by Sammie Joyce
Rose’s legs suddenly felt weak. She had been counting on seeing Mace, and now it might be weeks yet until she was in his arms again. After two weeks without holding her daughter, Rose was already feeling fragile.
“You all need rest,” Asher said quickly. “We won’t bother you any further. We can get a more detailed report later. Come on, everyone, let’s give them some space. I’m sure they want a shower and a bed before telling the whole story.”
Asher put an arm around Rose and led her away. Rose sighed and leaned into him. “How’s Hope?”
“The same. We’re still keeping her in the containment room, with a dragon with her at all times. No witches allowed; it’s too dangerous.”
Rose reached out for Jagger’s hand, and he took it. She’d missed Asher and Jagger almost as much as she missed Hope. “If this has to go on for much longer, can you guys switch out? I can get two weeks with each of you.”
“And here I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about us.” Jagger winked.
“As if I could.”
“Yeah, she’s had nightmares about your ugly face every night since we left.”
Jagger slapped Gavin’s arm. Gavin just smirked.
The basement seemed empty and forlorn without Hope. Rose went to the bed and pulled the covers back. Asher and Jagger quickly got in on either side of her, with Gavin on Jagger’s other side.
Rose wrapped her arms around Jagger’s neck while pressing her back against Asher’s chest. The shock of not having Mace back when she expected him had drained her of energy.
She closed her eyes and let sleep take her.
Rose felt slightly revived when she woke several hours later.
“It’s supper time. Maria is going to give everyone an official update there.” Jagger held out his hand, which Rose took, letting him pull her to her feet.
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Maria certainly looked better after a rest and a wash. Annabelle was glued to Dane’s side, and Emily was surrounded by witches fussing over her. Rose hugged Annabelle and told her how glad she was that they were back, but tried to avoid looking at her and Dane after that. It was painful, as it just reminded her of the reunion she should be having with Mace.
Maria had already given them the basic facts, but she filled in some pieces of the puzzle with her longer report. Hell was divided into sections, one for each inhabitant. No soul could go to another’s piece of hell, so they were all eternally alone.
On the edges of hell were the foundations. No souls were there, but it was guarded by demons. They would have to get past those demons to blow up the foundations. Mace would have to be very careful. He not only needed to sneak around the demons, but to demolish the safeguards in a way that wasn’t outwardly visible.
If anyone could do it, it would be Mace, but Rose was still desperately worried for him.
Asher diverted her troubled thoughts about Mace with his next question to Maria. “We’ve got another problem, one with Hope. We need you to temporarily block her powers.”
Asher quickly explained the situation. Rose stared at her knees as Maria glanced at her, her gaze laden with pity.
“Of course. We have some power blocker bracelets in storage. I can easily modify one to be small enough for Hope.”
Rose’s spirits lifted. “So I can stay here? I can see her?”
“Of course. The bracelet works instantly.”
“Let’s get it now!” Rose was already on her feet, practically vibrating with excitement.
“I can do it.” Jade got up, and Rose realized that Maria wasn’t finished eating yet. She’d been answering questions since everyone sat down in the dining room. “Which store room, Maria?”
“The one on the second floor, next to the library. They’re woven with string and some blue stones tied in.”
Asher stayed in the dining room, but Jagger and Gavin followed Rose and Jade. The bracelets were there, just as Maria had said. It took a few minutes of fiddling to get it to adjust small enough for Hope’s wrist, and those few minutes felt like hours.
Jade went back down to supper, leaving Rose, Jagger, and Gavin to go to Hope.
“Let me do it.” Gavin took the bracelet and hurried eagerly into the room. He sent out the dragon assigned to watch Hope.
“Is it done?” Rose called.
“It is. Maybe we should wait a few minutes to—”
Rose was done waiting. She burst through the door, holding her arms out for her daughter. Hope made a happy noise, which just melted Rose’s heart. Her little hand waved, the bracelet glimmering on her wrist.
Gavin put his arms around both Rose and Hope. Rose couldn’t remember being this happy or relieved in quite a while.
“We can take her back down to the basement.” Jagger looked around the containment room. “This is hardly the nicest place. We’ve kept furniture to a minimum, so that the witches don’t have to fireproof and shatterproof too many things, but it hardly makes the place homey.”
“Agreed.” Still holding Hope, Rose walked out and headed for the basement.
Asher joined them after supper, smiling as he watched Rose coo to Hope.
“I don’t want to let go of her.” She couldn’t keep the smile off her face.
“You’ll be changing your tune eventually. Best get some rest while she’s quiet. Even without the explosions or fires, being woken up in the middle of the night is always going to be exhausting.”
Rose knew from hard experience that Asher was right. She reluctantly put Hope down in her crib—the prettier one that wasn’t magically proofed.
The four of them retired to bed. It was now that Rose felt Mace’s absence most keenly. She loved sleeping with all four of her dragons in a pile around her, but with just three of them, the bed felt empty.
As Asher had predicted, they were woken up by Hope screaming.
“I’ll do it.” Rose was so glad to be able to be near Hope again that she didn’t even mind changing a diaper or doing a midnight feeding.
She picked up Hope, rocking her and walking around the basement. After a few moments, she pulled Hope back. Her little forehead was hot against Rose’s neck.
Hope’s face was bright red. She looked like she had a fever.
Fear shot through Rose. Hope had never been sick before. It was rare for witches or dragons to get sick, but no one really knew what to expect in Hope’s case.
Rose held Hope with one arm and went to the bedroom. Jagger was closest, so she shook his shoulder. “Jagger?”
“Mhm?”
“It’s Hope. I think she’s sick.”
That woke him up. Jagger sat up quickly and held out his arms. He checked her temperature and felt her pulse. “Yeah, that’s a fever,” he said quietly. “Let’s get her to Maria. Oi, Gavin, Asher. Time to get up.”
“It’s still nighttime, you moron,” Gavin muttered, pulling a pillow over his face.
“Hope is sick.”
Asher and Gavin both shot up in bed. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Asher led the way with Rose hot on his heels, Jagger and Gavin followed behind.
Maria took it in her stride when she was handed a screaming, feverish baby. She took Hope to the healing ward and placed her on an examination table.
Rose, Asher, Jagger, and Gavin crowded in close, watching carefully.
Maria examined Hope thoroughly, doing several diagnostic spells. By the time she was done, she was frowning.
“What?” Asher demanded.
“It seems that the bracelet is causing the problem. Her powers are still developing, which makes blocking them dangerous. It’s kind of like shoving her into a tiny box where she doesn’t have space to grow.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this before?” Rose was horrified that she’d hurt her daughter, no matter how unintentional it was.
“I didn’t know. I’m not sure if this has ever happened before. A witch’s powers keep developing from birth until she is eighteen. At eighteen, she is fully de
veloped, and only then do her powers start manifesting. It would be safe to bind them then. With Hope… I guess everything is different with her.”
“Then get it off her!” Rose reached for the bracelet, but Gavin caught her wrist.
“Wait. We should get her back to the containment room.”
Rose wanted to cry. She wanted to scream how unfair it was, but that wouldn’t help Hope. “Take her,” she whispered.
Asher whisked Hope away, leaving Jagger and Gavin to console Rose.
“Wake me in an hour to check on her.” Maria squeezed Rose’s shoulder as she left.
Rose turned her face into Jagger’s chest, not bothering to hold back her tears. “I thought it was over. I don’t know if I can leave her again.”
Before Jagger could reply, there was an explosion that shook the entire mansion.
None of them needed to guess where it came from.
As one, the three of them sprinted off toward the containment room.
The place was in shambles. Half of the roof had collapsed, making the door impossible to open. Jagger and Gavin tore it off its hinges and started shoving aside rubble.
Rose waited where she was, not wanting them to have to worry about shielding her from falling debris.
When they got to the middle of the room, Rose finally caught a glimpse of Asher. He was curled over on the floor. There was a large piece of a broken beam sticking out of his back.
Asher rolled slightly to the side, revealing Hope beneath him, completely unharmed. Rose could hardly be relieved when she saw the growing pool of blood around Asher.
Maria appeared at her shoulder. Thank God.
“Bring him out here!” Maria called. “Careful not to jostle the beam.”
Dane hurried forward, helping Jagger maneuver Asher out. Gavin was still holding Hope, clearly unsure what to do. Rose knew she should be giving orders, but all she could think about was that huge piece of wood in Asher. Her brain was stuck. She couldn’t think.
Thankfully, Maria could. It seemed the whole coven had hurried to the source of the explosion. “Gavin, take her out to the pool. Remove any furniture, and stay close to the water. We will call you when we have made a plan.”
It’s okay, Rose, Gavin spoke reassuringly into her mind. There’s nothing out there to break or burn. We’ll be fine. Go be with Asher.
Just be careful. Call if you need anything.
Rose followed Dane, Maria, and Asher to the healing ward with Jagger at her side, both of them doing their best not to step in the trail of blood.
Maria and Dane worked on Asher for several hours. Fortunately, he fell unconscious shortly after they started, leaving them free to work efficiently without fear of hurting him.
Rose sat down on the bed opposite Asher’s, her eyes on his face. He seemed so peaceful, as if he hadn’t just had a large piece of broken beam removed from his back.
The sun was up by the time Maria and Dane finished.
Dane wiped sweat off his forehead. “He should sleep for a few hours. He’ll be weak when he wakes, but he’ll be fine with a few days of rest.”
Rose dearly wanted to crawl into bed with Asher and fall asleep next to him, but she couldn’t. Gavin was still out by the pool with Hope.
“What are we going to do?” She glanced at Jagger, but he was as helpless as she was.
There really was only one option.
“Someone will need to take her away,” she said quietly. Rose switched to mental speech. Jagger, Gavin, do you know of any wide-open spots with a lake, but no other scenery?
Gavin responded at once. There’s one place I used to go to when I was sulking. It’s a river running through a flat plane of rock between two mountains.
Perfect. It hardly felt perfect, but Rose knew that this was to keep everyone safe. You need to take her there, Gavin. We can decide who will be staying there with her long-term later, once Asher wakes up, but for now, we need to get her somewhere safe.
Let Dane take her. I can explain to him where it is. We should all be part of the discussion, in person. It’s a big decision.
Rose didn’t want to bother Dane further when he was already exhausted from healing Asher, but Jagger took it out of her hands.
“Dane, are you up for a flight?”
Annabelle frowned at Jagger, but Dane nodded. “Sure. What have you decided?”
Rose quickly explained what they had decided in their mental conversation. “I’ll come with you. I need to say goodbye to Hope.
“No way. You saw what happened. We can’t risk it.”
“I am not sending my daughter away without saying goodbye, Jagger! I don’t even know when I’ll see her again.”
Jagger looked like he was going to argue, but then sighed and nodded. “Just be quick. Asher will go crazy if he wakes up to find you hurt… or worse.”
Rose swallowed back tears. She knew Hope didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but that didn’t change the fact that she was.
At the pool, Gavin had finally gotten Hope to sleep. There were scorch marks everywhere, and a few cracked tiles, but at least he didn’t seem to be injured.
Rose held out her arms, and Gavin placed Hope into them. Rose pressed her forehead against Hope’s, breathing in her baby scent.
“I can’t believe I’m leaving her again.” She blinked back tears. “She needs her mother.”
“And she’ll have her.” Gavin put an arm around both of them. “We just need to make sure she’s safe.”
“Here. take her.” If Rose didn’t let go now, she didn’t think she ever would.
Gavin took her and turned to Dane. “Do you have a map? I’ll show you where to go.”
Jagger ran inside to grab a map, and soon Gavin was pointing out the spot to Dane.
“Easy enough. I can get you there. You should take some supplies.”
“I’ll follow with supplies,” Jagger said quickly. “Just give me an hour or so to put them together. We shouldn’t wait.”
“Agreed. I’ll see you in a bit.” Gavin and Jagger clasped arms. Rose pulled Gavin into a kiss. “Don’t worry, I’ll see you again soon.” He let her rest her head on his shoulder for a brief moment. “I suspect Asher will want to be the one with Hope. He’s the strongest and best able to protect her in such an isolated location.”
Rose nodded. He was probably right, but that didn’t make her any less miserable. Missing Asher would be just as bad as missing Gavin.
Dane shifted and Gavin climbed onto his back. Jagger handed Hope up when Gavin was fully secure.
Dane leapt into the air and started flying west. Too soon, he was gone.
“I’d better go too. I need to get some supplies together.” Jagger squeezed Rose’s hand before hurrying inside. Rose followed at a slower pace, feeling lost and alone. She wandered back to the healing ward. Asher was sleeping peacefully.
Rose lifted the blankets and crawled into bed next to him.
She was woken several hours later by Asher stirring. He groaned slightly and pushed himself up on his elbow. “Rose?”
“I’m here.”
“What happened?”
It only took a few minutes for Rose to explain everything. Looking into Asher’s eyes, she could tell that Gavin was right. Asher wanted to be the one with Hope.
“You’re still too weak to go. You’ll have to wait until Maria says you can fly.”
“I suppose so. Where’s Dane?”
“Flying Gavin and Hope to the location.”
Asher sighed, lying back. “What a mess.”
Rose couldn’t agree more.
It took three days before Dane and Maria agreed that Asher was strong enough to fly the distance to Gavin and Hope, and take over caring for Hope.
Jagger seemed subdued without Gavin. Even though those two were constantly bickering, they loved each other fiercely, and Rose was glad they would be reunited soon.
It was late afternoon when Dane finally gave the okay for Asher to go.
“I can be ther
e before sundown.” Asher was already grabbing things and shoving them into a pack.
“Wait.” Rose grabbed his arm. He could easily have pulled out of her grip, but he didn’t. “Stay, just tonight.”
Jagger picked up on her thoughts. “Rose is right. You look like you could do with another night’s rest. I’ll sleep in my room, give you and Rose some peace.”
Asher looked like he was about to protest, but then he realized what Rose was thinking.
“Sounds good.”
He grabbed Rose’s hand and pulled her through to the main bedroom. Asher laid her gently on the bed and started kissing her.
Rose squirmed under him, loving the feeling of his body against hers. Though they were both still clothed, she could feel his muscles flexing and his cock slowly rising as they kissed.
She grabbed his ass, pulling him down so that his cock was pressed right above her clit. The two of them ground into each other, panting with need.
Asher tugged at Rose’s pants. She lifted her hips to help, and he took them and her panties down at the same time. She was now naked from the waist down, and Asher took full advantage. He thrust two fingers into her wet pussy, moving them slowly in and out.
Rose gasped and let her eyes slip shut, relishing the sensation. Asher kept going until she was breathless with desire. A look at the bulge in his pants told her that his need was as great as hers.
Rose grabbed his shoulders, pulling his head so that he was level with her. They kissed again, harder and faster this time, as Asher kept pumping his fingers in and out of her pussy.
She was so close to coming she could almost taste it. Just as her thighs started to tense up, Asher pulled his fingers out.
Rose wanted to curse at him, but her mouth was full of his tongue, so she was unable to. She shoved her hand between them to get to her clit, moaning in relief as she started moving her finger in circles over it.
Asher broke away from the kiss. “Easy there. We’re not done yet.”
He urged Rose to spread her legs, which she did, never taking her hand off her clit. She was so close—
Asher took her wrist and pulled it away. “Not today, my love. Today, I make you come. Put your hands on the headboard.”