Spell Bound (Darkly Enchanted) by Stephanie Julian Page A

lifted her face to the sky and closed her eyes. And when the flames licked at her feet, Dafne had looked straight at Serena and said, “Do not despair. The Goddess has promised there will be a daughter. Menrva has not abandoned us completely.”
Then Dafne had thankfully passed out before the flames consumed her.
Burning flesh of any kind still made Serena nauseous.
Rising from the floor, she dusted off her skirt and bowed her head. She wrapped her hand around the key again and fed just a bit of arus into it until she felt it return to its natural state. An iron nail.
“Great Goddess Menrva, She who guides us with her wisdom and entrusts us with Her most sacred possession,” she said. “I’m holding You to that promise. Please don’t let us down.”

Chapter Five
 
The alarm rang at four p.m.
Shea tossed her hand toward the bedside table to swat the clock into submission. The little black box emitted a sharp, bat-like squeak then went silent.
Without opening her eyes, she reached across the bed and laid a hand on Leo’s chest. Still asleep. She swore the kid would sleep through an earthquake.
Sighing, she rolled out of bed to a chorus of squeaky springs, walked the few steps to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Dropping her boxer shorts and tank top on the floor, she set the shower several degrees beyond hot to ease the dull ache in her temples.
Damn, she wished she could stay in here forever. Let the water wash over her skin, washing away her…what? Her sins?
To hell with that. She didn’t believe in sin. Only right and wrong. She didn’t steal, she didn’t cheat. She’d never taken another life.
But she would. To protect Leo.
Would that be so wrong?
Sighing, she dropped her head down and let the water soak her head, work some of the tension from her neck. It hurt like a bitch, but she couldn’t afford to call off work. They needed the money, especially if they were going to be on the road for a while. Especially after last night—
No. She shook her head and reached for the shampoo. She refused to think about last night. Or about what might happen today. She couldn’t change the outcome of one and worrying about the other would make her sloppy. And that could be deadly.
Leo needed her to be on her toes. She couldn’t bear to let him down more than she already had.
With a sigh, she raced the hot water heater to the end of her shower then walked back to the bedroom. Wet hair cool against her back, she pulled on jeans and a T-shirt, not bothering with underwear. Just have to take them off when she got to work anyway.
She hated to do it, but she was going to have to give notice tonight. Harry had been good to her these past four months and she’d been able to put aside some money. Not a lot. But it might be a while before she found a job that paid as well.
If you find one at all.
Yeah, probably not something she wanted to think about right now.
Instead, she dropped to her knees in front of the altar, opened the circle and began her daily devotional. Holding her mother’s lead athame across her palms, Shea lifted it to the sky and bowed her head.
“Uni, Mother Goddess, give me the strength to fight should I be called on to do so. Menrva, Vessel of all Wisdom, grant me the knowledge I need to defeat our enemies.
“Great Goddesses, let me not falter in my duty.”
Please don’t let me get my brother killed.
With that cheerful thought, she felt eyes on her and turned to find Leo watching her from the bed.
She dredged up a smile for him. “Hey, bud. Did I wake you?”
He tilted his head to the side. “You look like Mom.”
Her mouth dropped open but nothing emerged.
Those four little words were so sweet and so devastating. Like he’d taken the athame and stuck it in her heart.
She forced herself to hold the smile, wanting him to continue but almost afraid of what he’d say next. “I’m taking that as a compliment, babe.” She tried to keep her tone light, but it was so hard. They never talked