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“Michaela’s in hospital,” I said. “I need you to come with me and tell the police what we know. If we don’t, George might actually succeed in killing her.”
Ben’s face paled. “You know it’s George?”
“He came to our house yesterday, and he didn’t have his watch on. That must mean that was his watch that we found with Tyler in the ocean,” I said.
“Ben!” Margaret snapped. “Explain yourself. Have you been talking with this girl?”
“She’s been helping me find out what happened to Tyler,” Ben said. “There’s more to it than the police know.”
“Son, I know you want Tyler’s death to have some sort of cause, but trying to make someone accountable for his death won’t help your grief,” Samuel said. “It was an accident.”
“It wasn’t,” Ben said through gritted teeth. “Even if we can’t prove it yet, which we can’t, by the way,” he added at me.
I held up a finger to him. “We might, actually.”
I reached for the potion in my pocket, but my hand snapped into the air under a seemingly magical force.
My heels dragged across the tiles as my hand yanked itself through the air and pinned against the wall. It was then that I spotted Brenda pointing her finger at me.
Damn telekinesis. Witches rarely had active powers outside of potion and spell brewing, but trust her, of all people, to have one.
“Everyone stop, now!” Ben bellowed so loudly that his mother jumped back a step, but his aunt didn’t lower her hand. “This is serious. If anyone uses their powers on her while she’s here, I’ll have the police here for you.”
Double damn.
Warmth blossomed across my chest as he turned to me with a face like thunder.
Somewhere in him, he wanted to protect me.
Reluctantly, Brenda lowered her hand, releasing me from her magical binding. I shook my hand out a bit to get the feeling back.
Ben slipped his hand into my pocket, and for a split second, his fingers grazed my torso with a thin membrane of fabric between us. A tingle graced my skin at his touch.
He pulled the potion bottle out, and his eyes widened. “You replicated the potion we found?”
“Yes, and it didn’t take us long to figure out what’s in it—a herbicide that the fae use to get rid of invasive weeds. It’s completely untraceable in the bloodstream.”
Ben’s fingers loosened around the bottle as he stared at it, and I worried he might drop it. “How long do we have to save her?”
“Not long, is my guess. That’s why we have to talk to Mallory now, or we could be too late.”
“Ben, you can’t seriously go anywhere with her?” Adrian said. “This could be a trap!”
“Will you all get over yourselves?” Ben snapped. “This isn’t about our families. Can’t you understand that? This is about Tyler and his mum. Maybe if you all didn’t make this stupid feud your entire identities, you’d all be happier.”
I counted on my fingers… triple damn? I’d lost count.
“Come on.” Ben took me by the arm and guided me toward the back door. “You’re right. We have to do this now.”
“Ben—” Margaret stopped talking the second Ben whipped around to glare at her.
“Not another word from any of you,” he said. “And if I hear anyone’s done something stupid to an Arrowood while I’m gone, expect a visit from the police.”
With that, Ben marched me out the back door and around the side of the house.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Ben asked as we headed toward a garage on the other side of the driveway. “You risked an all-out war between our families.”
“Well, maybe you’re not the only one who thinks people should stop prioritising this feud over everything—and everyone—else,” I said. “I wasn’t about to let Michaela die over it. Besides, I wouldn’t have had to if you hadn’t blocked my number.”
