“Are you okay?” she asked quietly, hesitantly, even as her fingers drew patterns across his belly.
Uriah hummed, turning his head to press his lips against her brow. “Better than okay. I've never seen or felt anything so powerful.”
“I'm sorry if it got a little out of hand. If I got a little out of hand. I was going for witchery and wound up sliding headfirst into what had to be fairy.”
He hated the note of embarrassment to her voice. She should have been proud of herself for accessing something she hadn't even known was there to be accessed. Uriah turned to his side, tucking the blankets around them, tipping her head back, so she had to look at him.
“Don't apologize. Not to me. The part of you that's Fae is undeniably lovely, and that was the second-best experience of my life.”
A pretty flush painted her cheeks, her lashes fluttering with the compliment. “What was the first best experience?”
“Walking up to your front porch knowing you weren't going to die because I loved you.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
April 25th
Ivy made the entire back yard explode with wildflowers today, and I've never seen anything more beautiful. I swear, the sound of her giggles makes them grow so tall. I wish Nan was here to see her.
She's a natural, more powerful at three years old than I ever remember being. I don't want to, but if her powers keep growing the way they are, I might have to send her to Haggara. Without a coven, I can't teach her everything she'll need to know.
Ivy touched her fingertip to the picture stuck to the paper, looking at her own little face grinning up at the camera while she stood among a tiny back yard crammed full of flowers.
There were spells and recipes written on the pages, stories of how Ilsa struggled as a young, single mother. Her triumphs, the friendships she'd made within the neighborhood. Like Nonna Gianna, who became something like a second grandmother to Ilsa.
Ilsa journaled Ivy's magical achievements and more than once battled with thoughts of having to send Ivy to Haggara to learn what Ilsa wasn't capable of teaching her, wrestling with the idea of letting Ivy out of her sight.
Twice, Ilsa attempted to join a coven for Ivy's sake, but both times, the coven elders made it clear they were happy to take Ivy, but Ilsa was unwelcome. After the second time, Ilsa didn't try again. She wrote that at least if Ivy went to Haggara, Ilsa would be allowed to visit far more frequently and with much less hostility.
Ivy shook her head sadly as she turned the page, continuing to read her mother's thoughts throughout Ivy's childhood. It wasn't until Ivy's seventh year that Ilsa's writings took an alarming turn.
September 15th
I saw him today. For weeks I thought I felt someone watching me. I thought I was just being paranoid, but he was right there, standing across the street, bold as brass, beneath the old apple tree in the park.
Ivy didn't see him, thank the Goddess, but he saw her. He was so focused on Ivy, he barely even looked my way. He shouldn't be here, and I'm terrified why he is.
September 16th
I couldn't sleep last night. I sat in Ivy's room all night, my hand on her chest just to feel her breathing. I needed to make sure he didn't come during the night to steal her away and leave me with a changeling.
I've come up with so many reasons why he might want Ivy, each one more horrifying than the last. I have to do something. I have to keep her safe.
September 17th
I went to the nearest foundry and bought about a hundred pounds of iron filings. I let Ivy play with them, waiting to see if it hurt her to touch the metal. I felt like the cruelest of mothers, waiting to see if my baby would be burned, but to my surprise, nothing happened.
I'm glad because it means she has an advantage over the others. I spread the filings in the dirt around the house, layered the grounds with every protection spell I can think of, but I don't know that it will keep him out if he truly wants in.
Ivy wants to go outside and play, but I can't. I can't let her out of my sight. She's mine, my baby, my everything. He already took one of my babies. I'll die before I let him take her too.
Ivy's breath hitched as she read the last sentence of that entry, feeling her mother's ferocity and her love like a brand. Ivy struggled to breathe around the burning lump in her throat, jumping when Uriah said her name.
She blinked away the water in her eyes, managing to smile up at him when he came over to check on her. He crouched down in front of her, his brow puckered in concern as he reached up to brush the little trickles from her cheeks.
“I'm fine. Just getting a little emotional. She's um, she's writing about seeing the Green Man again, the week before she took me to Haggara. She says she felt like she was being watched, and then she saw him standing in the park, watching me.”
Uriah clicked his tongue, his big hands kneading at her arms, tucking the velvety soft throw she had over her legs higher up around her lap.
“Fuckin' creeper. Do you need a break?”
“No. I'm good. There are only a few more entries to go.” Having said that aloud, Ivy realized the next few pages with her mother's handwriting... that was it. The journal was all she had left of her mother.
“Alright, take your time. I'm going to grill up some of those peaches to go with our steak and potatoes.” Ivy nodded, not interested in eating, but she knew she would.
If Uriah went to the effort, she would always make sure to appreciate it. He left her, but not before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Forehead kisses, the cure for nearly everything.
Ivy watched him go, that beautiful ass of his flexing with every step. She could see him from her seat on the couch, right there in the kitchen.
It made her feel ten kinds of warm and fuzzy when he looked up after gathering a few ingredients from the fridge, checking on her even though he'd just had his hands on her moments ago.
Knowing she was safe under his watchful eye, Ivy looked down at her lap and continued reading.
September 19th
I've called Henriette and registered Ivy for school. I couldn't lie to her. She knows what's going on and says we should come as soon as possible. How strange is it, that after all this time, years I spent thinking she'd hated me, she's the only person I can trust? She's literally the only one willing to help me.
I felt so relieved, I nearly broke down right there in the kitchen. Ivy's getting tired of being cooped up inside, and I'm a terrible mother for being happy that it hasn't stopped raining in days, so I have an excuse.
She's so beautiful. So unbelievably talented. I could sit and watch her draw flowers out of their seeds with the graceful wave of her fingers all day long. My little garden fairy. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself when she's not here every day.
September 21st
The rain keeps coming down in sheets. The news says there's flooding from here to the interstate. We won't make it more than a few miles, but I've seen him twice now, standing across the street. Ivy's part of him. Henriette thinks it's possible he can sense her magic. What she's suggested I do... I can’t believe I’m considering it. But if he really can sense Ivy, it's the only way to keep her safe.
There are so many spells protecting the students at Haggara. There won't be any way for him to get to Ivy.