Unblessed Witch (Phases of the Moon #4)

11. Deva

11

DEVA

There were several reasons I knew I wasn’t awake yet. The main one being the orange and lavender sky where five moons hung, each in a different phase. The effect was like a sunset mixed with twilight, the combination of it and the warm sand beneath my fingers lulling me into a state of relaxation.

I’d never visited anywhere remotely like this, so I knew I was in a dreamscape. Whether it was of my own making or of someone else’s, I wasn’t sure.

Slowly sitting up, I found myself on the shore of a vast body of water, the crystal clear waves lapping gently at my toes. Just a sandy beach and an endless ocean. Nothing but peace and serenity.

Deciding to lay back in the sand, I turned my head to the right, somehow absolutely unsurprised to find Lazaro.

Stretched out on his side, he looked over me with a heated intensity that had me reaching out to him. The man didn’t hesitate to pull me into his chest and roll us so that I was laid out on top of him. Crossing my arms and resting my chin, I held his gaze as I tried to figure out what the hell I wanted to say.

“We’re safe?” I asked, not for myself but for him. My own safety wasn’t nearly as important as the five of theirs. I’d been through Astaroth’s bullshit time and time again, but I never wanted them to experience that. Especially Alek, who’d already been through something similar.

“Safe and back at camp,” he promised, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “Although everyone is worried about why you haven’t woken up yet.”

Everyone was worried.

Drawing my lip in, I considered why my chest squeezed with anxiety at the thought of waking up. It wasn’t very hard to figure out. “The idea of facing everyone right now is intimidating. I know they’ll want answers, lots of them, and I’m not sure I can give them everything. Especially details about my past.”

“You don’t have to give anything you don’t want to. You don’t have to say shit to them if you don’t want to.” His words made me smile, appreciation for his blunt nature washing over me.

Sitting up, my legs sliding to either side of his body, I leaned down and pressed my lips to his. “I love you, Lazaro.”

The two of us had been dancing around it for a while now, but if the past few days had taught me anything, it was that I couldn’t waste time or opportunity. Every single second with these men was important and should be valued.

The man let out a groan and rolled us over, a look of pure devotion on his face. “You own me, Deva. Every single part of me. You have my entire heart.” My chest swelled with joy as he pressed a light kiss to my lips before whispering. “I love you, little thief.”

How had we gotten here? I would have never imagined Lazaro whispering those words to me when we first met.

As he pulled back, his lips kicked up into a smile. “How am I supposed to let you out of this dreamscape now? I want to keep you here.”

“For the fun reasons you mentioned back in the dungeon?” I teased as he chuckled, leaning down to brush his lips against mine once more—almost like he couldn’t stop. When a frustrated sigh came from his lips, I knew it was because of the others.

“Unfortunately, I can hear them talking about you waking up. That’s why I came here. I was forced to let you sleep the rest of the time.”

“All that time we could have been doing fun stuff,” I pointed out, running my hand through his hair.

Lazaro mumbled a curse and put his forehead against mine. “I can’t think about that or else I really will keep you here, Deva. Time to wake up.”

My eyes snapped open to find Grimshaw leaning over me with an expectant look on his face. Reaching up and touching his cheek in greeting, I couldn’t stop the smile that slipped onto my lips. “Good morning.”

“It is morning,” he mused, kissing my forehead, “and you’ve been asleep over twenty-four hours.”

Shit. Groaning, I sat up and stretched my arms upwards, looking around the tent. Tall, peaked ceilings and navy fabric kept any possibility of light at bay, and the floors were covered in carpets that created a cozy atmosphere.

“Hungry?” Alek asked, bringing me a small plate of food as I nodded, thanking him with a brief kiss.

“This looks amazing,” I told Alek, looking over the food before my gaze caught Oz. He’d turned to check on me from his corner of the room, where he was brewing something up. He gave the concoction one last check before walking towards me with something in his hand. Something dark that looked a lot like bones.

“Lazaro cooked it,” Cage said, pointing to the eggs, bacon, and toast arranged neatly on my plate.

“While also visiting me in a dreamscape?” I teased, Lazaro’s eyes sparkling with amusement. “You all have been busy.” All five of them had showered and changed, looking very alert. Well rested but with a glint of determination. “What have I missed?”

“Nothing yet. We were waiting on you to have a meeting,” Grim said as Oz looped behind me, slipping something around my neck. I raised my hand to touch my throat, smiling at the new necklace.

“Wow,” I whispered before taking a bite of my toast—mostly because Alek held it up for me to bite. It was sort of adorable how they all gathered around me right now. I usually felt protected and cared for by these men, but I could tell that they felt particularly on edge right now—so it may have been amplified just a bit more than usual.

“It’s a lot sturdier and has more protection runes,” Oz said. The bones did look larger and more durable…and they also seemed less animalistic? But I was going to ignore that part.

“Thank you, Oz,” I said softly as he dropped a kiss to my lips.

“Okay,” I said, taking another bite of toast. “While I eat, tell me what happened after Astaroth took me. And what was going on outside of the compound when we left? It sounded like they were attacking.” I could tell they hated me referring to the incident with Astaroth, so I tried to move past it quickly.

“We’ve been waiting to have a meeting with everyone,” Grim said, “but essentially the attack we witnessed while leaving was a distraction to help us escape. The group pulled back shortly after we left.”

“How did Astaroth react to that? I’m honestly shocked we didn’t hear from him while we were down there,” I said with a mouthful of eggs.

“Apparently he was out west of Carmina for nearly a day, so we assume he didn’t feel you awake fully,” Alek explained.

“I mean, it makes sense. If I died, why would he be worried? Especially if he couldn’t get any magic from me.” I frowned. “I suppose I should’ve asked this sooner, but…how did I come back? I mean, I suppose I could say willpower or magic…” Or love, but that would be cheesy. Right? I didn’t think it was that far off, though.

“Magic is correct,” Lazaro said. “We need to meet with Professor Boneclaw so he can explain it properly, but apparently the original point of the rune ceremony you underwent was to amass power that would grow over time. When Astaroth tried to drain your magic and you let go of it, you activated the magic that had grown underneath.”

“Our understanding, and my hypothesis,” Oz said, leaning against his table, “is that it’s a hybrid type of magic that exhibits the characteristics of all blessed magic along with the use of runes to tap into natural magic, such as elemental and the like. It’s unique and obviously powerful, even more so because you didn’t undergo the process only once as suggested.”

“What we are saying, little siren”—Cage flashed a smile—“is that you have magic that the world has never seen before. Magic that, until now, only existed theoretically.”

Shit.

I took a bite of bacon, giving myself a moment to consider before I had to answer. Finally, I blew out a breath. “Yeah, I need a shower and some coffee before I can handle this.” Because somehow I knew this was only breaking the surface of everything I needed to catch up on.

My comment at least brought a smile to my men’s faces.

Finishing up my food, my men continued to explain how everyone had gathered at the camp and that students had even left DIA under the guise of not feeling safe on campus—but instead came to help.

“How did they even find out about all of this?” I asked.

“That would be Odessa,” Grim said. “She had a family contact on the outside. She and the other two are here at the camp.”

My eyebrows shot up as I nearly spit out the last of my eggs. I managed to finish chewing before getting out, “They’re here ? To fight?”

“I think you’ll be shocked by how many people are here.” Alek squeezed my hand as I put down my plate and looked around, realizing that the time to sit around—or in my case, lay around and sleep—was over. It was officially time to get this day started.

“I just need to get ready. Is there a shower?”

Cage walked to the side of the tent, opening a curtain that had blended into the navy walls. “In here. It’s actually a full bathroom.”

“No way,” I said, hopping up to see for myself. A small tent branched from the main one, featuring a shower stall and stone flooring with a drain. Alek handed me a pile of items, including a towel and toiletries, and I immediately made myself comfortable in the space, placing everything down on the table and bowl that served as a sink.

Then I made the mistake of looking in a mirror.

“Yikes.” I looked rather…messy? My dark hair had streaks of silver in it now, but also clumps of mud and some leaves. I thought I’d done a good job of cleaning up in the pool by the waterfall, but I’d clearly missed more than a few spots.

Moving quickly, I brushed my teeth and stripped down, stepping under the hot water of the shower. I had no idea how they had hot water, but I was absolutely not going to complain. Steam surrounded me like a cocoon and I breathed it in, my body relaxing.

After a good scrub and shave, I felt far better. I felt like a new woman by the time I was done and stepping out, grabbing a towel to wrap around me.

Drying off the best I could, I peeked back into the tent and found it empty with the exception of Alek. He looked up from where he’d been sorting through a bag. “ Zaya , are you okay?”

“Forgot to bring clothes in with me.”

Alek grabbed the stack of clothes that had been on my cot, and when I took it from him, I also took a moment to lean into his chest. Breathing in his scent, I felt my entire body relax, his lips brushing the top of my head as he wrapped his arms around me.

“I’m scared about this meeting,” I admitted. “I assume that’s where the others are?”

“ Da ,” he said, his body tense. “Don’t worry about anyone’s reaction, Deva. You have fought and survived everything fate has thrown at you, so keep your head held high. If they can’t handle the truth, that’s their problem.”

Emotion clogged my throat. “Thank you, Alek. I needed that—really.”

Grasping my chin, he pressed a light kiss to my lips before pulling away. His eyes flickered down my body with heat as he shook his head, grunting as he stepped away.

“What?” I teased.

“You should get dressed before I decide the meeting can be delayed—indefinitely,” he said, his throat producing a near rumble. Flashing him a smile, I made my way over to the bathroom before offering him a coy look over my shoulder.

“Maybe after the meeting then?”

Alek’s gaze darkened, an inferno of smoldering heat. “Careful what you suggest, zaya .”

I knew exactly what I was suggesting. Giving him a wink that caused a smile to tilt his lips up, I walked into the bathroom, deciding to leave it hanging for the moment. I had no idea how I would feel after the meeting, but alone time with Alek never sounded like a bad idea. Shivers broke on my skin at the mere thought of it.

I got dressed quickly, sliding on clean undergarments, dark jeans, and a black long sleeve shirt that I tucked in at the waist. Looking at myself in the mirror of the vanity, I felt like there was something noticeably different, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was like I could see my magic under my skin, except now it was almost ghosting over me like a membrane.

No time. I could explore that more later. When I walked back into the main room, Alek stood by the door talking to someone as I tugged on my socks and boots.

As I grew closer to the door, I recognized the voice outside.

“ Nyet , she’s getting ready. You can see zaya after.”

“I have literally talked to her when she’s gotten out of the shower before,” Lavinia complained. “I promise she won’t care.”

“You have to let us in,” Briar agreed, her voice pitched with emotion. “She freakin’ died— we want to see her. ”

Ah, so they knew. Which meant they knew everything…and still wanted to see me?

“We are going in.” Odessa’s tone was no-nonsense. “Tell him—tell him he has to.”

A masculine voice replied, but I couldn’t hear the words over Alek’s chuckle. I had a feeling it was one of Odessa’s men, and if I had to guess, they didn’t want to force the issue of them getting in the tent.

Moving back to sit on the cot, I called out, “Let them in, Alek!” I just hoped they didn’t want to kill me for everything they’d found out about me secondhand.

“Deva!” Lavinia crashed into me with a giant hug as she zipped across the tent. I groaned, almost falling back. I squeezed her back before laughing, unable to help myself. Lavinia’s bright blonde hair was down, and she was wearing an outfit that looked much more severe than her bubbly personality—almost akin to a military uniform.

As she pulled back, Briar appeared and pulled me into a hug as well. The two of them made my chest feel tight with emotion. When I’d been in danger, I had sealed a lot of my emotions up to prepare for what I’d endure, and seeing them was bringing all the affection I had for my three best friends to the surface.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” Briar said softly before pulling away.

“I am safe and here,” I confirmed.

“But you died ! You literally died, Deva. And you were forced to be an assassin for a psychopath who’s also your father!” Odessa squeaked as she moved Briar out of the way and cupped my face, eyes wide. “Are you okay? Are you actually okay? We can get you out of here. We will leave and go far away; just say the word. Seriously, my family has a compound we can hide out in.”

I couldn’t help but smile at Odessa’s intensity. Tugging her into a hug, she seemed to relax a little bit before I gave her my response.

“No, we can’t leave, but thank you. Seriously, thank you so much for being so worried. Thank you, all of you, for caring.” Because I had spent most of my life without that.

Odessa huffed and sat down so the four of us were facing each other. I gave them a knowing look. “I’m guessing you have questions?”

“Yes.” Lavinia nodded enthusiastically.

“I would rather answer them for you before everyone else,” I admitted quietly. I reached over and squeezed her hand before straightening my shoulders. “Alright, hit me with it. Ask me anything .”