night, doing nothing but staring at the road.” Euann averted his eyes and concentrated a little too hard on his fingertip. “It’s like she’s forgotten how to do everything.”
“Charlotte was different. We took away her trauma. No one should have to live with what happened to her. Time will fill the gaps she’s missing,” Niall stated. “Charlotte is not Helena.”
“Why would ya have footage of Lydia’s house?” Cait asked.
“Erik told me to include it in our security,” Euann answered.
“We’re warlocks,” Iain said in exasperation. “We don’t need footage. We need instinct, and my instinct says we do not need to erase Jane’s memory. She poses no threat to us.”
“Are ya sure it’s your instinct ya are talking about, Iain?” Euann chuckled.
“She is dangerous.” Margareta pushed to her feet.
“How?” Iain demanded. “What has she done that is so dangerous?”
“I can’t say yet, but I know something is not right. The memories are coming back slowly.” Margareta narrowed her eyes at her son. “But my feelings are not wrong. There is death in her, and that death does not have pure intentions.”
“I trust her,” Iain stated.
“You’re spellbound by her,” his ma countered. The others stayed abnormally quiet, watching the ensuing argument.
“I’m in love with her!” Iain shouted. He grabbed a tomato slice and shoved it into his mouth. Talking while he chewed, he said, “And she is not trying to kill us.”
“Iain—” Margareta reached for him as if she’d make him spit the food out.
Iain dodged the narrow stream of magick aimed at his stomach. It hit the wall behind him with a small pop. He swallowed. “See, I’m fine. No poison. No ill intention. Not even pesticides. The tomato is a tomato. Jane is just Jane. And whether she will still consider me or not after how my family has treated her, I am hers.”
“Iain,” Cait said, trying to sound soft and reasonable. He knew better. Cait was powerful in her own right. “Your ma is not wrong. There is something off about her life line. It’s jagged. I’ve only seen the mark in those who have beaten death, and never so many on one hand. Either she’s a survivor of some horrific circumstance or she’s more than she seems.”
“No one questioned Erik’s choice.” Iain took a deep breath. He loved his family, but he knew his feelings for Jane were real. “Why don’t ya trust me?”
“Ya need to trust your family,” Margareta said.
“I do trust my family,” Iain answered, frustrated.
“Iain, there’s more. Her hand. The cut I healed was not the first. I think she is working blood magick. Ya know she’s a natural green witch because she has a talent for growin’ things. Who knows how far those talents go or what she truly cultivates in those gardens of hers. This is your life, laddie. She admitted to being sick as a child. Perhaps someone taught her how to survive—to really survive.”
Blood magick? Cheating death? Iain didn’t want to believe it. He trusted his family, knew them to be powerful and smart, but he felt what he felt. “I know what a spell feels like. What I feel is not a spell.”
“What makes ya say you’re in love, laddie?” his da asked.
“I feel something when I am near her. I feel her energy. It’s like the plants in the garden waiting to feed my powers without asking for anything in return. When I touch her, I hear bagpipes. When I smell her, I feel the wind inside me. Surely that is love? My entire body hums to life. My heart quickens. I’m more powerful. I even froze time with the mere thought of wanting to be with her.” Iain wanted desperately to explain. He needed them to understand. He wanted his family to like Jane, to see her how he did—well, not exactly like he did. “And not just a petrifying spell. I froze everything. Even birds. And they did not fall from the sky like stones either. When I’m with her, time stops.”
“Could she have amplified your
“Charlotte was different. We took away her trauma. No one should have to live with what happened to her. Time will fill the gaps she’s missing,” Niall stated. “Charlotte is not Helena.”
“Why would ya have footage of Lydia’s house?” Cait asked.
“Erik told me to include it in our security,” Euann answered.
“We’re warlocks,” Iain said in exasperation. “We don’t need footage. We need instinct, and my instinct says we do not need to erase Jane’s memory. She poses no threat to us.”
“Are ya sure it’s your instinct ya are talking about, Iain?” Euann chuckled.
“She is dangerous.” Margareta pushed to her feet.
“How?” Iain demanded. “What has she done that is so dangerous?”
“I can’t say yet, but I know something is not right. The memories are coming back slowly.” Margareta narrowed her eyes at her son. “But my feelings are not wrong. There is death in her, and that death does not have pure intentions.”
“I trust her,” Iain stated.
“You’re spellbound by her,” his ma countered. The others stayed abnormally quiet, watching the ensuing argument.
“I’m in love with her!” Iain shouted. He grabbed a tomato slice and shoved it into his mouth. Talking while he chewed, he said, “And she is not trying to kill us.”
“Iain—” Margareta reached for him as if she’d make him spit the food out.
Iain dodged the narrow stream of magick aimed at his stomach. It hit the wall behind him with a small pop. He swallowed. “See, I’m fine. No poison. No ill intention. Not even pesticides. The tomato is a tomato. Jane is just Jane. And whether she will still consider me or not after how my family has treated her, I am hers.”
“Iain,” Cait said, trying to sound soft and reasonable. He knew better. Cait was powerful in her own right. “Your ma is not wrong. There is something off about her life line. It’s jagged. I’ve only seen the mark in those who have beaten death, and never so many on one hand. Either she’s a survivor of some horrific circumstance or she’s more than she seems.”
“No one questioned Erik’s choice.” Iain took a deep breath. He loved his family, but he knew his feelings for Jane were real. “Why don’t ya trust me?”
“Ya need to trust your family,” Margareta said.
“I do trust my family,” Iain answered, frustrated.
“Iain, there’s more. Her hand. The cut I healed was not the first. I think she is working blood magick. Ya know she’s a natural green witch because she has a talent for growin’ things. Who knows how far those talents go or what she truly cultivates in those gardens of hers. This is your life, laddie. She admitted to being sick as a child. Perhaps someone taught her how to survive—to really survive.”
Blood magick? Cheating death? Iain didn’t want to believe it. He trusted his family, knew them to be powerful and smart, but he felt what he felt. “I know what a spell feels like. What I feel is not a spell.”
“What makes ya say you’re in love, laddie?” his da asked.
“I feel something when I am near her. I feel her energy. It’s like the plants in the garden waiting to feed my powers without asking for anything in return. When I touch her, I hear bagpipes. When I smell her, I feel the wind inside me. Surely that is love? My entire body hums to life. My heart quickens. I’m more powerful. I even froze time with the mere thought of wanting to be with her.” Iain wanted desperately to explain. He needed them to understand. He wanted his family to like Jane, to see her how he did—well, not exactly like he did. “And not just a petrifying spell. I froze everything. Even birds. And they did not fall from the sky like stones either. When I’m with her, time stops.”
“Could she have amplified your
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