Captivating Magic (The Thorne Witches #14)

Chapter 25

25

“ W hat happened? Where did the wolf go?” Ebba asked, transfixed by the pulsing amulet.

“You’ve become one, child.”

Unable to comprehend, she shook her head and looked down at the patiently waiting spirit between her and Laszlo. Once again, the wolf’s pink tongue lolled out the side of her grinning mouth, and this close, Ebba registered the scale of the beast’s intimidating teeth. Lying beside her, the length of the wolf’s body was the same as hers.

“What about her mate? Don’t they only have one? I’m sure I read that somewhere.” What made her ask that, other than the worry in Laszlo’s burnt-amber eyes? When had they darkened? Was it the effect of the dark light or the deep emotion he was experiencing?

“He was shot by hunters last month. She has no offspring awaiting her care.” Isis rose to her feet and crossed to their small group. “You and the wolf are now one, child.”

“You mentioned a choice,” Laszlo said. “What is it?”

“She made it when she claimed she would do anything to save the creature.” Isis smiled. “This is what is required for them both to survive.”

“I still don’t get what’s happening.” Ebba rubbed her forehead and glanced down. “Do you?” she asked the black beauty.

“Yes.”

“What?” Surely it hadn’t answered her?

“Yes. I understand.”

“Who are you talking to, Sweet?” Laszlo’s concern for her sanity had skyrocketed based on the horrific look on his face.

“Herself,” Isis replied on her behalf.

Ebba opened her mouth, but the words wouldn’t come. This bizarre dream had gone on way too long.

“It’s not a dream, my dear,” Damian said. “You’ve been offered the opportunity to extend both your life and that of Laszlo’s familiar.”

“Wait! What?” He did a double take and then stared at the Aether. “The wolf Ebba struck was to be my familiar?”

The dark-haired man simply smiled as Laszlo shook his head in wonder.

“The power will transfer to your mate,” Isis said. “She’ll be your familiar moving forward.”

“A witch like him?” Ebba asked in disbelief.

“Not quite,” the black wolf said.

“Ohmygod, I’m going mental,” she whispered. “I dove off the deep end, and there’s no fucking water in the pool.”

“Your magic will enhance Laszlo’s. In return, you’ll live as long as he does,” Isis explained. “The wolf, too.”

“How is it any life for her?” Ebba tangled her fingers in the black fur, wanting to bury her face there and cry. “It’s not fair. She’ll miss out on running and?—”

“No, she won’t.” Damian’s smooth, seductive tones cut through her building hysteria.

Isis squatted down and rubbed the wolf’s shaggy head. “She’ll have three days during the full moon to be herself. The rest of the time, you’re in charge.”

“You’re turning her into a werewolf?” Castor asked from the sidelines. His tone conveyed intrigue, but there was an underlying concern. “A woman who has never experienced the smallest scope of magic before? I hesitate to ask if it’s wise, but is it?”

“I’m with him,” Laszlo said. “I don’t like it.”

“The alternative is death for them both,” Isis snapped. “Is that your wish?”

A calmness settled over Ebba. “Why? There’s a reason you’re doing this, but I can’t figure out what it is. You claim the Fates have decided. What do they care about me? A nobody in their grand scheme of things?”

“She’s clever,” Damian murmured. In a louder voice, he addressed them all. “I believe my job here is finished. I bid you all a good night.”

“Wait! How do we separate the wolf? Did anyone ask her opinion?” Ebba demanded. “You both assumed a dumb animal?—”

“Watch it,” the wolf warned with a low growl.

“Sorry.” Ebba patted her head. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Focus, Ebba,” Laszlo scolded. “Please.”

“I’m trying! You deal with a second voice in your head, why don’t you!”

Isis sighed her exasperation. “Clearly, I didn’t explain it well enough. I’ll rectify my mistake now.”

She held out a hand to Damian. “The amulet, please.”

“I almost forgot.” He dropped the pendant into her outstretched palm, and Ebba got her first good look at it.

Shaped from a ruby stone with a loop at the top and flat on front and back, it had handless arms dangling halfway down each side. Weirdly, it resembled the body of a person wearing a dress. Carved into the flat surface of its center was an ankh symbol, which Ebba was more familiar with and understood to be the Egyptian symbol for life.

“This is the Tyet,” Isis said, holding the necklace up and shifting to face Laszlo. “I’ve engraved the surface with the ankh. Together, they will provide protection and life to the wearer.” She looped it over his neck. “Your mate will keep its match on her person at all times.”

His gaze locked with Ebba’s. “Mate. You’ve said that before, Exalted One. What does that mean?”

“I believe you know, Beloved.” Her tone shifted, deepening as she said, “You need only remember .”

Frowning, he pressed his fingers to his temples and swayed seconds before his eyes rolled back in his head. As his knees crumpled beneath him, Isis was prepared with a golden staff and waved it in his direction, suspending his body in midair.

“He was always going to be a problem,” Isis said without concern. “Now, let me truly explain. Death needs two souls to reap today. Spencer’s and yours.”

The sick feeling lingering in the pit of Ebba’s stomach grew exponentially.

“However, there’s a third in the mix. Kyrella.”

“Who—”

“Me,” the wolf said.

“Oh.” Ebba nodded. “Gotcha.”

“By merging the souls and removing the impurest parts to combine and create another, Divina will have the two needed to maintain the balance,” Castor concluded with an admiring grin. “Brilliant, really.”

“Thank you,” Isis said without a hint of pride or vanity. “The trade-off is the shift every month.”

“Why does it sound so ominous?” Ebba shared a wary glance with Kyrella.

“It’s painful,” Damian said. “Your bones will break and reform into that of a wolf. Your consciousness will disappear, and the animal will take over for three full days until the moon wanes.”

“Is she vulnerable to danger?” Ebba asked, unconcerned for herself but fearful another car might strike Kyrella while on a nightly run.

“That’s up to you and Laszlo,” Isis said.

“You may use my estate during that time,” Damian offered.

“And I’m certain Alastair will offer his or the woods behind Thorne Manor, in Tennessee,” Castor added with a supportive smile.

“But she’ll be okay?” Ebba asked.

“Yes,” Isis assured her. “While human, the amulet is simply a necklace designed to protect you. When you transition into Kyrella, the stone will burn through her fur and become one with her skin. It serves as a shield of sorts.”

“Burn?” Ebba’s fingers tightened in Kyrella’s fur. “No! She’s suffered enough!”

“She won’t feel it, child. You will. The broken bones and seared flesh are your penance for taking her life and prolonging your own.”

Nausea churned in her gut until she thought she might vomit. But ghosts didn’t puke, did they? Still, she felt weak and plopped on the ground to lean into the wolf’s strong shoulder.

“Are you okay with this, Kyrella?” she asked in a low voice. “Tell me if you aren’t, and I’ll go with Death. You can live the rest of your life.”

The wolf’s golden eyes glistened with something akin to compassion and love as they met hers.

“Yes. We will be joined. True soulmates.”

“You’re too generous.”

“No, friend. You are, and it makes you the perfect human to bind souls with.”

“If, at any time, you change your mind?—”

“I won’t. My mate is dead. You deserve to experience the type of love we did.” Kyrella nuzzled Ebba’s face. “Maroke would say the same if he were here.”

“Will you miss the chance to see him if you stay? Like, can’t you meet up with him in the afterlife or something?”

Her wolf counterpart looked to Isis to explain.

“The part of Kyrella transitioning to the next stage will be with her mate again. There, she will be a wolf for all but three days,” the Goddess said.

“So, the reverse of her time here?”

“Yes.”

Ebba smiled at Kyrella. “Not so bad then since I get to consume your pain.”

“Not so bad then.” Her canine grin was a sight to behold, and Ebba laughed for the first time in what felt like forever.

Sobering, she asked the question they’d avoided all night. “Why would the Fates allow this?”

“Because I asked them,” Isis replied. Her sudden smile was startling and a thing of wonder.

“I still don’t understand why. Was it for Laszlo?” Ebba couldn’t say why her need to know was so strong, but she couldn’t seem to let it go without the full truth.

“It was for you both, child.” The Goddess’s expression was one of deep affection, the kind reserved for a friend or relation. “You were my handmaiden, and when it was your time to be reborn, I couldn’t bear to part with you. That delay cost you years of happiness with Laszlo.”

“My mother’s miscarriage four years before I was born?”

Isis nodded.

“It’s why you bothered yourself to get involved in mortal affairs,” Ebba concluded.

“Yes.”

“It would also explain the familiarity I feel around you.”

“If by that you mean your inability to curb your tongue, yes. You’ve always been outspoken,” Isis replied with a laugh. “It’s what makes you unique, my darling girl.”

“I wish I remembered.”

“It’s part of the process. When your time comes to leave the earthly plane for the Otherworld, those memories will resurface,” the Goddess assured her. “If you choose to join my court again, you will be welcomed.”

“Thank you for this chance, Exalted One.” Ebba bowed her head.

“It was the least I could do for my favorite pet and handmaiden. Treat Kyrella well.”

“I will.”

But there was one possible objection left.

Laszlo .

“Will you wake him?” Ebba asked, climbing to her feet. “He should get a say in whether he’s tied to me forever or not.”

Castor snorted. “Somehow, I don’t think that will be a hardship.”