Gabriella broke free, running forward toward Asher. I hurried after her, finding Asher standing in front of a small cave. It smelled of dark magic, and I wrinkled my nose up.
“It smells.”
“Hazel?” Gabriella spoke into the cave, peering inside.
We all moved forward, stepping slowly into the cave. The cave didn’t go far, but a few yards. We were only a little further in before we spotted a body. Gabriella froze for a second before running forward. “Hazel!”
Hazel lay on the ground, her body looking like it had been tossed aside. Her clothes were ripped, and she had bruises covering her body. Gabriella hoisted Hazel into her arms, her voice breaking. “Hazel! Are you okay? Speak to me!”
But Hazel lay limp. Gabriella started to scream louder, shaking at Hazel with tears breaking free. “Why isn’t she waking up!?”
I could see that Hazel was alive and breathing, but she was fast asleep, almost like she was in a coma.
“We need to bring her to the witches. She could be under a spell.”
Asher reached for Hazel, pulling her into his arms. Gabriella cried as she reached for me. “You have to help her! I can’t lose her. She can’t leave me. I can’t lose her. I need her.”
I held Gabriella close while she sobbed. I half-carried her as we followed Asher. We headed back into town, where the witches were waiting by the training area. Asher laid her down by them, and they quickly jumped into action.
I held Gabriella while she held onto her sister’s hand. Her entire body was shaking as the witches spoke.
A few moments felt like forever.
But suddenly, Hazel’s eyes slowly opened, and Gabriella screamed. She jumped on her sister, pulling her into a tight hug. “Hazel! You’re okay!”
Hazel looked around, confused, her eyes bouncing from one person to the next before landing on Gabriella. “Wha…what’s going on?”
“Are you okay! What happened?” Gabriella leaned back, cupping her sister’s face. “We need to know what happened.”
Hazel leaned back and frowned. “I… I was leaving work. One second, I was walking, and the next, I was in darkness. What is going on?”
Gabriella leaned back and looked at her sister. “Wh… what day is this?”
Hazel looked at her and then at me. “It’s Thursday, January third.”
I looked at Hazel, taking in her messy hair and her clothes. She was wearing an outfit I remembered her wearing regularly, but I hadn’t seen it in a few weeks.
“That was two weeks ago, Hazel,” Gabriella said, shaking her head. “That can’t be. I would have noticed.” Gabriella paused for a moment, looked at me. “She’s been gone for two weeks, and I didn’t notice.”
“What about Lucia, though?”
Gabriella’s face fell. “That all started… two weeks ago. Hazel… no, not Hazel. The hunter started telling me that Lucia was doing things. But I never saw her. I just… she must have set Lucia up to throw me off.” Gabriella shook her head. “God, I owe Lucia an apology. I screamed at her.”
“What happened?” Hazel asked, looking between all of us, confused. “What did I miss?”
Gabriella’s shoulders dropped. “A lot. I can tell you once we get you back home.”
We headed home, and it took a while for Gabriella and Hazel to catch up. I let them have the living room while I relaxed in the bedroom. I was on the phone with Brandon when Gabriella came into the room. She looked tired, bags forming under her eyes, and her body looked ready to drop.
I nodded at something Brandon said, but I wasn’t listening anymore. She walked over, plopping herself down on the bed.
“Sounds good, Brandon. I’ll talk to you later.” I ended the line and shoved my phone into my pocket. Gabriella offered me a smile. “Hazel is heading to bed, and Asher called, saying he found a place for Lucia to stay tonight since she wasn’t sure if she should come back.”
I nodded, knowing that meant she technically could go back to the other spare room. A part of me suddenly wished she wouldn’t. I liked her sharing my bed. I liked having her in my space and waking up to her.
“So, are you planning to sleep in the other room now?”
She frowned. “I don’t want to.”
