My body felt like it needed more than just rest. I felt empty, and full all in the same moment. A part of me had been torn out and given to someone else. If I really focused I could sense the missing gap, and the grief that came with giving away something I never thought I wanted in the first place.
It turned out what I wanted, and what my body needed, were two differing things.
Romy’s eyes lingered over my shoulder to the darkened hallway. “How’s Arwyn?”
It took everything in me not to look back, to show Romy just how much power Arwyn Hopkin had over me. “Fine, I think. He’s outside carving a few protective runes around the pub. Regardless if I… conjured this place, there’s no saying what Tomin will be doing. He could find us before the trial. Bahmet might beat him to it… Better be safe than sorry.”
A flash of rage passed behind Romy’s eyes. “If Tomin thinks that it’s a good idea to come here, he will be sorry the moment he turns up I can promise that.”
I didn’t doubt it. One look in Romy’s eyes and I sensed the very pain she would offer up to Tomin. Regardless if he couldn’t die, that wouldn’t stop him from suffering by hers, and our, hands.
“Do you trust him?”
Romy didn’t need me to explain who I was on about. “Trust is earned, Hector. So far all Arwyn has done is try and help us. I have my issues with him—live and let live but don’t forget.” She dropped her voice to a whisper just in case Arwyn heard us. “However, I think it’s wise we keep an eye on him. A close one.”
I nodded, knowing that it would be my task to keep him close.
“Romy, can I ask you to do something for me?” I couldn’t stop the question from flooding out of me.
My mind had been whirling since the necromancy spell was successful. A single thought repeating over in my mind, one I had to propose.
“Depends what it is.” Romy must’ve sensed my nerves. She glanced at our joined hands, likely feeling how my fingers trembled in her hold.
“When Kai wakes again.” I took a deep breath, readying myself for the next part. “I want… no, I need you both to forfeit the Witch Trials.”
Silence hung between us. Her mouth opened and closed like she was chewing on what I had just said, deciding if it was palatable or something to refuse.
Romy let go of my hand and took a cautious step back. “No, Hector. I can’t do that.”
“Romy, please.”
“I said no!” Anger radiated alongside disappointment. “I’m not prepared to leave you alone to face this. Bahmet is not only your problem to solve, it’s a problem forallwitches. There is no saying what is happening to the world we have left behind either. There is no place safe for us… but together, me and you, we can face anything.”
“All the more reason for you to go.”
“Don’t make me refuse you again.” Heat lashed the air between us, a kiss of fire boiling the air. “We are a coven. We proceed forwards together or not at all.”
“What about Kai?” I said, almost relieved that Romy was refusing me.
I wouldn’t admit it aloud, but having her here was a comfort. But my desire to get Kai away from Bahmet was stronger. Now that he was carrying that darkness of Bahmet inside of him, his life was the one we had to protect. If he died, it would return to Bahmet and place the demon at full strength.
“Kai is old enough to make the decision for himself when his mind isn’t suffering the consequences of being dragged back to the realm of the living. Until then, he stays where I can see him and keep him safe.”
I admired Romy’s focus and determination. It sparked something inside of me, a warmth that gave me hope. A light in the darkness.
“What I would give to sit around with a glass of wine and gossip about how you love a man I never knew existed a week ago,” I said, opting to change the topic to lighter notes. “Not to mention you told me that men weren’t your type.”
“Love is complicated,” Romy replied. “As you know. I have my reasons for my past comments… and no I don’t want to explain them right now.”
My mind clung to Arwyn, filling the dark with an image of him. “So, you admit you love Kai?”
“Love. Loved.” Romy contemplated her reply. If she, like me, had her mind full of Kai thanks to the direction of the conversation, that explained the soft smile that crept at the corners of her lips. “Let me have that conversation with him when he’s compos mentis, and then I will give you all theteawhen we next get the chance. The same goes for you too by the way.”
“If that’s a dig about Arwyn, you have nothing to worry about.”
“I think I do. I also think it would be wise for you to have a one-to-one conversation with Arwyn. And from where I’m standing there is no better time than now.” Romy’s hand reached back for the brass doorknob, and turned it. “We will speak in the morning, unless Bahmet rings the bell for us.”
Despite fighting, surviving,andraising the dead with him, there was so much ground left untouched between us. The thought of reconnecting on any level sent my body into overdrive. I wanted to, oh Goddess, I wanted nothing more than to share hours with Arwyn and understand everything about the man I never truly knew the first time. But I felt almost selfish for taking the time to do so, knowing that Kai’s life, although given a second chance, was under threat the moment Bahmet caught wind that I no longer had the power he longed for.
