Chapter 97
Elowen POV
85
The coven’s sprawling halls had dimmed for the night, torches flickering with gentle flame as we made our way back to our quarters. But I wasn’t done yet. The magic in my veins was pulsing like wildfire, and Lyssira was practically pacing inside my head.
“We need to know more,” She murmured, her voice a soft growl. “We’ve just scratched the surface of what we are.”
“Wait,” I said, halting mid corridor. My mates turned, eyebrows lifting. “I want to stop at the library. I need to learn more.”
Lachlan’s smile was full of pride and something deeper. “Aye, mo ghrá, I thought ye might. Come on then, I’ll show ye the good section.”
The MacCrae Coven library was massive, stone walls stacked to the arched ceiling with books that oozed dust and ancient power. A protective enchantment shimmered faintly in the air, and the scent of lavender, parchment, and ink clung to the stones.
Lachlan led us to the back, past grimoires sealed with wax and charms meant to keep the unworthy out.
“This section’s where the real work begins,” he murmured, running a reverent hand over a leather bound tome. “Elemental affinity texts, soulbinding theory, ancestral casting. Ye’ll want tae start here, mo ghrá.”
I loaded my arms with as many books as I could carry, refusing to let Daxon or Ash help me. “My homework, I grinned. “Hands off.”
Back in our guest quarters, I curled up cross legged on the rug by the hearth, surrounded by books. My eyes scanned lines of spells written in languages I somehow understood now, old Gaelic, magical Latin, fae script.
I whispered incantations. Practiced runes in the air with a fingertip glowing faint silver. Lit candles. Doused them. Created floating droplets of water and tried to freeze them in place.
Every time I succeeded, Lyssira howled in pride.
Around me, the boys kept themselves busy, Dax cleaning weapons, Ash sharpening his daggers, and Lachlan watching me like I hung the
stars.
“Ye look like a wee witch who’s found her first spellbook,” he teased softly. “Except ye might blow a bloody hole in the wall if ye keep goin‘ like that.”
I’ll stop when I’m dead.”
He chuckled, settling in beside me and brushing my hair behind my car. “Please dinnae make me chain ye tae the bed just tae get some
rest,”
yo
“Don’t tempt me.”
Eventually, the exhaustion won. My eyes burned and my head ached, but I’d managed to scribe three complex spells into a blank journal I’d found on the desk. Lachlan tucked me into bed between him and Ash, with Daxon snoring on the other side already.
We all crashed hard.
1/2
9:25 Fri, Oct 3
Chapter 97
The next morning….
The smell of spiced sausage and toasted bread hit me like a gift from the goddess. I hopped outta bed and threw on my clothes. The Jour of us were escorted to a private dining room where Alaric and Isolde awaited us, seated at a thick wooden table carved with ancient
runes.
“Good mornin‘ tae ye all, Isolde greeted warmly. “Come. Sit. Eat.”
Breakfast was a dream. Eggs with chives and goat cheese, roasted mushrooms, thick black tea with honey and cream, buttery uatrakes still steaming.
Mid meal, Isolde turned to me and slid a heavy, leather wrapped book across the table.
“This,” she said, her voice thick with emotion, “is a MacCrae family grimoire. Passed down through the generations. It holds spells only our blood can wield. But… ye are part of our blood now, Elowen. Through Lachlan. And more.”
I stared at the book. My hands trembled as I touched it, magic singing beneath my fingertips.
“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered, blinking hard.
“Say ye’ll use it well,” Alaric said, his voice low and steady. “It’s a weapon, same as a blade. Meant tae protect what we love.”
“I will,” I promised, clutching it to my chest. “Thank you. So fucking much.”
Isolde leaned over and pulled me into a tight embrace. “We believe in ye, lass. All of us.”
Later in The Forest
With our bellies full and grimoires in hand, we stepped into the wild woods behind the coven’s keep. The air shimmered faintly with magic, ancient ley lines threading through the soil like veins.
I knelt beside a moss–covered rock and opened the book. The spells glowed faintly beneath the rising sun, and I felt Lachlan’s hand settle gently on my shoulder,
‘Let’s get ye leveled up, mo ghrá,” he murmured, those blue eyes gleaming. “We’ve got a war tae win.”
The air in the forest shimmered with anticipation.
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