Basil (The Brinnswick Chronicles #3) - Michele Notaro Page 0,91
his power to include her. Even when I wouldn’t talk about her, he never gave up asking. And apparently, even when we weren’t around, he was still thinking about her. It was kinda blowin’ my mind.
With a deep breath, I followed Basil and the girls out of the house and through the woods. Basil called on his magic to wrap around the armful of crap the girls had given him, and he let go of them, letting his magic carry them instead. His magic was almost like a giant black balloon filled with toys that stayed right beside him as he moved down the pathway.
As we walked and Basil chatted with Niya and Rasha, I took in my surroundings. It didn’t escape my attention that there were sprites and a few little fairies in the trees, which was surprising. I was shocked they were allowed on the Ellwood property.
Basil let the girls walk ahead, stepped back to stand beside me, and said, “Ailin and Seb gave sanctuary to the sprites and fairies and stuff. Some of them have been on coven land for longer than Seb. But yeah, my brother’s always had a soft spot for little creatures, so it wasn’t unusual for him to bring home an animal or little creature and offer a safe place to live.”
I nodded. These witches really were nothing like the ones back home. “Are there more of these refugees in the lake you live by?”
He grinned. “Oh yeah. There’s all kinds of creatures, but they’re all friendly, so we can go swimming if you want. When you’re better, obviously.”
“What kind of creatures?”
“Uh, water sprites, dragonettes, a water nymph. That’s all I can think of, but I promise it’s safe. We go swimming all the time. The dragonettes are kinda shy, but sometimes they’ll swim with you.”
“Rasha would like that.”
He fell quiet for a few seconds. “Can she swim?”
I sighed. “She knows how, but it really depends on how she’s feelin’. She hasn’t been able to do much other than soak her feet in a really long time because she’s needed her oxygen so much.”
He nodded. “I’m going to figure out a way to help her.”
“Bas…” I grabbed his hand to stop him from walking and made him face me. “Don’t make promises you won’t be able to keep.” When he opened his mouth to argue, I put my hand over it to stop him. “I appreciate it, and it would be amazing if you figured somethin’ out, but you have to realize that I’ve been trying for eight years, and so far, nothin’ has worked. Don’t get your hopes up, but please… please don’t get Rasha’s up.” Quieter, I added, “Please don’t get mine up, either.”
I removed my hand, and he caught it to press a kiss to my palm, then said, “I won’t, dimples, and I wasn’t going to say anything to Rasha, I swear.”
I nodded. “Good. Thanks.”
“Come on, we’re almost there.” He tugged on my arm to get me moving again.
When we came to a clearing that opened up to an absolutely huge lake, my eyes widened. Holy shit. It was beautiful. The water was bright and sparkling, and the trees surrounding it were the biggest I’d ever seen. They were taller than I thought trees could grow around here, and there was even a big overlook that some of the trees were taller than. At first, I didn’t see the houses because they blended so well with the forest, but then I noticed three homes that were most likely only one or two bedrooms each, and they were miniature versions of the big house we’d just come from. Clearly, the whole askin’ trees to form into a home thing really was how they built buildings on the Ellwood property.
“Which one is yours?” Rasha asked Basil, smiling up at him. She’d really been coming out of her shell with him.
Basil pointed. “The one on the far end.”
Niya took off at a run, but when Rasha didn’t follow—to my surprise, but also my relief—Niya turned right back around and ran to my daughter again with a sheepish smile, saying, “Sorry, I forgot.”
I cringed, worried that would hurt Rasha’s feelings, but she smiled back. “It’s okay.”
Niya grinned and bounced on her toes a few times before she and Rasha began whispering again.
“Your sister is really sweet.”
Basil shrugged. “She has her moments. Sometimes she’s a little shit, but she likes Rasha, so that’s good.”