Then they went prone again, and the light disappeared. Jenna held her breath, waiting…waiting…
Ingvar’s mouth opened, and she gasped for air. She blinked without any obvious focus.
Jenna leaned down. “Ingvar? Can you hear me?”
The seer’s gaze settled on Jenna. She calmed and took a few more breaths. “Jenna?”
Jenna nodded, smiling. “You’re back. How do you feel?”
Ingvar exhaled. Already, her coloring seemed better. “Tired. And angry. Sola…Sola cast a spell…took control of me…”
Jenna squeezed Ingvar’s hand. “We know. It’s all over now.”
Beside her, Sola squirmed and twitched like she’d been struck with a live wire.
Alice stepped back from the table. Her shoulders dropped. “It’s finished. Well done, my sisters. Well done.” Her eyes fixed on Sola, who was still writhing in protest. “Now, we just need to collect the offender’s blood.”
Ingvar nodded. “Good,” she whispered. Then her eyes rolled back in her head, and she passed out.
The next minutes passed in a blur of activity. Jenna was clearly thrilled to have Ingvar back, but it was obvious she needed medical attention. And soon. But neither she nor Titus could leave until their spells were removed. The full moon was fast approaching.
Pandora, along with her mom and sisters, jumped in to help. They rushed Ingvar to the hospital. Alice, having already taken what she needed of Sola’s blood, went to work finishing the spell that would free Jenna and Titus.
The rest of the coven quickly returned Alice’s practice to its usual setup, then, at Alice’s request and with her thanks, went home. Not only was it late, but according to her, some things were better done without an audience.
Several of the members carried Sola out and handed her over to Deputy Remy, who’d been called back out. He assured everyone that she’d be tucked safely away in the special supernatural holding cells in the Nocturne Falls Basement until she could be dealt with properly.
Then it was just the three of them—Alice, Jenna, and Titus. When Alice was ready, she had them stand facing each other in front of her worktable. She loosely wrapped a white silk cord around their hands. Titus stared into Jenna’s eyes, and she stared back. There was nothing else for them to do.
Alice lit a candle on the table, then held a small metal pot over the flame by its long handle. She added things to the pot. Pinches of this and that. A sprinkle of something. A sprig of something else. Then finally, three drops of Sola’s blood.
As the drops hit and sizzled, smoke poured out of the little pot. Alice fanned it toward them. “Inhale.”
So they did. Jenna coughed at the acrid, bitter smoke. Titus wrinkled his nose. Smoke was one of his least favorite smells. And not just because he was the fire chief.
Finally, the smoke died away, and Alice set the pot on a stand before coming around to their side of the table again. “It’s done. The spells are removed.”
“Just like that?” Jenna said. “I didn’t feel a thing.”
“I didn’t either. Are you sure it worked?” Titus said, then added, “Forgive me. I’m sure it did. I just thought I’d feel something.”
“Magic doesn’t always work that way.” Alice unwound the cord from their hands and held it up. “But yes, I’m sure it was successful.”
The cord was now black.
“Wow,” Jenna said. “I guess it did.” She looked at Titus and smiled.
He looked back at her. Really looked. Nothing about the way he saw her had changed. She was still incredibly beautiful. And something—everything—about her still made his wolf sit up and howl.
She took a breath. “I still like you.”
He grinned. “I still like you too.”
They both turned to Alice. She looked pleased but also worn out. No wonder. She’d worked so hard for them.
Jenna pressed her hands together in front of her heart. “Thank you so much. We appreciate everything you’ve done on our behalf. But I especially appreciate you helping Ingvar.”
Alice nodded, a soft smile bending her mouth. “You’re welcome. It was my pleasure to help a seer such as her. I hope the best for her. And for you too. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am very tired. Do you mind seeing yourselves out?”
“Not at all,” Titus said. He grabbed Jenna’s hand, happy he could still do that because nothing had changed. “Come on, let’s go check on Ingvar.”
They practically ran out of the house. When they got to the hospital, though, security wouldn’t let them in.
Jenna didn’t have her badge and told Titus she wasn’t sure it would have worked anyway. It was after midnight, and visiting hours were long over. She wasn’t Ingvar’s family, and she certainly wasn’t Birdie.
Titus had a little talk with the security guard, whose brother was on the volunteer squad. The man took pity on them and called up for a report.
Ingvar was sleeping and holding her own.
Jenna seemed to take comfort in that as she and Titus left the hospital lobby to return to his truck. “I should have known we weren’t going to get in.”
“It was worth a shot.” He went ahead of her and opened her door. “Holding her own is good.”
“It’s really good.” She climbed into the truck, her hand on the dash. “This feels weird to say, but I’m suddenly starving.”
He nodded. “I could eat. Let’s get something.”
“Can we take it back to your place? I’m not in the mood to be around people.”
He smiled. There was only one person he wanted to be around. “So…dinner in the hot tub?”
“I’ve never heard a sentence I liked more.”
With a laugh, he went around and got in the driver’s side. They decided on cheesesteaks from Mummy’s, since it was open twenty-four hours. He got mushrooms, and she got peppers. Jenna called their orders in as he drove, then he went in and picked them up.
He grabbed a few extra items while he was in there and came out smiling. The bag was
