Touch of Promise: The Collectors Book 3 by Autumn Reed

Author:Autumn Reed [Reed, Autumn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Adele

“Hello, ladies,” Ruby said, intercepting us before we made it back to the picnic. “Do you mind if I steal my niece for a few minutes?”

“Not at all.” Megan gestured back to where Maddie was now riding Stowe’s shoulders, much like I’d daydreamed earlier. “I should go save your boyfriend from my little monster.”

“One of her boyfriends, you mean?” Ruby asked with a wide smile, and my cheeks immediately heated.

Megan’s eyes widened. “That sounds like a story I need to hear.”

“And then you can tell me everything,” Ruby replied in a loud whisper.

I shook my head but didn’t bother responding as I followed her into the house.

“In case I forget to say it, thank you for the gift.”

I narrowed my eyes at my great aunt. Though it would have been a good idea, I hadn’t brought her anything. “What gift?”

“George, of course.” She grinned. “It’s been ages since I’ve had an eligible man around the house.”

Her lively expression made me laugh. “I’m supposed to be thanking you for taking him in.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. Trust me on that.”

She led me into a room in the back of the house with several walls of bookshelves and a large desk covered in books and what appeared to be leather-bound journals.

“Please tell me you have good news for me,” I said as soon as we took a seat on wing-back chairs in front of the bookshelves.

Her good humor drained from her face. “I don’t know if you’ll think it’s good, but I do have news.”

“Whatever it is, I want to hear it.” Well, I needed to, at least.

“Shortly after the Whitehurst witch trials, there was a member of the Rose coven named Alice who left the coven and moved her family to the western part of the state. She had two young girls and was worried about their safety. In an attempt to make the family seem as average as possible, she utilized a number of spells. The last of them was a magic suppression spell, specifically intended to hide herself and her daughters from anyone with the ability to sense magic.”

That sounded familiar. “What happened?” Something must have gone wrong, or else Ruby wouldn’t have bothered telling this story.

“For years, absolutely nothing. Her daughters grew up and got married. Then, when the eldest daughter was giving birth to her first child, there were complications. Alice panicked and intentionally broke the suppression spell so she could use magic to save her daughter.”

“Did it work?”

“Yes.”

Her tone was hesitant, so I asked, “What’s the problem, then?”

“After that, Alice started using her magic again. There hadn’t been any more witch trials in Virginia, and she assumed she would be fine as long as she was careful. But she quickly discovered that her spells didn’t work the same as they had before. They were more powerful but also more volatile.

“It all went to hell in a handbasket when she attempted to summon rain to help neighboring farms that were losing their crops. The rain came, but not until after a lightning storm struck, setting fire to half of the town.

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