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AFTER FINDING OUT WHATJax and Tannin were, I grabbed the magic book from its hiding place in the kitchen and fled to my bedroom.

There, I went through the entire spell book but didn’t find anything that I thought might help me. So in the middle of the night, I went into the library, thinking that if there had been one book of spells, there had to be a lot more. Magic had been a big part of our history, and it was foolish to think it would all be condensed into one small book.

I slowly scanned each level of shelves, letting my intuition guide me, pulling out every book that gave me even the slightest tug. By the time I’d checked the entire collection of books, I’d amassed a pile of fifteen.

I’d spent yesterday going through every last one. That first book I’d found really was just the tip of the iceberg. I found so many spells that they started to blur together in my mind.

But which one would be the right one for my situation?

The combative spells would be an obvious solution, but I didn’t want to hurt them. Just the thought of harm coming to either Tannin or Jax made my insides knot painfully, and my heart felt as though it were hollowing out.

No, I couldn’t hurt them. That was out of the question. It was hard enough contemplating getting them to leave and imagining never seeing them again.

There was a forget ee spell and a compulsion spell, but both of those required foreign items I didn’t have access to. Those would have been the easiest if they were possible. I could erase myself from their minds and order them to leave. Then at least they wouldn’t have to suffer the loss that I would endure alone.

Willow found me through the night and curled up in my lap, giving my heart solace for the difficult times ahead.

Finally, just before the sun came up, I found the right spell. A protection ward. It involved wrapping a braid of sage with a gold chain and burning the end, then going around the perimeter of the place needing protection and reciting an incantation while waving the smoke along the walls.

The ward would cause an invisible barrier that could only be crossed by those invited by the master of the house—or in this case, castle.

So, my plan was to cast the ward most of the way around the castle, then lure Tannin and Jax into the forest and run back to finish the ward.

But it would take time. The castle was huge, and by myself, it would take me hours to circumnavigate the whole thing while waving smoke and chanting. And I had to do that without being seen by either of them or raising suspicion.

That would be tricky, especially now knowing their mate bonds drew them to me.

The other difficult part would be gaining their trust enough that they would follow me into the forest. They craved me, but that didn’t necessarily mean they trusted me.

I’d have to seduce them—which I honestly was excited about—but I’d have to do it without getting seduced in return. And as badly as I wanted them, I wasn’t entirely sure I could manage not to fall for them.

“But I have to,” I told myself.

Willow meowed in agreement from her coil in my lap.

“Thanks, Willow,” I said, scratching her head. “I need all the encouragement I can get.”

I looked at the window, where the golden morning light was spilling in. “Well, I’d better get started.”

I lifted her off my lap and climbed to my feet, my joints stiff and achy from sitting cross-legged on the hard floor for so long. I stretched until my body felt loose once more, then went up the stairs toward my room. I needed to look my best for my plan to work.

When I got to the top floor, I hesitantly peered around the corner down the hallway. Their doors were closed, and the hall was quiet. Hopefully, they hadn’t woken up yet, and I could get a head start.

I tiptoed past their rooms and into mine, then had a quick but hot shower. Then I scoured my wardrobe for the sexiest dress I could find. I decided on a sleeveless, slinky red and purple dress with a heart neckline that made my boobs look incredible and a hi-low ruffled skirt that showed off my upper thighs.

Then I brushed out my now clean hair and styled it in a simple up-down do that much of my neck was exposed. Mama always told me that my long neck was one of my most flattering qualities.

I could only imagine what she’d think of what I was doing now.

I pushed my sorrow deep down and grabbed a gold necklace chain from my jewelry box, then went down to the garden to gather the sage I needed. Making a braid out of the stiff strands was harder than I thought, but I eventually managed to force the sage into place and tied it with the gold chain.

When I was done, the sun had risen a quarter way into the sky. It was mid-morning now. I wondered how long I had before Tannin or Jax woke up and came looking for me.

There was no more time to waste.

I started just beside the main entrance doors of the castle.

“Flamare,” I said, focusing on the far end of the sage braid.