55. A Little Kindness Goes A Long Way

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**MAEVE**

“Try again,” Hugo urged. “What do you see?”
My eyes were shut as I trained my mind hard to concentrate on the words and tried to conjure the scenario in my mind. But it was near impossible. Not to mention the severe headache I was getting from blinding lights.
“It’s too bright. It’s too…impossible,” I cried. “I can’t!”
“If there’s anyone who can, it’s you,” Hugo pleaded with every scrap of urgency in his tone. It seemed like he had already taken upon himself for the magic in my blood to come alive. “In order to protect the people you love, you have to dive into the memories and use them for your advantage.”
“*Lighactus*!” I said and flashed open my eyelids. But the candles on the stand were still not lit. “Ugh…why is it not working?”
“Focus. Imagine yourself in that position. Imagine that you are present in the place and then strike. Otherwise, the spell won’t work.”
How does someone imagine to light a place of fire and then does it? It was well beyond me. But then again, I did try.
Shutting my eyes, I steered all my concentration into one thing and chanted the ancient words. Every one of my thoughts was consumed by the very idea of the spell.
It was either the concoction of my mind or simply the overwhelming power of the magic, but I felt it. I felt the magic tingling through my veins, a sensation utterly incomprehensible to my simple mind at first.
“*Lighactus*!”
The tingle of magic flared once again, and this time when I had opened my mind, the candle did light up.
“Finally!” I breathed a long sigh. “It feels like a couple of spells have already drained me out.”
“This is how you should feel,” Hugo confirmed. “Your magic is a part of you, and every vision you have encountered should have distressed you to the point you felt unbearable.”
And then it struck me - wasn’t the magic homogenous for all the witches?
“Why is it that no one could stop Ametrine?” I asked, insanely curious to know how this whole thing worked. “I am sure the spells I learnt and performed were the same ones they could have used as well.”
Hugo moved his head between a nod and shake. “Well, yes, they could have used them. But Ametrine’s life is immune to theirs. All of them were descendants, not the original.”
Hmm…somewhat, it did make sense. The theory of ‘once in a hundred years’ when a psychic was born to reverse engineer the twin sisters’ magic slowly meant something.
“I don’t believe that they wanted to stop her in the first place,” Hugo said, interrupting my musing. There was a hesitation in his voice - like he was trying to withhold information, at the same time, he wanted me to pick up the clues.
My brows furrowed deep. “Why is it so?”
With a small wave of his palm, he put out the burning candle I had just lit five minutes ago. And although the fire did extinguish, within a second, it flashed alive.
*What on earth…?*
The old shaman smiled weakly. “The other witches have stepped into the void of power that had been left behind by Ametrine. Various covens across the world tried to parent the young witches to take her place. They gave them power and resources, but nothing worked.”
Perhaps, it was the universal nature to acquire power, no matter the cost. It was the same with humans, god, and supernaturals alike.
Letting out a deep exhale, I sighed. “That’s the irony - villains are often worshipped more than heroes.”
“There are still many factions of witches who believe that Arietta was wrong to betray her sister. They are drunk on power and don't care about honour.”
“Can I ask you something?” I chanced.
“Go ahead, my dear.”
“How did you know that I will be coming here? And if you did, doesn’t that make you a psychic too?” Logically, it should. But we crossed the bridge long, long ago. But I was still grappling with the bizarre knowledge of how the world of witches and warlock worked, primarily if it was related to me.
“I am neither a warlock nor a psychic,” he declared, with a little bit of pride in his tone and the same soft smile. “We are merely the protectors of magic. My ancestors taught magic to the twin sisters and due to their magical blood, they could enhance and create new things. And then, they became unstoppable. But that won’t be the same for the shamans. Our powers are limited to the elements of the earth.”
“Water, air, fire and soil,” I supplied quickly. “Yes, I know.”
“You need to believe in yourself, Maeve. You need to believe that you know how to achieve the impossible.”
I did start to believe in myself because there was a man out there who loved more than I have ever loved myself, and for the sake of him, I would do it. *I have to do it.*
“Right,” I said with a determined voice.
“Now, you should learn how to—“
I quickly shook my head and cut him off. “I need you to teach me something else first. The spell to establish a mind link.” Hugo lifted his brows and stared wide-eyed in surprise as if it had never occurred to him that it would be the only magic I would be interested in. “The kind of mind link a werewolf has with his mate after they shift,” I said.
“In their wolf forms? Like you want to connect with your mate?”
“Yes. Can you do that?”
“*Impericum*,” he said. “That’s the spell you want, but let me tell warn you beforehand that it is a very powerful spell. And for someone like you, who’s still learning, should be careful with this.”
This was what I needed to learn to ensure I could always be linked with Xander, no matter the distance between us. Not only would this connect us, but it would also me to decipher anyone’s mind.
“I am absolutely sure about this spell,” I said decisively. “Teach me this one.”

—
*Five days later*.

I woke up to a shrilling mechanical sound and an empty bed and realized that Xander has already left. Reaching over, I dismissed the alarm and registered the date. 19th. It was going to be a full moon night, which was why his absence was self-explanatory.
As always, full moon nights were celebratory occasions, and therefore, the men got busy chopping the woods and making security arrangements.
Since I haven’t gotten time to join the others for breakfast due to my long absence from the packhouse, I thought it would be excellent to help them out in the kitchen. So I strode past the community hall and made my way towards the kitchen when the shrill voice hit my ears. A few steps closer took me to the door where Anna was standing with her palms planted on the hips. Her words bore bitterness as she spewed them like venom.
“What is this stench?” Did you forget to clean out the place today as well?” she barked.
And the one who was at the receiving end was Sedona.
Despite the calmness she showed, she closed fists, and tight of the jaw betrayed her feelings. It reminded me of Xander’s words that Sedona descends from an alpha, and by all means, her actions were supposed to be that of pride and strength. Hence, humiliation did not sit well with her.
“I have already cleaned it,” she hissed low. “It’s not my fault that your sister burnt the food and forgot to clean the utensils once again.”
“She is not supposed to clean it!” Anna shrieked and pointed an angry finger at her face. “Perhaps, you need to be educated about the position in the pack, Sedona.”
Sedona flinched but did not lose her stand. “I know mine,” she said calmly, with a tilt of her chin. “It would be better if you mind yours.”
This was not the first time I have seen Anna going up against Sedona, and while I might never figure out the reason for her hatred, not that I wanted to, I could not stand aside and let her rip Sedona. The girl was already paying her penance - what more could she do to prove herself?
But before I could interrupt, another voice cut me to it.
“What’s going on here?” Eirlys asked, appearing out of another room adjacent to the kitchen.
“Sedona refused to clean the kitchen. Again,” Anna tattled. “Look at the condition, Eirlys. How am I supposed to cook in here for the guardians? And today is a full moon night, fates!” Exaggerated, she threw her arms in the air and cursed. “We do need the kitchen ready!”
I knew that there was no love lost between Eirlys and Sedona, but the former was not vindictive. Not the way Anna was, at least.
“Sedona, clean it, please,” Eirlys ordered in a calm but firm voice. “We are already running short of time and…”
“I am not doing it,” Sedona spluttered. Her blazing eyes bounced between the two women in defiance.
“Wonderful!” Anna mocked. “Then she can be sent to the prison quarters. The guards have already rebuked her twice, so I don’t think they would be interested in dealing with the rogue once again.”
It was the way she sneered at the word ‘rogue’ that spiked a distaste among them. Apparently, it was the worst of slang among the werewolves.
“That’s enough,” I chided, unable to stay quiet any longer. For the longest time, I have tried to mind my business as an outsider, someone who was not a shifter, but that did not mean I would simply let this negativity flow.
“Maeve, when did you come?” Eirlys asked, whose back was facing me all this while.
“Last night,” I replied quickly and then turned to Anna. “Let’s not escalate this matter further. It’s a minor issue that can be solved by all of us. We can help each other and clean it out,” I offered amicably. “Then we can resume the cooking.”
“Why should we?” Anna shot back, snarling once again at Sedona. It seemed like humiliating Sedona was her only motive. “It’s her job, it’s her punishment. She is supposed to do these menial work and not us.”
“Sedona has already done her part.”
“It’s not good enough,” she countered. “Like I said, it’s her job. If she has to clean it ten times a day to keep it clean, she will do it - without bitching about it or she can remain locked up in the prison quarters.”
Either it was Anna’s annoying voice or her vindictive personality; it sharply reminded me of Ametrine. The undead witch who continued to haunt everyone and everything I have ever loved. And the very thought of her made me protective.
I took a step towards Anna, locking eyes with her, and stood with my arms crossed over my chest. “Or we can collectively go to the alpha and let him decide. After all, he was the one to decide the penance. What do you think?” I asked, airing the challenging tone. “Should I let Xander know?”
As expected, Anna flinched back. Her lips curled into an ugly snarl, but not a word of defiance spat out. From the corner of my eyes, I watched as Eirlys gasped slightly, but she had a better sense not to interrupt me. Sedona, on the other hand, was a little shell-shocked.
“That’s what I thought,” I told Anna and then nodded at the other women in the room. “Now, let’s help each other and get this thing done.”
Not a single word was exchanged as we fell into our chores to prepare the delicious feast. It was only my eyes met with Sedona’s; the solemn look cleared for a moment as she mouthed, “Thank you.”

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