She shrugged. “Maybe, but either way, it’s done now.”
She rolled her shoulders back, seemingly relieved.
“For you guys, maybe,” Bella said from the doorway.
I swiveled around to where she stood, holding the ancient book. Her lips were pinched and her skin was pale.
“You okay, Bella?” I tilted my head, hair falling over my shoulder. “You look so worried.”
A weird laugh quivered from her lips. “Well, I’ve been alone for twenty-four hours, watching you both sleep.” She rubbed her fingers against the spine of the book. It seemed like she was trying to comfort herself. “I tried to wake you up, but I couldn’t. I, uh, thought... Well, the only thing stopping me from thinking the worst was the fact that I could see you breathing.” She swallowed hard, her throat working. “At first, I thought I’d killed you.”
My heart ached at the sadness on her face. Poor thing. She’d gone out on a limb, offered a spell that she hadn’t tried, watched us go through immeasurable pain, then had to sit in the house alone, in silence, for a whole day.
Must have felt like an eternity.
I rushed forward to pull her into a hug. “You’re amazing, Bella,” I told her. “I can’t even imagine what that would have been like for you.”
I squeezed her as hard as I could. I wanted her to feel me, to know that I was really here with her, that I was unharmed.
When I pulled back, she had tears in her eyes.
“Well, now it’s my turn to feel the same way!” I said. “You ready to get it done too?”
She nodded and dashed away the tears that fell on her cheeks, a giggle bubbling up through the mask of a sob. “Yes.”
She turned and walked across the hall to her room. I followed, though my stomach churned. I’d never thought of having to do this sort of spell on my sisters. Knocking them on their asses occasionally in a play fight was one thing, but intentionally causing them massive amounts of pain? No wonder Bella was traumatized.
I just reminded myself that this was for the best. That she needed to experience a short amount of pain.
I wasn’t going to be around forever, and I would never live with myself if I had an opportunity to give Bella protection and squandered it because I was scared. I wouldn’t be selfish.
Bella had to do it to both me and Court. I only had to do it to her.
I would not fail her now.
Bella stripped off her dress and leggings, standing in the middle of her library style bedroom with a grim look on her face.
It was clear she didn’t trust me. I didn’t blame her. I could attack and my defenses were coming along nicely. But protection spells?
“I hope this doesn’t hurt as bad as it looked,” she said, grimacing.
I cleared my throat. I wasn’t exactly sure what to say to that. I didn’t want to baby her, but I also wanted to reassure her that she could handle it. If I could, if Courtney could, there was no reason why she couldn’t.
Instead of replying, I put out my hand for the book. She hesitated, and then handed it over.
“It’s open to the right spell,” she said, though I could tell she resisted the urge to take the book back from me.
I glanced over the spell.
It wasn’t difficult, neither the language, nor the power required. I was surprised that it wasn’t more complex. I thought that, especially with it being ancient, it would be harder to cast.
However, there was something hairy about the warnings that sandwiched the spell, as though people who didn’t deserve the protection, wouldn’t receive it. I frowned. The wording was difficult to understand.
I glanced up at Bella. “Did you read this caveat? About only receiving the gift if your soul was pure?”
She nodded. “Yep, I wasn’t worried,” she said. She seemed confident, speaking on our innocence than the actual spell and the effects it might have on the three of us. “Thanks to Mother, we’re all as pure as the driven snow.”
Her lips quirked up, but she stood as if bracing for impact.