“Dangerous?” I open my mouth to argue, but he talks right over me.
“Three days ago, you almost leveled a warehouse by summoning an army of vengeful spirits. What happens next time when you’re in the middle of downtown?”
“I don’t know. Are your people torturing me in this scenario?”
He frowns. “Get over it. Your indignation doesn’t change the fact of where we are.”
I want to argue, but the sheer proximity of him has the energy of my powers zinging around inside me and making me crazy. I can’t focus. He’s right and I hate him for it. “How long would I have to be gone?”
“However long it takes.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Wylder shrugs. “Because there isn’t one. Some students graduate in weeks. Others take months or years.”
“Years?” Asher explodes. “No way. Absolutely not.”
“It’s not up to you, blondie. This is witch business, and you’re not one of us.”
“Well, thank the goddess for small favors. I would never want to be one of you, asshole, but Poppy is my family, and her well-being ismybusiness!”
“Andourresponsibility.”
The room erupts into another shouting match, but I tune it out, my mind racing. There has to be another way. There has to be.
Only, the longer I think about it, the fewer options I see.
My heart aches. Why can’t I ever decide my own fate?
The box elaborately wrapped in Mandalorian paper whimpers, and I glance to the foyer table. “Hush now, or you’ll ruin the surprise. He’ll unwrap you soon enough.”
Well, maybe not soon enough for them.
I close my eyes and send them reassuring vibes.You’re good, little ones. Not long now.
The soft shuffling stops, and they calm down.
At least I think they’re calmed down.
Yikes, maybe I should’ve made more air holes. No, they’re fine. I’m sure they’re fine.
I check his location using his Garmin fitness tracker and scan the front of the house through the open door. The more upset Asher is, the longer he runs.
This was a very long run.
My breath locks in my lungs at the thought of leaving him. In my head, I hear words like co-dependency and unhealthy attachment, but in my heart, I know we’re more than that.
Asher and I were two lost and broken souls who mended and became more than the sum of our parts. We are strong individuals after everything we’ve been through, but together we can take on the world.
Which is why it’s so unfair that he’s getting left behind.
“Hey, baby girl.” Asher’s breathy call draws my attention to him climbing the front steps onto the porch. “I’m glad you’re still here. I was half-afraid I took too long, and dickface stole you away before I got back.”
“I would never let that happen.” I hold out my hands, and when he takes them, I tug him into the foyer. “Dickface isn’t coming until I text him. I would’ve stood at that doorway all night if I had to.”
With my back against the foyer table, I drink in the sight of him in all his post-run, sweaty glory. “I’m going to miss you hard, Ash. It makes me physically nauseous.”
Asher lifts his shoulder and wipes the sweat on his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. “I’m right there with you. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the days worrying about you. Are you sure you can’t shrink me down and hide me in your suitcase?”
