Free Arcane Magic (Stella Mayweather Series) by Camilla Chafer Page A

your sight. Astra will be here in a few minutes. I hope you have a successful trip."
    "I can hardly wait," I said, feeling anything but excited. What was Étoile getting me into?

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
    I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't the large padded envelope that Étoile extracted from the safe in the wall only minutes after Astra's arrival. It just looked so ordinary in its manila hue. So innocuous. In the time it took me to visit the bathroom, brush my hair, and check to see I looked decent, prior to Astra's arrival, the package had grown into some, enormous thing without real parameters in my mind. Of course, it was a large envelope, only half an inch thick. It had to be something like that. It wasn't like she would ask me to collar a dragon and fly it to Texas... I hoped.
    "Do dragons exist?" I asked.
    Étoile gave me a puzzled look. "I hope not." She placed the package on the coffee table in her elegant and neat-as-a-pin living room, and the three of us stared at it wordlessly.
    "So, what's in it?" I asked finally, surrendering to curiosity when it became apparent Étoile wasn't going to say anything. I chanced a glance at Astra to see if she were any the wiser, but all the youngest Winterstorm sister did was lift her left shoulder slightly, then let it drop as she gave a small shake of her head. Interesting. Astra didn't know what the package contained either.
    "I can't tell you," Étoile said.
    "Why not?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light.
    "It's best if neither of you know. I'm risking a lot just taking it out of the safe and it cost me a hell of a lot to get the contents."
    "It's valuable?" asked Astra.
    "Not like cash or jewels." Étoile gave us a small, tight smile. "but it's quite valuable to... some."
    "Witches?" I guessed.
    "Like I said, it's best that you don't know." Étoile picked up the package and held it in both hands, staring down at it. "I've magicked the package so that only Evan can open it. You must make sure it gets to him; but you must first make sure it is him. I know you have the skills to see past a shapeshifter, Stella. As far as I know, only he has been alerted that it's coming, but not how, or when, or even who it’s being delivered by, since one can never be too sure these days."
    I nodded my understanding. Having had an unfortunate experience with a shapeshifter once, I knew how to recognise a being for what it really was. It had once taken a lot of effort for me, but now it was simple. Like with all my magical skills, this one became natural in no time. I tried not to think about the day Evan taught me the skill, in case I blushed. "I'll make sure the package gets into his hands and no one else's," I promised.
    "You sound paranoid, sister."
    Étoile glanced up at her sibling. "Like they say, just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me."
    "What's really going on?" I asked, taking in her demeanour, as well as the opportunity to ask. It wasn't her clothing - which was impeccable, as always - but something about her eyes, like she hadn't been sleeping well of late. Of course, I wouldn't be sleeping well if I thought someone was out to get me either. At least, with the Brotherhood hopefully now a distant memory, I'd been managing to sleep rather well. At least, I was until someone decided to slay a werewolf on my porch.
    As for the other problems that I encountered since my inauguration as a witch, and my formal introduction into the strange, supernatural extra layer of the regular human world… well, let's just say I'd had my fair share of sleepless, worry-filled nights from time to time. Yet, things like that never seemed to affect Étoile before. Whatever was going on was clearly serious, and it worried me that she seemed so reluctant to talk about it. It worried me much more, however, that she couldn't.
    "I've put you both in enough danger just by asking you to do this for me; and I don’t intend to imperil your lives any