Page 55 of Tethered

“Hunters?”

“Witch hunters.”

He freezes solid at my words. I reach over and slide my arm around him. “There is no love lost between Austin and his family, as you can tell. He went into a very different kind of business.”

“That doesn’t mean he isn’t plotting something.”

“His dad killed his mom. It turns out the hunters, at least the local ones, didn’t hate witches. They hated women. Austin’s dad and his friends visited a cabin in the woods, where Austin rigged the fire so they died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Trust me when I say he wants nothing to do with that life. He even gave me back the family grimoire.”

“The what now?”

“It’s a book filled with potions and spells, recipes, and antidotes. There are sketches and annotations left in the margins from my ancestors. I haven’t had a chance to read it all, but he didn’t have to give it to me. He could have kept it. That thing is old. He could have sold it for a pretty penny.” I look away for a moment as something settles within me.

“What is it?”

“Something Austin said without realizing, I think. He was telling me that it’s always the female descendants who have power, not the sons. They might have immunity to some of the powers used on them, but that’s as far as it ever went.”

“Okay, but I’m sensing there is more to it than that.”

I bite my lip. I could be very wrong, but I trust Riggs more than anyone. He won’t share what I don’t want him to. “Austin is immune to my powers.”

He rears back. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah, but from what I could gather, for him to be immune…”

“There must be a witch in his lineage. Holy shit. Might explain why his dad was such a prick toward both his wife and women in general.”

“Yeah. Don’t say anything, though. If he wants me to know the specifics, he’ll tell me.”

“It’s none of my business anyway.” His eye closes for a moment as he sighs. “That day out in the field…I was trying to figure out what the hell happened. I wasn’t buying Willowthrowing you—that horse is as protective of you as you are of her. It was Austin.”

“It was me. The house doesn’t sense him either, so when he appeared beside me as if he’d stepped out of my nightmares, I lost my shit. I was so fucking angry at him, Riggs. It just kept spilling over until, eventually, it was pouring out of me in an onslaught of fear and anger and disappointment. I wanted to hurt him. Hell, I tried to, but nothing affected him. I ended up draining myself dry. If he hadn’t gotten me help when he did, I’m not sure I’d have survived.”

“You scared me shitless that day. I never want to come that close to losing you again.”

“I didn’t know I could drain myself like that. But now I do, so it won’t happen again. I’m figuring everything out as I go along. Most witches learn from the rest of the women in their family. But I have to figure it out alone, so I’m going to fuck things up sometimes.”

“What else can you do? I know about the house, though I won’t even try to understand how that works. The sparks—what else?”

I hold up my hand and concentrate on the feeling of the air around me. I imagine it as more solid, and then it feels a little sticky, like cotton candy. When I’m done with that, I swirl my finger on my free hand, my intention clear. When Riggs gasps, I open my eyes at the mini tornado in my hand.

“Since the hospital, I seem to have gained more affinity with air. You know about the sparks, and I have a way with earth, too. I don’t know how to put it so it makes sense. You know how I can get a feeling from the house? Well, it’s a similar kind of vibe from the earth but in reverse. I can push what I want into it, and it will comply, which is why my land is prospering while others aren’t doing so well. I wouldn’t say I’m feeding it—more like I’mhealing it. It likes my energy, and it wants to do my bidding. It’s been waiting for me to come home.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot.”

“I mean, my girlfriend is a real-life superhero. I’m not really seeing the downside here.”

I snort as the idiot gets up and pulls me into a sitting position.

“Not a superhero. Just a regular witch.”

“Oh, honey, I hate to break this to you, but you are anything but regular.”

“Says the sexy pirate cowboy,” I say with a grin as I press a kiss to his eyepatch.

“Hmm…I’m sensing some role-playing in our future.”