Page 28 of The Redd Key (Bone Coven #1)

“H ow about we just go for a drive. Until you’re ready to go home?” Griffin turned to ask me as he settled into the driver’s seat. He started his car and I was tempted to take his offer.

“I’d like that.” My voice sounded smaller than I wanted it to be.

While Griffin drove along the bluffs, I stared out the passenger window. The clouds above the sea were thick and milky as dawn broke over the horizon. We continued our way around the southern side of the island, up Peak Drive, and then even farther west into the heart of Redd Hills’ wilderness. The drive helped calm me, and I watched the landscape flash by. I wasn’t sure when it happened, but at some point, Griffin’s right hand cradled my neck where his fingers made tiny circles on the skin beneath my hair, gently massaging the tension built up there. The action was so simple, and comfortable.

There wasn’t an explanation for any of it, but with Griffin , I felt something I had been longing for. An unexpected pang of disappointment hit the pit of my stomach as I thought of Nathan for the briefest moment. He and I were so compatible…in bed. Also, it was kind of a bummer that all our time spent together was a relative waste of time. Three years of us entertaining each other never once felt as intimate and familiar as this moment with Griffin.

Pavement gave way to a muddy sort of gravel as Griffin turned off the main road and past a sign I nearly missed. “Bennett Forge Park”. I remembered seeing it on the map of the island. From what the girls told me, ruins of the old forge and some servant housing still remained in the park, which was mostly just a preserved state forest. A soft smile spread across Griffin’s lips as the morning sunlight filtered through the trees.

“This is one of my favorite places,” his voice gruff. The road wound along the steeper hills, and I became personally acquainted with the reason why the island was named Redd Hills. “Sorry,” he said, biting his bottom lip as he noticed me close my eyes at the last super bendy turn. Griffin pulled the SUV into a parking area that had a breathtaking view of Redd Hills’ landscape. Above the sprawling forest below, I could hear the ocean crashing against the bluffs to the south.

Once outside of the car, the morning air was filled with static and smelled like, “Snow,” I said as fluffy flakes cascaded down around us. As cold as I was due to my limited attire, the air felt good. I wrapped the excess material of the oversized hoodie tighter around me and followed Griffin’s footsteps.

“Alright, you might think I am a nerd, but I really want to show you this. You haven’t been here before, right?” He walked backward to face me as he spoke. His breath made tiny puffs in the air as the snow fell faster, already dusting the hard ground.

“No, never.” I shook my head. Amusement spread through my chest as Griffin briefly shifted from a big masculine hero into having the fascinating wonderment of a you boy. He led the two of us up a cobblestone path that was nearly hidden beneath the dirt. Looming ahead of us was the scrambled stone remnants of the original forge.

The stone building was less of a ruin and more like a room with rubble. Though, secured between the standing rock walls, exposed beams stood above our heads. The ancient wood was black with layers of tar and pitch, rendering them near indestructible. The structure had no ceiling nor roof, and the snow continued to fall around us. Stopping before the threshold, Griffin held out his hand for me to take, guiding me inside the walls.

The scene was strangely ethereal—not like the cove exactly, but it held the same essence, some of the same history. Unseen, like music drifting in the air, a warm current flowed freely.of the place Aecor, I realized, becoming more familiar with its presence with each passing day . From where I stood, I saw parts of the floor had been stolen by time. Their wounds revealed a small cellar below. To my right, the rock wall was charred black. Taking a closer look, I noticed that beneath the moss and growth, the ruin looked as if it had burned down, lifetimes ago. The thought made a shiver run down my spine.

Taking me by both of my hands, Griffin took a small step away from my side to face me. He lifted his head to the falling sky and smiled as the white flakes dusted his dark hair. “What do you think?” he asked me while his face stayed upturned, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the snowflakes caught in his lashes. Somehow, the pure joy on his face had me forgetting what I lived through just hours before. I stepped forward, moving closer to him, which caused him to look down. I hadn’t realized how much taller he was than me; as I stood there, swimming in his hoodie and looking up at him, he seemed to tower over me. I lifted my hands to his face, the sleeves of the sweatshirt covering my arm and the remnants of dried blood that refused to wash away. He let me hold him.

“Thank you,” I whispered, tilting my chin upward. He dipped down and caught my mouth with his. He kissed me, simply and intently. While he held me close against his body I felt safe. Emotions threatened to spill out of me as I swallowed the lump in my throat and fought the stinging in my eyes. Both of Griffin’s hands were on either side of my face, fingers laced in my hair. And he deepened the kiss, and expertly stole my breath. Heat built in my core, replacing the swell of tenderness that was there moments before. But then he pulled away, separating us once again with a step back. I still felt a buzzing on my lips from the absence of his. I swept my fingers across them as I watched him in confusion.

“I have to tell you something—before this goes any further.” He was only a foot away from me, though his words made it feel like we were separated by miles. My stomach dropped as a burst of insecurity exploded inside of me. Was I getting too close, too quickly? I thought I was meeting him where he was at, but maybe I was scaring him? I mean, it’s a common issue with guys I’ve been interested in the past. They just wanted to hook up, in their words: “have some fun,” but they mistook my enthusiasm for clinginess. I didn’t think I was being like that now with Griffin. Still, I didn’t trust my perspective on the matters. Not with my dating track record, if you could even call it that.

“I–I’m sorry.” I hesitated and took a step back, creating even more distance between us. Griffin’s smile faltered, and he reached for my hand to pull me in closer, his brow immediately furrowing.

“What? What do you have to be sorry about?” His confusion matched mine now.

“I’m sorry if I’m coming off as too much—” I stopped upon seeing his expression change, soften even further. If it wasn’t about me being too clingy, then what did he want to talk about?

Griffin’s eyes widened and he promptly blinked.

“Hold on. You have nothing to apologize for.” He shook his head before continuing. “Raina.” He breathed into the sunlight as I felt the snowflakes fall through the dilapidated roof and land on my lashes. His voice sounded so warm. “I know what you are.” I froze mid-inhale, nearly choking on the cold and the shock of what he said. I flinch away from him, the weight of his suspicions pressing me backwards. My breath grew stale in my lungs and my body demanded for me to exhale, but I couldn’t. He can’t mean… My heartbeat pounded in my ears. How could he possibly know what I was? I played dumb and tried to put on a puzzled expression. But I barely had the energy to feign ignorance—not to mention I couldn’t act for shit. Nevertheless, my mind was racing to come up with something to say. Before a single thought formed, Griffin confessed. “I can do it too.” He took a step towards me. I couldn’t react. “See?”

A wave of Aecor rushed around me. It connected to the power from within my bones, and I closed my eyes until I felt it stop. The sensation of Aecor surrounding me made my head spin.

“Open your eyes. It’s ok.” His voice was closer now. I lifted my eyelids to see him mere inches from my face. Something felt different. I looked past his shoulder and around the ruins. The snowflakes stopped, motionless in the air around us. “I can do it too,” he repeated. Griffin reached out and poked a snowflake which melted against his touch. Slowly, the snow began to fall again. I couldn’t see a way out of this.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean.” My voice cracked. Anabel’s warning pushed toward the forefront of my mind.

“I felt it since I first saw you. There are others like you here on the island.” He spoke quietly and his soft smile met his eyes.

My mind reacted defensively. Ok, so he thinks I don’t know about anyone else, that’s good. He might not know that Bridget and Sarah are also involved—that would be even better. The less he knows, the more control we have with this whole ‘cursed’ situation. Does he know about witches being attacked? I should warn him. But what if he’s the—.

His voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Our magic is heightened for some reason. It was never like this before, rather always dormant. Only since you arrived has it become more …” His eyes glittered like jade as he idly brushed a loose strand of my hair over my shoulder. “Since you got here, we’ve been able to push our Aecor to its limits.”

Griffin’s eyes suddenly had a fire behind them that hadn’t been there a moment before, and I wasn’t sure how to take it. I understood the feeling he was describing, but I wasn’t exactly comforted by the fact that others had felt it too. Aecor surged through the ruins once more. Though, Griffin hadn’t seemed to notice. Every bit inside of me told me to leave this place immediately, but for some reason I couldn’t move.

I wanted to say that he wasn't making any sense, feigning ignorance, but instead I asked, “Who is ‘we’?” He didn’t answer me. On the contrary, he looked down at my shivering frame. He was much too close to me, making it difficult to summon Air to help warm me. The slight tension hung between us, especially as he seemed ready to accuse me of being a witch—a fact I was ready to deny repeatedly, if necessary.

“You are something special Raina, someone extraordinary.” The blaze in his eyes was gone, replaced by tenderness, yet perhaps I had imagined the fierceness that had been there before.

“I am nothing.” I spoke the words, not out of self depreciation, but out of denial. Griffin could not know the truth.

“Well, you are becoming my everything.” Griffin kissed me as the snow stilled around us again.