The Soother Read Free Page A

reminded her just how long he’d been unconscious. How much longer could he survive without eating?
    Sighing, she squeezed more aloe onto his cheeks and then sprinkled another dose of yarrow into the cuts. Rearranging the leaves on his chest, she pressed them farther into the wound and ignored his painful groan. Her gaze skimmed over his sleeping form. She’d seen more of this man’s tall and lean body in a week than any other in the last five years. Another time, another place, any other set of circumstances, and she may have actually found him attractive. But not now. Not knowing the little she knew about him. That little
soul
confession of his was monumental. She refused to believe the stirring in her stomach was anything more than anxiety.
    Winded from the small task of tending to his injuries, she lowered herself into the bedside chair and looked down at her hands while stifling a yawn. Chipped black nail polish showed the evidence of her anxiety. She’d chewed her nails to the quick and that had been on the first night. Her distress over his pain and the error in her judgment had the soother in her severely drained.
    What was she thinking? Eventually Charmer would wake up and then what? So far the rest of the coven didn’t know she’d come home. She’d had her home built on the very edge of town for a few reasons — most importantly privacy and the lack of emotions that ultimately came along with a community full of moody witches.
    But just now she missed the camaraderie only her coven could give. A quick glance at the calendar reminded her the celebration of Lammas — the first harvest — was only two days away. The witches would have been planning and decorating the town for at least a week, if not more. Normally Calliope would have joined them, reveling in the laughter and smiles that always accompanied this holiday.
    Normally.
    Needing at least the small boost the sun would give her, she left her unconscious patient to his healing and stepped out onto the front porch. Stretching toward the pale blue skies, Calliope tilted her face to the sun and let the comforting heat seep into her chilled body. Being a soother came with a vast number of side effects. Her blood mirroring her emotional state was just one of them. Thankfully, the boost she got from the tiniest of smiles made it all worth it.
    She dropped her arms and stilled when the atmosphere shifted. Courtesy of magickal teleportation — also known as flashing, a visitor would show up in one … two … Carrine appeared before her with a vibrant smile. Calliope rushed into the open arms of her mentor.
    “So good to see you, my child.”
    “Still calling us children, I see.” She breathed deeply, comforted by the jasmine scent that always accompanied the elder witch.
    “Mmm.” Carrine stepped back and held Calliope at arm’s length. “Now tell me. When did you get back and where’s your sidekick?”
    Calliope shrugged. “Who knows? Bevva didn’t say where she was going.”
    “And you’re okay alone?” Carrine inclined her head toward the house. “You two are usually inseparable.”
    Knowing she wouldn’t approve and not quite ready to explain her actions, Calliope mentally strategized how to keep the stranger a secret from Carrine. Plan formulated, she said, “I’m fine, and you know what?” She forced a full smile. “I could really use a walk. Let me grab my boots and then we can head into town. I’m dying to see what they’ve come up with this year.”
    “Hmm? Not going to invite me in?” Frowning, Carrine cocked her head and lifted her brows. “No matter. These old bones could use the exercise.”
    Old bones, my ass
. Carrine may have a couple hundred years on her in the age department, but her bones and every other part of her body were far from old. Most would think she and Calliope were sisters or close friends. She could probably have any number of men from the veiled community at her beck and call. And the human men would