Black Moon (The Moonlight Trilogy) (25 page)

How could he walk away from Rowan, Wynter, and the Covenant? And worse, how could he ask Willa to leave? He couldn
’
t go without her, and he knew she wouldn
’
t let him leave alone.

Another thought hit him, and his stomach turned cold with nausea.
If I give up magic, should I give up Willa too?
The space behind his heart throbbed so painfully that he had to lean forward and concentrate on his breathing.
No. I could never give her up. That
’
s not an option.

The wind teased the leaves of the trees over his head.

A bird called out to the forest.

Simon stared off into the trees, his heart ice, his hands twisting around each other.

Something rustled in the foliage to his right. Simon turned his head. Limping badly, a gray wolf moved out of the trees toward him. Simon inhaled sharply.
Wolves d
on
’
t live in Colorado.
There had been rumors of sightings for years, but the closest known population lived in Yellowstone.

What are you doing here?

The wolf, whose head had been hanging down in pain, looked up and met Simon
’
s eyes. The creature whimpered softly. The animal was
ragged and dirty,
skin stretched tightly over its ribs.

Simon remained seated, watching the crippled wolf make its way forward. The options churned inside him, unprepared to face the choice so soon. The animal stopped and held up its
foreleg,
bloody and deformed, most likely crushed. It would never heal on its own, and soon the animal would starve to death. Simon sighed heavily and rolled his eyes skyward.

The wolf hopped closer.

Dull golden eyes were locked on Simon
’
s, silently begging for help. Simon stayed still, staring back. He balled his hands into fists, so hard they started to tremble. All he had to do was reach out one of his hands, place it on the wolf
’
s head, and heal it.

It was as simple and as complicated as that.

For the first time, Simon wondered if he had the right to heal. Was it his place to step in and change the course of a life? What gave him the right? It was all the result of Dark magic anyway. Every animal, every person he
’
d ever healed moved across his mind, each a flash of regret. Each action had been rooted in a mistake, a curse.

The wolf whimpered again, nudged Simon fists with its dry mu
zz
le.

Simon met its eyes once more, swallowed, and pulled his lips into a thin, tight line.

He stood up and walked away for the second time that day.

Chapter 31

Blessing Moon

July—Present Day

W
illa sat in the shade on the front porch, staring out at the road, waiting.
Waiting.
One of her grandmother
’s grimoires
rested
on her lap, but even the allure of ancestral knowledge couldn
’
t keep Willa
’
s mind focused. She rubbed her hand on the cover, fiddling with the leather tie. Pulling her eyes from the road, she opened the book. On the first page, in a compact script, she found,
Tara Algood. Gift of Air.
Willa inhaled.
Proof.
She held in her hands real evidence that her grandmother had been a witch, that she had inherited the magic.

Tara Algood had died
in a car accident when Sarah was only seventeen. Sarah never spoke of her mother. Willa had never thought much about her grandma. Tara Algood had always been just a name and a single battered photograph of a dark-haired
smiling woman
holding a newborn version of Sarah. Willa wondered what had happened between them to make her mom so bitter.

Willa wished she
’
d known Tara, seen the true color of her eyes, heard her laugh, sat in her lap, seen her work the magic of her Air gift. At least the grimoires could be a window into her life and her magic.

At the sound of a car, Willa stiffened and looked up. But it wasn’t Simon.

With a sigh, she sat back in the porch swing and rubbed at the ache of worry just inside her skull. The truth had not been as comforting as she hoped. Could he handle it, reconcile it? Willa bit her lower lip and looked down the street.

It was just the shock.
Right?
He just needed time to process, to logic everything into place.
Like he always does.
But this was so big and so complicated. Willa wondered if maybe she should have left well enough alone. Maybe this time answers were not a cure but an infection.

The look in Simon
’
s dark eyes when Rowan told him the awful truth about his healing powers filled her head. Even now it made her heart drop. Simon had never vocalized it, but Willa knew how important that gift was to him. Could he recover from this?

The sound of voices drifted from the house, the Covenant deep in conversation about the bodies in the ground at the cave and Amelia
’
s revelations. The skin on Willa’s neck prickled. Something big was going to happen. It
’
d been building for months, many strange little incidents, like drops of poison in a cup of water. Now she felt the cup was about to spill over. Right down their throats.

At exactly the same time as Simon
’
s mental breakdown.

Rocking slowly, smoothing her hand over the grimoire, Willa couldn
’
t forget the look on Simon
’
s face as the fire had erupted around them in the field. His surprise had been equal to hers, but there was something else, something . . . resigned, a look of realization, the realization that his worst fear had been confirmed. His powers were the product of a Dark curse. She knew the words must be thundering in his brain:
My parents were right
.

Willa exhaled; anger
at the Howards was heating her blood.

But there had been something else in Simon
’
s eyes in that moment, something angry and dark. A look so foreign she didn
’
t know what to think of it.

Another image plowed through her thoughts, one she
’
d been trying her best to keep buried over the last few days—the witch with moonlight eyes. Since that first horrible nightmare right after Simon was attacked on the cliff, she
’
d dreamed only of him. All night, she
’
d watched his life play out. Horrible things she had never imagined were possible. At the end of each event, she
’
d stand face to face with him, just staring, her body growing colder and colder until, finally, she woke shivering. As soon as she managed to fall asleep again, it started all over.

Willa yawne
d and checked the street again, then her phone, and her unanswered texts and calls.

“Any sign?” Charlotte pushed opened the screen door and sat next to her on the swing.

“No,” Willa signed. “I hope he
’
s okay.”

Charlotte handed her a tall glass of ice water. “I
’
m sure he is. Knowing Simon, he
’
s up there,” Char nodded toward the mountains in the distance, “thinking everything out.”

Willa sipped the water and nodded. “I know.” She exhaled. “So how are things inside? Any progress?”

Char scoffed.
“Not really. No one can even comprehend the idea that Archard might still be alive, so they are thinking about every other reason in the world why all those bodies are buried in the clearing.” Charlotte put a hand on Willa
’
s arm. “I
’
m sorry about this whole deal with Simon. I can
’
t believe the poor guy is stuck with
three
gifts. That
’
s total overload. No wonder he
’
s been a little nuts. Sometimes I go crazy with just my one.”

Willa nodded absently as she watched another car drive down the road—still not Simon. “I know. I thought I was helping. I thought . . .” She shook her head and dragged a hand down her face.

“What?” Char said quietly, leaning forward.

Willa sighed.
“
I don’
t know. I thought knowing would be better, even if it was bad news. Then we had our beautiful wedding, and everything seemed better, like it would work out no matter what. I thought, somehow, that would soften the blow.” She shook her head again and stared blankly at the road. “Did it make it worse?”

“Oh, Willa, no,” Char comforted sincerely. “
I don’
t think anything would have helped Simon hear what you had to tell him today. But at least he knows he has you here, waiting, wanting to help. That will bring him back.”

Willa nodded, fighting a rise of emotion in her throat.

Charlotte touched Willa
’
s arm again. “Well, I promised Darby I
’
d help her
‘wrangle up some supper.
’
Her words, not mine.” She smiled and stood. She watched the road for a moment and then added, “I
’
ll bring some out to you.”

Willa nodded her thanks, her eyes already moving back to the empty road.

Finally, as the sun set,
Simon pulled into the driveway. Willa stopped rocking and sat on the edge of the swing, her heart beating wildly. She was relieved to see him, but too much worry remained to let the relief sink in.

Simon got out of the Jeep and walked to the porch, his eyes on the ground and his shoulders bent with his burden. He sat next to her and, without looking at her face, pulled her hands into his, kissing them several times. Willa held her breath but answered his grip with strength. Shifting, he dropped his head into her lap. She cradled it, running fingers through his blond curls, still
waiting.
He wouldn
’
t have come back unless he
’
d decided what to do.

Somewhere down the street, children yelled to each other, playing, carefree.

Simon inhaled a shaky breath and finally spoke. “There was a wolf in the woods.” Willa didn
’
t say anything. “For the first time in my life, I hesitated. I wondered if it was right to heal.” He turned his face further into her legs; his next words were slightly muffled. “I walked away thinking my gifts are a Dark curse.”

Willa stifled
a gasp and felt something inside her grow cold, a
n avalanch
e of panic. “Simon . . .” she began but stopped when she realized he was crying. It tore at her. At first, she hesitated, unsettled by such raw emotion, but then she wrapped her arms around him to hold the pieces together.

After a few aching moments, Simon sniffled and sat up, his face blotchy, eyes large and watery, mouth twisted in pain. She took his face in her hands and lightly kissed his trembling lips. “
Tell me,
” she whispered.

He hung his head. “I got halfway back to the car before I realized I couldn
’
t live with myself if I walked away.”

The coldness in Willa thawed instantly, and her heart beat with warmth. “You went back.” It wasn
’
t a question.

He nodded and sniffled. “Yes. All I could think about were the times my father forced me to leave animals behind, to walk away.” He held her eyes. “I never told you that.” Willa shook her head, her own eyes filling with tears. “
That
felt Dark—walking away. But turning back . . .”

“You made the right choice. There
’
s nothing Dark about you, Simon.”

He shook his head. “Yes, there is, but . . .” He pulled her delicate hands from his face and held them. “But it
’
s a choice, the same choice I have made every day of my life.” He smiled weakly. “Why would I stop now?”

Willa laughed, tears tracking down her cheeks. She threw her arms around him and held tight. “I was worried I
’
d made a mistake,” she whispered.

“No, you didn
’
t. It
’
s hard to accept, but now I know what
’
s really inside me. I
’
ll train it, control it. Maybe one day we
’
ll find a way to fix it.” He drew back, wiped the tears off her cheeks, and she the ones off his. “I can do it if you
’
re with me.”

A spark of heat flashed behind Willa
’
s heart. “I
’
ll always be here.”

“I know.” Simon dropped his forehead to hers. “I
’
m sorry about before, about running off. That was stupid. But I just . . .”

“I get it.” She pulled back and met his eyes. “I would have run off too. That was a lot to take in.” She smiled. “But you never have to run away. Even if it gets really bad, stay with me. I hate worrying about you like that.”

He nodded. “Sorry about that too. I would have been back sooner, but I had a little complication.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

Simon looked over at the Jeep and whistled, high and short.

A large wolf leaped out of the open window of the car and trotted over on his long, slender legs. Willa
’
s jaw dropped. The animal sat in front of her, so big, with eyes like gold coins, glistening in the evening light. She shrank away, nervous.

“It
’
s okay, Willa. This is not a normal wolf; he
’
s safe.” Simon reached out to pat the wolf
’
s head. The animal walked forward, rested his chin on Simon
’
s leg. “I tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn
’
t. He kept following me.”

Willa stared at the wolf. “Seriously?”

Simon laughed.
“Yeah, it was really weird. I sensed a . . . connection when I healed him. Never felt anything like it.” He shrugged. “He wasn
’
t just there to help himself; he was there to help me.” He smiled. “We kind of bonded.”

Willa looked from Simon to the wolf. “I read about this in one of those grimoires. Some witches have a connection to an animal, a magical bond. Almost like a soul mate, only with an animal. The animals are called Familiars.” Slowly, she reached out a hand and rested it on the wolf
’
s head. The wolf looked up, meeting her eyes, and she could see a kind of human-like understanding and depth. She laughed and rubbed behind his ears. “He
’
s beautiful. Familiars are pretty rare, though.”

Simon shrugged. “Rare, huh? Sort of my calling card, I guess.”

She smiled. “What are you gonna call him?”

“
I don’
t know. I hoped you could help me with that.” Simon ran his hand down the wolf
’
s back.

“Hmm . . .” Willa put her hands under the wolf
’
s face and looked at him. “What
’
s your name? It has to be something strong and majestic, right?” The wolf licked her hand, and she laughed. Willa searched her mind for a minute. “How about Koda? It means ‘
friend
’ in Sioux.
” The wolf stood up and wagged his tail, licking her hand again in agreement.

“I think he likes it,” Simon said. “How did you know that name?”

Willa shrugged.
“I did a service trip to an Indian reservation in junior high. For some reason that word stuck in my head.”

Simon smiled and looked down at the wolf. “Well, Koda, welcome to the family.”

Koda looked back and forth between Willa and Simon.

Simon patted Koda
’
s head as his face fell solemn again. “Willa, I want to go with you to tell Solace.”

Willa blinked. Her mind hadn
’
t gotten to that through everything else, but there would certainly have to be that moment, the moment of walking into the museum to tell Solace how she had died. The ghost was already mad at Willa for not being able to go to her and Simon
’
s wedding, not that Willa could have done anything about it. But this . . . It wasn
’
t
a conversation
Willa
looked
forward to. “That
’
s a nice idea
,” she said.

“I know I won
’
t be able to see or hear her, but I think I should be there.”

Willa nodded and took his hand. “She
’
ll be happy to have you there. We can go tomorrow.” Her stomach tightened.
Oh, poor Solace. How will she take it?

Simon exhaled and offered a small smile. “Okay, sounds good.” He sighed. Willa settled into Simon, his arm comfortably around her shoulders. Koda lay down at their feet as if that had always been his spot.