23. Cori
Cori
S he froze as the cold realization of what she was doing struck her. Her mind suddenly was clear, drawing her magic in, causing her Eye to snap shut, retreating to that deep place within her gut.
His body froze, his hand gripping her waist, the other wrapped around her shoulder. He pulled himself back, too, pulling air into his lungs.
What am I doing?
Dark witches knew where she was, who she was, and they could use dark magic on anyone she cared about. She had heard stories of witches being tortured, compelled, killed . The thought of Adrian being put through that just to get to her—thinking of his family going through that—it was too much for her to bear.
His rough whisper broke the silence, the muscle in his jaw twitching. “I’m sorry.” He sighed, holding his eyes closed. “I’ve never felt something like that before. It was like—” His eyes fluttered opened now, her face still dangerously close to his. “It was like my magic became combined with yours.”
Heat drained from her skin and gooseflesh erupted all over her. She had felt the intensity of a kiss before, felt the aura and the essence of the person she was kissing. She had always been able to open her Eye, reading the feelings of need and passion, but she had never been able to sense someone’s magic before.
This was something more.
She had dreamed about him her whole life, and from the moment she sensed his magic on the dock, her magic had come alive. It was because of him. When they had kissed, she wasn’t just feeling his aura, their magic was fusing.
It was bonding them together.
Sudden panic built inside her. “You’re not safe with me, Adrian.” She stood, building space between them. “This is the whole reason I created this life. So that, until the solstice, nobody would get hurt in pursuit of me.”
He cocked his head. “I’m not going to walk away from you just because there’s a risk.”
But he couldn’t possibly realize the weight of that risk. If they were truly fated, and they allowed the bond to fully take root—bile rose in her throat. If she were to be killed in pursuit of nullifying the prophecy, then he could never love again. She remembered the sadness in her mother’s eyes when she spoke of her father. How could she do that to Adrian? “Well, you really should walk away.” She angled her head up defiantly. “At least until this is all behind me.”
A tense silence passed between them. “I’m not leaving you alone here after what happened tonight. What if they come back?”
“I’ll ward the house with protective spells.”
“I’m staying.”
They locked glares with each other in a standoff, stubborn pride flashing in his aura. There was no way he was taking no for an answer.
“Fine,” she conceded. “But you’re sleeping on the couch.” She didn’t for one moment consider inviting him into her bed after what had just happened. There was no way she’d be able to control herself.
“Of course.” His stare pierced her, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “I just realized something,” he said, turning his gaze to the window. “Do you know when the planets will join, on the solstice? Can you predict it based on—I don’t know—some astrophysical or celestial chart?”
She nodded, the skin on her arms prickling as her hairs stood on end. “One hundred more days.”