Magical Mistakes(34)

“It is if it has something to do with Ciar.”

Alina smiled but there was no pleasure in the expression. “And why is that?” she asked. “He was my fiancé. I’m the one who will break the spell. He doesn’t even want to be around you anymore. What I do with my future husband is none of your concern.”

“Until the spell is broken, everything about him is my concern. Who is Rouke?”

Alina narrowed her eyes as she stalked forward. “You may have Ciar confused, but not me. I know you want him for yourself, but thankfully you seemed to be doing an excellent job alienating the love of your life. If you try to press this issue, you will find out very quickly which one of us Ciar trusts. It’s your word against mine.”

Mikayla narrowed her eyes. Something was wrong. She’d bet her last drop of magic on it. Alina wasn’t the kind of woman to put all her eggs in one basket, which begged the question, what was she hiding?

“If you are doing something that will put my sisters or Ciar in danger—”

“You’ll what? Turn me into a kitten?” Alina laughed. “You may have the power, witch, but you don’t have the training to take me on.”

Calm settled over her. Alina was supposed to be the answer, but if Ciar chose this woman she’d curse them both.

“I’ll ask you one more time,” she said, her voice devoid of emotion. “Who is Rouke?”

Alina crossed her arms and arched a brow in response.

Mikayla inclined her head. Time to make another bad decision.

Before Alina could pace away, Mikayla threw out her hands and slammed them against the other woman.

Icy flowed through her fingers, dropping the temperature of the garden so sharply she could see her breath.

“What are you doing?” Alina whispered as her lips turned blue.

“No one hurts the people I care about.”

Foreign magic surged up against her powers, battling her attack back. Mikayla gritted her teeth as she swamped Alina’s show of defense. The demon powers singed her fingertips but they were no match for the waves of ice Mikayla pumped into Alina’s system.

Slowly the demon magic faded as Alina’s movements became sluggish. When she could barely bat an eyelash, Mikayla dropped her hands.

The freezing spell wouldn’t last long but at least it’d give her a head start.

Mikayla raced into the house, leaving behind a woman-sized ice sculpture. Both her sisters looked up as she crashed into the kitchen.

“What’s going on with you?” Wyn demanded, her eyes narrowed.

“I may have done something we’ll regret.”

Tamsyn pushed from the table. “What exactly have you pulled us into this time? Are you incapable of thinking before you act?”

“Where is—” Mikayla’s question was cut off when the white poodle trotted into the kitchen.

The dog froze for a moment when he saw her. He looked from Mikayla to her sisters and back again.

“Wyn, Tamsyn,” Mikayla said, not looking away from Ciar. “Alina’s frozen in the garden. I know you don’t approve but if you could stall her, I’d appreciate it.”

Mikayla streaked for Ciar before anyone could move. She scooped the dog into her arms even as her sisters surged from the table yelling protests.

She raced through the house with a snarling dog in her arms. Black smoke started to envelop him the second they were away from the others.

“Wait,” she demanded, throwing herself against the front door. “Please wait.”

The smoke disappeared as soon as they hit the street. Mikayla nearly collided with a neighbor who quickly jumped out of her way.

Ciar growled at the people strolling down the sidewalk. There was no way he’d be able to transform in the presence of all the strangers.

“Don’t bite me,” Mikayla warned as she started to run.

Ciar might be small, but it was a struggle to keep him in her arms when he wanted to be free. She raced down the block and rounded the corner, careful only to take paths she knew wouldn’t be deserted.

“Almost there,” she told him, quickly moving her fingers out of the way when he tried to nip her.

Mikayla was panting when she finally rushed into the dark playground. There wasn’t another person in sight and the moment she released Ciar from her arms he started to change. She watched in silence as the dog she’d stolen shifted and morphed back into his natural form.

For a moment he stayed kneeling to catch his breath. The sight brought a frown to Mikayla’s face. She’d noticed his transformations were affecting him more and more lately. But when he looked up at her with rage-filled eyes everything else stopped being important.

With a snarl he launched himself at her. Grabbing her upper arms he pressed her back against the red plastic slide.