Chapter 156

Violet’s POV

The jungle outside the village my family lived in was beautiful. It was lush and alive, humming with magic like the air itself was breathing. I had only visited this village and its surrounding area a few times in my life, but I’d always made time to come stand among the ferns and fronds.

All the hardship and loss and pain from back home felt worthwhile when I stood here.

That sentiment was only strengthened as I stood here with my mate, my doher, my Theo. Hand in hand, I led him through the jungle to the spot where we were to meet Auntie.

“Millicent Fairweather.”

We had been strolling in awe-struck silence for a while, and I glanced toward Theo at the sound of his voice.

“It was my mother’s name,” he told me, hand never slipping from mine. “I hadn’t heard her name in years until Lillith spoke it. I wanted to share it with you.”

My chest warmed deeper than the humid jungle air could reach. I was honored that Theo was sharing this with me.

“Millicent Fairweather,” I repeated, and he smiled sweetly. It might have been the first time I’d seen not an inkling of pain in his eyes at the mention of his mother. Maybe the time with Lillith Claire had been healing for him.

At least I hoped it had. He had seemed so joyful as he recounted to me last night every minute of his time with her. I squeezed his hand affectionately, and he squeezed mine back.

We parted the leaves ahead of us, coming upon a clearing. The hum of magic deepened here, resonating in my bones.

“You’re sure you’re feeling up for this today?” Theo asked as we came to a stop on the edge of the clearing.

I rolled my eyes even as I smiled up at him. “You have asked me that seven times this morning, and though I understand that’s because we need this so badly that I would probably lie about my state of being just to do the altrosis, I promise you – for the seventh time – that I truly am feeling good today.”

Theo stared me down, and while I waited for a quip or a jab or a kiss, the connection between us opened up in silent exploration. I realized Theo was checking for how I felt through the bond. I opened it up on my end, too, letting him sense how well-rested and strong I had woken up feeling.

“Worry-wart,” I teased as his shoulders relaxed.

“I wonder how much you would worry if my well-being impacted not just myself but also our future child.” He let go of my hand to cross his arms, but he was still smiling.

My stance softened at his decidedly fair point, and he finally leaned down to give me the kiss I had been waiting for.

“Good morning.”

Theo and I turned to face Auntie as she emerged into the clearing from a different route.

“Knowing you both,” she said with her unrelenting serenity, “I’m assuming we’d better get on with the altrosis so you can get to the archives. And I’m also assuming,” Auntie focused her gaze on me, “that you feel well enough for the process or won’t admit to not feeling well enough, so either way we might as well proceed.”

I didn’t deign to look at Theo as he pinned me with a glare. Most of the time, the people I loved knowing me so well was a comfort, but every now and again, it got under my skin.

“The clearing was enchanted a long time ago,” Auntie continued without confirmation from us, “and has remained so since then, revered as a place of healing, channeling, and magical exploration. It will provide us with the magical support we need to perform the altrosis.”

Theo’s hand moved protectively to my lower back. “And why exactly would we need magical support?”

Auntie folded her hands in front of her. “Altrosis is an attempt to control magic enough to pin it down and examine it. One could more easily pin down the wind.”

As if to illustrate her point, a cool breeze swept through the clearing, though not a hair on Auntie’s head swayed in its drift.

“Magic is wild,” she continued. “It is not designed to be controlled. The magical support of this clearing will provide me the power I need to complete such an unruly process.”

“It won’t harm her,” Theo worried.

Without moving a muscle, Auntie somehow managed to convey offense taken by his words. “I will not dignify that question, which assumes I would either risk harming my niece or that the High Priestess would risk harming a child of the Goddess, with a response.”

Theo bowed his head slightly in shame. I sent my understanding down the bond, knowing he was only worried about me and our baby.

Auntie’s attention turned to me. “Come, child.”

Theo and I exchanged a too-brief kiss, but I didn’t let myself mourn the loss of his touch as I stepped out of his reach. I met Auntie in the middle, though she felt much more like the High Priestess than my aunt as she instructed me to lay in the center of the circle. On her direction, I settled myself comfortably, focusing on the hum of the magic surrounding us.

“I am going to find the threads of magic within you,” she explained as I closed my eyes, “then grab a hold so that I can explore them. It will feel uncomfortable, like I’m gently pushing your organs around as I search, but I will not touch you at any point, and I will not harm you. You must trust me.”

Theo’s concern rippled down our bond at the mention of my organs.

Please, I sent his way. I need your strength.

I could have done this without him, but I couldn’t do it with the constant reminder that he worried for me – for us. And if I were being truly honest, though I could do it without him, I no longer wanted to.

It only took a moment before the concern flowing through the bond morphed into faith, belief, and awe. I held onto it as I leaned into the magic around me.

“If you do not trust me,” the High Priestess continued, “your body and mind will not let me in to do what needs to be done.”

Trust the wisest woman I knew, the first person to whom I had implied my intent for treason – the most dangerous decision I’d ever made. The woman who knew Theo was more of a mate to me in a handful of weeks than Lucas had been in years. My mother’s sister, my blood, my Auntie.

Trust her.

I opened myself up to the magic of Henosis, the magic I had recently learned flowed in my veins, to my Auntie. A warmth spread through me, bubbling up from within like a volcano. It felt like ice-cold fingers began poking around, testing my body and my mind, though I wasn’t sure what for.

Trust her.

The prodding narrowed in scope, concentrating around my chest, until one point pricked under the pressure. I inhaled sharply in surprise.

Trust her.

Pressure built in my chest, as if the fingers dug into me, the intrusion of a foreign object within me setting off every alarm in my body.

Trust her.

With precision, the fingers pinched something within me that made the humming of the magic intensify. Buzzing filled my ears, drowning out the sounds of the clearing I knew I still lay in. Then with a tenderness and a respect that should have been far beyond the capability of fingers, they tugged at the thread they had a hold of.

Like a switch, my entire body electrified, and I screamed.