Izzy kissed Raph’s hair and said, “Go on, I’ve got you.”
Raph nodded his thanks to him before refocusing on me. “Dallan was married to Faye for about two years when Izzy and I started to notice some suspicious activity near their home. Dallan had been acting sketchy for a few months, not coming around us very often, dodging easy questions, and we both got a feeling from him. We… we sensed dark magic on him.
“When we traced a blood ritual back to Dallan’s best friend, we knew Dallan must be involved as well. Iz, Ember, and I tried talking to Faye about it, but Dallan was suddenly there all the time, like he was watching over her and didn’t want us alone with her, and anytime I even hinted at it, Faye got defensive of him. So Izzy, Ember, and I came up with a plan to get our daughter away from him. We set up a meeting with her under the guise of a local witch’s meeting. That was the only way to guarantee that she came alone.
“On her way, there was a terrible accident. The horse pulling her cart was spooked by something, and in his panic, he tipped the cart. Faye was pinned beneath it, and… and by the time we realized something was wrong, sh-she…”
Izzy quietly said, “She had hit her head, so we think she was unconscious and unable to use her magic to get the cart off her chest. It… she suffocated.”
Raph pulled Izzy into his arms, both of them burying their faces in the other’s neck, and my throat tightened as I held back my own shock, horror, and tears. I couldn’t even imagine the pain they felt losing their child that way. That was… that had to be the worst pain imaginable.
Before I’d made the decision to do it, I was moving. Sitting on the coffee table, I wrapped my arms around them, and they both leaned into me. There was nothing I could do or say to make this any better, nothing but offer what little comfort I could.
It was a long time before we parted, and Raph immediately gave me a soft kiss on the lips, then Izzy kissed my lips tenderly as well.
We rested our foreheads together, breathing each other in, for a few minutes.
After leaning back, Izzy said, “Dallan blames Raph for ‘forcing’ Faye to meet him. He says the accident is all Raph’s fault, and that he turned Faye against him. He’s even gone so far as to say that Raph caused the accident and left her there to…” He cleared his throat. “He lost his mind after Faye died, and he says he’s going to make Raph suffer for taking away his love.” Izzy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Obviously, Raph didn’t force Faye into anything, and the accident was absolutely not his, or anyone’s, fault.” He nudged Raph with his knee. “I have to remind him of that every once in a while.”
I jerked back. “Raph, you have to know it wasn’t your fault. It was an accident.”
Raph sent me a sad smile. “I know that, but it’s hard not to blame myself sometimes. But… thank you.”
I didn’t know what to say to any of this.
We were quiet for a while, and I kept offering hugs and hand squeezes. They had been through so much together, it was almost hard to believe.
Eventually, the familiars came over with Nadia riding Jezebel’s back like a skateboard, making everyone laugh, and finally, the tension began to fade.
A bit later, Izzy said, “Dallan’s been on the run for decades. He pops up every now and then to torment Raph. Then he disappears without a trace. He’s a strong warlock, unfortunately, and he dabbles in dark magic and sacrifice, which makes him have strong bursts of power. He’s evaded the Conclave for far too long. We need to bring him in.”
Raph met Izzy’s eyes. “I agree.”
“We need to start working on his case again.”
Raph nodded in agreement.
Iz nodded. “I’ll start making a plan. If the Conclave doesn’t like it, we go rogue.”
To my surprise, Raph barked out a laugh. “You’ve wanted to say that for years.”
Izzy shot him a smile. “Yeah, but I mean it. We go rogue.”
Raph shot me an exasperated expression. “Now he’s going to keep saying it over and over.”
My lips quirked up in the corners. “I should get him in on D&D, then he can play a rogue all the time.”
Izzy asked, “Really?”
I snorted out a laugh, relieved to let the depression leave the room. “Yeah, sweetheart. If you really want to, I’ll ask Grades if he wants to throw a game together. It’s actually really fun even though it sounds nerdy.”
Raph rolled his eyes. “Considering we both like you, I think we’re okay with nerdy.”
“Hey,” I laughed out and pushed him.
Izzy and Raph chuckled along with me, and I couldn’t help but pull them back into a big hug, wishing I could protect them and take away all their hurt.
“You look sexy as fuck,” Raph breathed in my ear as he wrapped an arm behind my back. Then he kissed my cheek, pulling me into him so my shoulder was against his chest.
I snorted, but couldn’t contain my smile. “Thanks. So do you.”
He grinned and kissed my cheek again, then rested his chin on my shoulder, saying, “Thanks, baby.”
All of a sudden, a cat came flying off the counter at me, and I yelped in surprise, but Raph caught Jezebel with a laugh and somehow continued holding me at the same time. Jezebel began purring and rubbing all over Raph’s arm and my chest. With a self-deprecating laugh, I began petting her.
“She’s pissed that we’re leaving her home, and she thinks if she cutes it up for you, you’ll bring her with us,” Raph said with amusement lacing his voice.
“I wish I could, pretty girl,” I cooed at the cat. “I don’t think they’ll let us bring you inside the restaurant, though.” I kissed the top of her head, and she rubbed her face under my chin.
“Jeze,” Raph said with another laugh. “You’re going to cover him in fur.”
“That’s okay, pretty girl,” I whispered to her. “I don’t mind.”
That made her purr louder.
“She likes me,” I said, continuing to pet her.
Raph kissed my cheek yet again. “Yes, I’ve noticed. I think she likes you more than me at this point.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“And I’m sure that you’ve been bribing her with extra treats all day, every day for weeks.”
I gasped. “I would never.”
Raph snorted, pressing his forehead to my temple so his words brushed over my cheek. “Uh-huh, sure, baby.”
“You have no proof of that.”
“Is that how you roll? Okay, then. I’ll be sure to get it on video.”
“Not gonna happen.”
His chuckle rumbled through my shoulder. “Pretty sure I can get ahold of some spy cameras, so I assure you, I will get it.”
“That’s not fair. You can’t use your spy shit against me.”
With a laugh, he kissed my cheek again, then my neck, then the corner of my mouth before resting his forehead against my temple. I was really loving how cuddly he’d been lately. His strong, solid presence made me feel safe, and to be honest, it simply made me happy to have him close.
We stayed there with Jezebel balanced on my and Raph’s arms, getting scritches from me while Raph held me in his arms. We were still like that when Isiah finally made it downstairs.