“They are both in England, but she’ll come home for this.”
Cosimo nodded. “Good. We will need her help with some of her patches. Perhaps they will work at killing the creature’s connection to the victims. Bas can’t exorcise this creature from all these infected people one at a time.”
“No, he can’t because I’m not letting him do that again,” Bridget said, crossing her arms. “I might not know anything about magic, but he’s not putting himself through that every time.”
Apollo grinned. “That sounds very possessive of you.”
“It’s protective, not possessive,” she snapped back. “And I don’t care what you think. You guys are pretending this is just an average day for you, but I was there, and I saw it. This thing is ancient and powerful, and Bas isn’t going to fight it alone.”
Cosimo laid a hand on her shoulder. “No one is going to let Bas do this alone. Fighting monsters is what this family does best, and we do it as a team. We will let Bas sleep, get his side of what happened when he wakes up, and then make a plan. In the meantime, you should get some rest too.”
“Thanks, but no. I’m going back to the library so I can figure out what this creature is,” Bridget said, her hands clenching in anger. “And then I’m going to find a way to kick its fucking ass.”
“You really do belong in this family,” Lachlan commented with a grin.
“Yeah, she’s perfect for him,” Apollo laughed softly. Then he seemed to realize who he was talking to, and his ears went red. “You should go. Thanks for...you know. Helping.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll update Charlotte and Reeve and get them back home. Call me when he wakes up?” Lachlan asked, his blue eyes staring at Apollo like he was a chocolate cake he really wanted to eat.
“Okay,” Apollo replied and looked away, his ears still bright pink.
Cosimo led Lachlan out, and Bridget took a moment to elbow Apollo softly. “So what’s all that about? You two used to date or something?”
Apollo groaned. “Unfortunately, no. It’s...complicated.”
Bridget looked back at Bas’s bedroom door. “I’m starting to feel like ‘complicated’ explains this whole family. I’m not usually emotional, but it’s been a long time since I was that scared over someone’s safety.”
“I understand.” Apollo put his arm around her shoulders. “Bas in a trance is weird enough on a normal day, but seizing is a new level of terror, especially if you aren’t used to seeing him that way. Come on, let’s go to the library and see if we can figure out what the fuck hurt our Basset Bear.”
“And how to kill it,” Bridget added with a soft snarl. She was really looking forward to that part.
19
Hours later, Bridget paced up and down her rooms. She had piles of books from the library she had been going through but still hadn’t found something that fit the creature that they were dealing with. There were a few possibilities that she had put in a maybe pile.
Until Bas woke up and gave her more information to go on, she was at a dead end. That left her alone with her thoughts, and that wasn’t a good place to be.
She was worried about Bas and kept replaying what had happened that day over and over in her mind. There was no way she could have helped him more than she had, but she hated he had gone to face the creature alone.
Everyone kept saying she had magic, but she didn’t see the point of it if she couldn’t help out when she was needed.
They kept on saying she was a part of the family too, and that made less sense than the part about her having magic. She didn’t know if it was something they said to everyone, if it was a joke, or if they actually meant it.
She didn’t have anything to offer them. Magic she couldn’t use and a whole lot of childhood trauma didn’t make her anygood to a family like the Greatdrakes. She hadn’t earned her place, and she always had to earn her place no matter what she did. Didn’t she?
She blew out a frustrated breath. She wanted everything that they offered, and she wanted Bas. Her reaction to him being hurt that day had driven that home to her in an uncomfortable way. She never got attached to people so quickly.
It would hurt twice as bad when Bas realized she wasn’t worth it. It scared her in a way she hadn’t been for a very long time.
There was a tingle behind her eyes, and a sleepy voice touched her mind.You okay? I can hear you stressing from here.
Bas! You’re awake. Thank fuck, you’re going to live.
I’m not hurt, just have a craving for chocolate torte.
Bridget swallowed hard. She did need to have that conversation with him sooner rather than later. She owed it to him before they let whatever was happening between them grow any more.
I could do with some chocolate torte. I’m still going to need that rum though.
