Chapter 7

The kitchen was light and airy. And big. Wainscoting held prints of herbs. Distressed white cabinets covered two walls. The appliances were stainless steel. A large blue tile island matched the countertops and had a bowl of red apples in the center. The bay window over the sink showed a view of the garden. A stained-glass round table sat in a corner and seated six. Bottles in multiple colors and sizes lined the tops of the cabinets.

"Have a seat. I'll brew a pot." Ceara moved to the stove and started a kettle, then set out mugs. She fished through jars on a counter rack, selected something, and put leaves in metal steepers. "How was the ferry ride? Did you just get in today?"

"Yes, and the trip was nice. It was fascinating to watch the island approaching." Kaida took a chair next to Fiona. "The hotel's very lovely also."

Ceara's head whipped around, red coiled strands flying. "You checked into the Meath Hotel?" Her affronted tone set Kaida back. "I'm sorry. Of course, you did. You're welcome to stay with us. We were assuming you would." Her gaze flicked to Fiona's and away. She walked three mugs of tea to the table and sat across from Kaida. "We're family."

Since she didn't know how to respond, Kaida sipped the tea. Rosemary and hints of jasmine left a pleasant aftertaste once she swallowed. "I've known all my life that I was adopted by distant cousins on my mother's side, but they never told me about you guys. Or about the island. It wasn't until my parents died six months ago that I received a letter from my birth mother." She jerked her gaze at the two women. "Our mother, I suppose."

She was suddenly struck by the similarities between her and her sisters the closer she examined them. Their hair color and skin tones were different, as were their facial shapes. But they all shared the same button nose, full mouth, and blue eyes. Though the shades were diverse. Not that hair length was a genetic quality, but she found it interesting all three wore theirs nearly to their waists.

"You're wondering why Fiona and I were raised on the island, but you weren't." Not a question. A statement. Ceara studied her mug, contemplative. "The easy answer is it was to keep you safe until it was time for things to be put in motion."

The fine hairs stood on the back of Kaida's neck. "What do you mean, keep me safe?"

Ceara met her gaze. "What do you know about Six Fates Island's history? Are you aware of the Galloway curse?"

"Yes, I've read about it many times. Supposedly, Celeste Galloway cast a spell before she was burned."

Ceara nodded. "So, you're aware of the verbiage used. Three by three. Since the curse was cast, the Meaths and Galloways have not been blessed with true love. Not once. Nothing lasts and relationships end badly. We have walked the Earth for three centuries, never feeling at peace and constantly searching for it."

She paused. "A few months after I was born, the Meath family delivered a set of male triplets. The first in three-hundred years to have three born. Fiona came a year later. And when Mom learned she was expecting you, she and Aunt Mara began to plan. The pregnancy was kept secret. You arrived with blue eyes just like us, and that confirmed everything. They sent you away."

Fiona set her cup aside. "Your birth activated the first thread to breaking the curse. Three Meath males with green eyes. Three Galloway females with blue eyes. If word of that had spread, there's no telling what might have happened. Aunt Mara feels dark forces are at work trying to stop us from undoing the cycle. We've felt the same way."

Anger was the first to rise to the surface. Kaida had been raised in a loving home, but she'd never had a sense of belonging. Here they were, the family she'd searched for, dreamed about, calmly telling her she'd been tossed aside. At birth. And for what? Being a blue-eyed girl?

Concern swiftly followed. These two seemingly logical, normal women actually appeared to believe that a supposed curse, spoken by a desperate single mother three-hundred years ago, who knew she was about to die horribly, was fact instead of fiction.

Had she made a mistake coming here? Had she been so determined to find a connection that she'd leapt before she'd looked?

Her "sisters" were obviously seeking a reaction from her, so Kaida drew a careful breath. "That's putting a lot of stock in lore, don't you think?" Hello, overreaction.

Ceara didn't bat an eyelash. "You weren't raised with us, weren't shown our ways. I understand this is crazy talk to you, but it's not. There are a few of our kind left in the world. True witches with power. We keep our craft a secret, and with good reason. You, sister, are one of us. You're part of a long bloodline that holds magick."

"Uh-huh." If Kaida distracted them somehow, she might have enough time to get out the door. It would take eons to run back to the hotel and collect her things, but what was the alternative? Stay here and risk them possibly hurting her? They didn't seem violent, but whack was whack. And this was the very definition of insane. "Do I just wrinkle my nose and poof? Magic? Do we fly around on broomsticks?"

Guilt immediately consumed her. She was a well-educated woman. She'd spent a great deal of time teaching others who joked about the Wiccan practices to respect the ways. Yet here she was, the worst offender.

"I never had to wrinkle my nose."

Ceara sent Fiona a baleful glance and refocused on Kaida. "You have a PhD in Religion, your primary focus being Paganism and Witchcraft. Don't you think that's interesting? Out of all the fields of educational study, those were the ones that called to you."

And there went the hairs on her nape again. "How did you know that?"

"We've kept track of you, watched over you from a distance."

"Right. I see. You're not just crazy. You're stalkers, too." Kaida placed her hands on the table to rise, but Fiona held out her palm in a plea for her to stay. Reluctantly, Kaida sat back in her chair.

Strangest part? Concern and anger were one thing, fear was another. Not once since she'd arrived had she been afraid. Even now, with the current discussion on the burner, she wasn't scared. Should be, but wasn't.

"Have you felt different all your life? It didn't matter how many family or friends surrounded you, did it? There was still an emptiness inside you. A hole, of sorts. One that never fills." Fiona sighed. "We understand. And I'm willing to bet you have a kind of sixth sense, yes? An ability read people or their moods, not understanding how. Let's go with instinct and call it that."

Unable to move, Kaida stared at them.

Fiona opened her mouth to continue, but the jingle of a cell ringer broke the silence. She pulled a phone from her pocket, glanced at the screen, then looked at Ceara. "It's Riley." Her gaze met Kaida's. "Did you check in at the hotel under Galloway?"

"Yes. That's my name." What was she supposed to do? Assume a fake identity? And who was Riley?

"Take the call." Ceara's expression shut down. "Hold them off as long as you can."

A trace of apprehension lit Fiona's eyes as she shared a look with Ceara. "I'll be right back." Swiping the screen, she stepped out of the room.

Ceara offered Kaida a faint smile. "This is a lot for you to take in."

"You have no idea." Did they not realize how insane this sounded? Hey, sister. I know we just met, but welcome home. Sorry our family kicked you off the island and abandoned you while you were a baby. It's because we're witches and you're part of a curse...

"Around puberty, probably age sixteen, did unusual things begin to happen to you?" Calm as a summer lake, Ceara looked Kaida in the eye, held her gaze. "It would've started small. A candle lighting by itself. Flowers blooming when they otherwise seemed dead. A stiff wind inside a closed car."

The air seeped from Kaida's lungs, and she grew light-headed. Prickles of awareness poked her skin. Her chest tightened and her heart pounded so loud, she was shocked her new sister couldn't hear it.

"That's when it starts, when our power activates." Ceara's gentle, soothing voice did little to pacify Kaida's panic. "For some, it happens earlier, but most witches begin the change at sixteen. In my case, I accidentally started my homework on fire because I was stuck on an algebra equation. Math is evil. I was frustrated. The amp of emotion set it off. Luckily, I was in my bedroom at the time and not in school."

She shrugged. "And I was expecting it any day, the surge. I knew all along what I was, what I'd become. It still scared me to death. I can only imagine how frightened you must've been."

Kaida shook her head even as hot tears splashed onto her cheeks. She had been different all her life. She had felt empty. These strange anomalies had started when she'd turned sixteen. Part of her had come here to seek answers, to find out what was wrong with her. To search for her family, yes, but not only that. She needed to know whoor whatshe was.

Fiona stepped into the room, pocketing her cell. "The Meath boys want to talk. They know something's up. I pushed them off until tomorrow night. Seven o'clock in the woods, by the clearing."

Rubbing her eyes, Ceara released a quiet breath. "All right. We can't avoid them forever."

Fiona looked between the two of them before settling on Ceara. "We need to show her. There's no way we can send her into a meeting with them unless she has an idea of what to expect."

"I agree." Ceara shifted her eyes to Kaida. "Before you knew you were a witch, you studied our kind and our history. Your instincts led to you to that, to this, to us. If you look within yourself, your nature should be of no surprise. The four elements are where we get our power, gifted to us. Up until now, that was theory or speculation on your part. Something you read in books. Trust me, trust us when we say it's not fiction." She closed her eyes a brief beat and reopened them. "Aunt Mara is earth. I am fire."

She held out her hand, palm up, where a...flame hovered. A perfectly cylindrical ball of fire. Out of thin air. It wasn't possible, yet Kaida could feel the minor heat from across the table.

Rapidly shoving from her seat, she stood on shaky legs while a vise squeezed her lungs.

"And I am air." Fiona lifted her finger, swirled it.

Wind teased the hair on Kaida's neck, raised the strands off her back until they were standing straight out from her head.

"Oh God." Shaking, she tried to dial back her shock, keep her emotions in check, but the telltale crackle in her chest told her it was a losing battle. Her control was slipping.

Ceara and Fiona glanced from Kaida to the table in unison, where all three mugs were sitting. Except the tea was now floating above the rims. Small waves drifted toward her, like she were playing a flute and the liquid was music. Once it crossed the space to her, the fluid stopped midair, and then splashed onto the floor.

Silence hung. Time ticked by.

Finally, Fiona crossed her arms. "I take that to mean your element is water."