“And if I’m not?” She looked nervous, and I knew she’d wanted him to pick her for her and not because she was Wren. I’d gone through the same thing with Brayden.
The room suddenly felt very awkward, but Castiel took it all in stride. “Then I guess I’m hooking up with my sister-in-law.”
“Not cool,” Brayden growled, and we all laughed. It was a joke, but it did make me wonder if LeahwasLena, would Brayden ever be able to be okay with her dating his brother? I glanced at Brayden, who was smiling playfully, but he seemed to read my expression and his face became serious.
Leaning in, he kissed my ear lightly. “I choose you, Averly,” he whispered for the tenth time.
I settled against him, hating this insecure version of myself and ready to just be done with it.
“I have to train every day for the next few days with Artemis,” I told them all, and Castiel groaned.
“We can be back by tonight with memories restored, then you can train a few more days,” Brayden said, “but then we are storming the palace and releasing my brothers. I won’t sit for too long at full power.”
“Assuming Wren can even restore your powers,” I told him.
Leah pulled something out of her pocket. It was a round red stone which had flecks of gold in it. “Whichever one of us is Wren used this last time and I think it will work again.”
I knew what it was then. The power amplifier stone that Artemis’ late brother had given Wren. I had a vague memory of it now that I was looking at it, but it wasn’t enough for me to fully comprehend.
“Where did you find it?” I stood and moved closer to inspect it.
“I found it the morning of…” Brayden trailed off. “I didn’t really know what it was, so I hid it in the house and forgot about it until recently.”
“Let’s go right now. Get our memories healed and move on with this whole thing.” I just wanted it done with, I wanted to know who I was once and for all.
“Sounds good to me,” Castiel agreed.
It was like a Band-Aid that you had put over a really hairy spot. It was going to hurt when you ripped it off. There might even be hair loss, but eventually it had to happen.
Hair loss I could deal with, but here’s hoping I didn’t lose Brayden.
EIGHT
Maddy and August offered to stay back so that we didn’t need to take two cars.
I sat up front with Brayden, who was driving, while Morgana sat in the back with Leah and Castiel snuggling and whispering and laughing like lovestruck teenagers.
“This is nauseating. Why did I agree to help you again?” Morgana asked Brayden as he barreled down the interstate.
Thick green trees and rolling grassy hills passed us by as we pushed further north.
He grinned. “Your sense of self preservation.”
She pursed her lips and nodded. It was a beautiful drive through Montana to a small town east of Eureka. The second we exited the main road and onto the private driveway, there was a change in the air.
“Stop the car!” Morgana shouted and Brayden slammed on the brakes. Dust and gravel kicked up and Morgana threw the car door open.
“What the hell, Morgana!?” Brayden screamed.
The witch stepped out of the vehicle and stared at the air in front of the car. It was a pretty tree lined road with a barely visible white farmhouse just ahead.
“What is she doing?” Leah asked.
“She’s a loose cannon. Who knows,” Brayden offered, seemingly exasperated. I had no idea what these two had been through over the past year but it seemed Brayden and Morgana had been seeing a lot of each other.
“Hang on a second. I… see something.” I opened the car door and walked a few paces, staring at the air in front of the witch. There was a… thickness to the air that was hard to explain. It just feltoff.
“It’s a curse,” she said and I jumped a little, forgetting she was beside me.
