Page 30 of Bewitched By the Djinn (The Bewitching Hour #8)

“Essentially. We’ll be quiet.” He glances around at the dense canopy overhead filtering sunlight into shifting emerald patterns on the forest floor.

“We need to figure out which way to go. Thalassara is south of our kingdom and it’s a two- to three-day hike from their border to our kingdom.

” He tilts his head back, scanning the thick trees.

“I need to see where the sun is to ensure we head in the correct direction.”

Without another word, he strides toward the nearest trunk, fingers searching for a handhold as he pulls himself up. He moves swiftly, disappearing overhead.

I turn to Helen. She’s catching her breath, her hands on her hips.

“Are you okay?”

A smile touches her lips. “I’ll be fine. A little tired, but now that we’re back in Aetheria, my magic will replenish itself quickly.”

We wait for a minute in silence, catching our breath, and then I ask, “Is it hard to be so far away from Delores?”

Helen’s smile turns wistful. “Yes.”

I hesitate again before pushing forward. “She said yesterday she is your mate. Is that how you refer to partners in Aetheria?”

“It’s more than a mere partner, it’s the other half of one’s soul. Mates are rare and sacred. Not every djinn finds theirs.”

I absorb that, rolling the idea around in my mind. “So it’s like fate or destiny?”

She tilts her head. “Something like that. At first, it’s like a pull, a knowing. It’s subtle. I didn’t even realize who Delores was to me at first, just this strange sense of connection and attraction. But the bond doesn’t fully settle until both people accept it.”

“Once you knew what you had, you accepted it?”

She nods. “Immediately. I was all in. But Delores took a little longer.”

“Why?”

Her brows lift.

I guess I’m being a tad invasive. “If you don’t mind me asking,” I add.

Helen leans against the rough bark of a tree.

“She comes from a humble family. My uncle brought her to our kingdom as a hired companion. And since I was technically her employer, there was this power imbalance she didn’t want to cross.

” She grimaces. “Understandably. And I didn’t either.

I didn’t want to pressure her, or for her to feel beholden, you know?

But she makes me happy. And I make her happy.

Once I convinced her of that, and she finally accepted the bond, it was like everything made sense.

There is no imbalance anymore because we are together in all. ”

Together in all. I can’t imagine what that’s like but the thought of that, with Bennet, sends nerves and hope twisting through me. What if Bennet is my mate? But how could I be sure, what with our cursed bond and all that? What if I’m mistaking it for more than it is?

And even if we are mates, what could I do about it? Leave my family behind, leave Mimi on her own with the kids?

Sorry got a hot djinn to mate, byeeeeeee.

The alternative would be to ask him to leave his world behind.

We can’t belong to each other. It’s impossible.

Even if it was possible, like when the kids are grown, who’s to say he would wait that long? I’ve got the better part of a decade before Kevin is a legal adult, assuming the kids are even ready to be on their own by then.

And yet I can’t stop myself from asking, “What does it mean, accepting the bond? How do you even do it?”

Helen’s eyes focus somewhere beyond me. “It’s hard to describe.

It’s like opening yourself up completely.

Seeing the other person for exactly who they are, and letting them see you.

No shields. No fears. No judgment or shame.

Only trust and a true understanding. That’s when it gets really good.

” She closes her eyes. “Even now, in another realm, I can feel her. Like a buzz in my chest, letting me know she’s okay.

When we’re together, it’s like the rest of the world fades, and nothing else matters. ”

I don’t know what to say to that. It sounds beautiful. But impossible.

Bennet drops down from an overhead branch, landing smoothly a few feet away from us. He points. “This way.”

We move through the trees, Bennet in the lead, Helen behind me. Somewhere in the distance, water rushes, maybe a river or waterfall hidden among the dense foliage.

“Do you know about how far we might be?” Helen calls out.

Bennet tosses a glance over his shoulder. “It’s hard to say. I believe we are in the middle of the Veilwood somewhere. We can’t be too far south because I could not see the Abyssal.”

I duck under a branch. “What is the Abyssal?”

“The sea south of Aetheria.” Bennet holds back a prickly bush growing into the path for us to pass by.

Helen winds her hair up on top of her head, knotting it. “It definitely feels like Thalassara. This whole kingdom is like walking through water.”

Bennet takes position behind me. “There is a town, right outside the forest on the north edge of the border to Zehraya. Depending on how deep we are in the forest, perhaps we can make it there by nightfall. If not, we will find a place to camp.”

We lapse into silence, trudging along the path. I want to ask more questions about Aetheria, but I need to save my breath so I can keep up. I should have done more cardio with all my nonexistent free time.

The surroundings are wild and colorful. I focus on putting one foot in front of the other, and absorbing the sights of a whole new freaking world that we’re walking through. It’s unreal.

Shrubs dotting the path drip pink and purple flowers, kind of like orchids but bigger and bolder. Like orchids on steroids. Some of the trees are tall and twisted with clusters of orange-red flowers, so vivid their branches are on fire.

Strange, luminescent creatures flit between the branches, leaving soft trails of light in their wake, like lightning bugs, but different colors.

Bennet shifts his course. “We should head toward the river and follow the water north. There is a river that goes through the town. This might be it, or it might be a tributary.”

We walk. Forever. It’s beautiful. But also wet. And exhausting. The underbrush is thick in places, thorny vines and springy moss tangling around our boots.

My calves are screaming by the time we stop for a quick break on a fallen log. Helen passes out our prepacked sandwiches and we eat in silence, grateful for the calories and the stillness.

Then we keep moving.

The trees press in closer, the shadows get darker. And despite the warmth of the sun above us, a chill seeps into the air. My skin prickles.

A bone-rattling thud shakes the ground beneath my feet. Then another.

My stomach drops. “Uh, what was that?”

Bennet’s entire body goes rigid, his hand darting out to grip my wrist. “Run.”

I don’t hesitate. Helen bolts beside me, the three of us crashing through the undergrowth. The rhythmic pounding grows louder, the trees shuddering in time with it. Something huge is moving fast.

A deep bass roar rumbles through the trees. I risk a glance over my shoulder and my blood runs cold.

Giants.