I immediately order myself a new phone and send money to Javelynn and Skye for all their financial help since the day I found out my grandmother shut my card off.
The lawyer informs me that the extended family has already started making arrangements for the funerals, leaving me off the hook. She gives me the details, but I don’t bother to jot down the dates.
Those are two funerals I won’t be attending. I’ve already said my goodbyes.
When I make it back to the house, I crack open the grimoire, studying its pages. I take pictures of the plants I’ll need so I can find them out in the woods to make my tea. I’ll be damned if I only rely on a man on recharging my power. The grimoire specifies that you can use dead plants, which means I might be able to find some since fall is in full swing.
I bundle myself up, wrapping a gray and black striped scarf around my neck with my black pea coat. I tie my hair back in a ponytail, making sure to cover my ears with a fleece coated headband.
I grab a flashlight just in case I’m out after the sun sets. With winter almost here, most of the trees have shed their leaves already, making it difficult to pick out where I might be able to find the required plants, but I’m determined to learn.
About an hour in, I’m about to give up. I’ve only found two out of the seven items required to make my tea, and I’m not overly confident that the ones I’ve found are the right ones. I sit on a chopped log, the cool bark worming past my leggings. I frown down at my phone, noting that I’m almost out of battery. I should get back to the house.
As I’m about to push off the log, I hear a snap of a twig behind me. The sun is quickly setting and darkness presses down on the path.
Another snap comes and I wonder briefly if it’s the demon dogs. We never did figure out if they were getting out or even if there were more than the two we had encountered down there.
My heart rate ticks up, and I ready my magic, working to not take so much at one time. I stand preparing myself when Emmet comes into view. I let out a sigh of frustration.
“What do you want, St. James?” I ask, pushing past him on the path. I don’t feel like being out here alone with him.
“Just out for a stroll. Is that a crime?” He asks, turning around to walk with me.
“Depends on what you do on the stroll.” I retort, in no mood to deal with him.
I feel his hand wrap around my arm, spinning me to face him. His nose is so close it almost touches mine. Our breath mingles for a second, his vibrant green eyes bore into me, before I remember to yank my arm away from him.
“Did you have a nice vacation?” He asks. “Oh right, you lost your family. Shame.”
I turn, putting distance between us, setting a fast pace.
“What’s your deal? You’re evil to the core, we get it.” I call out over my shoulder, aware that he follows close behind.
“Is that what you think of me? That I’m just evil?” He asks, catching up.
“I try not to think anything about you actually.”
“That must be hard for you. We had such a good time together. That chemistry. You can’t fake that.”
I feel a well of anger rise at him referencing our time together. “Well, that was before I knew what you were capable of.”
“We’re all capable of heinous things. Wouldn’t you say?”
I pause, his words settling on my heart. He’s not wrong.
He steps closer to me, backing me up against a tree. We’re completely alone, the forest getting darker by the second. If I needed to scream, I don’t know if anyone would hear me.
“We were so good together.” He murmurs, grabbing my pony in his hands, looking down at me. My body arches involuntarily into his.
“Were, is the key word.” I say, my voice sounding breathless. He pushes his hips against mine, my back bites into the tree bark, while I feel myself growing wet at the feel of him. As much as I want to forget, my body still remembers how good he felt inside me.
“What are you doing out here, little witch?” He asks.
“Don’t call me that.” I snap, making to slap him across the face. He grabs my hand, placing it above my head. My skin presses into the tree painfully.
“Don’t tell me what to do.” He retorts, slamming his lips down onto mine. My body responds, wrapping my legs around him as I melt into his touch.
He rocks his hips against me, letting me feel how hard he is for me.
