Chapter 3 #2
Adrenaline broiled in me like cheese on toast under a hot grill, my pulse racing with fear, my scalp throbbing with pain from her hair pull.
“I will have you! I will have you! I will have you!” she bellowed.
Not even after a million lifetimes, hag!
I turned and lumbered toward the trees, willing myself to stay vertical, barking commands at my legs to work harder.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Her hurting me changed the game, dialing the risk factor up a notch.
“The Sun!” she howled. “The Sun! The Sun! The Sun!”
I saw her footprints charge toward me again. I braced myself, ready to take a mighty swing at her while my heartbeat accelerated.
Fingers crossed I cracked her in the face this time.
As those footprints came within feet of me, I made my swing. Met air, stumbling forward in shock, almost taking a dive face-first into the snow. But I steadied myself.
Shitting hell. She’d gone right through me.
“I see,” she muttered from behind me. “I see the holes in my boat.”
Ugh. Her voice set fire to my already delicate patience.
I took a breath, rubbing at my aching chest, more than ready to kill her if the opportunity presented itself.
Please and thanks. That would be fucking marvelous.
“This is merely the beginning,” she responded. “My time will come.” She coughed lightly. “I apologize, Sunshine One. I didn’t mean to lash out. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”
She caressed my rage button with her bullshit. “Seriously? Hello? My hair?”
Of course, she cackled. Yes, so funny. Pardon me while I pee my pants.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m so over this.”
All I heard were heavy breathing and a snooty sniff, before she said, “Until next time, Sunshine One.”
I made the same speedy transition back into my world, staring at the mansion’s living room ceiling. I blinked at the terracotta and gold décor as I sat up.
Home, warm before the crackling fireplace, safe inside the protective bubble of this house. But my head pounded as if giants marched in my skull. I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a tad hung over.
“Fuck…” I whispered.
I’d been placed on the middle of the three terracotta sofas around the coffee table by the fire. Riley sat beside me, Drake on the right sofa.
“Are you okay?” my brother asked, shuffling closer to me.
“Hey,” I answered. “What…what happened?” Man, I was so parched.
He touched my shoulder. “You passed out after that shade thing attacked you. After it…you’re okay, right?” His blue eyes scrutinized my chest.
I rubbed at the spot I’d been hit. “I’m good. Didn’t actually wound me. Weird, huh?” A searing pain raced across my forehead. “I need water.”
Riley grabbed a bottle from the coffee table. “Already prepared for that.”
I took it from him and gulped down half the contents of the chilled liquid heaven. “Thanks, honey.” I finished the rest of the bottle, and twisted myself to face him properly, picking up a cushion to cuddle. I was shaking all over, reeling from my visit to the fae woman’s orchard.
After a few beats, I told them what’d happened, my scalp aching in memory of her attack.
“What the hell?” Riley gasped, taking my hand. “How did she do that?”
I gave his hand a squeeze. “Don’t know. But she’s upped her game, eh?” I sighed. “Just what we need.”
My little brother shook his head. “So, she wants to taste us to do what? Cast a spell? Take our powers? Free herself?”
“Wish I had an answer for you.”
Drake leaned back, resting his arms on the back of the sofa. “I can try visiting her. Although she never really tells me anything.” His brows pinched together. “We really need to speak to the Winter Queen.”
I stretched my arms above my head. “Let me grab a shower and we’ll talk about this more.”
Riley nodded. “Erin said something about having a meeting in a bit.”
I rolled my shoulders. “Where is she?”
“Snacking on those cookies I made earlier,” he answered.
Riley baked chocolate chip cookies like an absolute pro. As a result, Erin became hooked, politely demanding he keep a constant supply flowing.
I laughed, getting to my feet.
Riley did the same, throwing himself at me.
He hugged me tightly, resting his head on my shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
I patted his back. “Likewise, honey.” I gave him a peck on the cheek and pulled away. “You can’t keep The Sun down for long.”
He giggled. “Good to hear.”
“See you in a bit, little brother.”
Along my journey toward blessed hot water and some alone time to quell the shaking, I stopped by the kitchen to grab some painkillers for my headache.
Ollie was there, leaning against the large white marble countertop before the panoramic windows.
He nursed a bottle of beer, his white shirt open to expose a tantalizing amount of his dark-brown skin.
By Hecate, those arms. So big, so made for holding a guy through the cold winter nights.
I nominate myself to be held!
“You good?” I asked, opening the medicine cupboard on the other side of the large steel-and-white kitchen.
“Yeah. You?”
“Confused,” I answered. “But fine.”
“Same.”
I found a packet of super-strong ibuprofen. As much resistance as my body boasted because of my sacred blood, headaches weren’t off the menu.
“Crystal shades, eh?” I said, fetching a bottle of water from the huge fridge.
“The fragments have been taken to the High Coven’s lab,” he answered, his tone as cold as Blue Orchard snow.
“Cool.” After I gulped down the pills, I told him about my trip to the fae woman’s domain.
He swigged his beer, sliding his free hand into his pocket.
“Fucked up,” I added. “Seriously fucked up.”
Ollie nodded slowly, his gaze kind of withering. “Just like everything else.”
An awkward atmosphere hung like cobwebs around us.
I rubbed the back of my neck, the pain in my head increasing. “I’m hitting the shower and then I’ll be back to talk some more about this.”
He put the beer down. “My mum will fill me in tomorrow.”
I stepped forward. “You’re not staying for the meeting?”
“Nope.” He moved toward the door. “I’m glad you’re alright, Isaac.”
And just like that, he left me alone to wonder, yet again, why he seemed to hate me so much. He never gave Riley icy looks, never treated anyone else in this mansion with the same indifference.
Whatever. That was his problem. I’d done nothing deliberately to piss him off.
At least, I didn’t think so. Anyway, I wasn’t about to start spiraling over the guy.
Hard pass to overanalyzing every detail and obsessing over someone like him.
Why waste my energy? Sometimes you met people you didn’t gel with in life.
You can’t like everyone, and you certainly can’t please everyone.
A cursory glance at some of the comments on my social media pages was evidence enough.
I went to my room.
Under the hot spray of the shower, I began to feel better.
The tension in my body unknit, the force of the water pressure on my head chasing away some of the ache.
I allowed myself to be calm, centering my mind into a zone of peace.
The Brambles had been teaching Riley and me about meditation.
A useful tool for witches like us, helping to pull me up from pits of rage.
Yoga did too, which I’d practiced for years.
Two of my biggest flaws were pride and impatience.
Actually, make that three things when you threw in stubbornness.
Those negative traits gave me the reputation of being a bit of a diva, which was only a tad true.
Yes, I could be difficult at times, but only when I came up against idiots fucking me about.
I wouldn’t stand for half-stepping in anything—I was a massive perfectionist who wanted every part of my work to be at a gold-star level.
And what was so wrong with that? If it made me difficult, so what? At the end of the day, who got the brunt of any backlash if things went wrong? Oh, yes. Me.
I lathered shampoo into my hair, scrubbing the touch of the fae woman away.
Look at me now, though. Failing at my career, neglecting my agent, going beyond half-stepping. What seemed important before now took a back seat in a stretch limo. Not that I wanted to lose my career. I loved my job and all the opportunities it’d given me. But my priorities had changed.
Massively.
Ugh. My mind was about as empty as a bustling ant colony. I finished showering, dried off, and slipped into something comfortable—my favorite pair of navy Prada sweatpants complete with matching sweater.
Time to discuss the bullshit of the night. Goodness me, what a lot to untangle.
I hurried down the stairs, bumping into Ollie again at the bottom.
“Oh!” I squeaked, bouncing back up a step. “What are you…” I swallowed a nervous ball, my cheeks heating. “What are you still doing here?”
With his shirt now closed, he was back in witchcop mode. He wore his blue beret at a jaunty angle, adding to his sex appeal, the smell of his citrusy cologne stirring every lusty beast inside me.
Can you please get a grip?
Once again, he offered me arctic energy in his response. “I’m leaving now.”
Every time I tried to shake him off, I went right back to pining for him again. Which irritated me to no end. I didn’t understand why I wanted him so much. Because I couldn’t have him? Because rejection got me hard?
Or because you’re in need of so many slaps upside the head?
Erin appeared, dressed in blue jeans and an adorable white sweater with silver snowflakes embroidered into it.
Ollie smiled, his entire face lighting up, transforming into something sweeter, more joyful. It made my breath hitch and my feet move me up another step.
How I’d love for him to smile at me like that.
His eyes sparkled as he hugged his mum, Erin almost half his height. What was he? Six-two? Six-three? He was definitely a good few inches taller than me.
“Are you sure you can’t stay the night?” she asked him in her warm, motherly tone.
“Not tonight,” he answered.
New witchcops were required to stay in the HQ barracks for six months as part of their initiation. After that, they were free to find their own accommodation or stay there.
Would Ollie return to the mansion in August when his six months were up?
You really need to stop giving a fuck, my inner voice scolded. It was a wise sage I should listen to more.
“Well, take care,” Erin told her son. “I’ll message you with the details about this meeting.”
“Thanks, Mum. See you for breakfast.”
“I’d better.”
He chortled, the deep timbre a rumble.
Yummy.
“And make sure Dean comes, too,” she added. “I know Jake won’t like it, but he’s an ally we need on board. Or am I causing upset?”
Ollie’s eyes briefly darted my way. “I’ve already had this conversation with Jake. He agrees. He wants Dean on the team. Especially after the fae woman stuff.”
Their hug ended, Erin offering him a quizzical expression. “Really?”
“Yep. Well, he put it a bit differently. You know, ranted about Dean for ten minutes.”
Jake and Dean were once a thing but broke up under mysterious circumstances. At least to everyone not named Erin or Ollie. Now they were back in each other’s lives and, well, it was pretty tense.
However, Dean Tseng’s fae magic fixed things, like my broken solar diamond, and he would be a valuable ally to have on our team.
Erin laughed. “I’m sure it was an extremely blue rant.”
Why was I standing here listening to their conversation? What a nosy prick. I went to move, Erin’s glance stopping me.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Nothing a cheeky glass of bubbly won’t cure,” I answered, eyes not going in Ollie’s direction.
“There’s some on ice for you in the living room.”
“You know me so well,” I said. “Thanks.”
I left mother and son to it, joining Drake, my brother, and the Bramble triplets.
“Come sit with me, sir,” April Bramble said, occupying the right sofa with her brother Aaron. She patted the cushion, beaming a grin at me.
The Brambles were all red heads with fair, freckled skin, and green eyes like polished emeralds. April and Alice were shimmer witches, while Aaron was fae—the siblings having a witch mum and a fae dad who used to work as a caretaker for House Aurora.
April loved cooking and cars, while Alice enjoyed exercise and being in charge of our physical training. Aaron was a gamer, and a lover of maths, gaming, and crumpets. He was also great with technology and research, and his magical fae specialty was in identifying objects.
The Brambles were great company. Fun, loyal, and kick-ass. I’d tried to stop them calling me and Riley ‘sir,’ but they wouldn’t have it.
Whatever made them happy.
A bottle of Laurent-Perrier champagne sat in a gold ice bucket on the coffee table. I popped the cork, pouring out the nectar of the gods for myself, April, and Riley. Everyone else stuck with their hot drinks.
Fizzy, bubbly bliss kissed my tongue and slid down my throat. Champagne always lifted my spirits. Aaaahhhh. I kicked back, crossing my legs, waiting for Erin to join us.
At least I’d stopped shaking, being here with my people keeping the unease of my experiences at bay.
Temporarily, sure. But you had to take these quiet moments by the balls, even if they only lasted a few minutes.
Of course, my brain tried to make a comment about a pair of balls I’d like to be tugging on. But I silenced it with another sip and talking to April about the amazing steak she’d cooked at lunch time.
I know what meat I’d like in my mouth…
Ugh. Why? Why did the mind always have to go there?