Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
Something was wrong. I came to in complete darkness, lying next to a warm, familiar body. No light streamed in anywhere, and my power felt…off.
Off in a good way, but still off. Magic leached through my veins and bones, Mother Earth’s power flowing through my body, into Ben by the hand I had on his chest, and back into the dirt. The cycle of life.
But the normal cage that formed around my body wasn’t there, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say we were buried in the earth, far below ground. We had a small pocket of air surrounding us, I think. I couldn’t see a damn thing.
“Ben?”
The shifter stirred.
“Don’t panic,” I murmured. “But I think we’re below ground. There’s air. For how long, I can’t say.”
His chest rumbled. “Evie.”
“Try not to move. I’m not sure how stable this place is. I don’t think the Mother would kill us after all she did to heal you, but we shouldn’t risk it.”
“You saved me.” His voice was rough and tired.
“I had help. Caelan is still out there. And two of your wolves are waiting above.”
He laced his fingers through mine. “Thank you.”
I scoffed. “I’d never let you die. I have lots to make up for.”
Ben slowly turned until he lay on his side facing me, our fingers still interlocked. His face was lined with exhaustion. “I was an asshole to you.”
I said nothing because this was not a lie.
The edge of his lips tipped up. “You didn’t know me enough to share your secrets, and I pushed much too fast and was too aggressive.” He sighed. “And Caelan swooped in and got you.”
“He did,” I agreed.
“Evie?”
“Hmm?”
“Is there a reason we’re both naked?”
I laughed. “The Mother likes to eat my clothing when I go into extreme healing mode, and, by extension, the ones I’m healing. Sorry about that.”
He shook his head. “Caelan’s going to be pissed if he sees us.”
“It already happened once. He’s going to have to get used to it if his shifters keep getting wounded.”
His brows drew together. “Who was it?”
“Garrett.”
At his wide eyes, I shook my head. “He’s okay.”
“I didn’t know you could heal like this.” He sucked in a breath. “My arm.”
I smiled. “Is back and whole again. I wasn’t sure about that one, though I’m glad to know it’s possible to regrow a limb.”
“Shifter healing allows for regrowth depending on the wound.” His mouth tightened. “I’m not sure mine would have. The wound was…extreme.”
“You almost died.” I blinked tears away.
He brushed wetness from my cheek. “You mourn for me even when being treated so poorly.”
Ben sighed. “I did not deserve you. Caelan is the better man.”
They’re both good men. I shifted, soil and roots digging into my back. “I should start looking for a way to get us out of here. You’re being far calmer about this than I expected.”
Ben chuckled. “If I were here with anyone other than the most powerful Floromancer in the country, I might be a little more flustered.”
“Don’t get too relaxed,” I muttered. “This is the first time I’ve ever been underground. I’m scared I’ll collapse the entire thing down on us.”
He squeezed my hand. “I have faith in you.”
“That makes one of us.” My cell was in the clothes I’d left above ground, and there was no way Nadia and Donovan had left Ben with his, but I had to ask.
“No chance of a phone on you? A flashlight would come in handy right now.”
“No need,” Ben said. His eyes began to glow ice blue mixed with a ring of gold.
Just as I suspected. We were buried in the dirt on all sides. I shifted my body and investigated, reaching out to touch the barrier. Thick, dark dirt and roots on all sides.
“Alright, I’m going to send up some vines to gauge the depth. Try not to move.”
Ben nodded.
I sent a thin vine from my fingertips up through the dirt, thickening it as needed to break through the thick, moist soil. We had to be under the surface of the store, and if we were down here, then we must have broken through the concrete and foundation.
I winced. That would be an expensive bill.
Ben shifted closer, his hand snagging around my waist. I stilled. “Ben?”
“It’s cold in here.”
I huffed a breath. “Liar. We’re in a cocoon. It’s plain toasty.”
His large, calloused hand splayed over my bare stomach.
“Ben.”
Lips pressed to the side of my neck, and God bless America, it took everything I had to keep my thoughts somewhat coherent.
“Hmm?”
I cleared my throat. “This would have been welcome a few months ago. But I’m with Caelan. If we break through the dirt, and Caelan is there, you might lose another arm.”
His lips stopped moving. He chuckled, warm air shuffling through my hair. “You’re right.”
A heavy sigh and then, “I’m sorry.”
“Maybe move your hand back over to your side. We’re at least six feet deep here and still going up.”
Ben stilled. “What the hell happened?”
“No idea.” I turned my head to study him. “Are you okay? Does everything feel normal?”
Ben laughed. “I feel twenty years younger.”
He froze. “Evie.”
Ben was a Healer. He knew what I’d done, what I could do. If he told anyone, I’d be in danger from all sides.
His eyes were wide and frigidly blue. “How long have you been able to do this?”
I shrugged. “I’m not really sure. Maybe always. I never had the chance to fully test until recently.”
“Do you know how much danger you’d be in if anyone knew about this?”
“Yes,” I said quietly. “I do. Are you going to tell anyone, Ben?”
His nostrils flared. “Evie. How little you must think of me.” He shook his head. “And I deserve it. I have not been on my best behavior with you.” He interlocked our fingers once more and squeezed my hand. “The answer is no, I would never betray your confidence.”
A pregnant pause. “Does Caelan know?”
I nodded. Good possibility Garrett knew, too. Or suspected, at least. Did I regret it? No. I’d never let someone die if I had the ability to help him.
“You healed him the first night you saw him. I’d forgotten about that.” He let out a soft laugh.
“I should have known from that moment when he spoke about you with such awe without even knowing who you were, you’d become special to him. To me. To all of us, really.”
My heart warmed. “You make it sound so cozy when it was anything but rosy for the first few months.”
We both laughed at the disaster that was our courtship.
He’d never trusted me, and I never trusted him.
We were doomed from the start, even if I had wanted more.
Yet, Caelan, for all his pushiness and the ferocity of his pursuit, he was the one who never gave up on me.
Even if he went about it the wrong way for a long time.
As we talked, I kept sending my magic up, up, up. I was at twelve feet, then thirteen, then fifteen until finally, there was no resistance.
“Sixteen feet,” I murmured. “Holy shit.” How is that even possible?
“Wow. Any idea how we’re going to get back up there without a ton of dirt collapsing on us?”
I sat there for a long moment, my thoughts whirling with the possibility and odds of keeping both of us alive. “How long can you hold your breath?”
Ben’s brows flicked up. “I’m not much of a swimmer, so I couldn’t tell you.”
Could I breathe for him?
Something tugged gently on the end of my vine. A familiar sense washed over me.
“Caelan is up there.” No way to be 100% sure, but I’d bet money on it. I thickened my vine and sent more up. Two gentle tugs before a firmer tug that moved me up several inches.
“Ben. Wrap your arms around me. Now.”
He blinked. “But—”
“I don’t care that we’re naked. Caelan or someone is up there pulling me up. Hitch on for the ride. I’ll speed it up as fast as I can, but you may need to hold your breath.”
Another firm tug, pulling me away from him. Ben rolled into me. I shifted, wrapping my legs around his waist. My breasts pressed into his chest, as I embraced him tightly.
“Caelan is not going to like this.”
“Caelan is not trapped fifteen feet underground.”
“Fair enough.” Ben’s arms tightened around me. I pressed my face against his chest and shot multiple vines up toward the surface.
A few seconds later, I was flying through roots and dirt, wrapped around a Shifter Lord.