11. Kirsten

I rummaged around in the storage shed behind the cabin for the rubber knee pad Nana had used for gardening. After digging it out, I knelt outside below the kitchen window, sprinkling seeds into the flower bed. I'd fashioned a label for each little patch of herbs with some old disposable plastic plates from the pantry.

After covering the thyme and fennel, I leaned back on my heels to rest and inhaled the pleasant smell that I could only describe as green. I'd never been much for plants and gardens. Sure, I'd helped Nana around here when I was younger, but once I went to college and moved to the city, I'd left it behind. Until a few days ago, I'd have called you crazy if you told me I would be on my knees, digging in the dirt out in the forest. But now? Something about it felt right. It came so easily to me that I found it a little eerie. Without realizing it, I instinctively understood the precise depth each row of seeds needed to be, how much water they'd need to start out, and how far apart each row needed to be. Was it some innate understanding that came from my magic? It must have been, and it was pretty awesome.

The cardboard box of seedlings sat beside me, and I smiled at the sight of them. It had been kind of Jace to do this for me. Taking them from the box, I moved over and tucked them into the fresh dirt of the old window planters. As I worked, I couldn't help but wonder why Jace had brought them. Was he truly being nice?

He probably just wanted to get me moving faster so I had fresh ingredients ready for whatever spell or potion I had to make. It could be that all he really desired was a witch to hurry up and fix his curse.

Both ideas warred in my head as I packed the plants down and sprinkled water on them from the watering can. It felt so natural, like I'd been gardening my entire life when in reality, the closest I'd come in the last sixteen years was dusting the plastic plants around my apartment when I was in college. The books Tinsley had given me were a huge help and had given me much of the backstory to what she'd called eclectic witches. If she was right about me, it explained my apparently natural green thumb. Eclectic witches were skilled at all different types of magic and Wiccan skills.

Back when witches and shifters had been allies and lived amongst each other, eclectic witches had been the most sought after for alliances. They could assist the packs with nearly any type of problem or need, and had done so until the two magical lineages splintered centuries ago.

Finished with planting, I headed inside, washed the dirt off my hands, and went back to studying the books. I'd been consumed with learning as much as I could, soaking in the words so much that I'd nearly memorized it. Part of me didn't really believe it yet, but all the things I'd seen, experienced, and read held a grain of truth to it. Deep down, it just seemed to be right.

Flipping to the back of the book of spells, I pondered over the creation of incantations and spells. That part made the least sense. It wasn't like a movie where you memorized some magical words. Instead, each witch's magic was tuned directly into the witch herself. Their magic was created from within, and for each witch, the spells were a direct manifestation of their power. A unique creation. That was both awe-inspiring and frustrating. I'd have preferred something like abracadabra or something. Memorization was easier than self-reflection or whatever I needed to do to fully access what lay within me.

It also said that many types of spells, potions, and wards were created around a specific object. Something with significance to the person casting the spell, or the person the spell was to be cast on.

An object?I straightened up. My brows knit together as a thought occurred to me. Before I could stop myself, I had my phone out to call Jace.

"Hey, Kirsten," he answered a few seconds later.

"Hey."

"Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"No," I said, then added, "Nothing immediate. I called to ask you a question, and it's probably going to sound crazy."

"I'm game. What do you got?"

"Do you happen to remember if my great-grandmother took anything from you?"

"You mean, other than my future and my freedom?" he asked bitterly.

I winced. I probably should've taken a more sensitive approach. "Not exactly. I mean anything physical. A piece of clothing, an item from your home?" I glanced down at the book at the list of possible items and added, "Maybe some hair or fingernail clippings? Anything?"

Jace was quiet for several seconds before responding. "Now that you mention it, the night it all went down, she did take something. Or, uh, I don't know for sure, but I think she did. She kind of pushed me away, and her hand got caught in my hair. She could have easily pulled a few strands from it."

The crystal of my necklace hummed as he spoke. As I touched it, heat radiated faintly from it. On a hunch, I slowly walked through the house, hoping it might guide me to the thing I thought might be hidden somewhere on the property.

"What's all this about, anyway?" Jace asked.

"Not sure yet," I mumbled, already feeling a strange pull toward Nana's old room.

Once I entered the room, the sensation became stronger, almost as though the necklace was dragging me toward the closet.

"I think I might have found something," I said. "Possibly the thing creating the ward." Though how I could possibly know that, I had no clue.

"Are you serious?" Jace asked.

I knelt and pushed aside one of the boxes I hadn't gone through yet. One of the floorboards was different from the others, its edges slightly ragged as though a knife or something had been used to pry it up.

"Holy shit," I whispered.

"Did you find it?" Jace asked. He sounded as tense as I felt.

"Maybe," I said. I ran back to the kitchen, grabbed a butter knife from a drawer, and then sprinted back to the closet. "Give me a second."

I put the phone down and jammed the knife into the space between the floorboards. With a flick of my wrist, the board popped out, revealing a pocket beneath. Tucked away inside it was a small, dusty glass vial. I gaped at it, shocked that I'd actually found what I was looking for.

I grabbed the phone again. "It's here. A small vial. I think it's got your hair in it."

"I'm coming over," Jace said, and I could already hear him rushing from his house through the speaker on his phone.

Before I could think, I grabbed the vial. Something like static electricity danced across my fingers as I clutched the fragile thing. So small, yet full of so much energy. As I held the vial, the magic within me—the magic I'd doubted existed—surged like a swirling thunderstorm in my chest and mind. It made me a little dizzy.

"I'm in my truck. I'll be there in a few minutes," Jace said. "See you soon."

He hung up. Standing on shaking legs, I tucked the phone back in my pocket. I brushed away a layer of grime with my thumb and saw a few strands of dark black hair, the same shade as Jace's. The necklace kept humming as though it was pleased, almost like a contented cat perched on my chest.

Outside, the fresh air cleared my head a bit, and I stood in my driveway, waiting for Jace to arrive, which didn't take long. He must have flown like a bat out of hell because he made the normally ten-minute drive to my cabin in five. His truck screeched to a stop, and he leaped from the cab and ran toward me, freezing with a pained grimace as he got near the magical barrier.

"Is that it?" he asked, nodding to my hand.

"Yup."

He chuckled. "Weird that something so small can have so much power."

"Yeah. I think it keeps you out, as well as anyone with bad intentions. It would explain why Waylan could pass, but Eren couldn't." That theory also made it seem more likely that Jace was right about the other alpha.

"What do we do now?" Jace asked.

"I'm not sure." I stepped forward, crossing over the boundary so Jace could see the vial better. "I'm not sure how to destroy this yet."

He looked at it a few seconds, then nodded to himself. "Put it back. Until you can modify the ward, I want it to stay up. It protects you, and I don't want that going away. I'll be fine delivering groceries out here instead of to your front door."

He reached forward and closed my fingers around the vial. The moment his fingers touched mine, a bolt of energy burst out of me. The vial shattered in my hand, and an audible pop resounded all around us. A heavy gust of wind blew across the property, and both Jace and I jerked in surprise.

I gasped. In a perfect circle around the cabin, all the grass in a three-inch-wide trail had turned brown, killed by the sudden and inexplicable vanishing ward. A sharp pain in my palm pulled my attention away, and I glanced down at it. Blood pooled in my hand where the glass had cut me.

"Oh, shit," Jace said, cradling my hand in his.

He led me to the house, walking unimpeded right up the steps and inside. The ward really was gone.

"Do you have a first aid kit or anything?" he asked.

I flopped into a kitchen chair and nodded. "In the bathroom down the hall. It's in the cabinet under the sink."

Jace flew off, faster than a man his size should have been able to move, and returned moments later with the little red zippered pouch. He knelt by my side and opened the kit.

"I need to disinfect this," he said, then looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Unless you've already learned some healing spells?"

"Very funny. No, I haven't."

He tore open a small disinfectant wipe and swiped it across my palm. Searing heat tore through the wound as he did.

"Ouch," I hissed, and Jace blew on my palm, his cool breath dulling the pain.

"You'll need to get a better handle on your magic," Jace said as he opened a pack of Band-Aids. "You could really hurt yourself if you aren't careful."

"I didn't do this on purpose. It came out of nowhere," I said. "I don't know what caused it."

He looked up at me, eyes locking on mine. Those green-blues were like pools of deep, mossy water. Something strange happened when he looked at me like that, like some sort of rope between us snapped taut, initiating a moment of connection I'd never experienced before. I'd never seen eyes so beautiful, and it felt like I was falling into them, drowning in a lovely sort of way.

God knows how long we stared into each other's eyes. When I came back to my senses, heat rose to my cheeks, severing the connection. The necklace thrummed on my chest. Something about Jace being so close was making the magic in my body react in a way I didn't want it to.

Jace cleared his throat and continued patching up my hand. My heart slammed against my ribcage. Every time his finger grazed my skin, power surged through my body, sending crackles of energy dancing across my very bones. When he finished, I leapt from my chair, nearly toppling it. Jace reared back.

"I, uh, I need to get something," I said.

"Get what?" Jace asked.

"A new thing."

"A thing?"

I nodded quickly, nearly slinging my head off my shoulders. "Yeah. To replace the ward. A thing."

Jace opened his mouth to speak again, but I rushed down the hall into my room before he could get a word out. In my room, I pressed a hand to my chest and took a great, shuddering breath. God, that had been intense. I wondered if he'd noticed it. Part of me hoped so, then I didn't have to think I was crazy. Another part hoped not, because what would that mean? It was almost too much to take in.

He was alone now, out there in the kitchen and free to snoop around the place, but I didn't care. Not that I thought he would snoop. All I actually cared about was getting myself under control.

Jace was handsome, yes. Who was I kidding? He was absolutely gorgeous. That was something no one would ever deny. The way my heart was racing, he might be the death of me, though. Could I truly be attracted to him? Really? There was no way I could let that happen.

Could I?