Page 52 of Just a Little Wicked (Wicked Sisters #2)

“I embraced my curse. I finally realized that was what I’ve truly been most afraid of my entire life.

Unlike other Wickeds, I’ve been fighting my Wickedness and closing myself off to it since I was a little girl.

When I finally accepted what I am, it didn’t consume me and make me evil like I always feared it would. Instead, it made me . . .”

“ . . . whole,” he finished for her. He wrinkled his brow. “I know it’s strange, but I can feel it too.”

“It makes sense. If your soul is the other half of mine, you’d feel the echoes of it.”

The room was quiet enough that Winter knew her family was listening.

“Winter, dear, do you think you can call visions at will now?” Aunt Daisy asked.

The thought of being able to do something that controlled, that precise, sent a zing of anticipation through her. “I have no idea. Let me try.”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Usually, the vault containing her curse would crack, her power spraying out erratically and forcing a vision on her.

This time, her power sprang to greet her, gentle and silky, like an old friend.

Like it had been there all along, just waiting for her to acknowledge that it was as much a part of her as her bones.

She barely had to think about where she wanted to see on the timeline before she was looking at it.

It was startling how easy, how natural it was.

Winter didn’t want to timewalk. She wasn’t sure how she’d done it before, but it seemed her power knew what she wished, because she remained firmly out of the harmless vision of Prickles’ long and happy future.

Confident her soul would remain in the present, she turned her concentration to something much trickier than looking at the future of a hedgehog.

The Shadow Council kept shields around their timelines to block out seers like her, and she was going to try and slip through those shields to spy on them. It was time to find out if she was really as powerful as everyone seemed to think.

Erikson was holding Winter so tightly his knuckles were white.

Once he realized, he loosened his grip on her hips.

Her eyes were closed, and he could feel her power simmering beneath her skin, like she had electrical currents swirling in her blood.

When she’d faded before, traveling to another time, he’d never been so scared in his life.

What if she didn’t fully return? What if she disappeared entirely?

He knew he could still lose her to the Shadow Council, but that was a tangible threat he could face head-on.

He had no idea how to combat powers as ancient as humanity itself.

How did one pull his soulmate back from another time?

Except, it seemed he had. His half of their soul had anchored her here, so that she could always return home. Always come back to those she loved.

She was solid and warm in his lap, and he was having a hard time letting go of her. Even when she’d begun misting power and her eyes had gone black, he’d held on. He knew Winter was afraid of what she was capable of, but he wasn’t afraid of her. Winter would never hurt him.

He watched with pride as she opened her eyelids, the whites of her eyes bleeding into black again as she attempted to see the future.

There was something different about her now, something peaceful.

It was like she’d been wound tight from the effort of keeping all the pieces of herself separated and quarantined before, but now that the barriers were gone and the pieces stitched together, he felt that she was whole in a way she’d never been before.

Erikson glanced across the room, where the aunts were holding hands beside Missy, soft smiles on their faces as they watched their toughest niece begin to finesse her powers in a way she never had before.

Stacy was sipping her refreshed coffee and appeared relaxed, but Erikson knew she was ready to come to Winter’s aid should she need her.

Connor’s arm was wrapped around Holly’s shoulders, his gray eyes pinning Erikson to the chair.

Slowly, Connor’s gaze dropped to where Erikson gripped Winter sideways in his lap, and he smirked.

They’d been brothers long enough for Erikson to know exactly what he was thinking. He lifted his eyebrows coolly in response. He’d never had serious relationships like Connor did, and they both knew what it meant that he was holding onto Winter like she was his .

She shifted on his lap, and Erikson gritted his teeth. Now was not the time to think about her sweet little ass in his lap, or the way she’d felt clenching around him only hours earlier, her head thrown back and her skin sweaty as she trembled with pleasure.

Shit.

He lifted her hips, settling her a little farther from his groin, and Connor let out a bark of laughter.

A few moments later Winter softened in his arms and blinked as she returned to the present.

“I did it,” she said with a wicked grin. “I got past their shields.”

“Whose shields?” Missy asked.

“The Shadow Council.”

Aunt Rose and Aunt Daisy gasped in dismay. “Winter!” Aunt Rose scolded. “You shouldn’t have taken that risk.”

“But it was so easy to slide through a crack in their shield.”

Missy flapped her hand at the aunts’ disapproval. “So then, what are those bitches planning?”

“I saw them gathered in a sleek conference room tomorrow morning. I think they might actually have offices. They were arguing. They’re convinced I’m powerful enough to travel to the past and find a Goddess-given book that was hidden centuries ago.

” She tucked a curl behind her ear. “I don’t know what’s in the book, but they desperately want it. ”

“A book,” Stacy said with amazement. “I don’t know what’s in it either, but I’ll share the information with Atlantes.”

“There was a woman there, Nova Charmaine.” Winter twisted on Erikson’s lap and said, “She was the illusionist who came to our truck and threatened us. The one with the blond curls and pink lipstick. They called her the ShadowHead, and she certainly seemed to act like she was in charge. She said the Council’s power is slipping away bit by bit, and they need the book now more than ever if they want to cement their position of leadership. ”

“How many Wickeds were in the meeting?” Connor asked.

“Ten. I recognized the three who came to see me on the shore, as well as Nova, but I didn’t know the others.”

“This is more information than we’ve ever had on the Shadow Council before,” Aunt Daisy said, her black-gloved fingers still resting over Aunt Rose’s hand in comfort. “You would be in even more danger if they knew they weren’t safe from your visions.”

“She’s right,” Stacy said from the wall. “But as long as they don’t know, you have the advantage.”

“There’s more,” Winter said. She stood, and Erikson fought the impulse to pull her back down to his lap where he could keep her safe and warm.

She paced in front of him, her hands on her hips and her lip caught between her teeth.

“They don’t believe I’ll join them by the deadline tomorrow, so they’re going with ‘Plan B’ to force my cooperation. ”

Blood rushed in Erikson’s ears and he tamped down the immediate need to hit something. The hell would those monsters force his girl to do anything.

“What’s Plan B?” Holly asked.

“They’re not going to try to kill you or Missy. They don’t dare eliminate you when they might one day need to exploit your abilities.”

Missy’s lip curled. “Good luck with that.”

“So they’re going to use you, instead,” she said, spinning toward him.

Erikson pointed his thumb at his chest. “Me?”

“You’re Plan B. Plan A was to use my family to threaten me, even though the council never intended to hurt them because they’re too valuable.

But then Nova saw you in the truck, and she saw how I reacted when she touched you.

” Winter’s cheeks flushed, whether from embarrassment or anger, he couldn’t tell.

“You’re expendable to them. Plan B is to take you and hold you hostage to force me to do their bidding.

They won’t hesitate to hurt you to keep me in line. ”

The room fell silent with shock. Erikson’s heart stuttered in his chest, but he reached forward and cupped her fist. He gently pried open her fingers and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Breathe, baby.”

“They can’t have you,” she said flatly, echoing his earlier words about her. Her voice took on that otherworldly tone that would give any rational person second thoughts about tangling with her.

“No, they can’t,” Connor snarled. Erikson rarely saw his brother lose his composure, but in that moment his cheeks were flushed and he looked ready to commit murder.

“Let’s calm down,” Erikson commanded. He rarely spoke with such authority—he was content letting Connor be the boss—but emotions were flaring and he could sense the volatility of his loved ones. “Win, how do they plan to abduct me?”

“Tomorrow, at the wedding. They have a Wicked who can teleport. She’s going to snatch you and disappear in an instant.”

“But we postponed the wedding,” Holly said, wrinkling her nose. “Are you sure that’s what you saw?”

“Positive.”

Everyone began talking at once, bouncing around theories and ideas and threats, until Stacy put her fingers in her mouth and gave a sharp whistle.

They all quieted and turned to her. The strain around her eyes was obvious—she’d been in their presence for too long—but she took a calming breath and said, “What if you still had your wedding, Holly? What if you proceeded with the ceremony as scheduled?”

“But that’s where Winter saw them abduct Erikson,” Connor said. “If we don’t have the wedding, then they can’t take him. All they need is a few seconds, and then he’s gone forever.”

“If you don’t have the wedding, you might not have forewarning the next time they come for him.” A glint entered Stacy’s eye. “Don’t worry, ghosthunter. I have a plan.”