Hail to the Queen (Witch For Hire 2)

She holds up her hand. “Let me finish. What you have going on is more than simply being influenced by them because you’re around them all the time. This connection is on a deeper level, right?”

“It is.”

“Tell me how it works.”

“That’s kind of hard. Every couple is affected differently, and there’s no manual. It’s such a personal experience, no one’s thought to document it, so we’re discovering it together. It’s more than telepathic communication. I experience the same emotions and thoughts.”

“Sounds overwhelming.”

“It can be. Especially at first. After a while though, you learn how to turn the volume up and down, and even block the other person out.”

“Is it just you and Cristobal?”

“No. Well, it was at first, but now it’s expanded to the others since I’ve agreed to become lady of the court.”

“And it’s the same with them? T

houghts, emotions, et all?”

“Yes. Why—” I point. “I see what you’re doing here.”

She laughs. “You’re making connections to a lot of different vampires. That’s a number of different wavelengths to adapt to. Is it surprising that your signals got crossed?”

She’s made it sound so simple. “Looking at it from that perspective, you could be right,” I admit begrudgingly.

She grabs my hand a squeezes it gently. “You can’t go back to who you were before this, Lou. And that’s okay. You aren’t any less of a witch.”

“I think you’re the only one who believes that.”

She clucks her tongue. “Since when do we care what others think?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think you’re emotionally drained and overwhelmed. Avoiding Cristobal is precisely what you don’t need to be doing right now. How you managed to keep him away this long is beyond me.”

Shame sends the blood to my face.

“How did you manage that, Lou?”

“I might’ve been a stark raving bitch and threw down a ridiculous ultimatum.”

She rubs her hands together with glee. “Dish. Any man who can inspire this much passion in you is impressive. You always think with your head. It’s incredibly annoying at times.”

I groan. “I told him if he didn’t give me space and wait on me for once there wasn’t going to be a coronation.”

“And he believed you?”

I look up at the ceiling.

“Louella. What did you do?”

“I might’ve spelled him.”

“To do what?”

“I made a raincloud appear over him everytime he tried to follow me,” I mumble.

“You what?” She bursts into laughter. Her face grows red, and she clutches her stomach. “Oh. Oh, this is too much.”