Oh, crap. Was he really meant to be part of this family, too?
Michael addressed Xander. “The laws of our coven give me the choice of marrying anyone in this realm that I want.”
Xander huffed out a laugh, though it was a dark sound. “So, you have to force your women to marry you in this place? No wonder the current high witch looks drugged out of her mind all the time.”
Michael’s face hardened, and he pressed his lips into a flat line.
Oh shit. That wasn’t the right thing to say.
“My mother isn’t well.” He spoke quietly, though there was a sudden strength behind the words.
I rose my protection barriers once more.
Xander glanced at me as though looking for more information, but I didn’t know what to say. The high witch was strange, but she always had been, for as long as I could remember.
Instead of dealing with the prickly side issue of Michael’s mother, I just hit the main problem head-on. “Michael, I’ve committed myself to Xander and Kyle. We’re engaged, in every sense of the word. I’ve agreed to marry them, and I am planning to go live with them in the outside world. That means I can’t be your wife, and I certainly can’t stay here in this realm as the future high witch. I’m sorry. That was never the life I wanted.”
“But you wanted to marry me,” he countered. There was a strange note in his voice that I couldn’t quite define. It almost sounded like... regret.
An embarrassed blush heated my cheeks.
“Well,” I said with a shrug, “I was young then. Times change.Peoplechange.”
“But hearts don’t,” he said. “And I’d wager that you still love me. Shall we put it to the test?”
Oh- no. He wouldn’t, would he? If he cast a truth spell, I’d have no choice but to admit my feelings. He was the heir to the realm, his magic was so much stronger than mine.
If I tried to deny him, everyone, including my wolves, would know I had something to hide. My stomach quivered with nerves. “What did you have in mind?”
“A simple spell,” he said, his eyes lighting up with amusement.
Ah... crap.
“Simple, huh?” I didn’t trust him for one moment. He seemed way too cocky.
“If you pass, you can walk away forever.”
My breath hitched in my chest. What sort of spell was he talking about? And did I have a choice anyway?
“And if I don’t?” I asked, knowing there was a huge chance I’d fail, especially since I’d seen a vision of Michael in my life;ourlife.
He stood up, his eyes alight with his silver-hued magic. “If you don’t, then you’re mine, Monique.”