Tuck threw his arm out. “Don’t move.”
He pumped his wings, keeping Zinnia where she stood even though Astrid struggled against them. He met my eyes. “Hold her down.”
“Shit.” I fought my way back to her head and gazed down into her face.
Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. Drops of blood gathered on her skin like beads of sweat. “Please, Beck. Please don’t do this.”
I didn’t want to hurt her, didn’t want for her to feel this pain. But I had no choice. It was either let her hate me today or lose her forever. “I’m sorry.”
I held my hands up at my sides and called my magic to my palms. Blue smoke billowed from me and flowed over the table. I laced it around Astrid’s wrists and ankles, holding her down. A look of sheer betrayal crossed her face and I wanted to stop, to throw myself over her and take this pain from her. But there was nothing to do. The only one who could help her was Zinnia and even now our queen fought to hold Astrid together. Serrina threw her arms up higher and red ribbons struck Astrid just as Zinnia’s power covered her from head to toe.
The three of us used all that we had on her. The magic in the room glowed lighter, the thick fog of golden power thinned, and the wind grew still. Astrid sucked in a deep breath and let her eyes slide shut. It was at that exact second, I felt her stop fighting my hold, stop fighting Zinnia from helping her, and letting Serrina influence her. But I didn’t know if she would wake at any moment and attack. She didn’t know them, didn’t know they were here to help. And if I knew Astrid, which I did, she would wake up swinging.
I didn’t let my magic down. “Is she okay?”
Zinnia slowly let her magic dissipate as she bent down lower, hovering just above her face. “She’s very powerful and it took all of us to break down her natural defenses. But I think she’ll be okay.”
The tension left Astrid’s body and she lay there, sucking in deep, panting breaths. Her eyes fluttered open for only a second then they drifted shut. It was the first time I’d felt relief since she started to ascend. Her swirling magic slowed to a light fog that drifted up out of the hole in the ceiling. Everyone dropped their hold on her and sagged against the crumbling walls or just sat on the floor. I moved to her side and leaned in. She lay there completely dazed, her eyes vacant, staring at the ceiling.
“Shh, you’re okay. Everything is all right.” I brushed one of her tears from her temple. She sucked in a breath and let her eyes fall shut as if she’d fallen asleep.
The others gathered together and began talking about what they were going to do now, how they were going to fix the house. I let my forehead drop onto the cold marble countertop beside her. And that’s when I felt it, the warmth surrounding my wrist.
No, it can’t be.
A faint glow came from the cuff of my shirt. I quickly glanced to her wrist and the same faint glowing was there. Before anyone noticed, the glowing stopped and I wanted to slump into the floor even more. How . . . how could this happen now? That’s not how any of this worked.
Shit.
She was my . . . soul mate.
Chapter 6
Beckett
Zinnia began to walk toward me and I nearly dove for Astrid’s wrist. I wrapped my hand around it and quickly mumbled a spell under my breath to camouflage the mark I knew meant something huge! Something I wasn’t ready to face or handle right now. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I can’t believe this. She is mine . . . my soul mate. I sucked in a deep breath and straightened my stance to face her. My fingers never left Astrid’s wrist and I wasn’t about to take them away now. Her eyes still hadn’t opened, and her breathing was erratic at best.
“Why isn’t she getting better?”
Zinnia placed her hand on Astrid’s other arm and took her pulse. “She practically hemorrhaged magic. Her pulse is weak. She needs a healer, Beckett.”
I moved in closer and put my arms under Astrid and lifted her up. “Tell me where to go.”
Zinnia changed her grip on Astrid’s wrist then threw her other arm out. Streams of silver and gold magic left her and the wall to the kitchen opened up into another room that hadn’t been there before. A sliding glass door stood between the kitchen and the new room. A hospital bed appeared, along with all kinds of monitors, tools, and shelves full of medical supplies. On the opposite side of the wall were potions, vials, and books of spells. Though I expected the walls to be sterile like a hospital, they weren’t. They were the same dark wood that matched the rest of the house and floors. It happened in mere seconds.
My house just got its own hospital.
I rushed forward with Astrid lying limp in my arms. As I laid her out on the bed, her deep red hair splayed across the white cotton sheets. Panic like I’d never known rose up in me. She had to be okay. She had to survive this. I can’t . . . I can’t be without her. I smoothed my fingers over those silk strands. I knew the others were watching me, but I didn’t care.
Zinnia moved to the other side of the bed. “Beckett, we need help to get her better.”
I swallowed around the ball forming in my throat. She was pale. Her lips held an alarming blue pallor and her eyes were yet to open. I glanced up and met Zinnia’s sharp gaze and whispered, “I-I can’t leave her.”
Zinnia lowered her voice. “You don’t have to.”
I gathered my magic in my hand, forming an orb. I tossed it to the side, letting it open right across from Astrid’s bed. Without a word, Zinnia squared her shoulders and marched into the portal. For a moment, I took in the silence and Astrid’s ragged breaths. Against the white sheets she looked so fragile, so breakable, so human. I’d known her as this fierce creature who fought me at every turn. I can’t believe I wanted that to stop.
Now I didn’t want to imagine my life without her fiery, sassy mouth. “Astrid? Astrid, can you hear me?”
She didn’t move, didn’t respond in any way. I leaned closer to her and ran the backs of my fingers over her soft cheek. “You’re going to be okay. I know it.”
Before I could utter another sentence, the portal shimmered, and I felt them moving through it toward me. When I glanced up and saw that familiar fire engine red hair, I sighed in relief. I stood straight and approached her. “Niche!”
I threw my arms around her shoulders and pulled her in for a quick hug. Her presence here was more comforting than I could ever say. “I’m just so happy you’re here.”
With one finger, she pushed her glasses back up her nose. She pressed her hand to my arm and winked at me. Then she moved past me toward Astrid’s bed. She titled her head, studying her, then closed her eyes and held her hand over Astrid for barely a moment. She took a small step back.
“Can you . . .” My breath hitched in my throat. “Can you help her?”
“Of course.” Niche gave me a warm smile and for the first time in hours I felt comforted.
Just then Professor Davis walked through my portal. She swatted at her twisted brown robes and fought to keep her cap perched on her head. Her salt and pepper hair stuck out in fuzzy puffs. Her round face was red with exertion and when she looked up at me, She narrowed her eyes. “Dare I say this, but boy your portals downright suck.”
Zinnia gave a light chuckle as she came out next. “Yup.”
I sighed. “My apologies.”
She shoved past me and stood on the other side of the bed across from Niche. She glanced down at Astrid then turned to the cabinet and pulled crystals out. She stacked them in her arms then placed them on the floor around Astrid’s bed. Each one was the size of a small baseball yet all different colors.
She glanced at Zinnia. “This one is powerful, my queen. She’ll serve you well in what’s to come.”
Now that had me chuckling. “Astrid will never serve anyone.” At their wide-eyed looks I clarified. “It’s not in her nature to follow orders. I would know.”
Zinnia grimaced. “I don’t need her service, I need her friendship. How can I win her over, Beckett?”
As Professor
Davis placed the last stone on the ground, a pastel pink dome covered Astrid from head to toe. Her breaths went from ragged too deep in a matter of moments.
I sighed. “I’ll tell you that once I figure it out.”
Niche grabbed up a mortar and pestle on the bedside table and began to dump herbs into it and ground them together. “Zin, I’m going to need a cauldron with boiling water.”
“I’m on it.” She turned and walked out of the sliding glass door.
My feet were cemented to the floor. I was helpless to do anything but stare at Astrid and plead in my mind for her to wake. I crossed my arms over my chest. The only sounds in the room were Astrid’s easy breaths and the grinding of the herbs. Professor Davis stood to the side, mumbling spells over Astrid, each one adding a new layer of color to the dome. The dome itself looked like a glass shell, but it shimmered and rippled like water. The more Professor Davis stood there chanting, the better Astrid’s color got.
“Beckett!” Niche snapped.
I jolted. “Huh, what? Did you say something?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve been saying your name for at least five minutes now.”
Shit. “Sorry.”
“It will only get more difficult from here.” She grabbed a vial of bright purple crushed something and added it to her concoction.
My heart jumped into my throat. “What do you mean? Is she . . . is she not going to recover?” I could barely swallow. Sweat gathered in my palms, and I wanted to grab her up and hug her to my chest.
“Oh, she’s going to be fine. You need to go get some rest. Or at least wash up. You look like you got hit by a garbage truck.” She looked me up and down then turned back to mixing her potion.
Had I just been dismissed? When I looked down at myself, I knew she was right. My sweater was torn in multiple places, my jeans fared no better, my hair stood on end, and I was pretty sure there was dirt smudged across my face. I wanted to stay by Astrid’s side. I didn’t want to leave her for a minute while she lay like this. But I knew deep down Niche and Professor Davis would do all they had to, to help her. They didn’t even appear worried. Each of them worked methodically. There was no panic to their movements or their tones.
“Beckett, go on.” Niche urged me toward the door.
I sucked in a sharp breath then blew it back out. She would be okay. I saw it in the rosy pink of her cheeks and how relaxed her body was. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”
In the kitchen Tuck, Cross, Logan, and Maze had each pulled up stools and were waiting just outside her door. “Where are the others?”
Tuck rolled his shoulders. “Zin went to get a cauldron. From where, I don’t know. And the others are in the parlor relaxing.”
Tuck sighed and sucked in a deep breath. When he turned to look at me, I did the only thing I could think of. I threw my arms around his shoulders and gave him a quick hug and patted him on the back.
“Thank you. I really mean it.”
For a second, he froze at the unexpected contact, then patted me on the back. “Yeah, no problem.”
I pulled back and shuffled from one foot to the other. It’d been years since I hugged someone. Now twice in one day. What was happening to me? It caught me off guard just as much as it did him. I cleared my throat. “Um, listen, can I talk to you for a sec?”
He shoved his hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face. “Yeah, absolutely.”
“Great.” I took a step toward the hallway, then spun around and pointed to Cross. “You too.”
Without a word, he rose to his feet and followed us down the hall. The front door stood wide-open, letting fall leaves drift in. To my right Tabi, Serrina, and Nova sat lazily on the couch. Each of them looked like they needed a nap. My toe hit the bottom stair and I stumbled forward, barely catching myself. I grabbed on to the railing and righted myself.
Behind me Tuck chuckled. “Missed that step there?”
“Wiseass,” I muttered.
At the top of the stairs I turned to my right and led them down the hall toward what used to be my father’s office and was now mine. I shoved the door open and waved them through, making sure no one followed us. After a pause and pushing Astrid’s cat out the door, I closed it and clicked the lock into place. “Both of you have to swear not to repeat what I’m about to say to you.”
They nodded in unison and I sucked in a deep breath. “Okay, here goes.”
I pulled my sleeve up, exposing the mark around my wrist.
Cross gave a low, long whistle and shook his head. “Oh, man, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? Psh.” Tuck reached out and grabbed my wrist and yanked me closer, examining the mark. When he turned my palm up, there were two circles, one big and one smaller overlapping each other. Two solid black bands ran from the circles in parallel lines all the way around my wrist. “Astrid?”
I nodded. “Yeah, the second she fully ascended.”
Tuck shrugged. “I wonder why so late. I mean, I got mine the second I saw Zin.”
“I honestly have no idea why now. Though I always felt connected to her. Maybe because her magic was blocked? I don’t know.”
Cross dropped down into the chair across from my desk. “What are you gonna do?”
“What do you mean what he’s gonna do? He’s going to tell her, aren’t you?” Tuck released my hand and sat in the other chair next to Cross.
I ran my hand over the back of my neck. “Yeah, I don’t know. It might be too soon for this.”
“Dude, take my advice on this one. Keeping it a secret is a bad idea.” Tucker and Zinnia didn’t have the easiest of starts, but seeing how they were now gave me a little hope.
Cross shook his head. “You say that now, but you do not know how much she hates him. Don’t tell her. Try to win her over first, so it won’t be such a bad thing.”
I leaned back against the desk. “You think she’ll take it that poorly?”
“Oh, hell yeah. Have you seen her? She’s a total badass. Just put her finger on that needle after you told her not to. Not to mention she almost leveled the house.” Cross chuckled. “This is gonna be hilarious.”
Tuck punched him in the shoulder.
“Ouch, what? What’d I say?” Cross rubbed at the spot.
“You’re an idiot.” Tuck rolled his eyes and turned back toward me. “Who are you gonna trust, the guy who has the girl or the guy who’s still chasing his?”
“I’m not chasing her, we have an . . . understanding.” Cross slouched farther down in the chair, making the leather creak under him.
Tuck scoffed. “Sure you do. Ophelia is about as understanding as a butcher knife.”
“Hey! You might not get her, but I do, and that’s all that matters.” Cross motioned to me. “Now our boy here is out of his depth with Astrid. That girl has nothing but venom in her veins for him. I don’t know what the hell fate was thinking pairing you two together, but you must’ve done something wrong.”
“Don’t be a jackass,” I snapped. There was so much to Astrid that he didn’t understand, that he didn’t see. She was brave, strong, brilliant, and beyond beautiful. She was everything. “You have no idea what she’s like.”
Cross rolled his eyes. “And you do?”
I folded my arms over my chest. “Um, yeah, I think so.”
“You know what your problem is?” Cross chuckled. “You’re so used to girls liking you from the get-go that you have no idea what to do when they don’t.”
Tuck sighed. “Like you know what to do? Who says O even likes you? As far as I can tell that girl has got you wrapped around her little fingers and you aren’t even together.”
Cross’ lips thinned. “All I’m saying is maybe wait a little while until you can win her over. Turn on that Beckett charm, make friends with her, then you lower the ‘oh, by the way, I’m your one true fated mate’ bomb.”
“Jeez, dude, make me sound like a punishment, why don’t you?” Things weren’t that bad between Astrid and me . . .were the
y?
“You couldn’t be more wrong.” Tuck threw his hands up. “Lying will only dig you into a deeper hole. Trust me. Zin was livid when she found out I didn’t tell her the truth.”
I was torn. Both of them had a point. “But Zinnia actually liked you. I’m not so sure about Astrid. She pretty much does the opposite of whatever I ask her to do, even if it doesn’t make sense, even if she knows it’s not safe.”
Tuck rose to his feet and clapped me on the shoulder. “I know, isn’t it great? This is what we get when dealing with the most powerful women in Evermore.”
He had a point. “It’s damn exciting, that’s for sure.”
Cross moved to stand beside me. “Speak for yourselves. Your two girls are kittens compared to O.”
“Only because O is feral,” Tuck teased.
Cross nodded seriously. “You have no idea.”
“As much as I want to disagree, I can’t. But I still have no idea what I’m going to do.” I wanted to run downstairs and tell Astrid what we were to each other. What we could be. But as of two hours ago she was pissed at me and with good reason. Just because I wanted her didn’t mean she’d want me in return.
Tuck stood on my left. “Just tell her the truth.”
Cross was on my right. “No way, at least not yet.”
With an angel on one shoulder and a devil on another, I had no idea what I was going to do. I couldn’t help but wonder how Astrid would react or feel knowing we belonged to each other. The last conversation we had didn’t go well. I’d told a room full of people we were just friends and her response was pricking her finger on that damn box and making all hell break loose. Worst of all, her words echoed in my ears . . . Right, because friends know the way you taste . . .
I’m so screwed. What am I going to tell her?
Chapter 7
Beckett
All they did was confuse me more and more. One minute, it was a good idea to tell her and in the next, it was the world’s worst idea. Astrid was unpredictable and feisty. I both liked and hated that about her. If only I knew how she would feel about this, about me, I’d tell her right away. As it was now . . . I might have to wait.
Wicked Wish (The Royals: Warlock Court Book 2) Page 2
