longer.blue

Solo – The Witch Who Bought the Night I didn't need a realtor. No… What I needed was a man arrogant enough to believe he was in control. By sunrise, I had already found the land that would be mine. Not through advertisements. Not through agents. Not through paperwork. Through magic. I followed the ley lines hidden deep beneath the earth and let the land itself call to the power within my blood. I stood at the edge of the city where the concrete gave way to untouched earth, the heels of my thigh high boots sinking slightly into the damp soil as I closed my eyes. The land was perfect. It was secluded enough to keep curious humans away while also being close enough to New York that the city remained within reach. More importantly, the ground was saturated with old magic. And that magic recognized me. I knelt and pressed my palm against the earth. Crimson light seeped between my fingers with midnight purple soon following. Then the earth beneath my hand seemed to breathe and I smiled. "Found you." The magic moved outward in a silent wave. I could hear the trees whisper and I felt roots shift beneath the soil. The boundaries of the property revealed themselves to me as clearly as if someone had drawn them in glowing ink. My eyes bled red at the edge of my irises as I gazed out over the property. There were thirty acres of untouched land beckoning me to make it mine. It was like it had been waiting for me and it was exactly what I needed. I wanted something that would become a sanctuary for creatures who had spent centuries hiding. A place where witches didn't have to pretend their magic was a party trick. A place where vampires didn't have to pretend they were human. A place where the supernatural could walk through the front doors without fear of judgment. A place where darkness wasn't something to apologize for. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙃𝙚𝙭. The name formed in my mind before I ever spoke it aloud. I could already see it. Crimson lights. Midnight-purple velvet. Green accents woven through gold. Music vibrating through ancient stone. Magic hidden beneath every floorboard. A place beautiful enough to tempt the living and dangerous enough to make the dead feel at home. It would be a den where the powerful came to play as girls danced on stage, drinks would flow, and beneath all that would be a space for gambling of all types to fill every pleasure a human or supernatural lucky enough to gain entry could stand. There was only one problem. The land currently belonged to someone else. So I arranged a meeting. The seller arrived later that evening in an expensive suit and an even more expensive attitude. He looked me over the moment he stepped from his car. I watched the way his eyes traveled from my face to my figure before settling back on my eyes. I smiled sweetly. Men like him always mistook sweetness for weakness. "You must be Kaeli Wintersby." "I am." He extended his hand and I took it. His grip lingered longer than necessary. Like he was testing me. Others would flinch but not me. Instead of pulling away, I stepped slightly closer. "Thank you for meeting me." His expression changed. In it I saw a mix of pride, interest, and arrogance. Exactly what I needed. And he didn't disappoint. We walked the property together while he talked numbers. I let him talk. I let him believe he was impressing me. I laughed at the appropriate moments. I touched his arm once and smiled at just the right times. I even lowered my voice when I spoke to feign a sort of innocence and pliability. I was using every feminine weapon men like him believed they had discovered all on their own and could control. By the time we reached the old stone wall at the back of the property, he was convinced he'd already won. Then he said it. "I'll be honest, Miss Wintersby. I'm still not entirely convinced a woman should be putting this kind of money into property." I tilted my head and spoke, "Oh? Is that so?" He chuckled. "Women have other priorities." "Such as?", I asked as if I truly hadn't a clue. He shrugged. "Marriage. Children. Building a family." His eyes moved over me again with a lewd look in his gaze that made my stomach churn. "A woman should be focused on birthing babies, not building businesses." His words were met with utter silence and for several seconds, I simply stared at him. Then I smiled. It wasn't the warm smile I had given him before. This smile was colder and deadlier than any he'd ever seen. This smile was the one that belonged to the part of me he should have known better than to insult. "I see." "I didn't mean to offend you.”, He laughed like he still had power, but the bob of his Adam's apple told me he was nervous. “You didn't mean to offend me.” I stepped closer with my gaze darkening. "You simply revealed exactly what kind of man you are." The wind suddenly stopped and his smile faded. He didn't notice the crimson light that flickered beneath my fingertips. Of course he didn't because he was too busy admiring himself. I leaned closer, my lips near his ear. "Perhaps you're right." His eyebrows lifted in surprise. "A woman should know her place." I smiled. "And I'm about to show you mine." The magic slipped silently from my hand. A thread of midnight purple curled around his wrist then disappeared beneath his skin. His expression changed, "What did you…" "Nothing. Nothing at all." I stepped away. "Now. Let’s finish our transaction." I gestured toward the contract waiting on the hood of his car. When I walked over to where the contract was, his movements became strangely obedient. He tried to fight the pull but my magic was stronger than he ever could be and he walked with robot-like jerks over beside me. He signed every page, every clause and every transfer completely of his own freewill or so he thought. Then he reached into his briefcase, removed the title, and placed it directly into my waiting hand. "Thank you." I looked down at the title in my hand and I smiled. The land was mine. Completely. Legally. Irrevocably. He stared at me, confused. This hasn't gone as he thought it would. He'd planned on making a demand for me to suck his dick for the title. I knew it because it rolled off his aura in waves. He was the kind who used perceived power to force others to do his bidding but tonight he'd met his superior and he couldn't fathom how his plan had failed. "What did you do to me, bitch?" I folded the title carefully, letting him rage but it was his choice of words that had my head snapping to him with my irises bleeding red so quickly that he took a step back. "I've done nothing permanent." His eyes widened and I stepped closer one final time. "But every time you try to tell a woman what she should be..." I paused. "...you'll feel like your balls are being cut and then you'll piss yourself." He blinked like I was crazy. Then…. “You bitch!”, he yelled before grabbing his crotch and crying out. “Aargh!!!” His face reddened before he looked down to see the stain of his piss spreading across the fabric of his trousers between his thighs. The smile on my lips was one that came from the dark part of myself, “I told you.” "Fuckin bitch..” His words were garbled due to the cry of pain coming from him as he dropped to his knees and looked at me clearly horrified as more of his piss flowed. I turned away and made a face from the scent of his putrid piss in the air. Then I laughed softly when he shouted something I couldn't quite make out behind me. It was probably another opinion about what women should or shouldn't do because he cried out in pain again. “You should crawl away and get cleaned up.” I turned back toward him, letting my power flare once more. "𝙊𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙞 𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘 𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙢.” The spell, for him to forget me and this night, once spoken came to be. I saw his eyes glaze over for a moment before they cleared and he looked around like he was lost and unsure how he got there. "𝙉𝙪𝙣𝙘 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙙𝙚.” I turned my back to him again and heard him crawling toward his car. Once he drove away, I walked to the center of my new land and stopped. Then I looked toward the distant glow of New York. The magic in the land had done its job and called me to it. The city waited beyond the trees. And now so did The Gilded Hex. I held the title between two fingers, watching crimson magic dance across the paper before disappearing. This wasn't just land. It was the beginning. A foundation. A sanctuary. A kingdom. I smiled as midnight purple magic curled around my boots. "Welcome to the neighborhood, New York." My eyes lifted toward the skyline. "You just gained a witch." I looked down at the earth beneath my feet. "And she brought her darkness with her." The Gilded Hex wasn't a dream anymore. It had an address. It had a foundation. And now… It had a queen.