Caged in Darkness (Caged #1)(24)

“What’s wrong?” My hand wrapped around her upper arm. I watched as her skin blazed to burn my hand. I tore it away to find blisters spreading across my palm. Her skin faded from a fiery color to her natural ivory tone.

“Don’t touch me.” Her eyes were wild. “I don’t like your kind. To think, I was starting to second guess my first impressions of you! I’m leaving now.” She grasped the door handle and pulled, but it didn’t budge. Shaking it some more she grew frustrated turning to stare at me, as if blaming me for the door being stuck.

“The door is warped. It gets stuck sometimes. What do you mean by my kind?”

After an exasperated sound escaped her lips, she turned to face me with her arms crossed. “I mean a witch like my parents. A witch who practices the dark arts.”

Silence echoed off the walls, while I processed her prejudiced comment. I knew about her parents. Everyone in my coven knew about them. There were dark witches and then there were dark witches. Savannah’s parents were the worst sort. I would rather be torn to pieces by a pack of wolves than been a victim of theirs.

I cleared my throat. “I’m not a witch like your parents. I may practice the dark arts, but I am not into killing and torturing.”

When silence met my comment, I continued. “Look, you know about dark and light witches, right?” She nodded. “Okay, well I am a dark witch, but that means that I am fine with using magic for personal gain. More importantly, I believe in using my magic as protection in a fight. If some jerk attacks me, I believe that it’s fine to tap into my gift to protect myself. White witches won’t perform magic that would harm someone even if it means that they die. It’s a matter of personal preference. Your parents on the other hand, were technically dark witches. However, my coven did not condone their actions any more than yours did.”

“What do you mean my parents were a different type of dark witch?” The anger had evaporated and now Savannah looked confused.

“Take ordinary humans for example. If a saint were a witch, they would practice the whitest shade of magic. If murderers were witches, they would practice magic so dark that it would literally be the absence of color. Then there are ordinary people. Some lie, some cheat, others just go through their day and try not to hurt anyone. Those people would be white and black witches, but on the spectrum of color they would be different shades of gray.”

“So what you’re saying is that you are a darker gray than me?” Her brows crinkled and she relaxed against the door.

“Yes. I’m not like your parents, okay?” I moved forward to brace my arms on either side of her. She tried to avoid my stare.

“Sorry I burned you. I’m close to my ascension. It happened without me trying to.” She grabbed my hand to examine it and looked up with tears in her eyes. “I don’t like to hurt anyone. I…I don’t want to be like them, ever.” Her hair fell into her face, as she bent to kiss my palm. When she looked up she seemed embarrassed.

“Hurting me on accident does not make you like your parents. Sometimes accidents happen and with you this close to your ascension it’s natural.” I smoothed my thumb across her lower lip and it quivered in response. Her pupils widened. “I admire you for turning out the way you have. Had they been my parents I don’t know if I would have had the strength to fight.”

“Ash and Maye are the only reason I’m not like my parents, if it wasn’t for them…” My pointer finger pressed against her lips to silence her.

“Ash and Maye gave you a choice. What you did with your choice was entirely up to you.” I whispered the last word into her ear.

The feeling from earlier was back again. It was like a pressure building in the pit of my stomach, pushing me to merge with her. Her body language changed suddenly and I knew she could feel it too. The air around are bodies was charged like electricity and I could see our auras merge to blend together. Our senses heightened to an almost painful intensity until I touched her again. With our skin touching the pain gave way to waves of pure ecstasy. I leaned in to graze my lips against the tip of her nose and her breathing changed to a slight whimper. Her hands touched my abs and moved upwards to grasp the fabric of my shirt that lay over my chest. She pulled me closer.

Her face tipped up and I captured her lips. Her body relaxed into mine and she pulled my neck down for better access to my lips. She was inexperienced, but she kissed with a fervor that made up for that. Her lips parted and I took the chance to slip my tongue into her mouth. She gasped at the invasion, but when I kissed her more gently she began to hesitantly explore my mouth. Her tongue twisted around mine in a dance of wills and we eventually settled into a rhythm that was both hungry and sensual.





ASH





I rode home with Griffin instead of Izzy and Willow. Griffin kept quiet the whole ride and dropped me off on the street in front of the house. At first, I tried to pretend I wasn’t waiting for Savannah to walk through the front door. After checking the driveway for the millionth time, I had to admit it to myself. Now, I sat in the living room with the lights low and a book in my lap.

I wasn’t angry anymore. Honestly, I don’t know why I lost my temper earlier. Savannah had been right, I should trust her. My instincts came alive when I saw him watching her. It was primal and an emotion I never felt before now. I was ashamed that I didn’t fight it and worried that Savannah wouldn’t forgive me.