers. The quiet, closed-off woman looked too fragile, too breakable. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”
Her hand paused over her neck, right where my mark stood. She let it drop in her lap, turning her eyes to the mirror and meeting my gaze through the reflection. I cursed myself for getting caught again.