Chosen Witch (Paranormal Romance)

Chapter 2

We manage to sneak out of the house with no problems. Mama is too busy getting the last preparations ready for the Elders coming over tonight. They'll be heading over to the festivities after their own celebration. But at the beginning, it's all about us.

"If I knew we'd be trucking through the woods, I would've brought better shoes," Emily comments as we come up to the boundary in our backyard. Since Mama is a coven leader, our house sits right on the outskirts of the forest, the closest out of all the houses in Hawthorne.

Witches have a particular frequency vibration that answers to the nature around us. If we want stronger concentration of magic, we go to the nature around us. Just having our feet in the grass can make a spell three times more powerful.

I shrug in Emily's direction, apologizing without words. I was planning on wearing my boots to the festival anyway. They're hidden by the dress and I don't have to worry about my feet hurting by the end of the night in the typical sandals everyone else wears. Emily included.

"Are you ready?" I ask, reaching for the gate.

"No."

I chuckle to hide my own nervousness, and push the gate open. It doesn't creak like I expect it to, and without hesitation, I step through.

The moment I'm on the other side, the air cools. I've been in the designated areas before. Mostly with Mama. We have gone to inspect the gardens growing for medicinal or magical purposes. We have checked on the different fields containing vegetables and nurseries full of fruit trees. But I have never been in parts of the forest I shouldn't be in.

"This feels weird."

"It feels...magical. Can't you feel it, Em? It's everywhere."

The power of the forest hums around us, filling my skin with goosebumps. It seems impossible that we're here, walking through the forbidden parts. A laugh bubbles up at the back of my throat and I let it go.

"Meredith! Shh! What if someone hears us?" Emily is not having as much fun as I am. Turning to my friend, I grab her hand and pull her farther into the forest.

"Em, this is amazing. It feels amazing! The magic is so old here. So powerful."

My friend doesn't comment, but allows me to pull her along. We come to a small clearing and I drop her hand. It's as if my body acts on its own and the need to dance almost overwhelms me. Without a second thought, I twirl, opening up my arms wide, breathing in the power of the land around me.

"Em, come on. Just let it go. Feel it. Really feel it."

At first, she doesn't. But I see the moment she stops worrying and really breaths it in. It's intoxicating. I continue to twirl, lifting my skirts, as the wind dances its own dance around me. The power, raw and potent, fills me like it's never filled me before.

We're laughing, completely free. Maybe for the first time ever. There are no eyes on me, no town to watch my every move. I stumble to my knees before I drop down to my back, gazing up at the tall trees. Emily lands beside me, a brilliant smile on her own face.

"This place is something."

"It's more magical than we're lead to believe," I say, lifting my hand and twirling it around above my head. The wind answers to the magic at my fingertips, carrying leaves one way or the other. It feels like I can stay out here forever.

But we can't. If anyone found out we ventured out this far into the woods, we'd be in more trouble than I can name. This was a small experiment, just for me, and now, I have to put my mask back on.