His tongue slid against mine and a strangled, desperate kind of moan slipped up my throat and between our lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck. But it wasn’t enough. I needed more. I needed to be closer. I melted under his touch. My body went weak, falling into the cradle of his arms like he hadn’t broken my heart. In this moment, none of that mattered. All I knew was the perfection in his kiss.
Wait, WHAT? Saffie, SNAP OUT OF IT. He betrayed you!
My mind was muddy and slow but I managed to push him off of me and jump back. My breaths were raw and ragged as air rushed back to my lungs.
He was breathing just as rough as I was. His face was flushed a deep red. He wiped his mouth, held my stare, and growled, “I. Felt. Everything.”
“Liar,” I breathed.
Sharp pain shot through my chest. My glass heart shattered a little more. Tears spilled over my eyelashes and onto my cheeks. He was using my feelings for him against me. He knew how I felt and I hated it. I hated how much I craved him.
The tunnel rumbled under my feet. I felt ice-cold energy brush over my back and then a deep voice, “Commander Zachariah?”
Chapter Nine
Bettina
I knew my best friend was in rough shape the moment her portal opened up in front of me. It was pale and wavering. But I felt her magic all the same and I trusted my brother to not endanger us.
“Bloody hell, we have to go through that?” Jackson crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his aquamarine eyes. “I don’t like the way that’s looking, love.”
“I trust them. And it’s proof we’re needed back.”
“Rubbish. Since when does it take hours to get a portal to work?”
I put my hand on his arm and squeezed. “I know, Lancelot. You can fly back if you’d rather but I need to get back and help her.”
“I go where you go, Moonshine.” He pushed his shoulders back then took my hand. “If this portal kills you. then I’m going down too.”
I pushed up on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his temple. “I love you too. Come on, let’s go.”
As he grumbled, I eyed the portal and tried to look as confident as I said I was. It was near dawn in London and her portal had just opened up despite the fact we called for it around midnight. That didn’t bode well. Right that minute, I was regretting not going home when my brother called me the first time.
She’s fine. They’re fine. Just step through the portal.
I tightened my grip on my soulmate’s hand and then dragged him through the portal with me. But the magic felt wrong. It was weaker than usual and had a weird sharpness I wasn’t used to. Usually the portals were instant but this one lingered for a second or two, just enough for us both to suck in a deep breath and then we were standing in the living room of Coven Headquarters in Eden.
The very first thing I saw was red lightning shooting from the fireplace to the back of the couch. I blinked and shook my head and then I realized what I was seeing. Deacon was lighting Tegan up except she didn’t seem to notice. She sat on the couch with her legs crossed under her while those pale green eyes stared at nothing. Her black hair could’ve literally been a bird’s nest. I’d have to check to see if something was living in there yet. Even from ten feet away I saw that the tips of her fingers were red and raw.
Deacon spotted us and dropped his lightning. The air instantly cleared and an obviously relieved smile spread across his face. “Thank Goddess.”
“What the bloody hell,” Jackson whispered.
Just then, Haven stepped out in front of me looking an hour away from a nervous breakdown. His black hair was tied up in a messy bun on top of his head but it was crooked and half-falling, held up by a crown of knots of his own. The golden bands on his arms were flashing like strobe lights and his gold wings kept popping out. He flexed his fingers and then balled his fists, then repeated several times within a few seconds. The energy rolling off of him sent my pulse into a tailspin.
I exhaled roughly. “You look like shit, my brother.”
“Fix her.” His eyebrow twitched as he glanced back and forth between Jackson and me. He threw his arm out to the side, pointing right at my best friend. “I’ve tried everything. We’ve tried everything.”
It was only then that I realized Emersyn, Hunter, Devon, and Bentley were sitting at the dining room table behind her. They waved and gave me small smiles yet they looked tense and exhausted. I looked down at my Apple watch and found it was after midnight.
“What exactly are we lookin’ at here, lads?”
I glanced to my statue of a best friend, who hadn’t reacted to our arrival despite it being via her portal, then back to my brother. “Any change from last night?”
He shook his head. “I was about to put Michael’s sword in her hand before Deacon finally got through.”
“Finally is right. I’ve been trying for hours. Took Em and Tenn’s help to break in.”
I shook my head and looked over to Hunter. “This reminds me of when we were six and she discovered people had slaves. Remember?”
Hunter grimaced. “She didn’t speak for a week.”
“What?” Haven growled through clenched teeth.
“You heard me. This is the fourth time she’s done this but at least in the past she would acknowledge the world around her and eat.”
Jackson pointed to her. “This statue rubbish is new? How’d you break it before?”
“I ended up having to call Kenneth.”
I gasped. “You used magic all those times?
“Yeah, but only for that initial shock to snap her out of it enough that Bettina here could pull her out of the hole she’d buried herself in.”
Haven’s mismatched eyes swung back to me. “Get her out of it.”
I bit my bottom lip and nodded. I’d already suspected we’d need magic to get through to her but Hunter’s admission proved it. This was entirely different than when we were kids, when her magic was blocked. So it would take a lot more magic to get to her now. I pushed my shoulders back and then crossed the room and dropped to my knees in front of her. I reached up and pressed my open palms to the sides of her head and words of a spell flashed in my mind.
I never knew where they came from, but I was done questioning how that worked. I just took a deep breath, summoned my magic to my hands, and pushed it out. Pink mist coiled around her head as I chanted softly, “Hear me now, hear me loud. Hear me deep within your cloud.”
She inhaled sharply through her nose and sat up straight.
“Harm is far but help is near. Release thy hold so you may hear.”
She blinked and shook her head — and then bright pale green eyes locked on me. She frowned. “Bettina?”
Haven sighed so hard his tense energy hit me like a tsunami, knocking me off my balance and leaning me sideways.
Tegan flinched like she felt it too. She looked over my shoulder and I knew she was seeing the disaster that was my brother. “Babe? What’s wrong?”
Haven cursed violently and tugged on his hair. “…gonna be the death of me one day, I swear.”
“What did I do?” Her gaze snapped back to me. “Wait, why are you here? You’re supposed to be in London?”