“Can we go outside?” he asked, nodding toward the door.
“Please, do,” Mairead declared. “I don’t want to go out there again while you have secret conversations. It’s freezin’.”
“Fine.” My lip curled, and I stood, dropping the tarot card.
Picking up my jacket, I shoved my arms into it as I strode outside. We had to have the talk sooner or later, and I had a terrible poker face. Keeping my witchy abilities from the village was different. I wasn’t hurting anyone because my mission in life was to protect, but this… Cac. Cac-itty McCac!
Boone closed the shop door behind him as the cold bit into my exposed fingers. I couldn’t even bring myself to wear the gloves he’d given me.
Pressing my palm against my forehead, I was sure I was burning up. I felt sick. I wasn’t going to faint, was I? Maybe if I puked, it would freeze solid on the footpath. I breathed out a plume of vaporized air.
“Skye, you’ve been… Ever since Christmas when I asked you to marry me…” Boone shoved a hand through his unruly hair. “It was too soon, wasn’t it? I just thought, with everythin’ that’s going on…” He trailed off and glanced at the hawthorn. The scene of the crime.
“That we better have our white picket fence moment before we all die?” I felt like slapping him with my magic. I wanted to be happy. I wanted to marry him, but not like this. Not when he couldn’t tell me the truth. Not when I didn’t know whose side he was on.
Looking over my shoulder, I spotted Mairead staring at us through the window. Grabbing Boone’s arm, I dragged him down the lane and behind the shop.
“Skye…” he said, dragging his heels. “What’s goin’ on?”
The longer he was here, the riskier it became. Super-creepy one-eyed Dub may have unlocked his memories, but who knew what else he’d done. Boone was half witch, that much was clear. Now he knew he had magic of his own, and possibly had a billion years to master it, there was no telling what he could do.
I didn’t want to admit it, but I didn’t trust him. The man I loved and wanted to marry. I didn’t trust him.
The only place I felt safe was at the ancient hawthorn even though it was the exact spot his mother wanted to get to. If I stood with the hawthorn and called on the Crescent ancestors, maybe his true intentions would be revealed. That was if those pesky spirits showed up in the first place. They were the definition of unreliable.
The forest felt charged like something forbidden had walked into it. It was a strange sensation like awareness had brought some ancient defense mechanism to life.
Boone didn’t say anything as I led him down the path toward the clearing. His mood was sour, but mine was worse. My magic was flaring hotter with each step. He would have to sense it and wonder what had me so worked up. Dammit, now I was overthinking everything. I was a doer, usually, not a worrywart.
Stepping into the clearing, I let go of Boone’s arm and approached the hawthorn. Placing my hand on its trunk, I closed my eyes, but all I felt was scratchy bark underneath my palm.
“Skye? Why are we here?”
C’mon, I pleaded. I need you. Please…
“Skye?”
“I can’t do this…” I turned, knowing I was in this on my own. As usual. Is this what betrayal felt like? Complete and total abandonment? Without Boone, I was alone, and Mairead… Mairead couldn’t help. It was selfish to even ask after what she’d been through because of me.
“Can’t do what? Marry me?”
“I saw you,” I blurted, unable to hold it in anymore. “I saw you.”
All the color drained from Boone’s cheeks, and he stood there like a lump, staring at me in shock. I was a Crescent Witch, the last of the most badass coven there ever was, so of course, I would find out. I wished he would wipe that dumb look off his face.
“Were you ever going to tell me?” I whispered, fighting back tears.
“I don’t know.”
I shook my head, my thoughts jumbled.
“If I’d known…”
“If you’d known, then what?” I demanded. “Pretended you cared? Went on playing the secret agent?”
“No!”
“Why were you being chased by your brothers the night you came to Derrydun? Why did she take your memories?”
Boone’s jaw tightened, and he didn’t say anything. He knew all his buried secrets now, but he was conspicuously tight-lipped about what they revealed. It only solidified his guilt in my mind.
“Was it all an elaborate scam to get to the Crescent Witches?” I demanded. “You got Aileen killed, and now you’re—”
“It wasn’t me fault,” he declared. “It wasn’t me fault. Carman wanted me, too.”
“Yeah, because you’re her kid, Boone. Is she using you, or was it your idea?”
He shook his head like his headaches were piercing his brain.
“When Aileen told you she had a daughter, did you decide to stay so you could worm your way into my life?”
“If that were true, then why did I stop the ritual?” he asked thinly. “Why was there a block on me memories? You felt it, Skye.”
“The ritual that was stopped too late,” I scoffed and shook my head. “The block pushed me away when I tried to break it open. You didn’t want me in there.”
“What?”
“And when she came, which side were you going to fight on?” It took all my strength, but I glanced up and met his gaze. “Hers or mine?”
“Skye, you’ve got to understand. I didn’t know who I was.”
“And you do now,” I snapped. “You’re Carman’s son.”
“I can’t help who I am!” he roared.
“And neither can I.”
“So this is it?” he asked. “You’re drawin’ a battle line between us?”
“I have to. You weren’t going to tell me, Boone.” Before he could open his mouth to argue, I added, “Don’t deny it. How could I trust you now?”
“You said it didn’t matter,” he whispered, clenching his fists. “You said it didn’t matter who I was before.”
“That was before I found out you’re the son of the woman who wants to kill me and destroy the world. The son who was part of…” I choked on the truth, my throat burning with unshed tears. “How many witches did you kill?”
Boone stared at me, his expression giving away everything. Countless. That was his unspoken answer. Countless.
“She’s in Ireland,” I said, staring past him. “You can go home now. You can go back to where you belong.”
With Boone at Carman’s side, she would know exactly how powerful I was, how I would react, and all the tricks I’d learned to master my magic. I was screwed. Utterly, completely, up shit creek without a paddle. I couldn’t kill him, so I had to let him go. I loved him.
Boone was still in there, and Dain… I didn’t know who Dain was, but he was in control now.
“Skye…”
“What could you possibly say to make this better?” I demanded. “What?”
“Nothing,” he replied. “I did bad things back then. I…” He glanced up at the hawthorn, his face twisted in pain. “I don’t belong there, and I never belonged here. Where do I go?”
“Away,” I snapped, not wanting to hear his broody nonsense.
Turning my back on him, I placed my hand on the ancient hawthorn. There was an opening here someplace, but even I didn’t know how to access it let alone unlock the binding keeping it shut. All of this heartache for a little door.
“I was home…” Boone murmured. “I wish… I wish I’d forgotten forever.”
When I finally had the courage to turn around, he was gone.
Chapter 11
I’d fallen in love with the enemy.
Playing with the talisman I’d made back in summer, I sighed. After Boone had left, I went home and retrieved it from the jewelry box on the nightstand in my room. Then I’d gone outside, intending on going back to Irish Moon, but I hadn’t made it past the carrot patch. There weren’t any carrot
s in it this time of year, so I was basically sitting in the dirt. Freak.
Without Boone… Without his love and companionship, how was I meant to go on?
Turning over the little golden crystal, I studied the facets and blemishes. The protective barrier was still active, maybe a little duller than before, but it was still there.
“Skye?”
I glanced up at the sound of Mairead’s voice. She was standing over me, looking like a ginormous thundercloud.
“Were you comin’ back to the shop?” she demanded. “Or were you just goin’ to leave me there like an eejit?”
I shrugged, the numbness spreading. It was becoming harder and harder to differentiate between the heartbreak and the cold.
The Goth girl’s angry expression faded. “What’s wrong? Why are you sittin’ in the dirt?”
I’d been so callous. With the Nightshade Witches and with Boone. I saw it now. Why people hated the Crescents. We were cold-hearted bitches who cared for nothing but our Legacy. I was arrogant in the worst possible way.
“Boone’s gone,” I said, clutching the talisman.
“What do you mean?” Mairead knelt beside me, the spot between her eyebrows knitted together so tight that she almost had a monobrow.
“He’s gone.”
“Where?”
I began to shake, the gravity of what had just happened out in the forest catching up with me.
“Skye… You’re wearin’ your crystal again…” She uncurled my fingers and pried the little spear of quartz from my grasp.
I snatched it back, never wanting to let my shield go. It helped me with the sluagh, so it would help me now.
Mairead frowned and sat in the first row next to me. “You’re really scarin’ me…”
Glancing at her, I knew I had a duty even though I felt like imploding. I was supposed to be a good role model and a protector of magic. Not a self-absorbed wallower in a carrot patch.
“You said Carman had three sons,” I began, gathering the first pieces of my shattered heart. “Boone… He’s one of them.”
“Huh?” Mairead’s mouth fell open.
I explained it to her in as few words as possible. How his brother was the one-eyed wolf, how he showed up on Christmas and unlocked Boone’s memories, and how Boone wasn’t going to tell me the truth. Every explanation that came out of my mouth felt like I was choking on razor blades.
“Maybe he was goin’ to tell you,” she said. “Maybe he just needed time.”
“It’s not that simple, Mairead!” I exclaimed. “When his memories came back, so did everything else. Who he was, who he is… Boone was just a person who stepped in to compensate for his lack of knowledge. Dain is back in control now, and Dain the wolf has gone back to his mummy.”
“Dain, the enemy you mean.”
I nodded.
Mairead pouted, looking like she was mad at me.
“Don’t look at me like that!” I exclaimed. “I loved him, Mairead. I was going to marry him! Don’t you understand what betrayal is?”
She nodded, glancing at the dirt beneath us. “I understand, Skye. I’m not a moody teenager anymore. I know about these things. You want to know what I think?”
I didn’t really want to hear anything, but I knew she was going to tell me one way or another.
“All this time he was in Derrydun, he didn’t know. Carman took away his memories, but what if the Boone we knew was always who he was?”
I didn’t want to admit she was right, but it was too late for second chances and righting wrongs. Carman was in Ireland, and she was coming. With Boone or without him.
“You’re making it worse,” I muttered.
Mairead leaned her head against my shoulder. “You still have me.”
For once in my life, I was out of smartass comebacks.
“Thanks,” I said, debating on whether or not I should tell her about the snowstorm that heralded Carman’s homecoming. Shaking my head, I decided not to and rose to my feet.
“Where are you goin’?” the Goth girl asked, mirroring my movement.
“To microwave some dinner. Want some?”
She screwed up her nose. “Nah ah.”
“Good, I only have one left.”
Mairead pouted and walked back toward the main street, her boots clomping in the snow. It wasn’t fair to dump all my magical poop into her human lap. This was a fight I had to face alone. As a witch and as a descendant of the Crescents who had gotten me into this mess in the first place.
Sighing, I walked toward the cottage, knowing my ass was completely caked in mud and soaked through to my undies.
“Skye?” Mairead called out.
I glanced over my shoulder and found her standing at the edge of the garden, looking worried.
“Are you sure you’re goin’ to be okay?”
“I have to be,” I replied. “The world doesn’t stop spinning for one broken heart.”
It was New Year’s Day when I finally got out of bed and put on some normal people clothes. My Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pajamas were starting to stink, and I was almost sure I’d forgotten how to walk. If it weren’t for my bodily functions, I wouldn’t have gotten up at all.
After seeing Boone almost every single day since I’d arrived in Derrydun, his absence was like a tear in the space-time continuum. It was unnatural and wrong, but I had to keep reminding myself who he was. Who or what? I wasn’t sure which of those two words to put into that statement.
Molly McCreey’s was a bubble of warmth as I entered.
The fire was roaring in the hearth, and a dozen villagers huddled around it. Sean McKinnon sat by the bar, nursing a pint of beer, his woolly jumper looking ratty and worn, and the scruff on his face not faring any better. He looked like he had a broken heart, but that wasn’t anything new. Ever since his wife died, he’d been in mourning, but at Christmas, he’d made a declaration of love at Maggie’s feet. Seeing him now, I wasn’t sure who he was pining over anymore.
When he turned and saw me approaching the bar, his eyes lit up and not in a welcoming way. It was as if my presence had stoked the fires of Hell.
“Hey, Skye,” Maggie said. “You don’t look so good. Are you feelin’ okay?”
I glanced at Sean, whose scowl deepened. Either he knew or he had latent magical talent. He was always calling me a witch like he knew something everyone else didn’t, but I was sure it had more to do with being Boone’s best friend than anything supernatural.
“Boone’s gone,” Sean declared, erupting like a volcano. “He hasn’t shown up to work in three days. I’ve had double the work on the farm, chasin’ eejit sheep across the hill and slippin’ over in piles of shit. Want to know why?”
“Three days?” Maggie asked, ignoring his rant. “That’s not like him. He’s supposed to work the kitchen tonight.”
“The last time this happened, it was because of her.” The farmer jabbed an accusing finger at me.
Anger welled in the pit of my stomach, bringing the familiar sensation of golden light with it. My Legacy was tied to my emotions after all. Emotions, instinct…it was all the same in the end. If I lost it, the whole pub might turn into a pile of matchsticks before the minute was up.
“Skye drove him away,” Sean went on, totally oblivious to the pressure cooker inside me. “I told him not to marry her. Cailleach feasa.”
Understanding flowed through me even though I was useless at learning Gaelic. In all the months I’d been living here, I’d learned a handful of swear words, and that was it even though most of the villagers spoke it fluently.
Cailleach feasa… Sean McKinnon was calling me a witch! And not in a nice way either.
“Boone left because I found out he was a lying scumbag!” I screeched.
The entire pub fell silent, except for the dulcet tones of some traditional Irish music playing on the stereo. A tin whistle trilled, and I almost flung a bolt of magic across the room to shut it up.
“Ní mórán thú!” I exclaimed. br />
“Am not!” Sean shouted at me. “I am not worthless! Take that back!”
“Since when does Skye speak Gaelic?” someone by the fireplace asked.
“Since now, looks like,” another man replied.
“Should we get under the table?”
“Wouldn’t hurt.”
Maggie and Sean stared at me, both their mouths hanging open.
“If you knew half the things I’ve done… If you knew…” The talisman hummed against my skin and then flared, scalding my flesh. Slapping a hand over it, I cursed and sank down onto a stool, hiding behind my hair.
“Crow’s curse on you,” Sean grumbled.
“Shut up, Sean McKinnon!” Maggie exclaimed. “Can’t you see Skye’s heartbroken?” She rushed around the end of the bar and bent over me. Placing a hand on my back, she rubbed soothing circles. “Do you want to talk about it, Skye?”
I shook my head, brushing my hair away from my face and the tears that had escaped despite the tight hold I’d had on them.
“He wasn’t who he said he was,” I muttered. “That’s all.”
“He did show up out of nowhere,” Maggie replied. “Never talked about his past. Not even to Aileen.”
“But he was good,” Sean said. “Everyone knows it.”
Maggie clucked her tongue and helped me to my feet. “Drinkin’ will do no good for you, Skye Williams. How about you go home, and I’ll send over a hot meal for you? I promise I won’t get Sean to deliver it.”
“No. It’s fine,” I said. “I’ve got some work to do at the shop. I’ll… I’ll be fine.”
“Said every woman with a broken heart,” I heard her murmur as I walked away.
Another dusting of snow had fallen while I was inside Molly McCreedy’s.
Making my way carefully across the icy road, I unlocked the door to Irish Moon and shuffled inside. The crystals hummed merrily as I stood among them, and the talisman around my neck harmonized. I’d almost blown my top at Sean McKinnon and blasted him with my magic. Go hIfreann leat.
Rummaging underneath the counter, I took out my tarot cards and began shuffling. If anything were going to show me the way through this pain, it would be the message revealed in the cards. They’d helped me before, so they would again.