Page 105 of Bewitched By the Djinn
No.
There.
A fault line buried beneath centuries of misuse and corrupted power.
I guide Bennet’s power to it like a key to a lock, and together, we push.
The ring screams and then cracks and then shatters.
Hugh crumples to the floor. Still. Unmoving.
The smoky ifrit around us dissolve, their bodies unraveling into mist. The room is still lit with embers, glowing in the aftermath.
Bennet lands hard, stumbling to one knee.
I bend over him, clutching at him. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”
He nods once, dazed. “I—I didn’t know if I could do it.”
Helen stands nearby, silent for a long moment, then says softly, “It’s over.”
Behind us, our allies regroup, helping each other up, brushing off dust. Bruised and bloody but alive. The castle has gone still, the threat broken.
Holy shit. We kicked ass.
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
I’m wrapped in a soft oversized shirt from the wardrobe in Bennet’s chambers, curled up on a couch near the fire while he leans against the hearth, shirt half-unbuttoned and hair still damp from a bath. He’s got a cut on his temple, bruises all over, and fatigue etched into his pores. We both look like we nearly died. Maybe because that’s exactly what happened.
But we’re alive. We won.
The fire crackles, casting warm light over the stone floor. I let my head rest against the cushions and close my eyes for a moment.
My mind won’t stop buzzing.
The aftermath is a strange kind of numb. I keep turning the whole night over in my head, trying to make sense of it. After the battle, everything blurred.
There were others in the dungeon rescued, servants that had been locked up for not complying with Hugh’s plans, including Torren, the head guard. Dominic and Lord Wallace were among the prisoners, both bruised and hungry but upright.
We cleared the castle of the lingering ifrit. Most had vanished when Hugh fell, like smoke in the wind. But a few remained, confused and suddenly directionless. Bennet and Helen handledthem quickly, banishing the remaining wisps of smoke with magic.
Helen wanted to return to Delores right away. And Mom and Dad are aching to see Jackie and Kevin and Mimi. But we need rest first. Just one night.
Tomorrow, we’ll regroup. Head home. Make a plan.
And tonight . . .
I glance at Bennet. He’s watching me, that quiet, thoughtful gaze of his, like he knows exactly where my head is even if I haven’t said a word.
“You’re thinking too loud.” He pushes off the fireplace and crossing the room to me.
My lips tug upward. “Sorry.”
“You don’t have to be.” He sits beside me. The heat of him is solid and warm and real. “I keep going over it too.”
I lean into him. “We almost didn’t win.”
