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He zoomed in on us.
Jasper raced beside me, keeping up, but then we both realized that Circe had lagged behind. Terror hit me, and I turned just in time to see the demon rake his claws toward Circe’s neck.
“You won’t hurt her!” I screamed in rage and flung up my hands toward the demon, even though I was ten yards away and had no magic.
It was an instinct, a reflex. I reacted in panic.
I’d lost Vi. I couldn’t lose either Circe or Jasper. They were all I had.
A blast of dark flame materialized above the demon, descending upon him before he could flee. The fire engulfed the creature.
It shrieked, and I clenched my teeth as his screams beat into my eardrums.
“Shut the fuck up and die!” I yelled.
The blaze plunged to the ground, sinking under and dragging the demon with it. Or maybe the flame actually burned the demon to ashes.
I didn’t see a pile of cinders on the forest floor, though there was a circle burned into the ground, indicating where the magical conflagration had taken down a demon.
I sprang toward the young witch.
“Are you all right, Circe?” I asked, sounding like a mother even to my own ears.
She threw herself into my arms, trembling.
I stroked her back gently.
“Shush, you’re safe now,” I said. “We’re all safe. Now let’s get out of here.”
I pulled Circe to sprint with me since her legs wobbled. Seeing the demon had shocked her. I didn’t blame her. The appearance of the demon had shattered me as well.
Jasper kept pace, guarding and protecting us. His piercing wolf eyes darted around, his ears pricking backward as he scanned for any new danger.
I didn’t allow us to slow down, even though the scent of smoke lingered on my tongue and the air burned in my lungs.
As soon as we shot out of the last line of trees, crossing the boundary into the town’s territory, Jasper shifted. I knew he wanted to talk and demand answers regarding the flame that incinerated the demon, but I was just as baffled as he was.
One second he was still a wolf, then the next he was a good-looking teenage boy.
I glanced at him enviously. Being a shifter must be amazing.
The monsters usually didn’t cross the boundary of the forest into the town’s land during daytime. I’d wondered if Vi ever set a ward along the boundary.
Circe tossed Jasper a stack of clothes from the outside pocket of her backpack, and he snatched them from the air. In no time, he had his trousers on and his muscled chest pressed against an old T-shirt.
The witch’s gaze lingered on his cut chest a bit too long before she tore it away. The shifter was eye candy with dark, curly hair and rich brown eyes, and he always had a good laugh.
She’d developed a crush on him after her seventeenth birthday two months ago. It was fine with me if they hooked up. I couldn’t think of a better man to protect her.
I sighed. They’d grown up, and I was getting older.
Jasper didn’t notice Circe’s heated gaze before she disguised it. His concerned, sharp expression fixed on my face, uncompromising.
I waved a hand to signal for him to let me have a break and set my palms on my knees to brace myself. I bent from my waist, panting laboriously at the ground. Circe did the same. I took a little comfort that, even though she was younger, she was breathing louder.
When I finally straightened, I grinned at them. We’d survived once again, together.
“Guys, do you want to high five or a group hug?” I asked.
