Page 105 of Blood Magic (Dark Witch Chronicles 1)
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me, dear.” She steps into the open elevator, and the doors close near soundlessly in front of her.
The urge to see Bronywyn myself is strong, so I carry the chocolates toward my bedroom. Quietly, I open the door and step inside. The room is nearly completely dark save a sliver of light sneaking through the center of my not fully closed blackout curtains.
Like a halo, Bronywyn’s blonde hair is spread over my black pillowcase, light on the dark. She’s so peaceful now, so ethereal as she lies there. Unable to stop myself, I take a step closer then another, and another, until finally, I’m standing right beside the bed.
Setting the chocolates on the nightstand, I take a seat on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping with my weight.
Bronywyn’s eyes flutter open and she stares at me blankly for a moment, as though she has no idea who I am and why I’m here. “Tarnley?”
“How are you feeling?”
She yawns and sits up, leaving the sheet falling down to her waist. I swallow a breath, my heartrate increasing instantaneously as I take in the sight of her in my bed, wearing a tank top that leaves very little to the imagination.
She stretches, lifting both arms over her head, then twists from side-to-side. “I actually feel—normal.”
“Normal?”
She nods. “Other than my lack of magic. But my body—” She trails off and turns to the left, then to the right again, testing her strength. “I think your blood worked. Got to love that vampire instant-heal.” She smiles now, near breaking me in two. Too damn stupefied to do anything else, I hold up the bag of chocolates, my version of a peace offering. “I got these for you.”
“Thank you very much.” She reaches for them, and our fingers graze, the gentle touch doing a hell of a lot more for my body than it should have. I release them quickly and reach down in an attempt to cover the bulge in my slacks.
“Your magic being MIA is problematic.”
“Possibly the understatement of the century.” Bag of chocolates in hand, she leans back against the pillows. “Though, I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little glad about it.”
“What do you mean?” I position myself more comfortably on the bed.
She stiffens ever so slightly, her heart rate increasing for a blip of a moment. It thunders in my ears, perfectly in tandem with my own Just as I’m about to ask her again, she closes her eyes and shakes her head as if trying to clear it. “I just—things have been complicated for me ever since I saved Elijah. Having the magic out of me simplifies things. And for the first time since that night, I actually feel like myself.”
“Except it makes you vulnerable for the council, who still wants you.”
“Maybe they don’t. Maybe he succeeded in taking what it was he wanted from me.”
Something in her tone eats at me, but I don’t ask her to elaborate. Instead, I focus on what it is she’s suggesting. “If he took your magic, that could spell trouble for us.”
“It could. But it’s not anything Delaney can’t handle. At least, not yet. Where is she? Winnie said she was out of town?”
“She is.”
Bronywyn pales. “Where?”
“She and Cole went to run an errand in Texas. They’ll be back after they’re finished.”
“What the hell is in Texas?”
“Bestiny’s kids.”
“Oh. I guess I didn’t realize she had kids.”
“They weren’t close, but Delaney felt obligated to go and see them to return a necklace.”
Bronywyn swallows hard and nods. “Just like her, always swooping in and playing the hero.”
It’s strange. I knew the magic changed her, that it altered the way she saw the world, but I don’t know that I realized exactly how much it played a role in her behavior over the past few months. Right now, sitting here in my bed, I see the woman I fell in love with. The one I’m willing to sacrifice everything for.
And ever since yesterday, the dark thoughts plaguing me for the past few months have subsided. Is it possible the council member did, in fact, take her power away? My gaze drops to the pendant around her neck and I reach forward, pressing my fingertips to the cool stone. “What is this?”