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Finding Vincent that way hurt us all. As much as we want Red to take some time off and process what she saw, we can’t afford it. So, while James is telling Grammy what happened, the rest of us are babysitting Red to make sure she doesn’t race off into the forest to hunt Amber down.
“We’ve been at this for a while. Do you want to take a break?” I ask. The growl she responds with tells me that she’s not.
I know she’s still pissed about what happened to me while I was captured, and this only compounds her feelings. Now that she knows how the wolves are reacting to the potion Amber is using to attempt hybrid creation, she won’t stop until she finds a way to reverse it.
I don’t want anyone to suffer, either, but I’m not sure we can do anything about it besides trying to rescue who we can. Of course, I can’t convince her of that. Orym and Ryland busy themselves in the kitchen while I do my best to help Red figure out what spells might actually work when combined with her Fae powers. James is better at this stuff, but he’s still at Grammy’s.
“What about this one?” I ask, showing her the page I’m reading. It looks like a cleansing spell, and I wonder if it could clean the poison from the blood.
Red takes the book from me and reads the page a few times. She turns to her notebook and starts scribbling furiously. When she begins muttering to herself, I slip into the kitchen for a minute to check on the others.
“Dinner is almost done. Is she at a point where she’ll pause long enough to eat?” Orym asks as I pop my head into the room.
“I think so. If she’s not, you guys will have to convince her. We’ve found some useful things, but she needs a break,” I explain. I haven’t been able to get her to stop, even for a moment.
“I’ll handle it. Orym, you and Luca get things set up on the table. I’ll get Red to take a break,” Ryland insists, strolling into the living room. I want to follow him and watch her tear him apart, but I won’t.
“You said you guys found some useful spells? So, you think we have a chance, then,” Orym says as we carry the salad and spaghetti to the table. I set the table while he goes back for the garlic bread.
“I think so. We may have found a way to stop the potion’s effects. I don’t know if it will reverse the damage or not. But she might have been right about being able to save Vincent,” I say quietly.
“Let’s avoid telling her that, okay? Ryland already feels guilty about having to make that decision and then follow through on it. He did the right thing, and we need to back him up on it.”
RYLAND
The moment I step into the living room, I know she’s going to fight me on this. And I don’t blame her. “Red? Food is ready. You need to take a break and get something to eat.”
She looks up at me and snarls. If she was a wolf, I would have said she was about to shift. “I’m busy.” She turns back to her books, intending to ignore me.
“Red, you know what’s going to happen if you don’t listen to me. I don’t want to be a dick and destroy your books. But I will if you don’t cooperate.” I know the threat is a dirty trick, but she doesn’t know that I have no intention of actually doing it. I hope the threat will be enough.
“Ry, I don’t have time for this. I’m preparing to fight for my life here. Just leave me to it,” she says, exasperation clear in her voice. I walk over to her, taking the books from her hands and putting them on the table behind me.
She tries to pull away from me, but I box her in, backing her up against the wall. There’s nowhere for her to go, and we both know that she can’t overpower me. Her eyes slowly raise to meet my gaze, and I see the tears she’s fighting.
“It’s okay to take a minute to grieve. He was your brother, even if you weren’t actually related. It hurts, I know. Even more that I was the one to do it. And that I didn’t think to let you try to save him.” I pause, then continue, “Red, you have to know that it wasn’t intentional. I never would have done that on purpose. I know how badly my decision hurt you. But he was suffering, and I couldn’t leave him that way.” I pull her into my arms and hug her tightly.
“I know, Ry, and I’m trying so hard not to hold that against you. It just hurts, and I can’t handle it right now. I need to stay focused so I don’t fall apart. Everything is too much—between what happened to Vincent and James not wanting to be here—I have to keep moving or I’ll collapse,” she admits against my chest.
It hurts me to see her like this. I understand her need to do something, but I can’t let her wear herself down, either. “I understand, but you have to eat. You can’t just run on adrenaline and anger until you fall over because you haven’t taken care of yourself.”
She starts to object, but I stop her. “I know, and it’s fine. But you have to let us take care of you. Starting with dinner. You’re going to sit at the table and eat with us like a family. James will be here in just a couple of minutes. He texted me that Trevan is taking care of Grammy, and he’s having Mark and Steve walk back with him. No one goes anywhere alone.”
GARNET
I finally relent and let Ry lead me to the table to eat. I don’t want to, but he makes a good point about running myself down. I know he’s right, even if I won’t admit it. And I feel as if I’ve made more headway in the last two hours than I have in the last two weeks. I realize it’s not true, because over the last two weeks, I learned how to utilize my Fae powers and combine them with spells and other witch abilities.
Knowing that I may have a way to prevent someone else from ending up like Vincent makes me feel better, though. If only I’d had a chance to save my brother. I can’t stop myself from thinking of him that way, no matter what biology says. Just because he was an asshole, that doesn’t mean I stopped loving him when I found out we weren’t actually related.
Maybe Ry is right; I should give myself a little time to grieve this loss, then figure out how to use that pain to make me stronger. I consider that as I sit down. If I do take his advice, then I’ll have to figure out how to forgive James, too. It won’t be easy, but it’s not fair to hold Amber’s manipulation against him.
Fuck. None of this is going to be easy. Even knowing that ahead of time isn’t helpful. I could die facing off with Amber. Arguably, she’s a much more skilled witch than me. I have more raw power, but less control. I could actually hurt everyone I’m trying to save if I’m not careful. Which means I need to get my emotional shit in order so that I can focus on controlling my magic.
I don’t like the idea of it, but it’s what has to be done. I’ve made my decision by the time James walks in the cabin. “Grammy didn’t take it well, but Trevan is comforting her. I think she’ll be okay,” he says. He strolls over to me and drags me out of my chair, pressing his lips to mine.
I freeze for a moment, then let myself relax into his kiss. This is all I’ve wanted since he told me that he had to leave. As he kisses me, I feel our bond snap back into place. It feels as if it never left. I guess it must not have been broken after all. When he finally breaks the kiss, we’re both panting to catch our breath. “I’m not complaining, but what was that for?” I ask, looking at him in shock.
I wasn’t expecting him to act this way, and I have no idea what prompted it. Our conversation earlier led me to believe he wanted space and time to figure things out.
