After another squeeze, he eases back. “You realize this is how I feel every time you’re pulled into a pocket dimension or targeted by Laurel, right? This is just the first time you’ve been on the worried and waiting side of the danger.”
“Fair. It just really sucks.”
“Agreed.”
I hold on for a little longer and then face the sad expressions of my battered and bleeding friends. "I'm sorry. I’m terrified of losing any of you. What if one of you dies because of me? Because of something I do or drag you into?”
Wylder moves closer, his hand warm on my shoulder. “None of us does anything blindly, Hallowind. If we’re standing beside you when danger hits, it’s because we choose to be there. That’s not on you.”
Rowan opens the tin of cookies on the counter and takes them over to the table. "Is anyone else starving?"
"Always," Orion says, already reaching.
And just like that, our world is reset, and Hallowind House is feeding the troops.
It’s another half-hour before the adrenaline wears off, and everyone retreats to their homes. The sun will be up in an hour, and I’ve had more than enough excitement for one night.
Rowan disappears upstairs to her room, and Asher takes the pups outside to pee before bed.
For the first time, I'm alone with S’Nark.
My poor, pitiful demon familiar hasn't moved since I set him down on the couch, wrapped up in Asher’s hoodie. Up close, the patches of missing skin where Tharuzel's chains scorched him look raw and oozy. I also don’t like the way he's holding one hand at an odd angle.
"Hey, can I get you anything?”
"Don't," he rasps. "Don't go all mushy on me, witch."
"Too late." I reach out slowly, letting him see my hand coming. When he doesn't flinch, I give the wrist of what looks to be his good hand a little squeeze. "I'm sorry you went through that."
"Not your fault."
"Feels like it is."
His yellow eyes blink up at me, unusually serious. "He wanted to hurt you through me. That's on him, not you."
"I’m sorry about what I said earlier. You are worth the risk. I’m glad Asher got you back. I was just scared."
"I know." S’Nark's voice is barely a whisper. "And you were right to be. Stupid human doesn’t have the common sense of self-preservation."
My throat tightens. "I know.”
"He’s a good human, though."
"Yeah. I know that too."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
It’s mid-afternoon by the time I get moving. It takes a bit to shake the rust off, but after a shower and twenty minutes running circles in the backyard with the pups, my head is a little clearer.
What Eliza said after the fight rings in my mind."Half a win is still more than we had before you tried.”
That’s true.
And while I’m disappointed that we didn’t get a full win, I’m choosing to be thankful for releasing the ghosts from their possession at the very least.
Now, we have to figure out a way to break the sigils before either Tharuzel gains enough power to become corporeal or the sigils ensnare ghosts again.
Maybe there’s a way Sebastian and I could block Tharuzel from accessing the dead of Emberwood, somehow making them unavailable to the call of his sigils.
