Bella grabbed Courtney and yanked her back, away from the bed.
Fear rippled through me as the pain in my heart began to burn once again. I placed a hand over my chest. My eyes filled with water.
“Bella,” I said. My voice croaked, like it was struggling to come out of my throat at all. “W-what’s going on?”
She stood with Courtney in the doorway, not releasing her arm.
“That was only the first part of the spell,” she said, the words tumbling over each other. With the way the pain seared into me, it was difficult for me to piece together what she was saying. “The protection guard is going up, bonding with your magic. The tattoo comes a few minutes afterwards, and it appears, that’s the hard part.”
My forehead beaded with sweat. So, everything I was enduring wasn’t the most difficult part?
I scowled at her.
“I don’t see—” My sentence was cut off as I cried out. Pain ripped through me, from my chest, arrowing down into my belly. I curled up on the bed, my arms going across my stomach, as though that would help cushion the blow. I hunched over as my skin began to burn like someone had set a hot pitchfork inside of me.
Sweat formed across my skin. I rolled over onto my side, panting. My face contorted into a grimace. The sweat rolled over my cheeks like tears. I hurt too much to actually cry.
I screamed as the tattoo began to form, ripping my belly skin in a pattern that would forever be a part of me. I thought the tattoo would hurt a bit, a pinch here or there. But this was like someone was branding me. This was the most pain I had ever had to endure.
“Don’t fight it, Ava!” Bella shouted from somewhere that sounded far away. Her voice was soothing, though I could detect a hint of worry in her tone. “Just pass out and you’ll be fine.”
I cried out again, rolling over fully into the middle of my bed, refusing to let the pain to win.
But as the magic sunk deep into my core, darkness consumed me.
Chapter 11.
When I woke, I couldn’t bring myself to even open my eyes. Everything hurt.
I’d watched movies and read human books about waking up after a hang-over, and with their descriptions in mind, I began to catalogue my symptoms.
Pounding headache. Check.
Dry mouth, inability to swallow. Check.
Will to live... yeah, not high.
I grunted. I forced myself to sit up, though it took some rolling, some groaning, and some overall embarrassing behavior. I felt like a fish, flopping on the deck of a ship. I was surprised not to hear Courtney laughing at my struggle. That only reiterated how pathetic I really was, if Courtney herself couldn’t even tease me.
By the time I was sitting at the edge of my bed, sweat had popped on my brow and my heart pounded like I’d run a marathon. I wanted to wipe the sweat away, but my hands were shaking and I didn’t want my sisters to notice.
I opened my eyes and then blinked. My sisters were gone. Had I imagined them being there in the first place? What was wrong with me?
At that moment, my door opened and Bella walked in, holding a large mug out in front of her. I could smell the tea, even from where I sat, and the scent of chamomile tea made me feel so much better.
“How are you doing?” Bella asked.
I waved at her, not sure I could talk yet. My eyelids were as heavy as boulders.
“Here,” she said, holding the mug out in front of me.
I didn’t ask what was in it. I just drank.
“I could only moan as the sweet, honeyed flavors flowed over my tongue, coating my throat and somehow lifting my headache. I began to think more clearly now. Bits and pieces started to return to me: how Bella cast a spell that branded me to help with protection, how it had been an incredibly painful experience. How I never wanted to go through anything like it again.
By the time I’d finished my tea, I was halfway back to feeling normal. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I didn’t know how much time had passed since I’d fallen into a magical coma. Part of me didn’t particularly care. At least I was capable of thought again. The fogginess of my mind had cleared and I could finally open my eyes without pain.
I sighed and handed the mug back. “Thank you so much,” I told her, meaning every word. “I’m not sure what else was in that besides the tea, but whatever it was, I needed it.”