37. Jasmine
JASMINE
“Rebecca?” I shout into the empty spell shop as Jake and I step inside early the next morning. We woke with the sun, unable to sleep any longer, and decided to get the spell over with.
“Back here!” she hollers from somewhere in the store.
I grab Jake’s hand and pull us through the aisles of herbs and books. At the back, Rebecca waits in the same room where we contacted Marisole. She looks up and smiles.
“Hi, you two. Glad to see you together.”
Jake chuckles and kisses my temple. He turns his attention back to Rebecca. “Thank you for your help. I know this is asking a lot.”
She waves him off. “Nonsense. This is the most action I’ve had in years, and it’s been fun to do more advanced witchcraft. Now, please, take a seat.” She points to the two chairs.
Jake and I sit, and Rebecca follows our lead.
“Okay,” she says, unrolling a mat with what appears to have different herbs and gems stored inside. “Two spells, right? One for quick healing and one to further protect the mind.”
Jake and I exchange a glance, and I say, “Yes.”
“Okay, so the quick healing isn’t a problem.
That’s straightforward. But the other spell, the one to protect the mind…
” Rebecca sighs and stops fidgeting with her supplies to look at us.
“Jake, in addition to no shifting, you won’t be able to feel your bond.
No one will be able to reach you until it wears off. ”
“There’s no other way?” Jake asks, his knee bouncing. I place my palm over it to calm him.
Rebecca shakes her head. “Nothing that I know of, and I don’t have time to research alternatives.”
“Okay, that’s fine,” Jake says, then turns to me. “I still think it’s smart to protect myself, right? We’ll be together, so you’ll know I’m okay.”
I nod to Jake, then ask Rebecca, “How long will it take for the spell to work?”
“Mm, not long. Within the hour. If we do the two spells and make sure they’re working, you’ll be all set to go through a door tonight. It won’t be fully activated for about five hours, and it’ll wear off forty-eight hours after that.”
“Okay, great. Let’s do it,” Jake says.
I’m not going to pretend I understand witchcraft, so I trust Rebecca when she says it’s done.
“Any changes?” I ask Jake.
“It’s been five minutes,” he says after we leave the spell shop.
“I’m nervous.”
He loops his arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer, and I don’t mind. The weather is turning into late-summer, early-fall temperatures, and I wish I’d worn a hoodie.
“As long as we’re together and keep the mission at the forefront, we’ve got this,” Jake says.
And I want to believe him, I do. He tries his hardest to speak evenly, to make me believe he believes the words he’s saying. I don’t blame him. Why would he want to talk about the negative scenarios when they won’t help us? It would only make us hypersensitive and reckless.
Marisole has to assume we’re coming to the Underworld, even if we didn’t send her a message. We’ve already asked Rebecca for too much and put her shop at significant risk, so we don’t need to send another message.
I just have to believe that when we cross through the door later, from this realm to the other, she’ll be waiting for us.
“Okay, I think we’re good to go, huh?” Jake asks as he scrolls his phone.
We’ve been killing time in his hotel room for the last few hours, and even though you’d think we’d take advantage and be all over each other, it’s the last thing I want right now. I’m happy to be in his presence, to have him close, but I don’t want to think about this maybe being the last time.
Being intimate would do that, and I can’t go into this mission with heavier emotions. I’m already tired of the what-ifs floating around in my head. I don’t need more on the list.
“Okay.” Jake slaps his hands on his pants and stands up from the bed. “Texted Silas. He says good luck. Now it’s time we venture to the Underworld, before I change my mind.”
“Change your mind?” I ask with a chuckle.
He nods. “Oh, yes, I’ve thought about a plan B multiple times, where I’d kidnap you and we’d run away where no one could find us.”
“Wouldn’t Silas be able to find you anywhere? He’s your alpha.”
Jake shrugs and waves that scenario off. “We’d hide in a cave in a different territory and make friends with the locals.”
I scrunch my nose. “You’re making us sound like cavemen.”
“Well,” Jake pauses, then says, “Yeah, okay. But modern.”
It’s my turn to wave him off. “Sounds like a modern-day fairytale,” I add with an eye roll for good measure, then stalk over to the bag I brought earlier to grab two daggers.
Although I use my magic most of the time, a dagger can always come in handy. And a woman can never be too prepared.
If we run into a group of demons, I need to throw, slash, and use my magic at the same time. I can’t let them beat us before we even reach my father. That’s the main goal.
“Ready?” I ask Jake.
He smiles, then crosses the hotel room to me. Jake wraps me in a hug and bends down to press his lips to mine. I tilt my head and meet him.
“Ready.”