The Witching Hour Read online

  She hung up and grabbed her heavier coat from the peg by the door. “That was Lily. She said we need to come to the house. Minerva has something to tell us.”

  Epilogue

  ‡

  Barrett grabbed his own heavy coat from his apartment, and they set out across town, taking a right at the statue of Amelia Goodnight and trudging up the winding hill to the Goodnight House.

  Barrett had admired the house on his walks around town the past week. The Victorian was three full stories with balconies on the top two floors and a wraparound porch on the bottom level. There was a turret on the west side and the windows were beveled. The paint was white and fresh and the landscaping some of the most beautiful he’d ever seen with lush trees and blood red roses in full bloom even though they should be long past dead considering the time of year.

  Lily opened the door for them before they made it to the front porch. Her face was pale and worried, but he immediately felt the soothing touch of her magic when she reached out to welcome him with a hug.

  “Welcome, brother,” she said. “I’m glad you’ve found each other again. We’ll all need you before this is over.”

  He kissed her cheek softly. “You know there’s no other place I’d rather be.”

  They found Minerva in the kitchen, an apron wrapped tight around her waist, and a wicked looking knife in her hand. An open bottle of wine breathed on the counter while she chopped onions like a pro.

  “We’re having stew for dinner,” she said. “It seems like a good night for it. Another storm will be here before nightfall. You might as well both stay the night. It’ll be too bad for you to get back to the apartment.”

  “I take that to mean you can see again,” Eloise said, taking a carrot off the vegetable tray Minerva had set out on the table.

  “Minerva, come sit down at the table and tell us what’s going on,” Lily said. “You’ve worried all of us.”

  For as long as Eloise could remember every one of their family meetings had taken place around the kitchen table. They sat together now, Barrett a new edition to the meeting, but it felt natural to include him, as if he’d been joining them all along.

  “My sight has returned,” Minerva said, focusing on the wine in her glass as she twirled the stem between her fingers. “At least for now.”

  She looked directly at Barrett and Eloise noticed the tears in her sister’s eyes. Minerva never cried, and worry clawed at her gut.

  “I’m glad you found her, brother. We will all need you. You know and you’ve seen that the two of you together will always be stronger than on your own. You make us all stronger because you love her. And we love you because of it. Love is the strongest magic of all.”

  “What did you see?” Eloise asked, taking Barrett’s hand when he offered it to her.

  “I haven’t seen what’s coming. But it’s more powerful than I am because it has me blocked. But I do know how we have to defeat it.”

  “Then that’s all that matters,” Lily said. “That means that we can defeat it.”

  “I never said that. I just said I know how we can defeat. Not that we’d be successful.”

  “Optimism was never your strong suit, Minerva,” Barrett said, trying to lighten the mood so the sisters didn’t fight. He knew enough to know he didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of that.

  “You’ve seen our defeat?” Eloise asked, gripping Barrett’s hand so tight his fingers hurt.

  “The key to our success lies in those who complete us—as women as well as witches.” Minerva nodded at Barrett. “Our soulmates. It’s six we need to win against this threat. Not three. It’s why the sisters failed three hundred years ago. Only Amelia had found her soulmate and completed the union.”

  “So all we need to do is find your soulmates,” Barrett said. “If you can see then it shouldn’t be too difficult to find them.”

  “I’ve looked,” Minerva said. She turned to Lily. “Your soulmate is a man of great integrity. And he’s close. You just need to open your eyes and heart to the possibility.”

  “You know I’ll do whatever I need to secure our survival,” Lily said, nodding.

  “Our survival is not the reason to love a man, Lily. You’ll love him with your whole heart. He’ll accept nothing less.”

  “What about your soulmate, Minerva?” Eloise asked. There’d been something in the way she’d spoken about Lily’s soulmate that made her uneasy.

  Minerva looked at Eloise, her eyes filled with such sadness that Eloise moved to embrace her before she could tell her the answer.

  “My soulmate…” she said, taking a shaky breath. “He doesn’t exist. There’s no one for me.” A single tear escaped from the corner of her eye. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. Don’t hate me.”

  About the Author

  Liliana Hart is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than a thirty books. She lives in Texas in a big rambling house with her laptop and cats, and she spends way too much time on Twitter. She loves hearing from her readers.

  Connect with me online:

  twitter.com/Liliana_Hart

  facebook.com/LilianaHart

  My Website: www.lilianahart.com

  If you enjoyed reading The Witching Hour, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy this book, too.

  Lend it. This e-book is lending-enabled, so please, share it with a friend.

  Recommend it. Please help other readers find this book by recommending it to friends, readers’ groups and discussion boards.

  Review it. Please tell other readers why you liked this book by reviewing it. Or visit me at www.lilianahart.com.

  Links to My Other Books

  The MacKenzie Series

  Dane

  A Christmas Wish: Dane

  Thomas

  To Catch A Cupid: Thomas

  Riley

  Fireworks: Riley

  Cooper

  A MacKenzie Christmas

  MacKenzie Box Set (includes the 5 books listed above)

  Cade

  Shadows and Silk

  Secrets and Satin

  Sins and Scarlet Lace

  The MacKenzie Security Series (includes the 3 books listed above)

  Sizzle

  Crave

  The Collective Series

  Kill Shot

  The Rena Drake Series

  Breath of Fire

  Addison Holmes Mysteries

  Whiskey Rebellion

  Whiskey Sour

  Whiskey For Breakfast

  Whiskey, You’re The Devil

  JJ Graves Mysteries

  Dirty Little Secrets

  A Dirty Shame

  Dirty Rotten Scoundrel

  Down and Dirty

  Standalone Novels / Novellas

  All About Eve

  Paradise Disguised

  Catch Me If You Can

  Who’s Riding Red?

  Goldilocks and the Three Behrs

  Strangers in the Night

  Naughty or Nice

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Links to My Other Books