Yep, I am awake.

Kellan’s shadow moved over me, and his palms cupped my face. “Are you okay? Breathe, Josephine. Breathe.”

I gasped for breath, trying to herald a lungful of air to no avail. I inhaled sharply, feeling ache in my backbone.

The sound of the portal disappeared, and Mom walked over to look down at me with concern. “You’re stronger than that, Josephine. Rise up.”

Kellan stood up swiftly as I started to catch my breath and glared at my mom. “I perceive you’re fixated on this spindle and your self, however she is your daughter. No matter your egocentric intentions, she remains to be your daughter.”

Mom glared at him. “That you simply’ve identified a couple of weeks, and all of a sudden, you’re in love. Come off it. And don’t inform me the right way to deal with my daughter.”

Kellan helped me to my ft. I searched the bottom for my bag and located it tucked away beneath a bush. It wasn’t till I stood up that I noticed we have been again within the forest that bled into the darkish one.

I’d by no means needed to return in there once more.

Kellan stepped beside me. “How is your again?”

“I’m nice,” I stated. “I’m curious as to how Mom thinks we might help her with the spindle. Ernest is the one one with powers. She needs you to kill her personal sister, and I can’t fathom why she wants me right here.”

Kellan positioned his palm on my shoulder, drawing my consideration to his face. “Your mom thinks you could have powers. She needs you to make use of them.”

Concern slammed into my chest. I might by no means cared about being like my mom earlier than. Now, I’d fairly die than prove like her. I could not, and would not, conjure up this magic, so she may kill her personal sister. It wasn’t within the playing cards for me.

I needed a standard life. As regular as one can get with an immortal soulmate and demented household. I would not do it. I needed to finish this earlier than it began.

I chuckled. “I don’t have powers. I will need to have taken after my dad. I don’t have them, and I don’t need them. I’d attempt to conjure up some magic to appease her.”

Kellan swallowed and ran his thumb in opposition to my backside lip. “I like you, too, ya know. I hope you understand that.”

The sound of him saying it warmed my coronary heart. It slid over me like velvet. I needed to wrap myself within the phrases and sleep in them. They’d by no means felt extra actual to me than in that second. When Jacob stated them, it felt overused. Like he thought it was what I needed to listen to.

This was completely different. This fed me in methods I did not notice I used to be ravenous. “You must after every thing you’ve achieved to avoid wasting me.”

The nook of his mouth lifted right into a small smile when Mom clapped her palms. “Sufficient,” she stated. “Please come be part of the land of the dwelling. We’re going to get ourselves collectively earlier than we face her.”

Fern and Ernest each stood to the facet. They’d been dragged round simply as a lot as I had throughout this sideshow from Hell. It made what I used to be about to do simpler. “I want Josephine’s assist to get the spindle. Kellan and Ernest will tackle Deidamia to defeat her. You two will strike first, whereas Josephine and I take the spindle again dwelling. Little Faerie, you possibly can go dwelling. I do not care.”

“Oh,” I stated. “Identical to that, proper? Kellan can’t defeat Deidamia till she’s in her dragon type, Mom. That’s at daybreak. We’ve a couple of hours earlier than they will distract her.”

She pressed her mouth into a tough line. “I do know that. We’ll wait till then.”

Silence dripped over us. I shifted on my ft questioning how we received this manner. How had my summer season dwelling earlier than maturity changed into such a cluster of mess? Reminiscences of my household rolled round in my thoughts. It was the sunshine earlier than the tunnel.

A farewell to the mom I assumed I had.

I cleared my throat. “I’m hungry,” I spat.

She seemed angrily at me. “At all times hungry on the mistaken occasions,” she hissed. “Nothing has modified, has it?”

I dropped my bag after which bent all the way down to my knees. “I introduced some meals from Kellan’s home. Anybody else hungry?”

I may really feel my mom’s glare on the facet of my face at my nonchalance. Hell, I may really feel everybody looking at me. I started to tug out the meals and sat it on the bottom. I opened the lid to the leftover soup Ernest had made within the cosy thermos and the small plastic cups we’d use as bowls.

I settled again in opposition to the tree and took a sip. Mom appeared uninterested within the meals and started to tempo. Her nerves had me on edge.

Kellan wrapped his palm round my thigh and squeezed.

Fern poured herself a cup and sat on the opposite facet of me. “Are you okay?” she requested. “That was a gnarly fall.”

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