Page 21 of Magic Blooms

twenty

Joshua pulled me into his arms and carried me out of the swamp. "I don't know what you did to her, but I don't want to be here if she manages to escape it."

I wanted to protest, say that I could walk on my own—but we both knew that wasn’t true. “You’re here,” I said instead.

“I was here the whole time,” he said as we picked up speed and he broke into a run.

I clung to him tightly as we flew across the terrain. “But you said to do whatever she needed, that Karen’s sacrifice was worth it, and—”

“I know what I said,” he growled, but then his face softened and he slowed to a walk. “But I also promised you we’d both be in it to the end.”

“Do Lorraine and Jasmine know you came?”

“Lorraine does,” he confided. “She was worried, too. We aren’t allowed to defy council orders, but we are allowed to defend our lives.”

“That’s why you let her hurt you.” I lifted my fingers to his shoulder, which had been singed by Fawn’s flame.

“Self-defense,” he said.

“Thank you.”

“I know you probably have a lot of questions, but we don’t have much time. I’m going to run again. Okay?”

I nodded and, despite the bumpy ride, fell asleep in his arms.

“We’re here,” Joshua announced in a whisper, his face close to mine.

When I opened my eyes, he set me on the ground outside Fox’s End, where Lorraine and Jasmine sat on the porch waiting.

“Are you all right, darling?” Lorraine asked, racing over to wrap me in a tight hug. “What happened out there?”

“No,” Jasmine barked. “It’s already five past eleven. We need to do the ritual now, or there won’t be enough time to send her safely through.”

“But,” I started, the argument I had dying on my lips. The events of that day replayed in my mind with a dreamy haze. Fawn performing the ritual, then trying to kill me, me fighting back, someone else coming to my rescue—

"Gator." It came out on barely more than a breath, but it was enough to make Lorraine chuckle.

"I see Joshua let you in on his secret." She held out a hand to me and guided me to the backyard. The rain was still coming down hard, but Lorraine held a large umbrella over us both now that she had me.

It seemed kind of pointless because my dress and shoes were already soaked.

I winced as I hobbled beside her, still so drained of my energy even after the short nap.

The worst part was that the nightmare hadn’t gone away.

Fawn had accused me of being the reason for magic dying.

She had to be wrong. Whatever mystical source was giving her that information was sorely mistaken.

But then, what if she was right about the impending danger? What if, even though I wasn’t the source of the problem, there was still something wicked approaching? Would my friends be okay?

I hated that I would never know the outcome.

Once I stepped through that portal, there would be no coming back.

Jasmine sank to the ground and began mixing her ingredients together as she muttered to herself.

“What did Fawn say to you? Did she have a vision? What made her attack you?” Lorraine asked now.

I glanced over to Joshua, who gave me a stern glare. Something told me he didn’t want them to know.

“She didn’t say,” I said softly, the lie almost burning.

Jasmine raised a brow and I could tell she was skeptical, but instead of saying anything on the topic, she motioned me forward. “Come.”

I’d just settled myself on the ground beside her when a bright purple glow cut through the storm. What started as a pinprick of light quickly transformed into a swirling vortex.

I stood on shaky feet and made my way over to what could only be the portal we had summoned.

“No,” Jasmine called after me. “I didn’t—That’s not—”

The portal floated just a few feet from me now, beckoning me toward it.

“No!” Jasmine cried again.

It wasn’t until Joshua yanked me back into his arms that my trance broke, the portal stopped building, and a dark figure emerged from its glow.

Fawn? Impossible.

“Who’s there?” Jasmine called, her voice quaking with fear. I had been good, but what if this next visitor had come to harm them? What if this was the person Fawn had tried to warn everyone about?

As the portal behind the newcomer faded into nothingness, his features started to come into focus. Joshua held me close, protectively, but I pulled myself from his arms and took a nervous step forward.

“Dante?” I asked in shock, fear, awe.

My fiancé closed the distance between us and placed an arm around me, claiming me as his eyes held Joshua’s.

“I am here,” was all he said, but the way he said it filled my stomach with dread.

No, no. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

But already I was too late to stop what would happen next.