Chapter 22.
618 Words
“Who is this person?”
Liam responded, “A friend of mine.”
“And what if she's working for the others?”
Liam shook his head. “Anastasia is a solitary witch. She does her things alone.”
“Is she any good?” asked Melody, Sapphire and Skylar's Mom.
“She is a Hedge witch, although she is quite versatile in the other forms. Witchcraft has been in her generation for centuries.”
“Hedge witch,” said Sapphire “Those are the ones that specialize in healing remedies and herbalism, right?”
“Yes.”
Nick spoke. “Liam has offered to go get the things needed.”
Silence.
“I'm going with you,” said Sapphire.
He began to contradict her. “You don't need-”
“She is my sister. I insist.”
“You will come with me.”
****
“Why does she live out here all alone?” Sapphire asked.
Liam replied, “She prefers solitude.”
They had parked their motorbike a while back and were now trudging along a leg path.
They walked in the silence until they came across the house. A small bungalow in the middle of nowhere.
Anastasia watched as they made their way towards her house, and her heart gave a little aching squeeze as she let her eyes wander to Liam.
Liam and his very pretty mate.
“Hello, Anastasia,” he said.
There were the piercing green eyes that always made her insides flutter, eyes that never missed anything. They could be smoldering, serious, or lit up with humor, depending on the mood he was in.
And that mouth. That mouth that could take her over the brink of passion and back.
Gods, she loved him so. But he wasn't hers. Could never be hers. He had told her that a hundred times, while she'd just smile through her pain, and pull him closer, holding on to the moment when he was hers, and hers alone. But those days were long past.
Yet, she thought with a wry smile at herself, your heart doesn't know that.
She managed a smile. “Hello, Liam. And you must be Sapphire.”
Sapphire nodded. “Thank you for agreeing to help us.”
Anastasia wanted to reply, “Anything for Liam,” but she caught herself just in time and instead said with another smile, “Come this way.”
As they followed her, Sapphire thought, “She's still in love with Liam.”
Without being told, she'd instinctively known that Liam and this witch had been lovers. For several years. And the love still showed in Anastasia. It was in the way her eyes seemed to caress Liam, in the way they held a sad glint as she looked at him. It was in the gentle way she moved as she led them, the way she occasionally rubbed her upper arms as if she was cold. It was not cold. It was unrequited love that made her shiver so, in pain.
What was it with the witches and the Ryder brothers? She wondered, thinking about Avalon and Nick.
Then she shook her head and focused on what they came for.
****
“She's still in love you.” She told him as they reached where their transport was parked. “Do you know that?”
“I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Sapphire. I-”
She cut him off as she took her helmet. “We don't have time for that now. We need to get to my sister.”
Silently, he put on his helmet and climbed on. When her hands wrapped around his waist, he kick-started the motorbike and pulled away.
- Writer
