Fire Spell (16 page)

She slammed a plate into the sink. “This is our job. We are doing the
Fire Spell
. Things are falling apart. Spells are broken. If you back out, you’ll let everyone down.” She turned to him. “You’ll let me down.”

“I don’t want to do that. You know that, right?” He wrapped a hand around her waist; his fingers traced her collarbone. I wasn’t sure if I should step back in the hall. This was so surreal to watch.

She nodded.

“Nothing matters to me more than you. Nothing.” He kissed her on the mouth, and the other dish she was holding fell to the floor. Oh crap, was I getting ready to witness a make out session? I looked at the broken plate on the floor, hoping the kiss would be brief.

“Leo, you’re trying to distract me.” She pushed against him. “We are ready for this spell. Together we can do anything.” She tugged on his shirt.

“We can and we will, but I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“It won’t because I will have the ultimate Guardian with me, protecting me every second we’re there.” She threw her arms around his neck, and he picked her up.

This was definitely my cue to leave. I tiptoed to the door. I watched as Leo carried her up the stairs. I walked back to the theater, knowing I needed to choose tomorrow’s date. What was the
Fire Spell
?

I reentered the seam and 1949 only an hour after I had first arrived. It was the next day in 1949. Maybe my grandmother and Leo would be deep in
Fire Spell
preparations.

I walked toward her house, repeating what I had just done and entered the white door. It smelled like chocolate chip cookies. I saw my grandmother in the kitchen, an apron tied around her waist, bustling from the oven to the table, dumping cookies in big piles. She always baked when she was nervous. For a second, I wanted to hug her and tell her I was here with her, but Leo burst through the kitchen door.

“Hey, gorgeous.” He wrapped her in a hug, lifting her feet from the floor.

“Hello to you.” She smiled as he deposited her on the floor.

“Are you ready for tonight?” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. I sighed, recognizing the gesture.

She gazed into his eyes. “I am.”

“What is happening in here?” He pointed at the rows of cookies.

She flattened the apron. “I thought you might like cookies before we go.”

He pulled her into his arms. “Aren’t you the one who said yesterday that you had the best Guardian with you?”

She nodded. “I did say that.”

“Then, once we perform the spell, there will be nothing for us to worry about.”

“But the timing has to be perfect. There is a one-hour window to perform the spell.” Her eyes dropped to the floor.

He tilted her chin toward him. “Is there anything else you’re worried about?”

“Well, I’m not particularly fond of blood.” She grimaced, and so did I. What blood could she be talking about?

He pressed his palm into hers and raised their hands to the ceiling. “It will only be a tiny cut, sweetheart. You won’t even feel it. Focus on me; focus on us joining our energy together. It’s not like we don’t do that every night.”

She swatted him on the chest. “Leo.”

He kissed her cheek. “It’s just a little blood.”

She looked at him. “And tears, it’s blood and tears.” I held my breath and waited for her to continue. “We have to hurt each other so deeply we pour tears into each other’s palms. It’s not quite something I’m looking forward to doing.” She turned to the cookies and lined them on a platter.

“But you’re forgetting the other part.” He put his hands on her shoulders and spun her around.

“What part? All I can think about is hurting you like that.”

“Together, we will heal, and together we will form the
Fire Spell
that will wipe out the evil plaguing the world. The Sognare Ladri will be erased from the Earth because of us. They won’t be able to cause nightmares that tear families apart, and they won’t be able to steer people toward the darkness. They won’t have the power to make Proxies or to torture witches. We will bring light to people’s dreams.” He kissed her forehead. “For that, I will make you cry, I will cry, and I will hold you until we are whole. We can do this, Lily.”

I was certain they heard me gasp. It didn’t matter what happened tonight. I knew they failed. The Sognare Ladri had invaded my life, and I could only imagine how many other people they had tortured with misguided Foresights and evil threats. They were the ones who had made Helen? If they could create Proxies, they could steal magic too. I shivered. How much magic would they have the power to steal? And what in the hell was a Sognare Ladri?

Lily nodded as Leo’s mouth landed on hers. I crept down the hall, letting them have their moment. I had enough information to share with Holly and Ian. And with Finn.

If what I heard was the only way to rid the world of that kind of darkness, he and I were going to have to perform a
Fire Spell
. Just when I thought I was done letting him hurt me. I closed the door behind me and took my time walking back to the theater. I wasn’t ready to share my discovery with everyone quite yet.

Grace Family Beach House 2011

“Babe, don’t put your shirt back on.” Finn tugged on my arm as I struggled to grab my tank top. It was halfway across the deck.

“We can’t stay out here naked.” I eyed him, knowing I liked him best this way. He was gorgeous—sculpted arms, chest, and abs.

“Yes, we can.” He pulled me back on the chaise.

We had managed to have the most amazing beach house, deck sex of my life. Although, I was certain I would never be able to read in this chaise lounge again without thinking about him and his daring strip routine. I wasn’t complaining.

It might have been because Finn had just opened up about his family, his adoption, and his parents’ death, but I had never felt so close to him. If he wanted to stay naked a little while longer, I could handle that. I settled next to him, resting my head on his arm.

He drew circles on my back, and I let my eyes close, knowing I would never forget this moment with him. “Finn?”

“Hmm…mmm?”

“I’m glad you told me about your parents.” The moment felt fragile, but I wanted him to know he could trust me. He could talk to me about anything.

He kissed my forehead. “It’s easy to talk to you.”

I grinned. It was more than magic that we shared. Being together was as natural as breathing, but he lit an electric current in me that was so consuming and exhilarating. It wasn’t like anything I could describe.

“Listening is the easy part.” I ran my hand along his chest. My heart was on fire for him. Sometimes I felt like, no matter what Finn gave me, I could never get enough of him.

“Babe?”

“Mmm...hmm.” I loved how his skin felt, how we felt pressed together like this. The ocean crashed against the shore.

“Do you ever think that everything we’ve gone through before we met was meant to lead us together?”

My eyes opened. This was serious. As in, serious relationship talk serious. “Like everything happens for a reason?”

He chuckled. “More than that.” He played with my hair, layering the strands over my shoulders. “Like we were supposed to be together, that we have a purpose together?”

I hadn’t thought of our relationship like that. I knew the first minute I met Finn I was immediately attracted to him. It was those damn sparkly eyes. I did sleep with him in fifteen minutes flat, ok maybe more like thirty, but I couldn’t keep my hands off him. Since then we were inseparable, but I always thought it was because I had fallen in love. For the first time, it felt like the kind of exciting adult love that movies are written about. It was epic and amazing.

“Of course we have a purpose together.” I leaned forward, taking his mouth to mine. His lips were sweet like the wine we were drinking.

“What do you think it is?” He adjusted my hips so I was now lying on top of him. Did he actually need me to concentrate? Because he was pressed against me, and his hand stroked my lower back.

I dipped my tongue inside his mouth, eager to feel him move against me. We were electric together.

“Babe, I’m being serious.” He pushed against me.

I frowned. “Sorry.” I pretended to make a serious face. “Let me think.”

“I feel it.” He looked at me, and for a second, I wondered if I heard what I thought I heard.

“What did you say?” I draped my arms over his shoulders as he steadied himself on his elbows.

“I feel the purpose between us. You think I’m crazy now, don’t you?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I don’t think that’s crazy. I’ve always felt something different with you, but I never described it as a purpose. I thought it was love.” I wasn’t sure if my feelings were hurt, or if this meant we were on some greater level of love.

He traced my collarbone and planted a kiss at the base of my throat. “It is love. I do love you.”

I wanted to squeal out how happy those words made me, but I refrained. Cool girlfriend was the way to go.

“But, I think there’s more to us. I just don’t know what it is.”

I grinned. I didn’t care what in the hell was in store for us. Finn loved me. He had hinted before, but he had said it under the stars, next to the ocean, on my favorite chaise lounge. He was in love with me. Nothing else in the world mattered.

I kissed him and leaned into him. I looked into his eyes and saw everything my future had to offer. My eyes closed, and I let my body show him how much I loved him back.