Page 38 of How Not to Hex a Gentleman (Witches of Edinburgh)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

KENNEDY

W hile Olivia is gone, all I want to do is hold Bennett's hand and tell him a million things I've never said out loud. How can someone care about another person so much and keep it all to themselves? When I was younger I thought that's what you did, considering my aunt never said anything affectionate to me. I always assumed she cared, and in her own strange way, I think she did. Now, I actually see what caring about someone looks like and it's terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

I should've taken every opportunity to tell him how amazing he's been, how much he has helped me be more comfortable with who I am. I have to do whatever it takes to make sure I can tell him.

"Kennedy, he's going to be okay." Parker tugs on my hand and I'm sure she doesn't have to be an empath to see how much turmoil I'm in.

"I—my aunt has always said that my magic will lead to nothing but pain and agony in my life, and now here it is. I found someone who cares for me, sees me for who I am, and I've put him in danger."

"You know that's not true," Lily says, her voice so much firmer than I've ever heard it. "If anything, you are here to protect him."

I open my mouth at that, and then close it. The reality of all of it hits me at once. Parker and Lily watch me, their steady presence the encouragement I need to deal with all of my emotions.

"I've just—I've been so stupid," I say, the words pouring out of me now. "I've been so afraid of letting him in that I wasted so much time. My whole life, I thought I would never have anyone care about me, and the moment someone did, I questioned it to a point where I kept building walls instead of tearing them down."

"But you have torn them down," Lily says, her voice soft as she tugs on my hand to make sure I know she's there. "We've seen you with him. You're not the same person you were months ago. You're cautious, sure, but you've opened yourself up to him. You've opened yourself up to us."

I glance at her and then at Parker, who's nodding her head.

"I can't lose him," I say and mean it with every part of me, my magic included. I can feel it so close to me now, pulsing right under my skin, reminding me it's there. I expected to be exhausted after using so much magic at once, but I feel rejuvenated somehow. And that right there is the crux of it all—I am powerful and I'm not alone. Maybe my aunt's biggest fear wasn't being a witch, but it was being alone. Because as I look at the girls and then at Bennett, I'm not afraid anymore. They are my people; they are here to support me for being exactly who I am.

The worst case scenario did happen and I feel it in my very bones that I can handle it—we can handle it. Together.

"What is this?" Parker asks, reaching for my arm. I push up the sleeve of my sweater to look at the thistle tattoo. Except it's no longer simply a thistle. Now, another flower has been entwined with the thistle—just as delicate and beautiful—creating a tiny bouquet on my wrist.

The girls crowd in, staring at my skin in wonder. Parker takes my wrist and pulls it right to her face as if she can see it better at that distance.

"When did you get this?" she asks and drops her hand to pull at her sweater, but as I watch her and Lily check, they don't have any additional flowers.

"I have no idea," I say, staring at the flower. It looks so familiar, but I can't—and then it hits me. "It's a hellebore."

My words are barely a whisper and I can feel the happiness radiating off my magic like steam. The flower is a little bigger than the thistle, the stem of it twisting around the other, but then they become one. There's a little bud on the side as well and the whole thing looks perfect.

"I have no idea what this means," Parker says, still studying my wrist, "but I love it and when do I get one?"

"When it's your time." We turn as one as Olivia comes through the door. Her eyes zero in on my wrist and she walks over to give it a quick study. "You've accepted your power and used your affinity. I can feel the magic flowing through you freely now. Can't you feel it?" The last part is directed at Parker and she opens her mouth and then shuts it quickly, giving me another look. I see the moment she feels it, as her eyes grow round.

"Oh my goodness, I can! Wow, Kennedy, you're carrying a serious punch! It's very potent. Is potent the right word here?"

Olivia nods and then motions us to follow her. She walks over to the window on the other side of Bennett's bed and flings it open. Immediately, a cold wind seeps in and I hurry over to Bennett, reaching for the extra blanket on the chair beside him.

"Don't touch him yet, Kennedy. Not with that much power flowing through you."

I hug the blanket to me, staring down at Bennett. I would fling myself all over him if I could, but I need to listen to Olivia. So I stay still and wait for instructions.

"Much like in the cemetery when you pulled Kennedy out of the vision, we need to sever the connection to the spell." She pulls a few things from her pockets. "A selenite for you and black tourmaline for you," she hands Lily the light crystal and Parker the dark one. Then she turns to me.

"Your job is to ground both of them and use your connection to magnify."

"I don't understand."

She guides us around Bennett's bed. Lily and Olivia are across from me and Parker is beside me. Olivia motions for us to take hands. I place my left hand over Lily's which is holding the crystal, cocooning it between our palms. I do the same with Parker, with the black tourmaline between us. Olivia takes the girls' free hands and meets my eye.

"Your power lies in your connection to the earth. You are the tether that holds your powers together, the foundation. Focus on your magic, let it guide you, with no fear, but simple trust that it won't make you stray and that you have each other."

I nod and glance down at Bennett. His complexion has become even more pale and the tears are in my eyes before I can blink them away.

This has to work.

Blinking a few times, I look up at the girls, meeting their gaze individually. I hear a noise behind me and watch as the magpie flies into the room, landing on my shoulder.

"We're all seeing that, right?" Parker whispers.

Olivia smiles. "Someone has found her familiar," the older woman says, just as the magpie butts her head against the side of mine gently.

Finally. Waiting. Tired.

I freeze immediately, my eyes growing round.

"Guys, the bird talks," I whisper, while I don't dare move. The magpie walks down my shoulder and down my arm, and I move it up as a perch for her automatically, so she can look at me more easily.

"Talks?" Lily asks as I continue staring at the bird.

Not bird. Stella. She huffs like I've offended her and I should be finding this incredibly weird except that it feels incredibly right.

"Nice to meet you, Stella," I say. Even though I'm worried about Bennett, I still feel a thrill of joy course through me. I can also feel the bond to the bird, the warmth radiating off her and toward me. I glance at the girls again—who are staring at me like I've lost my mind—and then at Olivia, who looks incredibly proud. "I'm ready," I say.

Stella walks back up to perch on my shoulder and Parker and Lily recover long enough to grin, before they look over at Olivia. She nods and closes her eyes, and I do the same. My magic is right there, right under the surface, ready to aide in whichever way I deem. I focus on the way it feels, on the way it makes me feel, and I let it unfurl.

The wind brushes against my cheek and I grab onto it like it's a physical item, letting it pull my magic through the room and then out the window. I can feel it soaring and I focus on channeling all that power.

The girls grip my hands and I can feel their magic as well. I've never been able to distinguish the feel of magic before, but I can feel it on them. Maybe it's Parker's power, or maybe I'm just more attuned to the differences now that I know my own.

"Hear, hear, the words we speak,

Listen, listen, to the answer we seek,

Break the bond,

Restore the soul,

Ignite the fire, burn the cord.

In the wind, I send these words,

In the earth do they take root,

Bring the power,

Save the lad,

Cleanse the aura,

Destroy the spell.

Restore, restore, restore."

The four of us say the last two words together, almost like we're incapable of doing anything but. The impulse comes instinctually and I don't hide from it. I feel the magic sweep over us like a tidal wave and when I open my eyes I expect the room to be in shambles, but nothing has changed. Except…I felt it. The way my magic rushed through the space, more free and happy than it has ever been. It changed something within me.

But when I glance down at Bennett and I think I failed. My heart starts beating fast and I think I messed something up when Olivia speaks up. "The spell is broken."

Before the words fully register, I drop down to the bed, my hands on his face. The magpie makes a little noise and lands on his stomach. He feels cold to touch and is still so pale, but I can feel his breathing even out, and exhale.

"He'll be okay now," Olivia says, "but it might take him a little bit to wake up."

"Where did you go earlier?" Parker asks.

I continue to stare at Bennett as if I can will him to wake up with my gaze.

"I needed a little help from the coven. A certain professor is going to think twice before pulling something like this again." Without looking at Olivia, I know she’s pleased, and I make a mental note to ask questions later. Right now, I just want Bennett to open his eyes.

BENNETT

When I come to, I'm completely disoriented. The room is dark, and I don't even remember making it home. Then again, the place doesn't smell like mine, and as my eyes adjust to the darkness I realize I'm not at my flat. A small pressure on my hand pulls my attention, and I find Kennedy, her hand gripping mine tightly, as she lays on her other arm across the bed. That's when it hits me that I'm in a hospital. I try to remember what happened, but my last memory is touching the Witches Stone and then nothing.

I reach over to place my hand over the top of Kennedy's head and she opens her eyes immediately. There's a moment of confusion and then her eyes find mine.

"You're awake!" She jumps to her feet, sending the chair backwards as she hugs me. I'm so shocked I don't move. She pulls back to look at me, then waves her hand in the air and the lamp near the bed turns on as well as the one behind her. I open my mouth to comment when she places her hands on my cheeks, moving my head left and right, her eyes roaming over me.

"How are you feeling? Any lightheadedness? Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

She continues her inspection and I grab her wrist, freezing her in place.

"Kennedy," I start, clearing my throat and she pulls back immediately to grab a glass of water from the nightstand. She places it in front of me, holding the straw still and I suppress a chuckle as I lean over to take a drink. She hands me the glass, so she can raise the bed and rearrange the pillows at my back. She's looking at me like she's afraid I'm going to disappear at any moment. When I'm done drinking, she puts the glass back and stands, but I pull her down beside me. Before I can ask what I want to ask, nature calls.

"Is there a bathroom here?"

Kennedy jumps up immediately and pulls the covers back, helping me stand. I feel weak, like I haven't been using my limbs for days, but I make it to the bathroom just fine. Kennedy follows me in and I raise my eyebrows at her.

"I think I can handle this part myself," I say and her face goes red.

"I'll be outside." She retreats so fast she nearly trips over her own feet. I handle my business and then wash my hands and face. I look like I've lost some weight, which is strange. There's also a lot more beard on my face than I've seen in a long time.

"Are you okay?" Kennedy knocks on the door.

"Yes, give me a minute." There's a little pouch on the counter and when I look through it I see it has all the essentials. A razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, and toothpaste. I make use of all the things quickly and when I look at myself in the mirror, I feel more grounded.

When I step out, Kennedy does a quick study of me, as if making sure I'm all in one piece, and when her eyes land on my face, she studies me carefully. I take my place on the bed once more, and she sits beside me carefully, as if afraid she'll hurt me in some way.

"What happened?" I ask.

Her eyes flash in anger for a moment, but I know for a fact that it isn't aimed at me.

"You touched the Witches Stone, which was apparently a trap for me and you ended up getting hexed in my place. You've been out of commission for days."

"Wait, what?" Of all the things she was going to say, this was definitely not it.

She sighs and I have the urge to reach over and smooth out the little worried crease between her eyebrows.

"Your professor has been playing with magic. I'm not sure how, but he figured out we've been working together and set a trap for me. This is what Olivia figured out by the way. Apparently, there's some secret coven in Edinburgh that wants to steal all the magic from witches like me. We're like walking batteries."

"And Professor Stewart is in on it?"

"According to Olivia, he has been a nuisance for years. They have previously limited his reach when it comes to the magical, but he found a way around it. Olivia thinks it's why he had to set such an obscure trap, way out of the city. He's not powerful enough to use more well-known relics, as they already have magical signatures attached to them. This is all guesswork, but I kind of trust Olivia's assessments."

As Kennedy talks, so many things fall into place. All the meetings he's been having, all the pushes he's been giving me toward certain magical relics. He was using me. My mind goes to our last meeting and his mentioning a date stop. He wanted me to bring Kennedy here. My anger is hot and fast.

"Are you okay? Nothing happened?" I ask and Kennedy rolls her eyes.

"Of course I'm okay; don't change the subject. Why did you come here on your own?"

"I didn't see any reason I couldn't?"

"You should've at least told me where you were going! When I saw the vision of you in pain, I nearly—" She stops and I hold my breath. There is an array of emotions in her eyes and it feels incredibly important that I let her process it. "I didn't think I could get to you in time and it nearly broke me." She looks up at me then, the anger gone, replaced by tears.

I reach over, catching one of the tears on her cheek, cradling her face in the process. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was going. I was going to bring you here if it panned out to be anything." I don't remove my hand, stroking her cheek gently with my thumb.

She leans into it, her gaze on mine. "Not good enough. In fact, I demand to use my IOU now."

"What?"

"Do you remember the carnival coupon you drew for me?"

"I try not to." I kind of want to forget I did that because it was extra cringy.

"Well, you did, and it's legally binding. So from now on, take me with you. I demand it." She moves closer, our breaths coming a little more rapidly, as we both spin with anticipation.

"So, you're just going to follow me around?" I lean a little more forward on the bed, bringing her closer.

"I mean, you've been doing it to me all this time. Let's see how you like it," she replies, reaching up to run her finger over my hand which is resting on her cheek. The sensation of her soft touch goes straight through me, my heartbeat racing.

I grin as I study her face, the little gleam in her eyes and the soft smile on her lips.

"Is this a romantic enough place for us to share our first kiss?" I ask, my breath ruffling her hair. She grins, blinding me for a moment, and places her right hand on the bed as she leans right up to my face.

"The most romantic," she says, and then I kiss her.