Page 89 of Heart of a Witch
Room. My room. Where there was a dead body. My mind ticked over the words slowly, and I managed to stop him before he could half carry me up the stairs. “No,” I blurted, tugging him back toward the kitchen. “It’s a headache,” I lied, and the world warped again. Flashes of seeing Ember dead, mixed with Alex being attacked and a body on the ground, swarmed through my mind, and the darkness inside of me, taken from the magic I’d been using, was latching onto those painful memories. “Please,” I pulled him again, struggling to keep ahold of his shirt.
“Calm down, love.” He wrapped an arm under mine, and I collapsed against his chest. He held me tight, lifting my feet from the ground, and carried me into the living room. “I’ve got you.” He placed me on the sofa and kneeled in front of me. “Victoria, can you hear me?” He stroked strands from my forehead, tucking them behind my ear. “Should I get your brother?”
“No.” He couldn’t go upstairs. That much still made sense to me. I pulled him closer, resting my forehead against his. “Stay with me.”
“Okay.” He stroked the back of my head, holding me tight. “I won’t leave you.”
It was dark outside when I awoke. Only black rippled between the cracks in the drapes. The pounding in my head was gone, and the room wasn’t spinning, so that was good. I looked around, expecting Elijah, but instead spotted my brother half-asleep on the armchair. I rubbed my eyes, sitting up slowly. Had I ruined everything? Had Elijah gone upstairs? Oh gods, Alex… the dead body.
Cas looked at me, bleary-eyed, and straightened himself. “You’re awake.”
“Did I mess up?”
He lowered his head in his hands and shook them before he looked back at me. “No. It’s me who has.”
“What happened?”
“I should have seen it before. I’ve been so focused on our plan that I lost sight of my family.”
“What do you mean?”
He swallowed thickly, wringing his hands. “You’re losing your mind, aren’t you?”
I let out a tense breath. “It’s nothing, just a few headaches here and there.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
I fell silent. He knew. I knew. I couldn’t hide it, and he was smarter than I liked to think. “Alex.”
“Is okay. She’s healing.”
My heart ached. “Good. Where’s Elijah?”
He paused, running his hand through his dark locks. “He’s gone.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know, but he has friends here. He can take care of himself. He’s a big boy.”
“Damian knows about us. Elijah came to warn me. It takes away our element of surprise.”
“I know.” He looked at the floor. “He told me before he left. I kept him away from your bedroom until I could cloak Richard Blackwood’s body. I performed dark magic, and well… after, my head wasn’t right for a bit. I couldn’t think straight, and I realized that with you doing dark magic, paired with all the trauma you’ve been through, you’re not okay. You passed out upstairs, and now down here.” He lifted a glass jar with only a bit of amber residue sticking to the sides. “I’ve been working on something new, to help those in asylums who lose time and memories.”
I hazily recalled drinking something at some point. Had he awakened me? “Thank you.”
“You should have told me. You don’t need to take on all the burdens on your own. We’re your family; you can lean on us and, at the very least, lean on me.”
“I’m used to doing things on my own.”
“I’m well aware, sister.” He exhaled heavily. The orange hues from the fireplace danced against his skin, flickering in his brown eyes. “I’m taking Blackwood’s body out to the woods shortly.”
“I thought you said it wasn’t safe.”
“I don’t have a choice. I need a place to bury him. I’ve cloaked his body from sight. It’s my saving grace while the spell lasts.”
“I’ll help.” I tried to stand, but his tortured gaze stopped me in my tracks.
“No. I want you resting. I have some more of this.” He waved the jar in his hand. “You should drink it and take it easy. Alex is sleeping, and Corbin didn’t let on he’d heard anything, but I’m not entirely convinced. We’ll keep him here until we know for sure.”
