by Hazel Hunter
Hailey stumbled away from the monster. Her palms burned. She glanced down. They were black with the demon’s blood. She felt light-headed, but she still managed to get to Julie’s side. To her relief, both of the missing Wiccans were still breathing. They seemed miraculously unharmed. She turned with a smile to Piers.
He wasn’t smiling, his eyes wide and focused on her.
“Hailey, Hailey are you all right?”
She started to reply that of course she was. She was fine. She was exhausted, but they had won. They had defeated a demon. They had saved Julie and Miles. Nothing else mattered.
She thought she was going to say that.
Instead, brilliant colors danced in her vision. She became aware of a burning heat that started in her hands and swept through the rest of her body. Hailey cried out and fell hard to the ground.
Piers was by her side instantly, calling her name. But when she looked up at him, he looked like he was at the top of a well. The light behind him was bright and blinding. As she fell, it began to dim. Before the darkness claimed her, she wondered if she would ever see the light again.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
PIERS KNEW THAT the coven needed him. He knew that people were terrified about the approach of a demon so close to the Castle. Further research had shown that the man the demon possessed was a Templar. Fear ran high. People were restless and uneasy. They had banded together in the two weeks since the attacks, but there was still very much a sense of unease throughout.
But Piers couldn’t bring himself to care.
The only time he had ever felt this defeated was when he and his friends had arrived at Costain. This time there was just one casualty, but it was Hailey.
The door to the infirmary opened. Julie came in with a tray of soup and sandwiches for him.
“I know you’re not feeling too fond of the stuff right now, but you need to eat. No questions. Mathias says that he’s going to kick you out if you don’t.”
Mechanically, Piers bit into the food, tasting none of it.
In her narrow bed, Hailey breathed softly and far too lightly. Sometimes, panicked, he was convinced she had stopped breathing entirely. They had cleaned the demon’s blood off of her as soon as they had gotten her back to the coven. Mathias, the head healer, had taken him aside.
“Demon’s blood is corrosive and deadly. It might take her years to heal from it. She might never heal at all.”
Piers had thanked the man for his frankness. But there was no way that Hailey was going to be a thin ghost in a bed. There was no way she would leave him.
The healers managed to sustain her, but little more. Sometimes he paced in the hall, but more often than not, he sat by her bed, holding her small hand.
Julie hesitated before leaving.
“She’s a brilliant girl. If anyone’s going to pull through this, it’s her.”
“I know.”
Piers tried to offer her a smile. The coven members who knew Hailey came in and out to wish her well. He was happy to see them, happy to see that there were so many who were concerned for her.
Julie squeezed his shoulder on her way out the door.
“They’re doing everything they can for her. There’s nothing more you can do.”
Julie couldn’t see it, but her words made Piers flinch.
He had been hiding from the truth for two weeks now, but he couldn’t keep it up. He had put it off, but the truth stared at him like that demon. He knew what he needed to do, even if the heart he thought he had buried at Costain cried out against it.
He swallowed hard, pulling out the phone in his pocket.
Stephan had returned to the Magus Corps a week ago, carrying a full report about the demon and the unexpected Templar activity in the area. He answered on the second ring.
“Hey Piers, how’s the girl?”
“Unchanged. Look, I need you to do me a favor.” There was a long silence on the other end of the line. “For Hailey.”
Stephan grunted a little. “All right, let’s hear it.”
“Who was the Magus Corps officer who escorted Hailey from Italy?”
“That was Major Kieran McCallen. Why?”
“We need him here––as soon as possible.”
“It’s not exactly a great time to pull officers from the field.” Stephan said, but then paused. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Piers hung up, dropping the phone on the night stand. As he had so many times, he gently stroked the side of Hailey’s soft but pallid cheek. If she wouldn’t wake up for him, maybe she would for this Kieran.
• • • • •
Hailey’s story continues in HEALED: Castle Coven Book Three, available now.
For a sneak peak, turn the page.
Excerpt:
HEALED
Castle Coven Book Three
Hailey let out a long breath that she hadn’t been aware that she was holding. Despite the fact that she lay in the crook of Liona’s arm, a leg protectively thrown over the older woman’s, she had been afraid for her. Even in her short life, she knew that there were wounds that you could carry forward without showing. She thought of the scars at her side from the Templar’s hot poker.
“How strong you must be,” she whispered, clinging to Liona, resting her head on her shoulder. As the twilight chill had seeped into the room, they had gotten under the blanket.
“I didn’t feel strong at the time,” Liona said.
Her voice was light. More than a thousand years stood between this woman now and the girl who had been tortured by monsters wearing human faces.
Hailey sighed a little, drawing the blanket up over them a little more snugly.
“I don’t know if I could have been as brave if it were me.”
Liona’s laugh was soft as she encircled her in her arms.
“We are more alike than you think. We are survivors, you and I.” She paused, as though considering. “Wiccans yes, but also women. We share the same spirit, and perhaps even the same desires.”
There was something about the way that Liona said the last word that brought warmth to Hailey’s cheeks.
“I understood what you meant, I think,” she murmured. “When you loved two men, I can see why you would love both. I am grateful that you never had to choose.”
“One thing that I have learned over the course of my long life is that anyone who would force me to choose may be a fine friend, but they will never be my lover. I have had many friends and lovers over the course of my life. Both are a pleasure. Some cross the line back and forth.”
“Cross the line…?”
“Mmm, yes. From friend to lover and back again over the course of the years.”
Liona’s voice was almost dreamy. Hailey could find it in her to be envious of the other woman’s obvious good memories. She realized, however, that at some point, she would be able to make her own.
“You’re blushing,” Liona whispered. “Why is that, Hailey?”
“I don’t know,” Hailey mumbled. “You’ve lived such a long time. You’re in my bed. You’re telling me about…about…”
“About all the fun I’ve had as well as the pain? The pain passes, dear one, as does the pleasure. Nothing really lasts. I have come to learn that we must take pleasure where we find it.”
Hailey became aware of the way that Liona was rubbing her back. Relaxed and unhurried, her hand moved up Hailey’s spine and then back down. Her fingers gently kneaded the flesh at its base. Though Hailey didn’t know the moment that Liona’s touch had gone from comfort to something more, she definitely knew that it had passed. The barest pressure of Liona’s hand nudged her hips from behind, and Hailey let them move forward. She pressed herself into Liona’s side, the connection almost electric. Hailey’s heart fluttered uncontrollably.
“Do you…want to find pleasure with me?” Hailey asked, her voice breathless.
MORE BOOKS BY HAZEL HUNTER
THE SILVER WOOD COVEN SERIES
Rescued (Silver Wood Coven
Book One)
Coming soon!
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THE CASTLE COVEN SERIES
Found (Castle Coven Book One)
Abandoned (Castle Coven Book Two)
Healed (Castle Coven Book Three)
Claimed (Castle Coven Book Four)
Imprisoned (Castle Coven Book Five)
Sacrificed (Castle Coven Book Six)
THE MAGUS CORPS SERIES
Dominic (Her Warlock Protector Book 1)
Sebastian (Her Warlock Protector Book 2)
Logan (Her Warlock Protector Book 3)
Colin (Her Warlock Protector Book 4)
Vincent (Her Warlock Protector Book 5)
Jackson (Her Warlock Protector Book 6)
Trent (Her Warlock Protector Book 7)
THE SECOND SIGHT SERIES
Touched (Second Sight Book 1)
Torn (Second Sight Book 2)
Taken (Second Sight Book 3)
Chosen (Second Sight Book 4)
Charmed (Second Sight Book 5)
Changed (Second Sight Book 6)
THE EROTIC EXPEDITION SERIES
Arctic Exposure Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Desert Thirst Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Jungle Fever Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Mountain Wilds Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Island Magic Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
THE ROMANCE IN THE RUINS NOVELS
Words of Love
Labyrinth of Love
Stars of Love
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Dear Wonderful Reader,
Thank you so much for spending time with me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it! My newsletter will let you know about new releases and only new releases. Don’t miss the next sizzling, hot romance! Visit HazelHunter.com/books to find more great stories available today.
XOXO,
Hazel
Copyright © 2015 Hazel Hunter
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
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