November Reign (Northarbor Coven #3)

16. Afraid

Afraid

Thyme

Our conversation in the kitchen went a long way to clearing the air between me and Damon. I hadn’t expected so many feelings to come out of it. To think he saw me as a father figure was mind-boggling. I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.

Damon, embarrassed about his confession, was pretty quiet for all of a day. Then he seemed to accept I wasn’t going to make a big thing of it and relaxed. He was more open with me, which helped with running the coven. Handy since everything there was a shit show to deal with.

Biting back my retorts during coven meetings was beginning to sting. On and on I had to listen to these witches smearing Oak’s name, like they’ve never slept with anyone they later regretted. They made Oak sound like the devil! It was ridiculous!

It was as if they’d forgotten all the dedication Oak had given the coven, before and after Basil was the Head Witch. He was always by his sister’s side, supporting her and Poppy as they steered the coven through the waves Basil had made in the community. He was a protector when Poppy was pregnant, ensuring she didn’t overextend herself doing her duties as Head Witch. Her pregnancy was hard to start with because of the magic used to make a baby from herself and Zinna. Add to that the everyday tasks and magic needed as the leader of the coven, then there was a genuine risk of her losing the baby or her life to magical burnout.

Oak had been there through it all. He’d helped foster greater relationships with the shifters. He’d helped find Toth. There was no reason to suspect he was working with Basil.

Not that the coven would listen to me. I think it was an open secret I had feelings for the man. Those feelings were deep and complicated, but I wanted to see where things could go with him. If the coven wouldn’t accept Oak when this was all said and done, then I would leave. Damon had others to guide him. He could give me rights to live and practice magic in Northarbor outside of the coven. Me and Oak could be a coven of two, if that’s what he wanted.

So I had to hold my tongue and wait for them to be proven wrong. Oak’s plan to draw Basil out would work, then he could come home to me. Then I’d get my kiss. Maybe more .

Oak texted me each day to let me know he was out waiting for Basil to make contact with him. I’d just received another text about the tail on him. This was it. Basil had to be waiting for his moment to strike.

“Barr? Damon?”

My little brother, since I wasn’t ready to think of him as my son quite yet, had done the right thing. The day after our talk, he’d gone back to the demon realm to make amends with his friend. Barr was ready and willing to accept Damon’s apology with very little persuasion on Damon’s end. Barr had missed the house and everyone in it. I think it was painful for him to see Jorgoth in jail. It might have been a very comfortable prison, but the water elemental demon was not free.

They came back together that same day, smiles on their faces, Damon’s arm around the Hellhound’s shoulders. They were so sweet together. I’d hated the hurt Damon had inflicted on Barr unthinkingly. Nothing about it was out of malice, just thoughtlessness.

Having us all back together, minus Oak, was bittersweet.

“Prrr?” Hela stalked towards me.

“You might be useful too, if you want to come. Do you know where Damon is? ”

Hela turned and walked back to the training room where I found Cody, Parker, Damon, and Barr all running fighting drills. It was easy to see the skill and confidence both former hitmen had. Parker moved with shifter grace through his moves, none of them causing any difficulty. Damon’s were sharp, efficient. Borne out of years of practice. Cody and Barr clearly had some ways to go, though their improvement was remarkable. Damon was a great instructor.

“I got a text,” I said as Hela made her way to Cody. She pounced at him, which he dodged, laughing. The sound cut off when he registered my words.

“Is Oak okay?” Cody looked at Damon with concern on his face.

“He’s got someone following him. Today’s the day.”

“Alright, training is over. Let’s get ready to move out.” Damon began packing things away, leaving other items to the side, which he put in a bag.

“I’ll go tell the others,” I offered.

“No, Cody will. He’ll be staying behind with Toth and Mori. Parker?”

“I’ll get into the cameras and keep a track of everyone’s locations. I’ve already got Oak’s. He let me put the software on his phone.”

“Great.” Damon glanced at Cody as if waiting for him to argue. He didn’t, just left the room quickly, Hela on his heels .

It didn’t take us long to grab everything we needed and gather in the hallway. Barr was ready to portal to the location Parker fed us in the earpieces he gave to each of us. We weren’t leaving anyone behind.

“The cafe is in a busy spot, so there’s plenty of cover for you to watch. I want each of you here and here.” He pointed to a map on his phone. “As soon as Basil leaves, we can get him,” Damon explained the plan.

What should have been simple wasn’t. Basil had anticipated us. We got into place, then were separated as Basil’s witches attacked.

I felt the tether pull as Oak’s anxiety peaked. He was scared. I caught a glance of him, pretty sure he saw me too, but it wasn’t enough.

Minutes passed as the crowds of people pushed us further away from Oak. They scurried to get away from the magical attacks Basil’s people sent without a care who they hurt.

So many times I risked injury just so I could throw a hasty barrier over some humans. Screams and wails filled the air, almost deafening me.

“Oak’s on the move!” Parker cried in my ear. “Get eyes on him! The cameras are being blocked.”

I tried to move in the direction of the cafe, hoping without much hope to see Oak .

There! I caught his dark hair, tied back as usual. Basil was next to him, holding onto his arm as if they were just out for a stroll while we battled.

“Thyme!” Barr yelled just in time. A fireball came for my head. I ducked, rolled, and sprung up, a fireball of my own in my hands. I threw it at the witch, grazing their shoulder.

A sudden burst of panic sent me to my knees.

Oak!

The tether pulled sharply as his pain flooded my consciousness. Whatever was happening, I needed to stop it.

I got up on shaky feet, my sense of Oak filling my heart. I closed my eyes against the distractions.

“Cover me!” I shouted, unsure anyone was listening.

“Thyme’s tracking Oak. Watch his back.” The earpiece was useful at least, even if the rest of our plan went to shit.

Damon’s hand landed on my shoulder. “I’ve got a barrier up. Get us to Oak.”

I muttered a few words, lighting up the magical tether between us in my mind’s eye.

“There!” I pointed in the direction I knew Oak was. We didn’t have long. As he struggled to stay awake and was overwhelmed with pain, I could feel the connection between us slipping away .

We ran, our footsteps pounding the pavement while I hoped with all I had we would make it in time.

Shifters and witches were kicking a figure on the ground as they jeered. Basil stood to the side, watching. His smirk was cold as he met my eyes before sparing Oak a glance.

“To me!” he called. His people surrounded him. We had no chance if they attacked. We didn’t have the numbers. “See you soon, baby brother!”

Basil let off a smoke bomb, obscuring their escape.

“Why did he leave?” Damon frowned at where Basil had been standing.

“I don’t think we want to know. Just be glad he did.”

The smoke cleared, unveiling Oak. He was lying so still.

“Oak!” I rushed to his side, falling to my knees. Digging in my bag, I pulled out all the healing charms and potions I had on me. “Help me!” I urged Damon.

“Tell me what to do.”

He followed my directions, placing a charm over Oak’s heart, stabilizing it and his magic. With his help, I forced healing tonics down Oak’s throat.

“Is he okay to move?” Damon asked warily. He was watchful for another attack.

“Yeah, he’s out of danger. The potions will work on any internal bleeding. I want to put a shield around him so we don’t jostle any broken bones, especially his ribs. Can’t have one perforating a lung.”

“Right. Need help?”

I directed him to place his hands over Oak’s body and channel his magic and intention into forming a brace with the shield. Oak would be unable to move and he’d stay frozen in place while we moved him back home.

The others surrounded us, keeping us safe. As soon as the spell was done, Barr made the portal. My magic was running low. I’d put so much into defending everyone, then healing Oak.

“Could you carry him?” I asked Barr. There wasn’t enough in the tank for me to float Oak alongside me.

“I’ve got him.” Damon waved his hands in a complicated motion and performed the spell perfectly.

Within moments, we were inside the wards of the mansion, where only Barr could portal in and out. We landed in the foyer. Damon held the spell as we headed upstairs to the bedrooms.

“Take him to my room, please. I want to keep an eye on him.”

Damon set him on the bed gently, looking upset. The others had heard our return and followed us up the stairs, all looking haunted .

“I… I didn’t think Basil would go so far,” Damon whispered.

Cody took his hand and squeezed it. “Me neither. I thought Basil loved him.”

“Basil doesn’t love anyone or anything,” I said, flatly. I found the rest of the tonics to use on Oak.

“Will he be okay?” Damon looked so worried about Oak that any lingering resentment over him exiling Oak from the coven vanished.

“Oak’s strong. He’s reacting well to the magic I’ve used. It’ll take a few days, but he’ll be fine.”

“Thyme?”

“Yeah?”

“When he wakes up, can you tell him he can come back? I should have trusted him and never made him leave.”

“You can tell him yourself as soon as he’s up to hearing it.”

“Damon, c’mon. We need to tell the others what happened. Thyme needs some space.” Cody looked at me, sympathy in his eyes. “You’ll call if you need us, right?”

“I will.”

“Just put the earpiece back in when you need us,” Parker said, reminding me he was listening in.

They left, and I removed the little bud from my ear. Though I wanted a shower to wash away all the dirt from the fight, I couldn’t bear to leave Oak for even a moment.

Instead, I pulled off my shoes, then crawled onto the bed next to Oak. I lowered his shield so I could place my hand on his chest.

“Prr?” Hela popped her head up.

“Alright, you can check on him too, but be careful, okay? He’s hurt.”

Together, we waited for hours for Oak to wake. I was too scared to sleep, even though I was bone tired.

“Hey,” Oak’s voice was scratchy. “I’m safe. I’ll heal, thanks to you. Get some rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“I want that kiss when I do.” There was no arguing with him. The relief I felt at seeing his eyes open had me relaxing for the first time in what felt like forever. He was here, he was safe. It was a struggle to stay awake.

Oak’s smile was blinding. His eyes slid shut again, exhaustion from the healing taking over. He was moments from sleep.

“Sure thing.”