Chapter 17 Too Close
Too Close
Heaven
Itoss and turn; the room feels stuffy. Allie fell asleep quite quickly after we returned, showering first, of course. She’s now sleeping on her back, her hands resting on her waist on top of her perfectly folded sleeping bag. Not a single hair out of place.
Like a vampire in a coffin.
Katara is still asleep as well, but not me.
I sit up, braiding my hair, hoping it helps. A few strands come out from the front. My hair is thick, and I hold the end whilst whispering a small spell to retrieve a scrunchie from my bag. I tie the end of my hair, lying back down again and stare at the ceiling.
Let’s count wolves…
One wolf, two wolves… three wolves…
My wrist tingles, and I raise it in front of me sharply, staring at the glowing green symbol on my wrist. It burns brightly and then begins diminishing.
Theo.
I kick off my bedding, whispering a silencing spell as I rush from the room. Why is his life force diminishing? My heart thuds. Was this the price for asking for Hades’ help? What happened?
Earlier, I had imprinted him with a spell that would not only tell me his whereabouts, in case he ran, but also would tell me if trouble came his way.
This mission is my responsibility, and I’m not about to let anyone get hurt.
I’ve done the same to Allie, too, and I’ll do the same to Jayce when I get a chance to get close to him. This mission is risky after all.
I had sat beside Theo on purpose, so I was able to cast my spell. Jayce will be harder; he’s always had this thing about keeping his distance.
I hurry to the basement door, whispering a spell to unlock it and step inside. The place is dark, darker than normal, and there seems to be remnants of something… stale? I’m not even sure.
I flip on the light switch and hurry down the steps, only realising now that I came barefoot.
“Theo?” I call as I hurry around the sofa and see him sitting on it, looking like someone high on drugs, his head lolling back, legs sprawled in front of him, and hands slumped by his sides. “Theo!”
I’m in front of him in an instant, checking his pulse and his forehead when his eyes snap open, milky white and deadly. His hand suddenly shoots out and wraps around my throat in an agonisingly painful grip.
“Theo…” I choke out.
His hand tightens. He doesn’t speak as he flings me sideways onto the sofa. My back hits it hard as I stare into his unseeing eyes.
What is happening to him?
He doesn’t move, and I feel the tingle grow on my wrist.
My eyes blaze as I focus on casting a spell, even if my vocal cords are cut off. I can feel how weak he is, but even then, the strength he possesses is unbelievable.
My magic glows around me, and I hope it works. This isn’t a spell I’ve performed without chanting the words out loud. I channel some of my own energy into him, giving his weakening body some strength.
It works. He blinks, his eyes returning to their usual piercing blue, and he instantly looks down at me, his gaze then dipping lower.
My cheeks flush involuntarily as I realise I forgot my gown, too.
And suddenly I’m far too aware of the way his knee is right between my thighs, or that he’s close…
too close. I never realised how plump his lips were before…
His eyes flick to my neck for a moment, and then he lets go of me and staggers back, stumbles and hits the floor, groaning on impact.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asks as he sits there, clearly exhausted and annoyed.
Why though?
“I sensed that there was something wrong with you, and I thought I’d come check. I didn’t realise you would try to choke me,” I retort as I sit up and fix my hair, now wishing my hair wasn’t tied back.
He cocks a brow. “What? Did you think I was going to fucking run so that you had to come check on me?” he asks.
“No…” I don’t know how to respond to that.
My heart is still pounding, and I can’t seem to calm it down. He was too close!
“Lucky for you, I had already finished talking to Hades. If you had interrupted us, he would have left, and we’d have needed another three souls. You really are becoming annoying.”
I glower at him. “Well, I was simply concerned,” I reply haughtily. “So, you talked to him?”
“Yeah… but I’m really exhausted; we’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Why are you so tired?” I ask, noticing he isn’t even getting up.
He looks at me with pure annoyance. “Because, Little Miss Know-It-All, being in the presence of a god is draining. Hades loves to take me to the brink of death before we ‘discuss’ anything.”
I feel a sliver of guilt but don’t show it. “Oh… Well, we can talk tomorrow then.”
“Great,” he replies sarcastically as he lies down on the floor, closing his eyes.
I stand up and look down at him. “Will you stay on the floor?”
“Yep.” He doesn’t open his eyes.
“Want me to give you a hand to the sofa?” I ask.
“I’ll be fine on the floor.”
But it’s uncomfortable. “I don’t know how you sleep on the floor. You know I’ve tried it, but it’s so uncomfortable, I wasn’t able to get even a wink of sleep.”
He cracks his eyes open and smirks. “Obviously, you’re a princess.”
I roll my eyes, grab the cushion from the sofa and kneel down beside him. “Lift your head. You should feel honoured that this princess is being nice.”
He snickers. “You’re feeling guilty, aren’t you?” he asks smugly.
I frown at him as he half sits up, allowing me to put the pillow under his head, the move only emphasising those chiselled abs even more.
My stomach knots, and I’m about to bolt when he reaches up, his large hand cupping my neck.
My breath hitches, my eyes widen as my control over my emotions seems to spiral a little. What is he doing?
His thumb brushes the centre of my neck, and I swallow. The humour is gone from his face as a frown creases his brow.
“I’ve left a mark…”
“It’s nothing a small healing spell won’t cure,” I whisper softly.
What is wrong with me?
His eyes flick to mine, and he smirks. “Good, the last thing I want is everyone after my head.” He lets go of me and drops back onto the cushion, groaning. “Now, go to bed, Blondie.”
I don’t reply as I quickly get to my feet.
That was a bit too much, it’s not like I’ve never been touched by a man, but it just felt a bit – oh my gosh, I need to go to bed! This night has just been too long. And crazy!
I spin on my heel to leave, but my foot catches on Theo’s.
I stumble forward, bracing for impact with the floor, only for his leg to shoot up, catching me neatly across the waist. The sudden pressure redirects my fall, and instead of face-planting into the ground, I land with an undignified bounce onto the sofa behind me.
“I don’t think I’m the only one who needs sleep,” he drawls, voice laced with mockery.
Heat floods my face. I scramble up and glare at him before I toss my braid and storm toward the stairs. “You have such ridiculously big feet!” I snap.
“What can I say? We Westwood men don’t come in small sizes.” His low chuckle follows me up the stairs as I flee as fast as possible.
“HEAVEN!”
I blink as I shoot up, my heart pounding.
“What?” I ask Allie, who is standing there fully dressed in a black-and-white striped prison top and wide black pants. I love her, but her fashion sense is… unique.
“We’re almost ready to leave. You have been asleep for ages, and so has Theo. You know, people might think something is up?”
My eyes widen. “No one will think that! Oh my gosh, how can you even think that?!” I snap, my cheeks on fire.
Allie narrows her eyes before quirking a brow. “I meant up to something very different from what you’re thinking. Should I be concerned?” she asks flatly.
“Eww, no!”
She nods. “Yeah, I didn’t think so; he ain’t your type.”
“Exactly,” I agree as I get out of bed and whisper a spell to make the bed. At home, I don’t make the bed, but at the Academy, I do. It’s just manners. I pause and look at her. I have a type?
Hmm, that’s a conversation I will continue with her later. Now I’d better go shower before we leave.
Forty minutes later, we’re ready to leave, and I look over at Katara, appreciating how accommodating she was. She’s really pretty, with huge blue eyes and silky blond hair. She’s petite and reminds me of a doll. She’s fourteen now.
“Thank you for letting me sleep in your bed.”
“It’s fine,” she replies, shoving her hands into her pockets. She doesn’t really like talking much, though, to me anyway. I think she’s a bit of an introvert.
I look over at everyone else before turning to the two cars that are headed to the Academy. Jayce is on his bike. I realise it’s not the bike Sienna got for him… Then there’s Ares, who is driving his own car, and Theo has his.
We need to be with Theo so we can talk. I motion to Allie about this when Renji comes out, slinging an arm around her shoulders. “You, Heaven and I can go with Ares; Carter can go with Theo.”
“Good plan. I don’t want Theo and Alessandra fighting,” Aunty Scarlett says.
Ares narrows his eyes but shrugs. “Whatever. Get in.”
“No, I want to go with Theo. Theo, you want me, right?!” Allie shouts, although her tone says anything but.
Theo looks over at us. “There’s no way Zombilesandra is getting in my car! Come on, Carter!”
That – asshole!
He winks at me before he pops on some shades and gets in the driver’s seat.
Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing. How I hate this man!
Well, if that’s how he wants to play it. Fine.
“Come on, Allie. We’ll have a better journey with Renji to accompany us,” I say haughtily. Security is tight, and I can feel the magic that will come into play the moment we leave pack territory. Jayce is ahead, but he’s waiting for us.
Renji smiles as he helps get our bags into the car trunk. Once we’ve bid everyone farewell and are in the car, I wait.
Three… two…
Theo revs his engine like he’s about to fly down the road, but just as his car lurches forward…
Bang! Both front tyres explode with a sharp hiss, the car careening to the side.
I hear him growl as his door flies open.
“Blondie!” He stalks towards us, eyes narrowing, jaw sharp as a blade. “You’ve got some nerve, you know that?”
I smirk. “And you’ve got terrible luck. Might want to get that checked,” I reply innocently, then pout. “It looks really bad. What happened?”
Theo leans a hand on the roof of our car, his face just a little too close to mine through the glass. A dangerous smirk on his lips. “Keep poking, Blondie. You’ll find out what happens when I bite back.”
Heat flares in my chest; annoyance, obviously. Definitely just annoyance. I flick my hair and stick out my chin. “Sounds like a threat,” I remark nonchalantly.
“Call it a promise,” he murmurs, eyes glinting.
I ignore him, turning away, and he shakes his head, walking off as both Ares and Renji turn to look at me, whilst Allie sits back with a satisfied humph.
Tossing my hair over my shoulder, I motion for Ares to drive. “We don’t have all day.”
He shakes his head as he starts the car, and I look back at Theo, who is crouching by his front left tyre.
And that, Theo Westwood, is how you learn not to play a witch.
Your move, Mr Westwood.