Free The Willow by Stacey Kennedy Page A

them—dancing around their bodies.
     
    There was a real pull to this element. Envy—I was sure of that. Whatever they were feeling looked good. I hadn’t had the time to mull over my being half witch all that much, but now being here, experiencing this, I couldn’t deny that this world didn’t intrigue me.
     
    “Return elements,” Zia shouted. “We thank you for your presence and the gifts you have bestowed upon us.”
     
    A deafening bang echoed around us and the magic was ripped away. “That was incred—” I started. Instantly, my mouth shut when all the witches turned to look at me. “Er—”
     
    “Come to me, Nexi,” Zia called out. “Join us.”
     
    I jerked my head to Haven. “Huh?”
     
    She laughed. “I love your reactions. They’re so funny.” She jumped to her feet and pulled me with her.
     
    The witches parted to let me pass as we approached. Haven gave me a little push forward and joined the circle.
     
    Zia stepped forward to wrap her warm hands tight around mine. “We have a new witch among us.” Her voice rose with happiness. “One who has been lost for some time. Let us unite with her.”
     
    With a loud whoosh, a blue ribbon appeared around the circle and wrapped from witch to witch.
     
    “Blessed be, Nexi,” the witches shouted in harmony.
     
    Zia squeezed my hands and my response came from deep in my soul. “Blessed be.”
     
    As quickly as the ribbon came, it withdrew.
     
    “You are a part of us now.” Zia smiled. “I know you don’t feel it, but soon you will.” She gave me a push forward. “Go now, meet your sisters.”
     
    From there, I was showered with hugs and kisses. Witch after witch introduced themselves. By the tenth witch, I’d already forgotten the first one’s name. Shira…Saria…Serin . It was pointless—I gave up trying.
     
    After the final kiss, Zia took my hand. “Come and chat with me.” Haven gave me a wave goodbye, then I followed Zia over to a large birch tree. “You must have questions?”
     
    I did—thousands of them. Taking a seat next to her, I got right to it. “What’s the circle for exactly?”
     
    “It’s to keep our sisterhood of witches united, and to give thanks to the elements for gifting us.”
     
    “So, am I part of the sisterhood now?”
     
    “You are, but you won’t understand it until you find your magic.”
     
    Her words led into my next question perfectly. “When will that be exactly?” The idea of me having magic seemed not only ridiculous, but also dangerous.
     
    “As I told you before, I am unsure when your magic will be released to you. Your age is going to make this difficult for you. Most younglings find their magic when they are around two years old, and the magic is weak. I’m not sure what will happen once yours is released or what will trigger it. I’ve never seen a witch come into her magic so late in life.”
     
    My panic rose to near lethal levels.
     
    She caught it instantly and patted my hand. “Not to worry. If you cannot control it on your own I will help you.”
     
    Her tone was firm enough that I believed her. I trusted her almost as much as I trusted Haven, which was definitely saying something. Strange really, I didn’t have a soul sister bond with Zia and I barely knew her, but there was something there—a very deep connection. My mother? They’d been close. I learned that the first night I talked with her and Drake.
     
    “We were soul sisters,” Zia said out of nowhere.
     
    “Pardon?”
     
    “We were soul sisters, your mother and I,” she repeated. “Did you know that?”
     
    I shook my head. “I didn’t know it ran that deep.” I actually didn’t know much about her and the curiosity was eating at me.
     
    Zia laughed softly. “You want to know what she was like?”
     
    I nodded, laughing with her. That was starting to get freaky! She was answering my questions before I even had a chance to ask them. Either we have some spooky connection between us