Witching Season (The Wild Hunt #19)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

“I can’t believe we’re here again,” I said, looking around.

Two years ago, we had returned to Seattle for a brief time, but my training with V?in?moinen was far from finished, so once again we left for Kalevala. Now, I had gone as far in my studies as I could. So, here we stood, back in my house on the Eastside of Seattle.

V?in?moinen had trained me hard—so hard that I was exhausted by the end of each day.

I’d learned so much that I hadn’t had a chance to settle into my new magic, and it would take me years to fully absorb everything he had taught me.

The land of fire and ice had also trained me—it was harsh and wild, and had taught me discipline, tempering my rash nature.

Now, it was time to let the magic settle into my system.

“Are the ferrets set?” Kipa asked.

“Yes, they’re back in their cages, safe and sound.”

Before unpacking, one of the first things we did was to settle the ferrets into their room again.

They hadn’t cared much for Kalevala, but I couldn’t leave them with anybody else, especially since Templeton was teetering on the edge.

Elise still remembered her human state, but Gordon had slipped into 100% ferret nature.

He was beyond being able to remember that at one time, he had been a man.

And now Templeton was teetering on that same edge.

I’d asked V?in?moinen if he knew of a way to break the curse, but even he couldn’t figure out how to bring them back. I still held hope, but it was fading, and so I made them as comfortable as they could be. I expected that they’d be with me as long as they lived.

“Raven?” Kipa entered the living room, carrying a box marked ‘Fragile’ that contained a number of knickknacks I’d brought back—including a crystal sphere that contained the essence of the aurora borealis. It was magical and mesmerizing, and I’d barely touched on using it.

“Yeah?” I asked, turning toward my Lord of the Wolves. It seemed strange to see him in jeans and a t-shirt again.

Over in Kalevala, Kipa had worn a tunic and trousers, and fur boots that let him run on the snow without sinking.

He had fully been the Lord of the Wolves there, wild and feral and unbridled in his joy.

I hoped he could adjust to life in the city again.

Hell, I hoped I could adjust. I’d grown used to a life carved out of the land.

“Where do you want these baubles?” He grinned, that same sly, passionate grin that I’d grown to love.

“For now, can you put them in my ritual room?” I asked. “I’ll sort it all out later.”

“Raven is hungry?” Raj asked, lumbering into the room.

My gargoyle was definitely grateful to be back home.

Raj had never fully adjusted to life in the wild.

He missed his TV ‘friends’ and he missed the more moderate temperatures.

He was scared of the wolves howling, even though Kipa explained that the wolves were our friends, and the constant snow made him grumpy.

“Raven isn’t hungry, but maybe Raj is?” I asked, smiling. Raj was very thoughtful in turning his needs into my own. But it was all part of his lovable nature.

“Well, if Raven thinks Raj is hungry, maybe he is. Raj would love some cat food. Raj missed cat food when he was in Kalevala.” Raj’s eyes widened, and he gave me a hopeful look.

He followed me into the kitchen. “Raj is happy to be home. Raj does not like snow anymore. Raj missed his TV friends.”

“Raven knows that Raj missed his friends. Here,” I said, opening a can of cat food and putting it down on the floor for him. “After eating, Raj can watch TV while Kipa and Raven finish unpacking.”

As Raj started eating—I had managed to stop him from gulping his food by promising him treats later on if he ate slowly—I returned to unpacking.

A lot had happened in the eighteen months we had been gone.

I wondered how we’d manage settling back in here, after all we’d experienced.

But it felt good to be back in my home, and in some ways, it felt like the months had almost never existed. Yet, they had. Very much so.

I just finished shelving the books V?in?moinen had given me to bring home when my phone rang. Frowning—few people knew that I was back in Seattle at this point—I glanced at the caller ID. It was Herne.

“Hey,” I said, answering. “What’s up?”

“I know you’re still unpacking, but I’ll come right to the point,” he said. “We need your help. We have an emerging problem and I’m short-handed.”

I frowned. “I thought you had a full crew last we talked.”

“Wendy was called back home. There was a death in her family, and she needed to be there. And Lyrical is taking a long-needed vacation. She went on a road trip. I’ve called Viktor back from Annwn, but he’s not here yet.

Ember can’t help out, not with the triplets and her duties with Morgana, and I need more hands.

Yutani, Wager, and Talia can’t handle all this alone. ”

“I thought Viktor and Sheila made a life in Annwn,” I said.

“Yeah, and Sheila’s pissed at me. She loves her job over in Annwn, but we need Viktor, and where he goes, she goes.

Long distance isn’t easy, so she agreed to return with him.

” Herne sounded strained. The Lord of the Hunt was usually calm, but he seemed frazzled, which told me that—whatever was going down—it wasn’t good.

“When do you need us to come in? Will tomorrow work?” I motioned to Kipa, who had just carried in a stack of boxes. We hadn’t taken a lot over to Kalevala for our stay, but we’d come back with at least twice as much.

“What’s up?” he mouthed.

“Tomorrow morning would be great if you can manage it. See you at eight.”

“Well, we’re being pressed into service,” I said, turning to Kipa. “Herne needs us. He didn’t tell me what it was about, but he wants us at the office tomorrow morning at eight.”

Given that I regularly woke at dawn—there had been no electricity in Kalevala and the days were short so we were up with the dawn and in bed by nine—I decided to forego unpacking the rest of our things. I wanted to bathe, eat dinner, and get some sleep.

“I’ll order takeout,” Kipa said. “You get in the tub and I’ll call you when the food’s here.”

He smiled. My Lord of the Wolves was gorgeous, just as handsome as the day I met him.

That I was in love with a god still shocked me, and while one day I’d take part in the Gadawnoin to become a goddess so I could be at his side forever, now was not that time.

And unless something happened, I had time.

I was young for one of the Ante-Fae and in no hurry.

I turned on the tub and poured some amber bubble bath under the flowing water.

I had to admit—I had missed this. And all the other amenities that living over here offered.

Stoves you didn’t have to stuff with wood, water you didn’t have to fetch from the well, computers, and best of all, flushing toilets.

As I stripped, I realized that I’d actually put on a few pounds. I’d always been curvy, but now I was a little more padded, and that was fine. I still fit into my corsets and my tops, and that’s what mattered. My skirts were all flowing—I didn’t like pencil skirts—so that was fine.

I stepped into the tub and settled back, letting out a long sigh. Even the cool porcelain of the bathtub was welcome. The tub in Kalevala had been made of wood, coated with resin. I had never gotten splinters, but I was always nervous.

As the water rippled around me, the bubbles frothed into a cloud of wonderful scent, and I began to relax.

I thought about what Herne had said. They had moved back to Seattle.

I wondered how Ember felt about that. No doubt I’d hear all about it, probably sooner than later.

But since they had moved back and they were recalling Viktor and his wife, something big must have happened.

I lathered up and leaned my head back. Before I realized what was happening, Kipa was waking me up.

“Raven, sweetheart, time to wake up. The food’s here.”

He smiled seductively as he tossed a towel over his shoulder, then gently reached down and lifted me out of the now lukewarm water.

Kipa was sexual, and so was I, but right now I was exhausted, and he knew it.

He carried me back into the bedroom and handed me the towel.

I dried off, shaking my hair out as a light breeze played over my body from the open window.

We had screens on the windows—sturdy ones that were hard to cut—and during the summer months we kept the windows open.

Kalevala’s summer was lovely, but the temperatures were about twenty degrees cooler than here in the Seattle area. I actually found myself welcoming a warm day like today.

“You look good enough to eat,” Kipa said, his eyes twinkling.

“I’ll take you up on that later,” I said, warming from his gaze. Every time Kipa was near me, I felt his desire. But he merely handed me a nightgown and a robe. It wasn’t late, but we were both tired from traveling through the portals. They could cause fatigue almost as bad as jet lag.

I stood on my tiptoes, wrapping my arms around him. Kipa pulled me close, smelling of musk and cinnamon and all good, warm, male scents. He was one of the good ones.

Herne’s cousin, Kipa, and Herne showed more respect to women than most of the men I had ever met. And yet, Kipa was passionate and sensuous and made me feel desired and cherished. I’d never been in a relationship like this before.

I rested my head on his shoulder. “I’m glad to be home. I loved Kalevala, but I was born here, and this is where I belong.” I didn’t want to think about the future. Surely Kipa would never be happy if he had to stay here forever, but I didn’t know if I’d be ready to leave when he was.

“Don’t think about tomorrow,” Kipa said, tenderly rubbing my back. “It will take care of itself. Now, come and eat. The food is waiting, unless Raj got into it.”

I smiled. “Raj will behave himself. Mostly.” And with that, we headed back to the living room to eat.