Divination (Spells and Sins)

Chapter 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

"The veil between realms is thin, but so is the line between fate and choice."

Elysia

“ I could ask you the same thing.” Lunara slowly rose from the attic floor, while a purplish hue glowed from a hole by her feet.

“You have some nerve coming into my house and rummaging through my things when I’m not home.” Morgana took a step closer to Lunara. “My property is none of your concern.” Her gaze frantically shifted between Lunara and the glowing compartment several times. Her hand shook as she pointed at Lunara. “Get out!”

“Not before you explain all of this—” Her arm swept around the room, drawing my attention to a mess of papers on the floor, “—to Elysia and me.” Lunara crossed her arms and leveled her gaze at Morgana. “Now!”

I hesitantly took a step forward. “Lunara, don’t do this.” Knowing how much Morgana hated Lunara, I feared Morgana may plan to attack Lunara and I didn’t want her to get hurt in the process. She meant too much to me.

Lunara choked down a sob. “Are you on her side now?”

“No!” Rushing over, I stood next to Lunara, unsure about so many things including what Morgana was capable of after seeing such a drastic change in her. “Don’t hurt her.”

“So much for getting rid of this half-breed.” Morgana stifled a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. “This complicates things, Elysia.” She closed the distance so that I was equally as close to Lunara as I was to her. “It’s time to choose. Your coven or her .” I hated the way Morgana’s lip curled in disdain as she addressed Lunara.

Gasping, I stumbled back a step. “Why are you doing this? After all the years I spent idolizing you. Look what you’ve become.”

Morgana chortled. “This is who I’ve always been.” Morgana nodded toward the glow. “Now, pick it up, Lunara. Accept your fate.”

“Her fate?” I leaned over to get a good look at what the space beneath the floorboards contained. “Is—is that the orb? The Starfire Orb?”

Lunara nodded and bit her bottom lip, her face squished up as if she were in pain.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. Lunara’s pained expression had me tied up in knots.

Lunara glanced toward the orb before pointing her silver eyes directly at mine. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

She wrapped her arms around me, but the twinge of anger I felt that she’d been keeping something hidden had me wriggling out of her grasp. First Morgana, and now her? “What is it?”

When Lunara didn’t immediately respond, I turned to Morgana and noticed an evil smirk spreading across her face.

“Someone better start talking, right now.”

Morgana kept her sights heavily on Lunara while Lunara turned away from me to study the orb.

“When I was trapped by myself in the tunnel—” Lunara’s words were cut short by her deep inhalation. After she blew it out, she continued. “I heard a voice.”

“A voice?” My brow furrowed as I mentally questioned why she hadn’t said anything. “What did it say?”

Lunara took another deep breath, her eyes glued to that space beneath the floor. “It was all obscurity and riddles, but…” Her hands fisted tightly, her knuckles growing whiter as the seconds passed. “The voice said that the orb will require a payment of more than just blood.”

“You mean…” I glanced at Morgana, squinting my eyes as she looked on with a smile of sheer satisfaction. “Can that thing kill her?” I barked my question at Morgana, realizing that she was more sinister than I could have ever imagined.

“It’s okay, Elysia.” Lunara started to bend toward the floor, but I quickly shoved her aside.

“What are you doing?” As I knelt over the hole, I said, “I’ll pick it up.”

“You will not.” When I turned to scowl at Morgana, I noticed how all the color had drained from her face.

With a hand steadier than I expected, I reached toward the orb.

“No!” Morgana shouted, lunging forward a step, but then stopping. “Don’t—don’t do this.”

“What happens when one of us touches it?” I maneuvered around to stand on the other side of the hole. “Would I die, too?”

“This isn’t your destiny, Elysia.” Morgana fidgeted with her hands, then balled them into fists and dropped them at her side. “This is none of your concern.”

“It’s not?” I leaned over, hand stretched toward the orb just to see what she’d do.

“Please.” Morgana unballed her fists and shook them out. “You don’t want to do that.”

“Don’t I?” I asked my high priestess. “Isn’t this supposed to be the thing that saves both Hallow Ridge Grove and Faerie?”

“It is, but there is a cost.”

“Death?” I crouched down and observed the orb. It pulsed with magic, beckoning me to pick it up.

“That orb is more powerful than anyone can fathom, but no, it would not kill you .” Morgana folded her hands in front of her and appeared to restrain herself. She exuded a calmness I knew she didn’t feel.

“And her?” I canted my head toward Lunara. “Would it kill Lunara?”

Lunara cleared her throat. “I can’t turn back now, Elysia. My will is not my own.”

My eyes widened. “What are you even saying?”

“In the tunnel, when I fell through that wall...” Lunara never once pulled her gaze from the hole in the floor, while all I wanted was for her to look me in the eye. “A woman’s voice told me I can’t turn back now. It has to be me.” It was then her eyes met mine, if only for a fraction of a second.

I reached over and grabbed her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you go looking for the orb without me?”

“I merely happened upon the orb.” I could see the pain she felt in the wrinkles that framed her eyes. “I came here for you.”

“But you don’t have to do this. We can find another way.”

Morgana cleared her throat. “Unlike you, Elysia, she knows her fate.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered, taking my hand in hers. “I’m willing to pay the price.” She squeezed my hand tight then let it go. “To save you.”

With a sneer, Morgana rolled her eyes.

“What is your problem?” I asked Morgana. “Lunara has done nothing but try to help our coven and our world.”

“She’s fae.” She waved her hands around, encompassing all of Lunara. “Don’t you get it? They infiltrated our town centuries ago. Their magic has corrupted the very ground we walk on and I’ve done what I could to purge Hallow Ridge Grove of their magic to reclaim our land.”

“The fae aren’t corrupt. It’s only your skewed perception of their kind.” I’m not sure what happened to Morgana in her past, but it didn’t warrant hurting another individual, fae, witch, or otherwise. “Besides, Lunara is only part-fae.”

“That’s the real kicker in all of this.”

Even with her head bowed, I could feel the pain that rolled off of Lunara in waves. “Tell me something, Morgana. Who is Lunara Astor?”

Morgana scoffed. “I don’t think you want the answer to that.” She threw her hands in the air and turned to walk away. “I’m done with this conversation.”

“Stop,” I said sternly, rising to my full height and squaring my shoulders. “You don’t get to declare when this conversation ends.”

Curiosity peaked, I wondered what else Lunara may have found while snooping in the attic. Astor was the name on the document we’d found for the Crystal Lantern. Did this Lunara Astor have some connection to this town?

Holding out a hand, Morgana drew on her magic, creating a sphere of light. “Don’t test me. You know who the stronger witch is here.”

“Try me.” Smirking, I recalled the power Lunara and I had created in the tunnel. Together, we were stronger, and Morgana had no idea what she was up against. “Now, answer Lunara’s question.”

“Well, aren’t you just a cocky little thing, now.” Morgana inched closer. “You think because you’ve sullied your magic with that of a half-breed you can overpower me?” A malevolent laugh rose up from her chest, her smile making my blood run cold. “Your little friend here went digging through things that weren’t hers and found her very own birth certificate.” Her canines shone as her sinister smile seemed to spread further.

“My name is Lunara Starfall.” Eyes narrowed, Lunara stared at Morgana. “I’m the daughter of Maxwell Starfall of the Lunethen Court.”

“How dare you speak his name in my presence.” Morgana glanced at the box in the middle of the floor then cackled. “He was a filthy faerie who took advantage of a young, naive woman. And because of him, I lost my sister.”

“Your sister?” I was growing more confused by the second. How did Morgana’s sister fit into all of this?

“Yes.” For the first time, Morgana’s sneer turned to a pained expression. “My sister Nicole was Lunara’s mother, but because Lunara was half-fae, my sister died in childbirth.”

“No.” Lunara fell backwards, landing on her rear as she bumped into an antique dresser behind her. “I could never be related to you.”

My ears could not be hearing this correctly. “But Lunara isn’t part witch. She’s fae and human.”

“She is. My sister was born a regular old run of the mill human. No powers. Not even an inclination for divination.” Morgana clucked her tongue. “It was a shame, really. If she’d only realized Maxwell’s seed would end her...”

“But your last name isn’t Astor.” Wouldn’t she have told me that she was an Astor? I guess Morgana had been hiding more than I could have ever imagined.

“No!” A sob tore from Lunara. “I don’t believe you, Morgana. That birth certificate has to be a fake.”

I rushed to Lunara’s side and dropped down beside her. “It doesn’t matter what she says. You are you and that’s all that matters.”

“That’s touching, really, but I need her to pick up the orb. Samhain is fast approaching and without her sealing her fate, we’re all going to be in a world of trouble.” Morgana’s boots thunked against the floor as she ever-so-slowly made her way over to the opening in the floor.

The orb’s purple glow cast Morgana in a villainous light. “Come, child.” She crooked a finger at Lunara.

I kissed Lunara’s cheek, then whispered, “Maybe this is just another one of her lies.”

Lunara sighed and whispered back, “What if it’s not?”

“Then I’ll be by your side. We’ll see what happens together.” I helped Lunara to stand. Her whole body shook as I supported her.

Morgana’s smug smile was just another knife in my back.

“I hope you’re happy,” I spit out. “If she dies, so help me gods…”

“Just do it.” Morgana huffed. “Pick it up before the darkness destroys us all.”

A chill raced down my spine. “Do you feel that?” I ran my palms over my arms, trying to ward off the cold.

Lunara nodded. “It’s close.”

“Too close,” Morgana said. “I can feel the dark energy growing stronger with each minute that ticks by. It will be at its strongest at midnight when the veil is thinnest.”

“But today is only the thirtieth.” The date on my phone had flashed across my screen when I went to unlock it earlier. I knew it wasn’t the thirty-first yet.

Morgana’s lips painted into a wicked sneer of a smile. “But as we approach midnight, the magic it encompasses will be at its peak. It’s not midnight on Samhain that matters to the darkness, it’s midnight tonight.”

“Shit.” Throwing my arms around Lunara, I hugged her tight, trying to imprint her onto my soul. To anchor her to this world in hopes of not losing her to the craziness that fate had designed. “I’m here for you.”

Lunara returned my embrace, but said nothing.

“I love you,” I whispered. And I meant it. I’d only known her mere days, but she’d managed to sneak past my defenses and take up residence in my heart. She was a permanent fixture. We were bonded, connected in more ways than just love for each other. It went deeper than I could have ever imagined. Deeper than anything I’d felt before.

Lunara gasped and buried her face into the crook of my shoulder, clutching my torso tight. Then she raised her lips to my ear. “Sweet Elysia. I love you, too.”

Reluctantly, I released her, tears welling in my eyes. If this was her final moment, at least she knew how I felt about her. I’d held nothing back.

With her knees straddling the opening, Lunara’s hands visibly shook.

I knelt down next to her and grabbed her wrist, steadying her. “You got this.”

Her bottom lip quivered, and a few tears spilled out as she reached down to pick up the Starfire Orb, but before she could fully get her hands around it, my own hand shot out and grabbed the opposite side.

“Elysia!” Lunara shouted, eyes wide, but it was too late.

We were both touching the orb.