Page 65 of Firedrake Betrayal
18
JADE
It’s later in the day, and I’m at Meliah’s house.
Mostly so I could see my dad. No one argued against it.
Almeth knows where we are, so it was probably a good idea that we get out of the house for a little while in case he sends Atticus and his guards after us.
Patten is waiting outside, despite Meliah inviting him in. He refused to take one step into Meliah’s house. When I asked him why he wanted to come with me instead of Shep or even Isaiah, he said he wouldn’t hesitate to bury a bullet in the witch’s head if she so much as twitched wrong. Which is how I learned he took a gun from one of Atticus’s guards and has it stuffed at the waistband of his jeans.
Shep, Isaiah, and Dominik are in the car parked a little away from the house, watching, just in case. We took twenty minutes to get here, driving in loops, so if anyone was following us they’d wind up as dizzy as I was when Shep finally parked up outside Meliah’s house.
That doesn’t mean someone won’t soon follow. Shep, Isaiah, and Dominik will prevent anyone from getting inside to me orDad. Patten is there to stop Meliah, who he kept muttering in the car was biding her time before she cursed us all.
I’ve been sitting in a dining chair in a red and orange bedroom, beside Dad’s bed for five minutes now, and Dad has yet to open his eyes. His skin is still pale, and I hope I’m not imagining the shrinking thin silver veins on his chest.
He’s getting better. Unless I’m seeing something that isn’t there—which, after what happened with the refrigerator, is entirely possible—he’s getting better.
Despite his lies, and him abandoning me in an attic for so long, I still love him. He’s the only family I have left, and I don’t want to lose him.
I take one of Dad’s icy hands in both of mine and squeeze. “I have so many questions for you, Dad. It’s not even funny.”
Right when I’m emerging, I don’t have Dad to talk to, and I can’t trust the only other person who has been through this and knows what I should expect to tell me the truth.
“Did you want some tea?” Meliah calls from the doorway.
I could stay with Dad, but I might have a few minutes to find out how exactly Meliah and Dad know each other, and how he came to save her life.
After giving Dad’s hand one last squeeze, I drop a kiss on his forehead and stand. “Yes, please.”
“We’ll be more comfortable in the kitchen,” Meliah says.
I follow her down the stairs and into her kitchen, and I try not to stare at all the herbs or the tiny brown bottles she has lined up beside a big white sink.
“How is he, really?” I ask as I slip on a wooden stool at her black granite kitchen island.
Meliah fills an iron kettle with water and places it on the stove before she turns the flame on under it. “Very slowly healing.”
I watch her open a cupboard beside the stove and pull out two handmade looking gray mugs and a square silver tin. “He didn’t open his eyes.”
“The body, when fighting, needs time to mend itself.” Meliah peers over her shoulder at me. “Sleeping like this, getting undisturbed rest, is the best thing for him.”
I search her expression for signs of deception, and when I don’t find it, I nod. “Okay.”
Meliah turns back to the mugs, pulling a spoon from a drawer beside her. “I’ll make us some tea. Loose leaf mint, chamomile, and lavender. A home recipe.”
I recall Patten warning me not to eat or drink anything the witch offered me.
He has reasons for not trusting witches. A ten-year curse would make anyone suspicious, but I don’t think Meliah would hurt me or my dad. She truly does seem to be doing everything she can to help him.
“That sounds nice.” I study her, curious. “I’m surprised you’re putting yourself in so much danger for my dad. Aren’t you afraid of Atticus?”
She spoons bright green leaves flecked with dull purple that must be lavender into the mugs. “As I said, your father saved my life. And I am… prepared for Atticus. As best I can be. He doesn’t frighten me.”
“How exactly did Dad save you?” I ask.
Meliah places the lid back on the metal tin and returns it to the cupboard as the kettle on the stove beside her starts to whistle softly.
