Page 34 of The Magic of Revenge
My throat felt thick and dry. The way she was looking at me, the way her eyes glistened with unshed tears, had my own eyes tingling with wetness. "Sweetheart..."
A sob burst from her mouth and she threw herself down on top of me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Fischer, oh my gods, you're here. You're alive. Thank the stars," she whimpered, burying her face against my neck as she straddled me on the floor.
Why wouldn’t I be alive?My mind started racing, sifting through my memories, trying to remember what the fuck had gone on last night. Saige's grip around my neck tightened and I froze for a split second before rolling and pinning her arms above her head. Far out of reach from my throat.
"Guppy. My gods. You died, you were d-dead." Her voice cracked and her rosy red cheeks were shining with fresh tears.
Dead?I shook my head as though that would jog my memory. My eyes caught on bruising on my forearms. The marks were days old by now, turning yellow in spots as they healed. Lifting an arm, I turned it and saw that the bruising wrapped around in a continuous coil that reminded me of a snake. Twisting, wrapping, tightening...
The vines, being choked to death. By the stars… the pentagram. The spell…
My hands flew to my throat as it was suddenly very hard for me to breathe. Saige sat up just as I fell back on my ass, clutching at an invisible enemy.
"You're safe, Guppy. She can't get you here. Shhh," she cooed. "Breathe. You're here with us. We love you, you're safe." Saige wrapped her arms around me, around my torso this time, and laid her head against my chest. My breathing was already slowing down.
"Where are they? Are they safe? Are they here?" I questioned quickly, as more and more flashes of that night flooded back.
"Take it easy, son. Let's get you two cleaned up and get some food in your bellies and then we can talk," Bette's voice came from behind me and I turned to look at her, seeing Faris with his arm around the older witch.
"Faris," I warned.
"Oh do fuck off, brother." He rolled his eyes and winked at Bette.
"Who are you?" Saige asked, studying him closely.
"Who?" Faris looked around dramatically. "Oh, you mean me? I'm Faris. Fischer's better looking and more intelligent brother."
"Brother?" Saige asked, looking between the two of us. "You're identical."
"I'm bigger than him," Faris added, staring at Saige with fire in his eyes.
"You're literally the same size," she replied.
"Wanna check...Firefly?" He winked as her eyes snapped to his and her cheeks turned a deep shade of red. That son of a bitch. Flaunting the fact that he'd been around for far longer than anyone realized. Not only that, but he'd fucked her with me.Fuck.
The two were stuck in some kind of stare down that ended when Faris flashed a blinding smile at her, his fangs nowhere in sight. I gave that dickhead the finger and got off the floor, pulling Saige up and hugging her against me.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. My memory is slow to catch up right now... but last I remember, you had been stolen from us and taken to Besmet. Are you okay? Did they harm you?" I ran my hands over her body, unable to keep myself from touching her, making sure she was really here in front of me and whole. She must've had the same desire because her palms were on my chest, her thumbs lightly tracing circles.
"Yes, gods, yes. I'm fine. I got back not long after... and found you out there and you, y-you," she paused, her big green eyes sparkling with tears yet again.
"Shh, don't cry, sweetheart. I did what I had to do, for them. For you. It seems the stars aren't done with our story yet. I know I'm not," I said softly, taking her face in my hands and gently kissing her pink lips.
A deep voice had my spine stiffening. "Who the fuck are you? What are you?"
Spinning without hesitation, I pushed Saige behind me and snarled at the man who had caused so much fucking trouble in my life. Khol Larson.
He had Faris in a headlock with a knife at his throat.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I boomed, quickly losing my damn mind. There was too much going on. "I'm going to take great pleasure in dismantling your brain from the inside out, one lobe at a time," I promised, slowly advancing toward him like the predator I fucking was. Nobody was taking my girl from me ever again. Especially not this lying, scum, fucking— A burst of anxiety flooded my senses, but it wasn’t mine.
'Fischer, it's okay. Stop. Please.'
"It's not okay. All of this shit would never have happened if he hadn't fucking taken you from us!" I barked and Bette flinched at the sheer volume.
'You can hear me?'
