Page 71 of The Bone Witch
The seven witches all start to laugh, and a stunning blonde woman to Alora’s right reaches out and takes her hand. “I felt the same way the first time I saw her,” she confides with a kind smile and a squeeze of Rogan’s aunt’s hand. Then Alora looks over at the blonde woman, her gray eyes filled with love and affection, and she squeezes right back.
I’m getting a definite vibe from the two of them, and I sneak a look at Dave, who said he was Alora’s husband, to see what he thinks of the display.
Surprisingly, he’s looking at his wife with such pure adoration that it makes my heart ache a little with envy. Dave’s smile grows even wider, and before I can look away, his gaze flits to mine and he gives me a quick wink.
Shock trickles through me, and I once again question whether this man can read what’s in my head like it’s his favorite book. When Alora looks like she’s about to say something, my attention immediately snaps back to her. There’s no way I’m missing whatever it is she’s saying again.
“I was just welcoming you, Lennox. We’re honored to have you in our home.”
I smile, willing the blush that’s settling in my cheeks to calm the fuck down. “Thank you. I’m honored to meet all of you and grateful for any help you can offer,” I declare, feeling proud when my voice doesn’t wobble with nerves.
“Have a seat,” Alora commands, and with a snap, two chairs rise up out of the wood of the floor directly behind us.
As soon as they stop growing in size, Rogan sits in one. I plop my gobsmacked ass in the other, painfully aware of just how out of my league I am when it comes to this crew of magic users.
The coven quickly introduces themselves, but the only names my mind can seem to hold onto are Dave, Alora, and Harmony, the overly-affectionate blonde woman to Alora’s right.
“How can I help you, nephew?” Alora asks when the introductions are over and everyone settles into their curiosity.
Rogan clears his throat, and I don’t miss the blush that crawls into his cheeks as he looks from Alora to the other coven members and declares, “We need information about tethering and how to sever it.”
I’m surprised when no one in the room gasps or shows any outward signs of surprise. So far, anytime anyone hears the term, they freak out, which makes the silence in the room all the more unsettling.
“And you both wish to sever that which you bound?” Harmony asks.
Rogan and I both quickly answeryesin unison, and she nods.
“It is not an easy thing to do or a pain-free process. We can facilitate it, but the success depends on many factors,” she tells us matter-of-factly.
“Like what?” I ask, not liking the sound of that.
“It depends firstly on whether or not your magics are better off together. Or if you’ve already been tapping into the other’s abilities, thus forging a more impenetrable connection. Each time you activate the familiar bond with the other, it strengthens it, and that can be difficult to disconnect without damage,” a male witch with red hair, who I think is called Worin, explains.
“Have the two of you entertained at all the pros behind staying tethered?” Alora asks sweetly, and an alarm goes off inside my head. “You may chalk what happened up to chance, but often the threads of life weave patterns we cannot see until much later as we look back on the tapestry of our lives,” she adds.
I try not to do anything that might be considered disrespectful, like laugh or screamare you nuts?but I’m not on board with the old school matchmaker vibe that I’m suddenly getting from her. I fidget in my chair in an effort to keep quiet, and then I give up, deciding that what I have to say matters whether they want to hear it or not.
“Please know that I’m not trying to offend you or dismiss your point,” I interject, and all eyes turn to me. “But I feel like it needs to be said that this is not the era of arranged marriages and making do. Rogan and I don’t know each other well enough to tie ourselves together forever. The magic in my line has always been its own entity. I’m not willing to mess with that because Rogan is a good kisser and I’d be down to play hide the wand a few dozen times before it’s time for me to go home and honor the legacy bestowed upon me by my ancestors.”
I feel my face turn crimson as the accidental overshare comes pouring out of my mouth. I immediately want to find a dark corner and hit my head against a wall over and over again until my brain realizes that telling a person’s family that you want to do dirty things to them is weird and gross on so many levels. But instead, I just keep on going like there’s no shame in my game. Even though I can practically feel the creepy nun from that show ringing a bell behind me and barking outshameover and over again.
“Not to mention,” I hurry on, hoping everyone in the room will forget my creepy word vomit and focus only on the valid points I’m making, “life’s tapestry or not, how Rogan and I became tethered in the first place was wrong on every level. Whether it could all work out for the best or not, I don’t know anything good that’s ever come from having your choice or your say taken away. Could I find the positives if I wanted to look for them? I’m sure I could, but I shouldn’t have to. What happened was done for the wrong reasons, and it needs to be fixed.”
I can feel Rogan’s eyes on me, but I don’t look over. There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that he’s not going to make fun of me for what just happened, but I can hold him off for a little while by pretending he’s not there.
The coven doesn’t say anything, and I watch each of the seven witches consider and weigh my words.
“And, nephew, how do you feel about what’s been said and pointed out for your consideration?” Alora asks.
He crosses his legs, the ankle of one leg resting on the knee of the other as he seems to contemplate the question. “I think I’d like to understand more about the separation process,” he eventually voices. I was expecting him to dive into how he feels about what I said, but the logistics of it all are technically valid too. “Is it dangerous? What are the risks?” he continues.
Dave studies Rogan, his head slightly cocked as though he’s listening intently to something. “Well, right now the two of you are connected. You can tap into the other’s abilities or use both lines of magic at the same time. You can track and apparate to one another using the tether. It will work to pull the two of you closer together, urge you to strengthen the bond and use it to protect each other.”
“Tethers can manifest and develop differently depending on the magic of the bonded and how the connection is used,” Alora adds. “Our tether, for example, has changed over time. Different abilities and consequences have manifested over the years. However, because there are so many variables, we can’t say for certain how each one will build and blossom, or wilt and die if it be the will of the bonded.”
“I’m sorry, but did you just say thatyou’retethered?” I ask, completely taken aback by the admission.
Alora gives me a warm smile. “Yes. I am tethered to both my husband and my wife,” she explains as though there aren’t a million things about that sentence that just blew my mind. “That’s why Rogan came to us for help,” she adds as though that should have been obvious.
