Page 30

CHAPTER 30

J onah smoothed Elora’s hair back from her face, hating how pale she looked. He pulled the quilt up to cover her shoulders and kissed her forehead before standing.

Ronin stood in the bedroom with them, and he studied Elora for a moment before saying, “She’s healed. But when someone is that close to death, the pain from healing is intense, and the brain forces them into a sleep like state to help cope with it.”

Jonah nodded, his body shuddering at the memory of an unconscious Elora screaming when Ronin’s tears landed on her.

Ronin gripped his uninjured shoulder. “She will wake, Jonah. I promise.”

“Thank you,” Jonah said hoarsely. “I can never repay you for what you’ve done, Ronin, but if there’s anything you need from me, I -”

Ronin shook his head. “You don’t need to repay me. Elora is a good person. I like her a lot, and I’m glad I could help her. Now, let’s get your shoulder healed.”

“They fixed it at the hospital,” Jonah said. “It isn’t dislocated anymore.”

“Sure, but I’ve dislocated my shoulder a time or two and know how fucking painful it is,” Ronin said. “So, let’s make things totally weird and awkward between us by having me cry on you.”

Jonah smiled faintly. “Yeah, okay.”

Ronin helped him remove the sling and his shirt, then had Jonah sit on the side of the bed. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Jonah said. He kept his gaze on Elora’s pale face as Ronin leaned over him. Liquid splashed on his shoulder, and a burning pain shot down his arm. He grunted, clenching his hands into the quilt and trying to breathe through the pain.

Slowly, the pain dwindled, and he armed the sweat off his forehead before giving Ronin a grim smile. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Ronin said.

Jonah pulled on his shirt, but before he could sit beside Elora again, Ronin clapped him on the back. “Come downstairs and have something to eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” Jonah said.

“I get it, but you’re no good to Elora if you’re weak from lack of food,” Ronin said.

“I don’t want to leave her.”

“She isn’t going to wake for a while,” Ronin said.

“It’s my fault she nearly died,” Jonah said. “My fault that my brother was kidnapped by that fucking witch. Elora had to fight her all alone because I was too fucking weak and scared to shapeshift.”

“Considering the last time you saw the witch, she trapped you in an animal form for three years, is it surprising that you couldn’t shift?” Ronin asked.

Jonah slammed his fist on his thigh. “I can’t shapeshift, and I can’t protect the people I love. What fucking good am I?”

He stared at Ronin. “I killed people for a living, and I was very good at my fucking job. Now? Now I’m a useless piece of shit who got my brother kidnapped and nearly got the woman I love killed. I stood there and watched her almost die because I couldn’t shift.”

“Past trauma and fear can fuck a person up in ways they don’t realize,” Ronin said.

“No offense, but what do you know about fear? You can’t fucking die,” Jonah said.

“Fair point,” Ronin said with a grin. “But just because I can’t die doesn’t mean all the ways I have died didn’t fuck me up. Trust me, there’s a lot of trauma that goes along with dying repeatedly. Not to mention how much it fucking hurts.”

“How do you deal with it?” Jonah asked, his gaze slipping to Elora again.

Ronin shrugged. “Meth and a smartass attitude, mostly.”

Jonah stared at him, and Ronin laughed. “I’m kidding. Mostly. I do use humour to ‘mask the pain,’ as a therapist would say, but it works for me, and I’m also very aware of how fucked up I am. It’s been better since I started dating Kat. She’s the first person I could open up to about my fears, and just talking with her has made a huge difference.”

He clapped Jonah on the back again. “Look, I get what you’re going through. Kat was kidnapped and nearly died because of my shady fucking background. I tried not to fall in love with her, tried not to drag her into my fucked-up life, but you know what my mistake was?”

Jonah shook his head, and Ronin gave him a rueful grin. “My mistake was believing that I could tell Kat what to do or how to feel. I didn’t think once about what she wanted, just what I thought was best for her. And that, buddy, was a huge fuck-up on my part. Kat is a strong, capable woman who doesn’t need some asshole man making decisions for her. Just like Elora.”

“I just want to keep her safe,” Jonah rasped.

“I know you do, but pushing her away and pretending you don’t love her isn’t the answer, my friend,” Ronin said.

They were quiet for a moment before Ronin said, “C’mon, let’s get downstairs before the others start to think the two of us are falling in love.”

With one last look at Elora, Jonah followed Ronin out of the bedroom and downstairs. He and Ronin had been upstairs with Elora for nearly two hours, and he blinked in surprise at the number of people in the foyer.

The makeshift altar from the living room had been dragged back into the foyer. Cece and Charissa were standing by it with three women and two men. The five strangers wore matching dark blue robes and stood in a neat line in front of the altar. Their hands were clasped, and they chanted in low voices in front of three burning candles set on top of the altar.

“Bring it up a little higher, Judd.”

Jonah turned, more surprise washing over him. Hudson and Judd were replacing the front door. As he watched, Judd lifted the door, and Hudson grunted in satisfaction.

“Perfect. Hold it steady.” Using a drill, Hudson attached the final hinge at the top of the door before stepping back. “Let it go.”

Judd stepped back as well, and Hudson swung the door back and forth before closing it and opening it a couple of times. He closed it a final time and locked it. Judd held out his fist. “We still fucking got it, buddy.”

Hudson fist bumped him before tucking the drill into its case.

Judd joined Jonah and Ronin, giving Jonah a cheerful smile. “Okay, the new door is installed. We got lucky, and the frame wasn’t damaged, so all we needed was a door that would fit the frame. It’s nothing fancy, but it’ll do for now until you have time to replace it with something better.”

“Thank you,” Jonah said. “I really appreciate it.”

“It was nothing,” Judd said. “Hudson and I worked in construction back in the day, building new homes. It was just like old fucking times. Am I right, Hudson?”

The big polar bear nodded before picking up the drill case. “I gotta go. Rosalie’s waiting up for me.”

He left without saying goodbye, and Judd laughed. “Hudson isn’t much for socializing.”

Tori and Kaida walked into the foyer, both ignoring the chanting witches and warlocks as they walked past them.

“Be honest with me, Kaida. How difficult is it for you not to burn a human to a crisp? Because swear to God, if I were a dragon and someone cut me off in traffic, I’d fry that fucker.”

Kaida laughed. “I can honestly say I’ve never been tempted to fry someone in traffic.”

“You’re a better woman than me,” Tori said. She took Judd’s hand, smiling up at him. “Hey, big guy. You ready to go home?”

“Good to go,” Judd said.

“How’s the nose?” she asked, her grin widening.

“Healed,” he said, “even though you did your best to break it in several spots.”

“It had to look real,” she said innocently before turning to Jonah. “How’s Elora?”

“Sleeping,” Jonah said.

“But she’s healed?” Tori asked, pitching her voice low as she glanced at the witches and warlocks behind her.

“Completely,” Ronin said. “I have an ironclad satisfaction guaranteed policy, bunny girl.”

Tori rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, the five witches stopped their chanting and blew out the candles. They spoke quietly to Charissa and Cece before filing past them without speaking.

They left, and Judd said, “Jesus, they’re fucking creepy.”

“Watch it, bear shifter,” Charissa grinned as she joined them, “one of them is my cousin, and I don’t want to have to put a hex of boils on you for insulting her.”

Judd grimaced and took a step back. Charissa’s grin widened. “I’m kidding. I love my cousin, but she is one hundred percent creepy.”

“What were they doing?” Jonah asked.

“Performing a protection spell on the house.” Charissa’s face sobered. “Any spell that Cece and I did wouldn’t be strong enough to keep out Malencia. My cousin belongs to one of the more powerful covens in the city, and they agreed to do the spell as a favour for me. It’ll hold for at least a month and will keep Malencia from entering the house.”

“Thank you,” Jonah said.

Charissa gave him a hard hug. “You’re welcome. Are you ready to tell me what you did to heal Elora yet?”

“I can’t,” Jonah said. “I’m sorry.”

“But she is healed?” Charissa said.

“Yes,” Jonah said. “She’s sleeping right now, but she’s not dying, Charissa.”

“Thank the goddess,” Charissa said.

“Do you know who this Malencia is?” Tori asked.

“No,” Charissa said. “But now that the protection spell is in place and Elora is healed, I’ll speak with some witches who might know. A dark witch this powerful is impossible to stay completely hidden. Someone in the community knows of her and where we can find her. Cece, do you want to come with me? You can crash at my place tonight.”

“I think I’ll stay here with Elora,” Cece said.

“Okay.” Charissa kissed Jonah’s cheek. “I’ll find out who this Malencia is, and once Elora is awake, we’ll go to the WWC. They’ll work with us to stop Malencia and get your brother back. I promise. Tell Elora I love her. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Charissa,” Jonah said.

“I’m heading out too,” Ronin said. He squeezed Jonah’s shoulder. “Text me if you need anything.”

“Come on, handsome, let’s go home.” Tori took Judd’s hand, and the four of them left.

Jonah studied Cece. She’d been quiet and acting off since she arrived at the house only fifteen minutes after Ronin healed Elora.

“Cece? You okay?” he asked.

She was studying her hands, and she nodded distractedly. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“You sure?” Jonah glanced at Kaida, who was scrolling on her phone. “Elora is healed. I promise.”

“I know,” Cece said.

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you how it happened, but -”

“It’s fine,” Cece said. “Honestly, I don’t care. I’m just glad she’s not dying anymore.”

Jonah hesitated before saying, “Bren told me there was some… weirdness outside the hospital. That a tree -”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Cece’s face went red. “I’m going to sit with Elora for a bit.”

She left the room as the front door opened, and Bren walked in with his phone to his ear. “Yeah, Davis and Garth are here. I just spoke with them. Thanks, Mal. I appreciate it.”

He ended the call and shut the door before leaning against it. “Mal has assigned two of his people to watch the house.”

“They won’t be able to stop her,” Jonah said.

“They’re shifters,” Bren said.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jonah said. “They can’t fight Malencia’s magic. She’ll kill them if they even try. I don’t want anyone dying because of me.”

“No one is going to die. They know not to,” Bren hesitated, “approach her. But it’s good to have some eyes and ears outside to let us know if anyone is approaching the house.”

Jonah scrubbed his hand through his hair. He had no idea what to say or what to do. The sheer number of people willing to help with no expectations, even knowing how dangerous it was, felt overwhelming and foreign to him. He’d spent most of his life alone, never counting on anyone but himself, never trusting anyone but himself.

Bren gripped his shoulder. “You okay, Jonah?”

“I’m good,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I just… I don’t know how to thank everyone for what you’re doing for Elora and me.”

“You don’t have to thank us,” Bren said. “We’re doing this because we care about you and Elora. Especially Elora.” He grinned. “No offence.”

“None taken,” Jonah said. “I love her, Bren.”

“Yeah, I know,” Bren said. “Pretty sure she loves you too.”

He didn’t look particularly pleased about that, but Jonah couldn’t blame him for it. Being around Jonah put Elora in danger, and nothing Jonah said or did would change that.

“It’s late.” Bren glanced at his phone before taking Kaida’s hand. “Kaida and I can stay here if -”

“No, that’s okay,” Jonah said. “The protection spell will keep us safe.”

“If it actually works,” Bren said.

“It will. Charissa wouldn’t say it did if she didn’t know it was true,” Jonah said.

Bren stared solemnly at him. “What are the odds that your brother is still alive?”

Jonah winced but secretly appreciated Bren’s bluntness. It weirdly helped stifle some of the panic he felt whenever he thought of Caleb. “I think they’re good, actually. I think she’ll use him as bait.”

“That makes sense,” Bren said thoughtfully. He glanced at Kaida as she stifled a yawn. He squeezed her hand. “C’mon, gorgeous, let’s get you and the baby home to bed.”

Kaida nodded, rubbing absently at her belly. She looked tired, and the vibrant blue streaks in her hair were duller than usual.

She caught Jonah studying her hair and smiled ruefully. “The closer a dragon gets to giving birth, the more energy the baby takes from her. It affects her body in different ways, one of them being this.” She touched one of the streaks of blue in her hair.

“Which is why you need to rest,” Bren said, tugging her toward the door. “Jonah, ask Elora to text me in the morning, all right?”

“I will.” Jonah followed them to the door, breathing in the cold night air as Bren and Kaida walked to their car. He studied the black SUV parked in the street across from his house before he closed the door and rested his forehead on it.

After a few minutes, he walked upstairs to his room. He stopped in the doorway, studying the more than a dozen small balls of blue flame that floated above his bed.

Cece was sitting on the bed beside Elora, holding her hand and studying her face. She glanced at Jonah. “She’s been mumbling spells the last ten minutes.”

A few of the fireballs blinked out of existence, and Jonah hurried over when a couple of others floated across the room toward the curtains.

“Don’t bother,” Cece said. “They aren’t setting anything on fire. The fireproof spell she did on your room is still intact. I’m not sure how, but it is.”

“That’s a good sign, right?” Jonah said.

“Yeah, probably.” She kissed Elora’s forehead before standing. “Since it’s almost one in the morning, I’d like to crash here if you’re okay with that?”

“Of course,” Jonah said. “Stay for as long as you want, Cece.”

She smiled wearily at him before tucking her phone into her pocket. “Good night, Jonah.”

“Night, Cece.”

She headed toward the door, turning when Jonah called her name.

“I’m sorry, Cece,” he said. “So damn sorry that Elora was hurt.”

“I know,” she said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She left, closing the bedroom door behind her. Jonah quickly showered and brushed his teeth before sliding into the bed beside Elora. He nuzzled her soft hair and kissed her cheek.

“I love you, Elora,” he whispered.

She mumbled something he didn’t understand, but another half dozen fireballs appeared above the bed. He pulled Elora into his embrace and watched the flames flicker and float.