Undertow by Brooklyn Ray

Author:Brooklyn Ray [Ray, Brooklyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: NineStar Press, LGBT, witches, magic, kelpie, sacrifice, established couple
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Published: 2018-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

DONOVAN SAT IN a low, curved tree, swinging his legs back and forth. Opal cleaned her feathers on the branch beside him. Lingering sunlight lit the forest. Trees were damp from a stint of afternoon rain, but the sky was cloudless dark blue: an anomaly this close to winter.

Liam watched light play on Donovan’s arms. The sunset glowed on his fiery hair. He pulled the sleeves of his olive sweater into his palms, the shoulder slouching to expose a pale, freckled collarbone.

“Hey,” Donovan said. His gaze stayed pinned to the treetops. “I’m meeting Tyler for dinner, so I’ve only got a few minutes.”

“Date night?”

Donovan smirked. “Something like that.”

“Look…” Liam chewed on the inside of his cheek. He leaned against the tree and stroked Opal’s back. “I’m sorry you’re in the middle of all this. You shouldn’t have to be, and I know Tyler… He’s just… I don’t know, he’s just really fucking hard on Ryder. It gets old.”

“He’s the head witch,” Donovan said. “It’s his job to be hard on us.”

“You think he should treat Ryder the way he does? You think that’s okay?”

“I didn’t say that. But I know he feels awful about it most of the time. I know his parents are shitty and he’s got a lot of issues. I know that he’d never hurt either of you and that he’s doing his best to protect you both.”

Liam toed at the grass with his boot. Whether he liked it or not, he knew Donovan was right. Tyler had his own issues to deal with—they all did. But Tyler had initiated the circle, he’d established it with Christy before Liam or Ryder or Donovan joined, and watching it turn into something he didn’t recognize couldn’t be easy.

None of this was easy.

“We’re not here to talk about Tyler,” Donovan mumbled. He slid out of the tree and adjusted his sweater, pulling it back into place over his shoulders. “I asked my mom about the Orders.”

“And?”

“And she told me the war between Water and Fire has been going on since…” He gestured to the forest with a flick of his wrist. “The beginning. It’s not just between demons, because demons aren’t the only things that belong to the Orders.”

Liam narrowed his eyes. “What else does?”

“Technically? Everything. Me. You. Opal. Alchemists. Witches. It depends on our magic, but it always aligns with at least one Order. I’m Earth, but it’s… I’m complicated.”

“What’s complicated about you?”

“I’m not human,” Donovan said.

The forest quieted. Wind stopped hushing through leaves. Creatures peeked at them from the hollows under gnarled roots and amidst tree trunks, lurking in the shadows, waiting for an explanation. Time stretched and bent. It made room for them to watch each other—Donovan, waiting for a reaction, Liam, wondering if he was still asleep. After too much silence, the trees finally whispered. Dark Water. Predator.

“It’s complicated for you too,” Donovan added.

Liam blinked. Heat rushed into his cheeks. He wobbled but stayed upright. Nothing made sense. Nothing. “That’s a heavy implication.”

“Yeah, it is. Don’t worry, you aren’t the same as me.

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