“There’s this painting of a dragon on my mother’s art studio door. The eye was closed when I moved in. After I mated Damien, it opened. I think being with him awakened something in me, something dormant.”
She adjusts her glasses on her face. “So your house is haunted by your ancestors, and something about you, and perhaps your relationship with Damien, allowed them to cross over. I can think of worse things.”
I smile. “Honestly, it’s been comforting. Nothing scary has happened. Every encounter I’ve had with the spirit world has been benevolent. I like to see them.”
Maeve squeezes my hand. “This is good, El. It feels natural to you because it is. You were born for this. This magic is yours.”
A warm feeling blossoms deep in my chest.
She grabs her purse and slings it over her shoulder. “I wish I could stay, but?—”
“No, I get it. You’ve been so helpful.”
“Tomorrow at my place to try your magic outside of Harcourt?”
“It will have to wait until Sunday,” I say. “I need your help with the Hitch and Cast spell again tomorrow.”
Maeve frowns. “I thought we agreed to take a break and see if Damien could free himself.”
I frown. “You said a week. It’s been a week. He’s not here. I need to go back in and make sure he’s okay.”
“You’re his mate. You would know if he wasn’t.”
I press my hand to my gut. “I do feel the bond stretched thin like before. I guess that means he’s alive, but I’ve had this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach that something is wrong. How could it not be if he still hasn’t managed to escape?”
The sigh she gives is way overdramatic. “Fine. But for the record, I don’t like it. You need to be really careful right now. You’re in a vulnerable position with your magic.”
“Damien would never hurt me.”
“He just almost killed you last time,” she mumbles, glancing at her watch.
I bite my tongue to keep from saying something snarky. Technically it’s true, but it was an accident. “It won’t happen again,” I promise.
“Right.” She chews her lip. “Tomorrow is Saturday. Let’s do it in the afternoon again. That’s when he’s most likely to be asleep. On that note, considering I need to be back here in twelve hours, I’d better get out of here.”
“Thanks. You’re the best.”
“I am!” she says through a smile. “You’re lucky to have me.”
We both laugh and hug goodbye.
After she leaves, I bring a bowl of pizza crusts, fruit, and leftover beef from the fridge out to feed Phantom. Tonight he’s waiting for me. I sit on the back stoop and watch as he comes straight to the bowl beside me and starts eating. He looks like he’s put on some weight, but I notice now, with him so close and within the circle of light from the house, that he’s an old fox. His face is peppered with white, his eyes are rheumy, and there’s a concerning lump on his ribs.
I frown. Phantom is a wild creature, not a pet. I don’t try to touch him or anything. I understand that nature will take its course. But before I go in for the night, I make sure his water dish is full, and I leave a warm blanket next to it.
12
Cracked Earth
ELOISE
The next afternoon when the doorbell rings, I rush to let Maeve in so we can get started on the spell to journey into Damien’s dreams. The feeling in the pit of my stomach that something is seriously wrong is exceptionally bad today. I know Damien is strong and powerful, but everyone needs help sometimes. Everyone else might be willing to wait and see, but he’s my mate. If all I can do is offer him my energy, that’s what I’m going to do.
But when I throw open the door, it’s not Maeve there but a man who looks disturbingly familiar. His chocolate-colored waves curl against the collar of his dress shirt, just a little too long, and his aquiline nose is a replica of Tony’s. Fear spikes through my system. I try to slam the door but he charges through, drawing a gun from the back of his waistband once he’s inside and kicking the door closed.
“Relax. I just wanna talk,” he says.
He’s not pointing the gun at me but toward the corner of the room, his opposite hand clasping the wrist of the hand holding the gun. It’s the stance one might take in church or at a solemn event. Relaxed and polite. That’s what the body language conveys.
