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I pushed up with the palms of my hands and sat back on my heels. Josephine waded through the bayou and raced over toward me. She glanced up to see Deidamia’s dragon hanging over the top of the roof, dead. She tossed her arms around me and hugged me tightly.
“You saved me,” I whispered, bringing her in closer.
She sniffled. “I’m sorry it took so long to get here. I almost didn’t make it. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I hadn’t.”
“I told you to stay,” I said.
She laughed. “When do I ever do what you say?”
“That’s very true,” I whispered into her ear and then I pulled back to look at her. “You used magic.”
She frowned. “I did. I’m not even sure how I did it. I think it was the fear of seeing you fall from that castle top. Something surged through me, and I did it without knowing how to do it.”
“I’m glad you did. Now I don’t have to worry about someone else loving you for the rest of your life. I was telling myself to be brave, that you’d find someone else, but I hated every thought of it.”
She smiled and leaned up to kiss me softly. “I’m not sure that I’ll ever love anyone else after what we’ve been through. How could another man live up to what you just did?”
“You’re right,” I groaned and cracked my neck. “I’m irreplaceable for sure.”
She stood and helped me to my feet. The feeling of losing the pressure on my shoulders consumed me. I wanted to go back to our realm, crash on my bed, and sleep for days.
With Josephine beside me.
But our problems weren’t over. What would we tell her father about her mother? I wasn’t sure if he would believe us or not.
Josephine sank into my arms as Ernest and Fern made their way through the bayou. “I tried to stop her,” Ernest shouted. “She’s hardheaded, that one.”
“Who are you telling?” I mumbled.
Josephine twisted my nipple through my shirt playfully. “I’m ready to go home,” she whispered.
I looked down at her dirty, perfect face. “Me too.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Josie
We landed back in Louisiana at sunrise. The feeling of stepping on familiar soil without the threat of losing our lives felt freeing. It was almost unfamiliar at this point. Knowing that Mother wouldn’t show up to drag us back or Deidamia wasn’t one step behind, waiting to kill us, enabled me to breathe.
Kellan caught me around the waist as we landed on the ground. Fern and Ernest decided to stay back and make sure the golden spindle was destroyed before they joined us. I had never been happier to go through a vomit-inducing portal ride.
I was glad they stayed behind. I needed to go check on my dad, and I needed time to think. Having an audience when you tell your dad that his wife is dead wasn’t ideal. I had so many things running around in my mind on top of the death of my mother.
I had powers. I stopped Kellan in thin air, and I hadn’t had time to think about it.
Kellan slid his palm up my hip to the back of my neck. He angled my face toward his and stared down at me. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m afraid.”
He inclined his head. “We’ve beaten the bad guys, Josephine. There is nothing to be afraid of anymore.”
“Isn’t there?” I asked, turning away from him to go toward the cabin.
Kellan’s heavy footsteps followed me toward his porch, where George welcomed us. I let him lick my fingers a few times before I sat down on the steps and stared out at the forest.
Kellan sat beside me and waited for me to speak, while George went crazy on him. The silence was nice. It was a change from Jacob’s badgering when I needed my space.
“I’m afraid to go see my dad,” I stated. “My mother wasn’t who he thought she was, and I killed her. How do you think he’s going to take that?” I asked. “Not to mention I have powers, and I don’t think I like that. I’m not a witch. I don’t want powers. I don’t want a different life. I don’t do bad things—”
