“They are,” he replied, confirming my suspicions. “They guard the doorways to the fae realm, but they were sealed a thousand years ago. Nothin’ can get in or out. Now the hawthorns are safe havens.”
“Safe havens?”
Boone nodded. “They are a shield for words and magic. That’s why we can talk freely here. This tree was where the Crescents have practiced their magic for centuries. Or so Aileen told me.”
“Why was the way to the fae realm sealed off? Do you know what it’s like there?”
“It’s a long story.”
I scowled, desperate to know everything about this new world I was supposed to be part of. “Don’t you want to tell me?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just as I said. It’s a long story. Perhaps another time.” He smiled a sad smile and glanced up at the tree. “The doorways are never openin’ again, so there’s nothin’ to worry about. There are creatures who still try to get in, and that’s why the witches protect the trees. When the doorways were sealed, a lot of fae were trapped here. Being cut off from magic, they’ve become twisted.”
“They need magic to survive,” I mused. “That’s why witches are hunted.”
Boone shrugged, giving away the fact he wasn’t telling me the whole story. I would get it out of him eventually. Something else was in play here, and it worried him. Not enough to warn me away though, so the lack of urgency calmed me a little.
“Where did you come from?” I asked after a moment. “Mairead said you just showed up one day.”
“I don’t know,” he replied.
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“Before this place, I don’t remember anythin’. My first memory is runnin’ as a fox through the forest. Then I was flyin’ as a gyrfalcon, and then I crashed to earth. They were chasin’ me… It was your mam who found me right here in this clearin’.”
“Who was chasing you?”
He was silent for a long time. Finally, he turned his head and smiled. “That’s a story for another time.”
So much evasion. Digging my hands into the leaf litter, I picked through the sticks, breathing in the heavy scent of disturbed earth.
I thought over all the peculiar things that had happened since I arrived, and I knew Boone was right. About everything. It was farfetched, fantastical, and completely bonkers, but it was real. There was just too much evidence not to believe. Seeing the guy you had the hots for morph into a bright red fox was pretty solid proof, after all.
“Boone?” I asked, breaking up the leaf in my fingers.
“Yeah?”
“Robert’s a leprechaun, isn’t he?”
“I suppose he is,” he replied. “He’s never confirmed nor denied, but he likes to drop hints. He’s definitely not human, that I know.”
I turned my attention back to the leaf in my hand. If I was supposed to be this badass Crescent Witch, then how was I supposed to use my magic? Where was it? Stuffed if I knew because I didn’t feel any different.
“Boone?”
“Yeah?”
“What do I do now?”
He shrugged, which wasn’t any help at all.
“Find your way,” he said after a moment.
“If I’m the last Crescent Witch, what does that mean?”
“Aileen told me you might be the last thing standin’ in the way of magic dyin’ out for good.”
I made a face. “That’s not ominous at all.”
“I’m sorry.”
My gaze flew to his. “What for?”
“This wasn’t how I imagined this going…”
Thinking about how I whipped his bare ass with the lamp cord, I snorted and then burst out into peals of laughter.
“What are you laughin’ at?” he asked angrily.
“Whipping your ass,” I replied, wiping at my tears.
“Ack, don’t remind me.” He rolled his eyes and playfully rubbed his ass cheeks. “It stung.”
The mood had lightened significantly, but it wasn’t long before I felt a tug of depression. Everything had been turned on its head, again, and I had no idea what to do. None at all. Who was Skye Williams? I felt like I should know, but I’d been so concerned with figuring out Aileen, I’d forgotten about who I was going to be in the wake of her death. Now, it had reverted to nothing but chaos. Fantastical chaos.
“I’m a witch,” I said, my heart sinking. “Everything I’ve ever known is just…gone. Who am I? What am I supposed to do?”
Boone placed his hand on mine and tangled his fingers through my own. “I’m goin’ to help you, Skye. We’ll work out what to do together. You won’t be alone in this, I promise.”
We sat in the shade of the hawthorn for a long time, just existing. A shapeshifter and a witch.
Staring up at the hawthorn, I knew the Tower had finally been rebuilt.
Chapter 12
Needless to say, Buddy didn’t make an appearance that night, though Boone made one the next morning.
Emerging out of the cottage, I lingered in the garden. The world seemed to have changed overnight. It was unseasonably warm, which was saying a lot since the Irish summer was as mild as a spring day back in Australia. I still needed to throw on a loose cardigan before leaving the cottage. Otherwise, I would catch a chill.
Meandering down the path, the flowers either side appeared more vibrant than usual, and the bees buzzing around the lavender were bigger and fatter than I remembered. I was still the same Skye who saw all these things yesterday, but the difference was…now I knew the truth. I was a witch.
As if knowing changed anything.
Boone was waiting for me outside Irish Moon. He was leaning against the wall chatting with Mairead, looking rather sexy in his skinny jeans, boots, and red and black checked shirt that was rolled up to his elbows. It was like his trademark uniform or something. A cross between farmer and hipster sheik.
“Skye,” he said in his sexy Irish lit.
Mairead narrowed her eyes, clearly annoyed I’d interrupted her one-on-one time with her crush. If only she knew how foxy he really was.
“Hey,” I said. “What’s up?”
“Have you forgotten?” he asked, flashing me
