Zodiac Aligned

37

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

In the morning, Brea and I removed the blessing from Griffin and Debra, and with his wolf freed, Griffin shifted for the first time. The rest of us laughed as his lanky reddish wolf dashed across the ranch, scaring the cows and the chickens. Then we returned to the house for some lunch, and afterward, I found myself taking a nap in one of the comfortable old armchairs. Using all that magic drained me, especially after Kaden kept me up far too late. Not that I regretted a single second of it.

When I woke, I found myself alone, and the sun much lower in the sky. I yawned and stepped out onto the porch, sensing Kaden was there through our bond, and heard his voice on the wind.

"You know what it was like," he said to someone, from around the side of the house.

"I do," Jordan replied. It was strange, not feeling him there anymore. I'd gotten so used to his constant presence in the back of my mind. But it was a relief too.

I hesitated, knowing I could stay and listen, but something about their conversation felt private. Maybe Kaden had finally taken my advice to talk to Jordan about what they'd been through. I went back inside, giving them some space.

Debra and Griffin were in the kitchen, cutting up some vegetables and preparing dinner. As they worked, they moved around each other with the ease of two people who had lived in each other’s space for a long time. Griffin smiled at me, while Debra didn’t try to bite my head off, so I figured I was welcome.

“We're making a roast for dinner,” Griffin said, holding up the knife he was using to chop carrots.

“That sounds delicious," I said with a smile. He seemed like a sweet kid, and I’d never had a younger brother before. I was excited to get to know him more.

I hope I can, I thought with a pang. Maybe once all of this was over, I'd take him out for some ice cream and ask him what his favorite subject in school was. Or whatever it was that cool older sisters did.

I sat at the kitchen island, watching them work, while Griffin launched into a replay of what it was like when he first shifted. Debra and I indulged him, laughing and asking questions, but I found myself yawning again. Doing that spell multiple times must have taken more out of me than I'd thought.

That was a problem. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of shifters who needed the blessing spell removed. How could Brea and I possibly free all of them? We'd never be able to do it one by one, as we'd been doing here. That would take an eternity. No, we'd have to find a way to cast the spell on multiple shifters at once.

We needed Evanora's staff or something like it. Her staff had amplified her power to allow her to control all of the shifters in the area. Could something similar be done to break the blessing spell on a mass scale? Would it even work with my Moon Witch magic?

I excused myself for a moment and went to find Brea to ask her if she had any ideas. She was in a neat, tidy study that smelled of old books, but she stood at the window, gazing out toward the mountains.

"You'll be leaving us soon, I imagine," Brea said, as she turned toward me. "Can I trust you to keep this place a secret once you're gone?"

“Of course,” I said, a little hurt that she’d think otherwise, though I understood where she was coming from. She’d only survived this long by being very careful and a little paranoid. "I owe you a great debt, after all. And if you have any doubts, remember that Griffin is my brother, and I'd never do anything to put him in danger. Or his mother."

If what the Sun Witches had done to Jordan was any indication, they’d do anything to get their hands on Griffin soon too. He was safer here than anywhere else at the moment, especially now that he was free of all Sun Witch magic that could control him.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me in return?" Brea asked, her ancient eyes missing nothing.

"We need your help to free the other Zodiac Wolves," I said. "The spell requires both sun and moon magic."

"Yes, it does." She c****d her head. "Lucky for you, you contain both."

"Me?" I asked, blinking in surprise.

"You are the daughter of Celeste, are you not? Did she tell you that she is Evanora's sister?"

My cheeks flushed. "Yes, but my mother said there is no sun magic in me."

"She lied. Or perhaps she couldn't sense it. But I do, especially now that the blessing is removed."

I shook my head, finding it hard to believe. "I don't feel anything."

"It's there, a tiny spark inside you, which might turn to a flame if properly coaxed." She picked up an old, leather-bound journal from on top of her desk and held it out to me. "This is one of the books we give to apprentices, to help them learn sun magic. You can read ancient Greek, yes?"

"Yes," I said, as I gingerly took the book, almost afraid to touch it.

"If you choose to learn, you'll find everything you need in there. I've also written down the spell we used to break the Sun Witch blessing in the back. With some practice, you should be able to do it on your own."

“Thank you,”’ I finally managed to get out, past the lump in my throat. If I could do it on my own... That would be huge.

Brea nodded. "Celeste might be able to help you also. She's the only other witch I've met who could use both sun and moon magic."