Shadows Unbound (Starfall Academy #4)
Chapter 1
Ellora
Strands of damp hair stuck to my cheeks. Even though the sun sat low in the sky, the temperature outside was still in the high nineties. It wasn’t much cooler in the kitchen.
My body ached from the endless kneading of dough. But at least we had a few days’ worth of loaves.
Tomorrow I’d begin working on the potions for the market on Saturday. Nova mentioned the other day that many of the older women who came asked for remedies to relieve painful arthritis, so she suggested we should try making some.
And by we, she meant me.
I sighed while glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall.
Adam had been gone for three days, leaving me in charge of the farm and the other witches. I didn’t mind the responsibility, having run the Nightshade Coven back in the day, but each time he left for mage meetings, I feared he wouldn’t return.
Or worse, that one of them would figure out I was still alive.
Adam assured me none of his fellow mages were powerful enough to break his mind shields, but it didn’t stop me from worrying.
“I’ve cleaned out the coop.” Willow’s sullen voice jolted me from thoughts of my mate. I placed the last loaf onto the cooling rack and wiped my hands on a towel.
“Were there any eggs?” Something scared the chickens witless a few days earlier, and none of them had laid an egg since.
The young witch shook her head, refusing to meet my gaze.
“Nope. Just shit.” I pursed my lips at her coarse language but stopped short of scolding her. Nothing I said or did made a damn bit of difference. Only Adam commanded her respect.
“Okay, never mind.”
“Am I done for the day?” Her gaze slid over to the tray of cookies I’d baked, and my heart softened a fraction. Perhaps Adam was right when he said I needed to be more understanding.
Losing her mom and dad in a car wreck had traumatized the girl.
The mountain lion shifter who’d caused the accident had stumbled away with barely a scratch.
If he’d called for help, Willow’s parents might have lived.
Instead he disappeared into the forest, and it took a mage task force a week to track him down.
Poor Willow ended up trapped in the wreckage with the bodies for a whole day before a passing farmer found them.
“Go check on Raven for me, and then you can both have a cookie.”
Willow’s eyes lit up. “Sure.”
I watched as she hustled outside to where my toddler daughter sat playing in the dirt with her dolls. Raven giggled, happy her favorite witch was free to play with her.
Willow might not like me all that much, but she seemed to care for my daughter. The two of them were thick as thieves, despite the ten-year age gap. I half wondered whether that would change when Willow’s magic manifested. Once it came in, she’d begin casting lessons with Adam and me.
No doubt that would lead to further rebellion and sulking.
I forced my tense shoulders to relax. Perhaps I’d let Adam handle her; he was much better at dealing with the girl’s moods.
I no longer had any patience for difficult adolescent witches with an attitude problem.
Being in pain much of the time left me exhausted most days; healing magic only went so far in solving the issues caused by a difficult birth.
The sun sank behind the trees in a pool of fire while I finished tidying the kitchen. A vegetable stew bubbled on the stove, and all that remained was to cook some rice with beans.
Raven would need a bath before dinner, so once the counters were clean, I went to call her and Willow inside. Only there was no sign of either of them. Just a pile of dirt and Raven’s dolls scattered in a circle.
A muffled giggle drifted over from the herb garden, so I hurried that way, praying Willow had had the good sense not to let Raven pick herbs. Some of them were toxic when touched without protective gloves.
The girls sat in the shade of the live oak, whispering. My shoulders relaxed. No matter how many times Adam reassured me it was safe out here, I never quite believed him.
Just as I took a step forward, I heard a faint rattle from the scrub and froze as a thick-bodied rattlesnake slithered out and lunged at Raven.
I cast a shield to protect the girls, praying I wasn’t too late. A snake bite wouldn’t kill either of them if I used my healing magic immediately, but it would be extremely painful. Especially for a toddler.
But before the shield took effect, a blast of shadowy magic exploded across the yard. Every plant within a ten-foot radius wilted and collapsed into a pile of blackened ash.
Nothing remained of the snake but a withered husk.
Willow stared at Raven before stumbling backward, too shocked to comfort her when she burst into tears. It was abundantly clear the shadow magic was Raven’s, not Willow’s.
All my hopes and dreams of a peaceful future shattered.
My beautiful, innocent baby daughter had inherited her father’s magic, and if the mages found out, they’d use her for their own nefarious ends.
Adam might despise his brother’s power-mongering, but the same blood ran in his veins. And after my best friend’s betrayal, I’d sworn never to trust another witch or mage again. Not even my soul-bonded mate.
“Willow!” I hollered, forcing my expression to remain calm. “Bring Raven inside. She needs a bath.” The girl blinked as my daughter sat crying in the dirt. I didn’t miss her hesitation before reaching for Raven’s small hand.
“Dead snake.” Raven’s lip wobbled. “Bad snake.”
Willow’s eyes slid over the destroyed herb garden and then to me. “What about that?” she mouthed. The other witches would ask questions when they saw all the dead plants. I needed to fix it. And fast.
“I’ll sort it out. Now get her inside.” Willow nodded, her face pale as milk, blessedly not arguing with me for once.
The minute they’d left, I set to work repairing the damage. It took an enormous amount of earth magic to restore the herb garden, but I eventually coaxed the plants back to life.
The dead snake was another matter. I kicked it into the scrub, pushing a pile of dry leaves over what remained. Restoring living creatures was not something an earth witch could do. And besides, I was on the verge of collapse.
The next step was to figure out a way to block Raven’s forbidden magic and make sure Willow never revealed the truth of what happened today.
The candles on my workbench had almost burned down to the quick by the time I completed my spell. Binding a young witch’s magic was dangerous, but what choice did I have?
I picked up the small amulet. Crafted from satanite, it was the only material in my store with a connection to the demon realm.
To the untrained eye, the pendant looked like a pretty stone linked to a gold chain, so I doubted anyone would figure out its purpose.
And even if they did, nothing could break the spell binding Raven’s shadow magic.
The only way it might happen was if she met her soul-bonded mate, but he or she would have to be powerful enough to help her funnel the magic.
When I entered her bedroom, Raven lay curled up under her thin quilt.
Willow sometimes slept in here, but not tonight.
The young witch had barely said a word since the incident.
I’d seen Tally watching her over dinner, but the others were all used to Willow’s moods, and nobody commented on her quietness or Raven’s absence from the table.
Raven didn’t stir when I clasped the amulet in place and muttered the final binding incantation.
Casting the spell had taken everything I had, and the worst thing was, unless something triggered the shadow magic again, I couldn’t be certain it had worked.
The sound of a truck pulling up outside roused me from a fitful slumber. I dragged myself out of bed to greet Adam, deciding it was better to tell him now than wait until morning.
He stared at me in shock when I staggered into the kitchen, barely able to stand.
“What…what have you done?”
“Done?” Before I could make sense of his question, he grabbed a looking glass from the counter and thrust it in my face. I gasped when I saw my ghostly reflection. My dark hair had turned white.
“Raven has her father’s magic.” Adam’s horrified gasp told me binding the shadows had been the right decision. I took a step forward, intent on reassuring him I’d solved the problem, but the ground shifted beneath my feet and I tumbled sideways.
“Ellora, no!”