Chapter 19 #2
I feel sick. Why does everything have to be so perfect. Can’t he just fire me? Tell me I am awful and then Granny and Aradia can call me a disappointment and then Sam can tell me I am awful and all of this would make everything so much easier.
“That’s really kind,” is all I can say. The lump in my throat appears making it hard to talk. Sam brushes my fingers with his before holding my hand.
Aradia looks at me for a moment and can sense my hesitation. “Wonderfully kind, Jim, and I know Harri must be in shock by your kindness.” She pats him on his arm and stands. He looks confused by my reaction but smiles and stands with Aradia.
“I’ll pop by this week and we can sort out the details, Jim.” She leads him to the door as he nods.
“That would be great, Aradia. See you both.” He waves at us as he leaves and Aradia waves him down the path.
Sam tips my chin towards him. “You OK?”
“Sorry.” A tear drops down my cheek and he wipes it without hesitation.
“For what?” he asks tenderly.
I want to tell him everything. I do. But I can’t. My mouth just will not. “I’m just all emotional.” I smile, feeling a little embarrassed. “Just how kind Jim is, how kind everyone is. It’s so different to what I’m used to.”
“You’re so silly,” he teases, pulling me into him. His sage and woody scent calms my breath. He gives me a big squeeze then releases me. “Hey, so I do have to go to a little thing called work, but tonight, shall we do something?”
I nod. I want to spend any time I have left with him. God, I sound dramatic, but I know if I marry Greg, Sam will never want to see me again.
He kisses the top of my head and heads to the door past Aradia.
“See you later, love,” she calls after him. He waves back.
Aradia strolls into the kitchen and sits down on the chair she was sat on earlier. “You. Sit. Now.”
I follow her command and walk over to the kitchen table.
“First of all, that boy is just oozing love. He really is smitten.” She smiles like a Cheshire cat then drops the smile and narrows her eyes at me. “But you, Harriet. You are the opposite. What is going on?”
“What’s not going on, Aradia?” A rush of feelings fills my stomach and retches out of my throat as word vomit falls out of me.
“Not only am I completely in love with the most amazing man ever, but I’m also given the opportunity of a home, a job, friends that have welcomed me into their arms and family that treats me as that, family.
I am in a place that is peaceful, calm and beautiful.
I have this amazing opportunity, and I can’t take it.
And you will tell me I can. Because again, you are just so lovely but I can’t take it, Aradia.
And then to top it off I am either losing my mind or there is a wolf loose in the Brindlewood woods which could be a dog but I am fairly sure it was a wolf and… ” I stop to breathe.
Aradia throws her hands up. “Woah, woah, woah, hold on.” Aradia takes a breath herself before looking at me. “A wolf?”
I nod, still trying to inhale oxygen into my lungs. “Last night, in the woods.”
Her eyes narrow. “Harri, I have told you not to go into those woods at night. It’s not safe.”
I nod. “I’m sorry. I just needed a walk. It was fine. Sam found me.”
“Sam?” She looks puzzled.
“Yeah, he was chopping up firewood.”
Her eyebrow raises. “At night?”
“Yeah, I don’t know. Isn’t that something people do at night?” The words leaving my mouth are quick and rushed.
She pulls a face, the face of someone unsure. “So he saw the wolf too?” she questions.
“No, it ran off before he got there.”
She sits silently, looking within herself. She refills her cup with tea from the pot on the table which is probably lukewarm by now.
“What?” I ask. She doesn’t answer, still silent and looking down. “Aradia?”
She lifts her head back up to face me. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”
“About?”
“Something…” She shakes her head and whispers under her breath, “I must be wrong.”
“Aradia, what are you going on about?” I can feel myself becoming snappy with her.
Granny makes herself known in the kitchen by clearing her throat. Aradia and I turn to look at her.
“How much did you hear?” Aradia asks.
“I heard about the wolf.” She walks in towards us, resting on the kitchen island with her hip.
I feel like I am missing something. “It could have been a dog,” I chime in to the awkwardness.
“Was it a dog?” Aradia looks at me, staring intently.
I feel sheepish. “No, it was too big.”
Aradia turns to look at Granny who lets out a large sigh. “I was afraid this day would come.”
“I am sorry. Can one of you, like, please tell me what is going on? Is this like a weird joke?” I feel anger rising inside me along with the now burning tingle of my magic awakening with my emotions.
“I’m sorry, Harri, I guess I also haven’t been as truthful as I should have been. I guess I wanted to ease you into all of this, to us.” Granny pulls out the chair next to me and takes a seat. “The thing is, Harri, we’re not the only magic beings in Brindlewood.”
“What?” Aradia and I gasp at the same time.
Granny sighs and looks at her feet. “Look, it’s not my story to tell. And I assumed that with you getting close…”
“Sam?” My jaw drops as she nods. “So, what, he’s like a werewolf or something?”
She smiles. “I can see why you would assume that, but no. Sam also comes from a long line of witches. He has the ability to shapeshift into a wolf. Extremely rare but he is the first-born male in over a century. Male witches tend to be born with the purpose of protecting. Sam protects Brindlewood and those who live here. It has taken him a lot of getting used to. You see, Sam started his awakening as a teen, younger than most witches, but I assume this is because of how intense his power is. He didn’t always use it for the right reasons.
Scaring local farmers and ending up on the local news.
But he has grown with his power and now only practises in the woods at night, normally to keep his power strong if it’s ever needed. ”
“And Gloria?” Aradia questions.
Granny nods again. “Only Gloria and I know of each other’s families. They have been here for as long as we have. Our ancestors’ sisters in unison.”
“So, Sam doesn’t know about us?” I ask quietly.
“No, darling, not yet at least.” She looks at me. “But I think it might be time.”
I can feel my body tingle with emotion. “But you let me get close to him. And now not only am I in danger, but Sam, Gloria, Lola!”
Granny hangs her head in shame. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s just—”
I cut her off. “You have given me so much and for that I am forever grateful, but you knew what Sam is. And you didn’t tell me.”
“It needed to be natural.” She sighs.
I stand up and slam my hands on the table, the magic burning my skin. “You wanted us to get together? You set us up?”
Granny looks at me in shock. “No, Harri, darling, it’s not like that. You and Sam, you’re twin flames.”
Aradia looks at Granny and looks at me then looks back at Granny. “Are you sure?” she whispers. “It’s been centuries since the last known twin flames existed.”
“I’m sorry, but what the fuck is a twin flame?” I curse out, staring at them both.
Granny leans forwards, her voice soft but firm as she speaks.
“You see, Harri, you and Sam are twin flames. It is not just a bond of love. It is something deeper, something more powerful. When two witches are bound this way, their magic becomes one. Your souls intertwine, and together, your strength multiplies beyond anything either of you could do alone. It’s a force that even time can’t unravel. ”
My brow furrows in confusion as I sit back down, allowing myself to listen. “But… what does that mean?”
Granny’s eyes gleam with a secret knowledge, a warning in her tone.
“It means that your magic isn’t just for you anymore.
It can be passed down, and your children, your offspring, become amongst the most powerful witches born.
And that, my dear, can make us dangerous to witch hunters.
They know what that kind of power can do.
And they won’t hesitate to try and take it for themselves.
” She relaxes her shoulders. “But two twin flame witches also can use their power to protect those around them with such size that it would take a lot for a witch hunter to get near. Your healing potions will double with power, your dreams will become clearer, your power and Sam’s powers will be greater than any of us. ”
“How long have you known?” I stutter through my words.
Granny does not answer.
“Granny?”
“Since the day you were born. I knew this day would come. That you, my darling Harri, would be together with Samuel, the most powerful witch in our ancestry. I knew one day you would feel that missing feeling. That one day Sam would lay eyes on you and that fire within you both would ignite. Your mother knew it too.”
Tears are filling my eyes. “My mother?”
“She took you away to stop it happening sooner. She didn’t want you wrapped up in our world. But, instead got wrapped up in another. One against our kind.” Her eyes dart to Aradia. “Tell Harri what you know.”
My eyes, red and upset, shoot to Aradia who is quiet and anxious. “What?” I seethe at her.
“The Belfours use witch hunters. I was waiting to get some more information before telling you. They have been using witch blood for years to get where they are. It looks like they have known what you are this whole time. And your father is the one who sold you to them for the price of wealth and power.” Her eyes also start filling with tears. “I’m so sorry, Harri.”
The magic inside me swirls like an angry wave in the North Sea, angry and unforgiving.
It fizzles up through my throat and out my mouth into a blood curdling scream.
The lights in the cottage explode above us.
The empty chairs around the table fly away slamming into the floor.
My face falls onto the table and I wail like an injured animal. I pass out.