Witch's Warning: Purple Oasis, #8

By Laura Greenwood and Arizona Tape

Max has lost the ability to trust himself, can Hugo help him win it back?

 

With his ability to predict the weather becoming worse by the day, weather witch Max is struggling to get anyone to listen to him, even his sister.

 

Hugo knows that he shouldn't get involved with newcomers at Purple Oasis, especially one who says he might not even stay. But then again, Hugo has never been one for doing what he's supposed to.

 

When Max manages to predict an on-coming storm that could destroy life at the Oasis as they know it, he realises that he has to get someone to listen to his warning. And Hugo might be his only hope.

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Witch's Warning is part of the Purple Oasis paranormal romance series. It includes a sweet m/m romance involving a self-doubting weather witch and a boisterous hare shifter. 

If you enjoy light paranormal romances, coming-of-age storylines, post-apocalyptic settings, sweet moments, guaranteed happy endings, and casual magic systems, then start the Purple Oasis series today with Witch's Trust.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Twin Souls Publishing
• Release date: Jul 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215793527

Laura Greenwood

Laura is a USA Today Bestselling Author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and fantasy romance. When she's not writing, she drinks a lot of tea, tries to resist French macarons, and works towards a diploma in Egyptology. She lives in the UK, where most of her books are set. Laura specialises in quick reads, with healthy relationships and consent positive moments regardless of if she's writing light-hearted romance, mythology-heavy urban fantasy, or anything in between. You can find a full book list and more information on her website, or in The Paranormal Council Facebook Group. Happy Reading!

Book preview

One

Max

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I peered up at the late autumn sun until taunting spots danced in my vision and my eyes hurt, but it wasn't enough.

And? Eva prompted somewhat cautiously from her spot on the log a few feet away.

I ignored my sister and kept staring up at the morning sky, desperately waiting for my magic to react. This was the time when it should be at its strongest and normally, I could feel the whispers of the incoming weather in my gut.

But not today. Not yesterday, or the day before either.

I didn't know what was going on, but it wasn't good.

A long wispy cloud temporarily gave me a reprieve from the harsh sunlight and I turned to look at Eva, finally kind of ready to face the music. Or the lack thereof.

The hopeful expression on her face twisted me into knots and reminded me of just how much I was letting her down. If I didn't predict the weather, she couldn't influence it correctly, and if we couldn't do that…well, then we were pretty much useless to Purple Oasis. And the one thing that people couldn't be after the apocalypse was useless.

I didn't know what would happen to us if this continued, but I couldn't shake the worry that they'd cast us out. I hated the idea of having to travel again. It was bad enough that it had taken us years to get back to the UK in the first place, we were finally settled and I didn’t want to be the reason we had to move again. And that was without taking into account that my twin sister had gone and fallen in love with a dryad. I couldn't see him leaving his trees behind, and the last thing I wanted to do was break my sister's heart.

I couldn't let that happen.

Determined, I shielded my eyes as I looked back up. It looked rather cloudless and there was a dryness to the air that made me think it was going to be a warm, rainless day. I'd seen plenty of them like it but the weather was fickle, especially nowadays.

No rain today, I said eventually.

No rain, Eva echoed slowly. Are you sure?

No, not at all. It was just a guess. An educated one based on years of experience doing this, but a guess nonetheless.

Max. The way she said my name meant business. If you say there's not going to be any rain and I call clouds to us and if it was already going to be rain, I could cause a storm. She chewed on her bottom lip, clearly cut up by the possibilities. It wouldn't be the first time we'd gotten it wrong and caused a mess as a result.

I'm aware, Eva. Don't you think I know? I clutched the side of my head and tightened my grip on a few strands of hair, the slight sting enough to cut through the tension. I know what's at stake if we get this wrong.

She got to her feet and headed over to me, putting a hand on my arm. I'm sorry, I know you do. It's just that I feel bad. We drowned the fields last week and it was horrible to see everyone's hard work down the drain.

I know. I was there. Ryburn said it wasn't our fault but I could tell everyone was upset and disappointed.

Eva hummed. You’re trying your best.

My best just isn't good enough. I let my frustration come through my voice, but only because I'm in front of my sister. If it was anyone else, then I wouldn't even consider being so honest about my feelings.

Hey, you've got this. I know you're a capable guy. Don't get me wrong, you can be annoying, and sometimes I want to hit you over the head with a bat, but you’ve been predicting the weather for as long as I can remember. Why are you always this hard on yourself?

If only I knew.

I gave the sky one last begging look, but there was no indication of what was coming, no spark, no tingle, nothing. I felt like just a regular person trying to predict the weather. So lame.

Maybe it won't matter if it's rainy or sunny today, Eva said, a poor but well-meaning attempt to cheer me up.

It always mattered what the weather did. The Oasis only thrived because everyone worked together to make it happen. I was supposed to do my part in that by telling everyone what the weather was supposed to do so Eva could use her half of our weather magic to influence it. That was the theory anyway.

I looked up again. I think it’s going to stay dry.

Great. Let's go and give Ryburn and Jasmine our prediction then, she said.

I nodded, already dreading having to face them. I knew they wouldn't get mad at me if I got it wrong, but part of me wished they would. How much damage would they let me do before Eva and I were fired?

Nerves bounced around within me as we made our way down to the fields outside of the walls. It was early, but most of the workers were already gathered and being briefed by their supervisors. My gaze automatically travelled over the groups of people and I noticed Hugo sticking out with his broad shoulders. He looked good but that was no surprise, the manual labour did more for people than any gym could. Everyone looked fit, just not Hugo-kind of fit. He was something else.

Eva noticed me staring and gave me a little shake of her head. Let's do our job first before you start making love eyes at Hugo.

I wasn’t, I was checking the sun, I lied, badly. And I wasn't even entirely sure why, she knew me better than anyone and could tell when I was lying through my teeth.

She rolled her eyes and shrugged.

I gave one last look over in the direction of the shifter, wishing that I had the courage to do more than look at him from afar and flirt occasionally. I knew he was into men, but that didn't mean he'd even be slightly interested in me.

Eva swatted my arm lightly to alert me to Jasmine and Ryburn approaching hand in hand. They broke contact when they got closer to us. I wasn't sure if they were trying to pretend they weren't together in front of us, or if they just wanted to appear as professional as possible, but it was kind of sweet.

Morning, Eva said brightly.

Hey, Jasmine responded.

Hi, I mumbled, already dreading the topic that we all knew was coming. I had one job here, and I was bad at it.

Ryburn peered up at the sky, one hand shielding his eyes. What's it going to be today?

Eva looked at me with what I thought was meant to be an encouraging expression, but in reality, it just made me more nervous than before.

No rain, I said, crossing my fingers behind my back that I was right. The alternative wasn't something I wanted to consider.

I let my gaze travel