Chapter 34

He stepped over the line.

The instant his boot hit the salt, the flames shot straight up like a wall exploding from the floor. All four witches staggered back, their chanting breaking in the same moment. One of them actually fell to one knee, clutching her chest as if something had punched the air out of her. They are too weak for this. Why would she choose witches who are not strong enough?

My breath caught in my throat. I wasn’t expecting what followed. I stared into the walls, unable to move, something pulling me towards him, but at the same time, I couldn’t move my body.

Dan’s eyes locked on mine, but I wasn’t able to read him, though he was neither calm nor angry. They were wild like something inside him had broken loose the second he crossed that line.

“Emerald,” he said, low and rough. The sound sent a spark down my spine. He took another step. The flames bent toward him, reacting to him like metal to a magnet.

“Don’t move!” one of the witches hissed, but he didn’t even turn to look at her. A tremor ran through the floorboards. The glass jars on the shelves rattled, and every candle in the room flared with bright orange light.

“Gods,” the eldest witch whispered. “It’s not just the Phoenix anymore. His blood has awakened.”

Dan’s gaze didn’t leave me for a second. “Come here,” he said again, and the command in his voice was almost physical. My knees actually buckled forward before I caught myself.

“No—” I shook my head, fighting the bond and the fear coiling in my chest. “Dan… stop. You’re making it worse.” For a split second, I saw a deadly look in his eyes, and he lunged for me. I immediately felt my baby move, not the normal kick that I usually feel when the baby is kicking.

It felt like someone had set off a spark in my stomach. A sharp pulse of heat shot out from the center of me and across the circle. A wave of flame burst up the wall behind Dan. The youngest witch screamed.

“The child has awakened!” Dan froze. Just for a heartbeat. His eyes widened in shock, recognition… and then anger.

“What did you do to her?” he snarled at the witches.

The eldest lifted her hands defensively. “We tried to bind the Phoenix to protect her from the bond.” Her voice trembled. “But it’s too late. The power has now spread to the baby, who knows what kind of baby you will birth.”

I gasped and clutched my stomach. “Dan…” My voice shook. “It’s the baby; it reacted to you.”

He stepped fully into the circle, ignoring the witches’ shouts. He reached me in two strides and pulled me against his chest. The moment his arms wrapped around me, the pain broke like a fever. The flames died down instantly, shrinking back to soft candlelight.

It shouldn’t have felt safe, but it did. Dan’s voice was low and shaky against my ear. “You’re not leaving me again.” I felt weak and wanted to turn around and bolt the opposite way from him. My unborn baby is fighting him, and I’m running into his arms the moment he beckons me to, I feel stupid.

“Emerald, what the hell is happening? What are you doing here?” Dan angrily shouted, throwing his hands in frustration. “What are you doing here?” I asked, feeling confused and scared that he just randomly appeared while the witches were trying to break the bond. They were unsuccessful in doing so because of him.

“I’m still wondering how you got here; you never answered my question,” I said as I sat down in the chair. The witches collected their belongings and left, and Velom, the woman who had helped me, followed closely behind them.

“Why would I answer something that I have no idea how it happened? I was working in my office when I suddenly appeared here! the same fucking place we were kicked out of, what the hell are you doing here?” He asked as he stared at me, waiting for an answer. I stared back, unable to provide one.

There’s no way in hell am I telling him about what Tyson said, there’s no way. If he refuses to say anything to me about this, I am also going to beat around the bush. “She offered to help with my wound that was not healing.”

“She took you from the hospital because she thought she could do a better job than them?” I nodded, unable to look him in the eye because of my lies. “And she did, the wound is healed.” I showed him my scar, and he looked at it and back at me with an unimpressed expression on his face. “The nurses there could’ve done a better job; it seems like you were running away from something, but you don’t want to tell me the truth.”

I looked at him, trying to read his face so I could know his agenda, but I couldn’t; he had this emotionless look about him that just put me off. “Let’s not forget the reason why I got hurt in the first place, Stephany was there because of you, and you did nothing about her until she went ballistic because of you,” I said, shoving him with my index finger as he was standing in front of him.

He calmly grabbed my finger and slowly twisted it. I yelped out in pain and yanked my hand back. I stood up, shocked, and looked at him. He again stared at me with this zoned-out look on his face. “Are you seriously okay?” I asked, genuinely worried about his weird behavior and this dead look on his face. “Why are you asking?”

“Why am I asking? You almost broke my finger a minute ago!” He looked away and shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn't care less. “You need help, and you should go,”I said as I attempted to walk away. He grabbed my wrist to stop me from walking away. “I’m not leaving without you.”