Page 16 of Pets in Space 10

The mirror was fogged at the edges, the warmth of her shower still clinging to the air like the last wisps of a dream.

Harmonia stared at her reflection. Her fingers trembling slightly as she brushed a damp strand of hair behind her ear.

She’d pulled on one of Landry’s flannel shirts again — familiar and soft — and beneath it, a pair of leggings and a camisole she had created from magic.

Somehow, wearing his shirt felt like armor.

Her skin was flushed more from the heat of her memories of what had happened the night before rather than from the shower.

The memory of Landry — his lips, his hands, the way he whispered her name like it was a secret that he wanted to savor forever sent a wave of longing through her.

The emotion struck with such sudden intensity that she nearly swayed on her feet.

She loved him — more than life itself. She had found her soulmate. The man who quieted the empty, nagging restlessness inside her.

He was unexpected, glorious… terrifying.

Her hand lifted to her chest as the ache grew. It wasn’t just love causing her heart to beat with an irregular rhythm. There was a fear of loss wrapped in the present tense, threaded with dread. Because Ceto was still out there.

Still waiting.

And growing stronger.

Harmonia’s breath caught. Her magic stirred beneath her skin, burning inside her as if outraged at the thought of anyone, anything, threatening the man she cared deeply about.

She pressed her hand against her sternum and closed her eyes, trying to center herself.

In the silence, her thoughts shifted from Landry’s smile to the darker undercurrents in her soul — the warnings she’d ignored, the power she’d felt probing her wards in the dead of night.

Ceto was recovering.

Harmonia had felt it — felt Ceto pushing at the boundaries of the protective circle she’d woven around the cabin and surrounding swamp.

The serpent had been wounded — she was sure of that.

The explosion, the backlash from her spells, the binding wards…

they had done real damage. But Ceto had once been one of the strongest mages on Enyo.

That kind of strength didn’t vanish with a single defeat — even if she had taken another form.

No, Ceto would wait.

She would watch.

And, most of all, she would evolve.

Harmonia opened her eyes again, dread creeping in like shadows.

Am I strong enough to stop her?

A chill trickled down her spine.

Memories rose in her mind like whispers in the mist. Memories of her parents, Wynter, her ancestors. Harmonia could almost feel William’s steady hand on her shoulder, much like when she had been in Nether room.

The Stormhold training had been more than just lessons — it had been a legacy. She drew on memories of William’s voice, calm and patient:

“You need to understand dark magic to defeat it. We Stormholds have always understood that.”

Her breath caught again.

Something pulsed beneath her palm.

Magic.

But it didn’t feel dark. It didn’t feel like Ceto.

It felt… familiar. Deep. Rooted in blood and love.

Her eyes widened and she stared into the mirror. The fog had vanished, and so had her reflection.

In its place was the calm, weathered face of her father.

“Father,” she breathed, her lips parting in a gasp.

His eyes were steady, full of pride and worry. “The ring, Harmonia,” his voice echoed in her mind. “Her magic is in the ring. Find the thread that holds her. The serpent is but a vessel for her soul.”

Her knees nearly buckled.

The ring!

Lilypad’s gift. She had tucked it safely away, so focused on survival, on healing, on love, that she’d forgotten. Her fingers pressed against her ribs, finding the small velvet pouch pinned to the inside of her shirt.

How could I have forgotten?

“Thank you, Daddy,” she whispered.

Arastan’s expression softened. “You are a Stormhold, love. You are far more powerful than most because you are never alone.”

She released a low, breathless laugh as the mirror cleared.

Her reflection stared back at her. Her eyes were wide — focused. Her breath deep — calm. Her heart, though — her heart was pounding with something new.

Resolve.

She straightened, squaring her shoulders, and pushed back her damp curls. Her magic tingled through her fingertips, strong, vibrant, and alive. Her skin was warm and flushed, but it was no longer fear that spurred the heat in her body — it was determination.

She was more than a Council apprentice. More than a teacher. More than someone in love.

She was a Stormhold.

And chaos?

Chaos ran in her blood — alongside the ancient knowledge of how to fight darkness with light.

Her lips curved into a smile. Ceto was about to learn the hard way that she had messed with the wrong mage.

***

The cabin felt different — no longer empty. It was as if Harmonia’s magic had seeped into the very foundation of his life. Over the last two weeks, she had turned his messy, somewhat sterile, masculine mancave into a home.

Wild orchids in small pots lined the kitchen windowsill.

The clutter of research equipment, maps, fishing gear, and more were now neatly organized.

Brightly colored chair pads and a matching tablecloth covered his battered table, making it look fresh and inviting.

She had even used her magic to fix the wobbling legs.

Landry sat at the kitchen table, the remnants of breakfast forgotten.

A half-eaten biscuit grew cold beside his untouched mug of chicory coffee.

His fingers tapped restlessly against the wood, the rhythm uneven.

He had spent the night wrapped in Harmonia’s warmth, her soft breathing against his chest, her limbs tangled with his. He should have felt peace.

He didn’t.

His gaze flicked toward the closed bathroom door where the sound of running water had long since ceased.

The image of her — barefoot, her skin still flushed with their shared passion — filled him with a rush of love so fierce it made his chest ache.

He wanted everything with her. Everything.

But he couldn’t shake the gnawing fear that it would all be ripped away.

How was he supposed to fight something like Ceto? How did a man of flesh and bone stand against a serpent-possessed mage from another world? What if Harmonia left? What if she had to?

What if loving her meant losing her?

He closed his eyes and dragged in a shaky breath.

The putt-put-put of a small engine echoed from the river, cutting through the fog that had wrapped around his thoughts. He stood just as the back screen door creaked open and Lilypad’s grinning snout peeked around the edge.

“They’re coming!” she chirped. “Are they bringing more potato chips? Please tell me they’re bringing more!”

Landry let out a dry chuckle, the tightness in his chest loosening by a fraction. “If I’m lucky. At the rate you’re eating, I’m going to have to start charging rent.”

Lilypad giggled and vanished as quickly as she’d appeared.

Landry stepped outside, the boards creaking under his weight. The humidity clung to him, thick with the scent of moss and cypress. He shoved his hands in his pockets and watched as Hog’s boat rounded the bend, the aluminum hull bouncing gently against the rippling current.

He lifted his hand in greeting.

He almost toppled over when Pug and Lilypad suddenly darted past him in a blur.

“Harmonia!” they cried in unison before diving into the water.

Landry blinked in confusion. “What the — ?”

Horror seized him for a moment when the boat suddenly jerked upward like a hooked bass. It hung suspended in the air for a heartbeat… and then chaos erupted.

The vessel flipped end over end, tossing Hog, Cap, and Tyson into the air like rag dolls before crashing down into the bayou with a sickening slap of water and metal.

“Shit!”

The curse ripped from his throat even as he lunged for the rifle he’d kept near the door. He froze when the cabin door slammed open behind him.

Harmonia emerged from the cabin like an avenging angel, her eyes flaring with the promise of retribution. One second she was on the back deck of his cabin, and the next, she was flying through the air — literally.

Landry’s breath caught in his chest as he watched her body rise off the ground.

It wasn’t just a few inches this time, like it had been in the boat.

This time, she looked like a heavenly warrior sent down to drive the demons away — or The Red Witch from the Marvel comics.

His stunned brain couldn’t quite decide.

She hovered above the water, her arms outstretched, her hair billowing around her like a storm cloud. He winced when a blast of light erupted from her hands as she chanted in a voice that reverberated through the air, old and powerful and laced with fury.

The swamp answered her.

Water surged upward, curling around a massive, dark shape that twisted just beneath the surface.

Ceto.

The serpent’s mottled hide broke through the water in a burst of foam and rot, hissing as it writhed against Harmonia’s barrier.

Cap sputtered, hanging onto Pug who was pulling him toward the cabin. Landry dropped the rifle and knelt beside the ladder he had installed and reached for the older man, hauling him up.

“You okay?”

Cap coughed, blinking. “Hog grabbed me. Tyson — ”

“I see him!”

Tyson was swimming towards them, gasping, and bleeding from a cut on his forehead.

“Where’s Hog?” Cap grunted out, searching the dark waters.

“I’m here, Pop,” Hog called, swimming up behind Tyson.

Landry reached down to help Tyson. Hog grabbed the metal frame of the ladder, treading water as Tyson climbed up on shaky legs.

“I can’t believe that evil witch has sunk two of our boats,” Hog grumbled, gripping the ladder to pull himself out of the water.

“Pop’s old boat was on its last leg, so I don’t think that should count for too much,” Tyson croaked out, holding the towel Landry had grabbed from the line that was draped across the porch before he pressed it against the cut above his eye.

Landry ignored the other men. His eyes were glued to Harmonia. None of them were out of the woods yet. He half turned to Hog on the lower level rung of the ladder in order to say just that when a flash of silver coiled around Hog’s ankle and yanked him back with terrifying force.

“HOG!” Landry roared, diving in without hesitation.

The cool darkness of the water swallowed him whole.