Cresent Prophecy by Axelle Chandler (great reads TXT) 📕

normal as things got in this place, being a witch and all.

Lucy stood beside me as we watched Alex disappear out of view.

“Are you sure you want to go up there alone with him?” she asked.

“I’ve known him a long time,” I replied. “I doubt he’s going to hack me up into little pieces and stuff me in a hessian bag.”

“Are you sure?”

“Lucy!”

“Just lookin’ out for you,” she replied with a halfhearted smile.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I said, knowing if push came to shove, I would be able to give back ten times as hard with my magic. But I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, especially away from the immediate range of the hawthorns. I knew I was protected to a certain extent at the tower house, but my magic was strong. I found that out when I made my talisman in the exact same spot and invited the craglorn over for the all you can eat Crescent Witch buffet.

“He’s absolutely convinced,” she mused.

“About?” I reached for my talisman and held it tightly, feeling the thread of magic within.

“That it’s only a matter of time before you realize what a mistake you’ve made.”

“I haven’t made any mistakes,” I shot back. “Not about this. People get confused over their hearts all the time, but that’s only because they have their cake and want someone else’s, too. That’s a metaphor for emotional greed, by the way. I’m happy with my Boone-cake. He’s more than enough for one person, believe me. He’s a ten-tiered, chocolate mud cake with buttercream icing, sprinkles, cherries, jam filling, and a spoonful of Nutella on the side. You would think you’d get sick after tasting a cake like that, but not me. Hand me a bigger spoon. Stat.”

Lucy chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. “Good for you. Not many people can say they found a cake like that.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, my heart feeling heavy at the thought of what Boone must be going through right now. “Yeah, I am…”

What a hopeless situation.

Alex was waiting for me at the tower house.

Approaching, my boots crunched on the gravel path, and I narrowed my eyes. Blunt and to the point, I thought. Send him packing.

He was sitting on the wooden fence separating the path from the ruin, his feet swinging back and forth. He didn’t stand as I neared, he just stopped his feet and sat patiently. Sitting beside him on the round log, I was careful to leave a healthy amount of space between us. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable position, the wood was hard against the bones in my ass cheeks, but it didn’t matter. Only my words did.

Alex didn’t say hello, but neither did I. I think we were beyond the point of pleasantries.

“You can’t come here and expect me to drop everything for you,” I said. “It’s unrealistic.”

“Not if you love someone.”

“And I don’t love you, Alex. I might’ve been able to once but not anymore. We had fun together, but I’ve moved on. You should, too.”

He glanced over my shoulder and then back to me. “Well,” he said. “Let’s see.”

Before I could dodge out of the way, he reached out, grasped my face, and planted his lips on mine. When his tongue tried to force its way into my mouth, I flailed my arms and shoved him back.

“Alex…”

“What do you think you’re doin’?”

The sound of Boone’s voice sent ice sliding through my veins. Alex had set me up!

Rising to my feet, I spun on my heel and came face-to-face with an enraged Boone.

“You saw that!” I exclaimed, jabbing a finger at Alex. “You saw me push him away!”

“I saw you kissin’ him.” Boone narrowed his eyes, clearly hurt.

“I didn’t kiss him,” I argued. “I…”

“After everythin’ I did for you…” he muttered. “After I…” He snorted, then strode off across the meadow and leaped over the stone fence into the field.

Turning on Alex, I jabbed a finger at him.

“You knew he was standing there!” I shrieked. “I can’t believe you!”

“Skye, I said I would fight for you,” he said, standing.

“Don’t you get it! You lost the day you broke up with me. You never had a chance.”

“Skye…”

He stepped forward, his arms rising to capture me in an embrace, but I’d had a gut full of his meddling. How many times had I told him I wasn’t interested? I was fairly sure it was about a million by now, so if he wasn’t listening to my words, then he sure as hell would listen to my fist.

In a whirlwind of fury, I launched my knuckles at his face, aiming for his good eye. My hand smacked into his eye socket with a satisfying thwack, and I winced as the impact jarred up my arm. Geez, no one told me it hurt to hit someone.

Shaking my hand, I glared at Alex, who was holding his hands over his eye and staring at me open-mouthed.

“You punched me!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, and if you don’t get the hint, I’ll kick you in the balls, too.” I backed away, aiming for the direction Boone had gone. “The answer has been the same as it’s always been, Alex. N-o. No. No, no, no, no, no. I don’t love you. I love Boone. The. End.”

Turning, I left him standing on top of the hill in the shadow of the tower house and crossed the meadow. My heart span and span, the words echoing around in my head like a stone rattling in a tin can. I’d said the words. The words.

I wasn’t sure if I should be seething or soaring after what had just happened. My hand was throbbing with a dull ache, and I hoped I’d given Alex another black eye. He desperately needed a matching set.

Attempting a graceful leap over the fence, my foot caught, and I rolled over the stone like a tub of lard and landed on my face in the grass. There went any residual adrenalin I’d gathered from punching that twat in