The Opal Witch: Prophecy (Book Two)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Declan

Declan made Lux sit in the front seat for the rest of the drive. Kitty rolled her eyes but stretched out her legs across the leather seats and quickly fell asleep sleep. Lux didn't argue with him, which told him she was still rattled by whatever it was she'd Seen. Telling her to do anything was a good way for the opposite thing to happen, but she clicked her seat belt into place and stared at him for ten minutes before he finally broke the silence.

"What did you See?"

She flinched, and he wished he could take back the words as shadows darkened her eyes. Before she could answer, her phone flashed and beeped. Using the distraction, she clicked on the message, then sighed. "Hanish and Audra are heading to Maine."

Ahead of them, Calum and Percy turned right. He followed, frowning as the road narrowed and the asphalt gave way to gravel. Trees grew tall on either side of the road, and their bare limbs tangled together, creating a skeletal canopy overhead and blocking out most of the pale winter sunlight.

"I thought," he said, nearly biting his tongue as the car bounced over a pothole, "That he was going to Tennessee to bring her here."

"You know Audra. She's on a mission involving werewolves, and if she thinks it takes priority, she's going to follow through with that first. Seems Hanish decided to stick with her for now."

"You could compel her to return. You're the Priestess of this Circle, and she needs to learn to listen to you."

He'd always appreciated Lux's unwillingness to lead by force—far too many powerful witches fell prey to that leadership style, but Audra had worked alone for far too long. She needed to be reined in sooner rather than later.

"What can she do right now? Once we have more definitive answers about what's going on, I'm sure I'll call the entire Circle back, but I don't want to disrupt their lives."

"Lux—"

"Enough," she snapped.

It was his turn to flinch. In all their time together, she'd never spoken to him like that. Not even when they argued. Sure, she'd spoken in anger and hurt before, but this...

"Lux, what did you See?"

In the backseat, leather creaked, and he looked in the rearview mirror to find Kitty's eyes cracked open. She didn't close them when she caught him watching her, but after holding his gaze for a long moment, she looked at Lux, her expression pained and expectant. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and drew in a deep breath through his nostrils. Having her with them had put them all on edge. When she showed up, his first inclination had been to put her to sleep until they figured out what to do, but after she explained her presence, he couldn't help but agree with Lux that they needed to keep her close.

"Tell him, Lux," Kitty pressed.

And so she did. At first, she spoke in starts and stops, her words jittery and disconnected—stopping all together when she reached the part about seeing him brought before the Fae Queen. She covered her mouth, closed her eyes, and sucked in a sob before rushing through the rest.

Declan resisted the urge to touch his throat. "It hasn't happened yet. It doesn't have to happen, Lux."

"Doesn't it though?" She shouted. "Daphne Saw this years ago. She said they orchestrated my birth as part of a plan to open the Gateways."

"What you saw doesn't point to that."

"Think about it," Lux said, turning in her seat so she could look at him and Kitty. Her hands fluttered about her face as she talked. "I told you she believed what she said that night at the Estate. We all know Daphne was a powerful Seer, and she would have been taught very early on to shield herself from outside influence. Everything she Saw came true. Her powers were bound, and our Circle nearly ceased to exist."