Storm and Flame by Mallory Wanless

Author:Mallory Wanless [Mallory Wanless]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mallory Wanless
Published: 2022-05-16T00:00:00+00:00

25

Elena

She was expecting them. She’d said as much, hadn’t she? She knew they were coming. What did that mean? Did this nature witch, Belladonna, have the power of foresight? If so, why did she attack them? Why did she threaten Q like that? What was her issue with him? What had she seen in her connection with Lyra? So many questions.

They followed the witch in silence, Q right by her side, refusing to take his eyes off Belladonna. Elena had to admit that the woman was stunning. She had flowers in her hair that appeared to be literally growing in the green expanse of her locks, rather than being braided in as Elena had done for festivals and solstices as a child. And she smelled of wildflowers: jasmine, magnolia, and lavender.

Aside from her hair and skin, Belladonna wasn’t at all what Elena had pictured when they’d studied nature witches at Harbor Ridge. She wasn’t tall and willowy as the books described. She was built more sturdy, like a centuries-old sequoia. Strong legs and lean arms. Clearly, this was a woman who spent a great deal of time hiking and climbing the woods she protected. She was barefoot, which Elena found off-putting, simply because there were so many broken branches and dried evergreen needles on the forest floor that it had to be at least mildly painful to walk without some form of protective covering on her feet.

“It’s actually quite nice,” Belladonna stated, as though she’d been reading Elena’s mind. “The forest floor is soft and the trees offer their branches, needles, and leaves to make a soft cushion on the ground. Almost like a rug, but far more natural.”

She didn’t look behind her as she spoke, but it was clear she had been speaking to Elena, answering her unasked questions.

“Can you... did you read my mind?” Elena asked incredulously.

“Not exactly,” Belladonna replied. “I can’t read minds, but I can sense your feelings and emotions as well as you can feel that of your familiar’s. I’m an empath. If I let my guard down, I feel all of your emotions. Including all the rage, disgust, and distrust of your friend here. Which is how I know he hates everything about me without actually knowing me at all.”

Q looked stunned. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He just stared at the back of the witch’s head in shock.

“It’s ok, boy. I don’t hold it against you. You were raised in an ignorant and close-minded town. Not to mention you had a rather intense run-in with my fog not too long ago, and you’ve had a fairly traumatic life thus far. I’m sorry to tell you that it isn’t going to get any less traumatic for quite some time.”

She said all of this with the same casual air of someone discussing the weather.

“I don’t mean to be so blunt,” Belladonna stopped and turned to face them. “I’m not used to this much interaction with humans. I love the animals and plants here, but they aren’t much for social cues or niceties.

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