Page 58 of The Magic of Discovery
I exploded from the house, Kai hot on my heels.She’s okay, I tried to tell myself.She has to be. But my brain wasn’t functioning correctly; something was wrong, and I wasn’t there to protect my woman. Fuck. I snarled and sprinted through the grass that was up to my knees. Everything was overgrown and wild, greens and a spectrum of bright colors bleeding into my periphery, but all I knew was that this wasn’t normal, and I couldn’t see my little witch.
Darkness flashed beside me, along with a deep growl.Bagheera.Good, the big cat would be able to sniff her out, and he’d lead me right to her. A blip of white darted past me with another growl, this one much softer.Maven.
Lightning lit up the sky with every step I took. “Saige!” I roared, needing to hear that she was alright.Please.
Bagheera and Maven disappeared into the wild growth while I followed, stomping through the damn foliage. Vaguely registering the voices of my brothers calling out that everyone was alright, I changed my direction. My heart didn’t calm at their declarations though; I needed to see for myself, take her in my arms and feel her heartbeat pounding in her chest.
Pushing through a wall of pines, I froze. Her back was to me, Kai’s arms wrapped around her. Red hair whipped through the wind that was picking up, matching my erratic pulse.
“Little witch,” I rasped.
Seeing her big green eyes and flushed cheeks did something to me. I never wanted to see that look on her beautiful face again. Her dress was filthy, and dirt was covering up to her elbows, as well as smeared across her forehead. Tears welled in her eyes as I closed the distance between us.
“Cam,” she sobbed, collapsing against my chest.
“Baby, are you hurt? I’m so sorry,” I grumbled against her neck. The intensity of my feelings for her hit me like a freight train, and the thought of losing her had a crack of thunder exploding from the heavens so loud Maven started snarling.
“I’m not hurt, Daddy,” she whispered in my ear. “I’m okay. Just... freaked out and exhausted.”
Scooping her up into my arms, she protested, but I narrowed my eyes as more lightning crackled, illuminating our faces. She didn’t argue when I turned from the others and stomped through the gardens, not giving a fuck what I was crushing under my boots. The paths were completely hidden from view, so it wasn’t like I could’ve taken more care.
Bette was standing on the back patio, her coppery head barely peeking over the tips of the grass. Relief flooded her face, and her body deflated, adrenaline no doubt draining away. I nodded toward the door, signaling I was carrying Saige directly inside. Sloane and Fischer materialized out of the jungle behind me, Fish wrapping an arm around Bette and guiding her to follow us. I assumed Kai was probably getting some clothes out of his backpack in the mudroom before joining us. Even Maven, the little grump, was on high alert, his hackles raised as he patrolled through the house, ears flicking with every sound he detected.
“You can put me down, Cam.”
“I’ll put you down when I’m good and fucking ready. Living room in here?” I nodded to the entryway that was off of the kitchen, and she confirmed. Scowling, I carried her into the room and sat down at the end of a large navy blue sectional, positioning her in my lap so that my arms could wrap around her waist. She pulled my head against her shoulder, as if sensing I needed the connection, and began running her fingers through my hair.
Kai darted into the room, eyes wild before they landed on our girl. Sometimes it took him a few minutes to shake off Bagheera’s energy after a quick shift between forms. It definitely hadn’t helped that even though we had Saige, she didn’t look her best. Not wasting a moment, he lifted her feet and dropped down right beside me, his hands running up and down her legs while tense growls slipped through his lips.
Once everyone was seated, Kai couldn’t hold it in any longer. “What the hell happened?”
“Red got a power boost somehow,” Sloane recounted. “I asked her to fix some dead plants and the next thing we knew she was in la la land, completely zoned out and dropping a metric fuck ton of magic into the earth. She didn’t respond to us, and it wasn’t until I yanked her back, physically severing the connection with the dirt, that she snapped out of it.” I studied his face while we listened. His mask of not giving a shit was in place, but his eyes told a different story. He was flustered, and Sloane Sullivan didn’t do flustered.
“How do you feel, child?” The older witch sat in a chair and rocked back and forth, drawing everyone’s attention, like she was going to pull out a bedtime story and read to all of us crazy kids.
Before my little witch could respond, a huge yawn broke free, earning a chuckle from Fischer.
“Like I ran a marathon after being awake for twenty-four hours. My whole body aches,” Saige confessed, sighing.
“Let me make you some tea, Sprout. It’ll help with the muscles and lure you to a peaceful sleep. You should rest,” Kai told her, but the last part of that was more of a message to everyone; now was not the time to push. With one last look of warning, he stood and prowled out of the room.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t do any magic for a while, just until we see what happens over the next week or so. The rush, it felt... addictive. I’ve never felt more powerful in my life, and honestly? It scared me. Who knows what I’m capable of, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to anyone because I can’t control myself,” Saige sniffed, her sadness seeping from her body into my own.
Bette’s gaze softened on her granddaughter. “Perhaps that is for the best, child. This won’t last forever, and we’ll figure it out, together. Your men are intelligent, and the knowledge from their training will prove incredibly useful. Plus, I don’t think the big man is going to let you out of his sight.”
Slipping back into the room on silent feet, Kai pressed the mug of tea into Saige’s hands before reclaiming his seat underneath her legs. A small contented sigh escaped her as she sipped the calming brew, her body growing pliant in my hold.
“I do believe I will take my leave now,” Bette announced, having taken in the desperate looks we’d all focused on our girl.
“Let me make sure you get to your place without trouble?” Fischer offered, but she waved him off.
“There’s nothing out there that my magic can’t handle, boy. Stay here where you’re needed. It was a pleasure to meet everyone. I have no doubt we’ll be seeing more of each other now. You’re all welcome to help as much as you’d like; we need all hands on deck,” she told us as she approached Saige, holding her hand when she got close enough. “Call me if you need anything.”
My little witch squeezed her grandmother’s hand and nodded. “I will, Gran. Goodnight.”
The rest of the guys called out goodnights and farewells, and I think I grumbled some sort of noise, but I couldn’t do much of anything at the moment besides squeeze Saige and run my nose up and down her neck.
“Boss, how about we get her upstairs so she can shower and relax?” Kai questioned, but it was more of a statement seeing as how he was already rising from the couch.
