The Black Witch. Laurie Forest

languidly pushes himself up and holds his hand out to me. “I’m Lukas Grey.”

      “I know,” I reply unsteadily, taking his hand. His handshake is firm and strong.

      “You know?” he says, cocking an eyebrow.

      “Fallon. When I saw her take your arm, I figured out who you were. She told me that you’re about to be fasted to her.”

      “Oh, did she now?” He’s grinning again.

      “Aren’t you?”

      “No.”

      “Oh.”

      “She did corner me earlier to tell me all about you,” he says, smiling.

      “What did she say?”

      “Well, the obvious. That you look exactly like your grandmother.” He leans in so close I can feel his breath on my ear. “I’ve seen portraits of your grandmother. You’re much more attractive than she ever was.”

      I gulp, mesmerized by him.

      He straightens back up as my face starts to betray my quickening pulse by coloring.

      “What else did she tell you?” I ask.

      “She said that you’re head over heels in love with Gareth Keeler.”

      A nervous laugh comes sputtering out of me. “Oh, for goodness’ sake.”

      “So it’s not true?”

      “No!” I say, scrunching my face up in disbelief. “I mean...we used to take baths together!”

      He grins wickedly.

      “In a washbasin!” I splutter, making it worse.

      “Lucky for him,” he says, raising his eyebrows in delight.

      “No, no...it’s not at all what you’re thinking.”

      “I’m thinking that I’m becoming more envious of Gareth Keeler by the minute.”

      “We were small children,” I cry, desperately trying to exorcise the picture forming in his mind. “I’ve known him all my life. We grew up together. He’s like a brother to me.”

      He just stands there, grinning, enjoying this way too much.

      I sigh. “What else did Fallon tell you?” I ask, giving up.

      “She told me that you’ve never been kissed.”

      I roll my eyes at this, mortified. “I should never have told her that. I think she’s told everyone in the room.”

      He fixes me with eyes full of suggestion. “Well, that’s easily remedied.”

      “What?” I say stupidly.

      He steps back and holds out his hand. “C’mon,” he says, grinning.

      I can make out Fallon across the room, still cornered by my aunt, giving us a look of pure rage.

      Heart pounding, I take Lukas’s hand and follow as he leads me briskly through the crowd and out of the ballroom.

      * * *

      I pass Paige in the foyer, and her eyebrows shoot up. She frantically shakes her head from side to side and opens her mouth to say something, which comes out as an incoherent squeak. I know I’m infringing unforgivably on Fallon’s territory, but this is, by far, the most thrilling thing that’s ever happened to me.

      I stumble a bit, trying to keep up with Lukas’s long stride as he leads me around the foyer’s staircase and down a series of halls. I catch glimpses of grandeur along the way—more chandeliers, a portrait of my grandmother, beautiful landscapes of the Verpacian mountains and the Voltic Sea.

      The decor suddenly changes as we duck down a side hallway with deep maroon carpeting and burgundy walls suffused with the soft, amber glow of sporadic wall lamps. The hallway is deserted, the distant sounds of the party now muffled and far away. Lukas slows and leads me down the length of it, past where it curves to where it ends.

      He stops and turns to face me, his grin returning. I step back and nervously feel for the wall behind me as I eye the ebony wand affixed to his belt.

      He leans in close, places a hand on the wall beside me and reaches up to brush a loose tendril of my hair back behind my ear.

      I swallow audibly, my heartbeat becoming erratic.

      “Now,” he says silkily, “what’s this about your never having been kissed?”

      I open my mouth to say something. To let him know that I don’t know how to kiss, and that I’m probably very bad at it, but before I can say anything, he raises my chin, leans in and brings his lips to mine with gentle pressure, all of my concerns instantly disappearing into a puff of smoke.

      He lets his lips linger on mine briefly before pulling away a fraction and bringing his mouth close to my ear. “There,” he whispers softly. “Now you’ve been kissed.”

      I’ve fallen into a complete daze. Aislinn was so very wrong about this.

      I reach up tentatively and place my hands on his shoulders. I can feel the warmth of him through the silk of his tunic.

      “You’re very beautiful,” he breathes as he leans in for another kiss.

      His lips are more insistent this time, and I’m growing warm to his touch in a way I’ve never experienced, feeling as if I’m floating deeper and deeper into a dream. He slides his hand around my waist and pulls me in close. It feels so good to be kissed by him, to be so close to him—dangerously good. Better than the feel of smooth River Maple. Better than the velvety bark of the Verpacian Elm. Better than anything.

      The feeling swells into a strong flash of sensation as if every piece of wood surrounding us fleetingly blazes with torchlight. The fire courses through me from my feet, through my body, heating my lips as a vision of dark, primordial forest fills my mind.

      I gasp and pull back, the fire immediately dampening, the image blurred then gone.

      Lukas looks momentarily stunned, his eyes gone wide, his hands tight around me.

      “They told me about you,” I breathe, overwhelmed by the wild thrill of being with him. “They told me...that you’re powerful.”

      Lukas’s eyes narrow in on me intently and he flashes me a disconcertingly wicked grin. “I am,” he says as he studies me. “But so are you. Perhaps even more so. I can sense it about you.” His fingers lightly trace along the back of my neck. “Only you don’t know it, do you?” His eyes darken. “Yet.”

      My breath catches as he teasingly runs his thumb just above the collar on the back of my dress. It’s incredibly exciting and deeply alarming all at the same time.

      I shake my head. “I only look like my grandmother. I’ve no magic.”

      “Really,” Lukas says, cocking his head to one side contemplatively, his hand now resting loosely on my hip. “Have you ever picked up a wand, Elloren?”

      “Not that I remember.”

      His face takes on a darker look, the edges of his lips curling. “Well,” he says, pleased with this new knowledge, “we’ll just have to take care of that, as well.” He snakes his arm around my waist and leans in close. “You should be wandtested. By me.”

      “Lukas!” a male voice calls from the hallway.

      My body stiffens, my face reddening. Lukas, on the other hand, seems completely unfazed.

      It’s Sylus Bane.

      Sweet Ancient One, not another Bane. Not now.

      Sylus’s eyes widen when he realizes who I am, then his gaze narrows, his mouth lifting in a jaded smirk. “Well, if it isn’t Mage Elloren Gardner! Fast work, Lukas. As