Zodiac Aligned

31

"The Sun Witches were once very patriarchal. Helios and the sun have male energy, after all. But Evanora's father, the High Priest, abused this power. He r***d, beat, and controlled the female witches, and many of the other male Sun Witches followed his patterns of abuse.”

I'd heard a little about this before from my mother, who'd been the product of one of his attacks. It sickened me, knowing I'd come from such a man. I couldn't even imagine the trauma and pain that my grandmother and so many others had endured.

Brea turned back to us. "Evanora was his favorite daughter, but that didn't mean he was any easier on her. Quite the opposite in fact. Eventually, something snapped inside her and she decided he had to be stopped. She gathered together many of the women who had been ill-treated by the male Sun Witches and concocted a plan. Even back then, her magic was incredibly strong, but it was her mind that was truly dangerous. She was the most cunning woman I'd ever met, and I became her greatest supporter and closest friend. Together, we wiped out the male leaders, including Evanora’s father, and she declared herself High Priestess." Brea looked down at her hands, stretching the long, veiny digits out as if remembering what they’d done. “But she didn’t stop there. She ordered us to kill all the male Sun Witches. Every last one of them.”

That explained why I had never seen a male Sun Witch before. I swallowed hard, and everyone's eyes were glued to Brea as she continued her story.

“We tried to stop her—me and a few other Sun Witches. Not all of the men were bad, of course. There were husbands, fathers, sons... But Evanora said they were all tainted. She spared no one. Not even her own husband."

My stomach twisted as I thought about Evanora killing so many people. Logically I knew she was capable of it, but it was another thing entirely to hear about all the horrible things she'd done, even to her own people. Her capacity for cruelty somehow never failed to surprise me.

"What happened after that?" Jordan asked, perched on the edge of his seat.

Brea put her hand on his shoulder in a tender gesture. "Helios did not approve of what she did. He cursed the Sun Witches, and not just Evanora, but every single one of us who survived. Now we're unable to have male sons anymore, and so the Sun Witch blood is dying out and growing weaker. Soon, we’ll be completely gone. That’s why Evanora is in a panic." Brea paused before adding, "The only one who's succeeded in having sons in all these years is Debra."

"How?" I asked.

Brea finally sat on the couch across from us. "My sister, Eleanora, fell in love with a wolf, the Leo alpha at the time—Marshall, Jordan's grandfather. It was forbidden, but she didn't care. She'd always been a rebellious one." Brea glanced at Jordan's mother. "When she had Debra, the Sun Witches cast them both out. Eventually, I gathered the strength to leave Solundra too, along with the other witches who disagreed with Evanora's leadership. We've been hiding here ever since."

"The Sun Witches considered me an abomination for having wolf blood," Debra explained. "I was never considered one of them. Until I bore two sons. Then they suddenly took interest."

I knew all about being an outcast, a half-breed, and for the first time, I felt a pang of sympathy and understanding for what Debra had been through.

"That's why Roxandra..." Jordan began, but his voice trailed off and his eyes flashed with pain.

Somehow I knew exactly what he was thinking, maybe because of the mate bond, or because of some understanding we shared. He was remembering when Roxandra said she'd hoped to get pregnant with his child—all because she wanted another male with Sun Witch blood. I rested my hand over Jordan's, silently giving him my support.

"Why she did what?" Debra asked.

Kaden's eyes passed between us, and I sensed that he understood too. Like Jordan, he'd been a victim of the Sun Witches himself. He cleared his throat, distracting Debra from her question. “Does that mean that Jordan has Sun Witch magic?”

Jordan snorted. "If I did, wouldn't I have used it on you by now?"

"Good point." Kaden shrugged, and I flashed him a grateful smile for the way he'd so deftly changed the subject.

"We've searched for any trace of magic within Jordan, but found none," Brea said. "We think that as part of Helios's curse, both Jordan and Griffin are unable to use any Sun Magic."

Debra waved a hand. "Who can say? It’s been so long since a male Sun Witch has been born, and you’re both part shifter as well.”

“How do we break Helios's curse?” Jordan asked.

“We don’t know for sure,” Brea said. “My suspicion is that it will only end once Evanora is removed from power...or dead."

"Evanora has other ideas though." Debra eyed me again. "Once they learned that Ayla was half Moon Witch, they were even more determined to have Jordan mate with her. Evanora wants a baby with Sun, Moon, and wolf blood. One that she can control. Can you imagine how powerful it would be?”

Jordan's face twisted with disgust. "Thank god that didn't happen."

I shuddered. The thought was terrifying, and not just because it involved me having a baby with my brother.

"Why did you come here?" Brea asked, bringing me back to the present.

"We need your help." I took a deep breath and glanced at Jordan. "The fake mate bond between us must be broken. Roxandra told us it was tied to the blessing spell put on us as babies, and said there might be a way to remove it. Do you know how?"