I reached out to pull Tony closer, the water getting angrier below him. Miller landed safely on the sand a few moments before I did, thankfully. I used a spell that Greta had taught me and summoned the handcuffs from the cave where Miller had dropped them. With a swift movement I clicked the handcuffs around Tony’s wrists and tried to take a breath.
The water was still frantic, I squinted at the shoreline as it lapped closer to us up the sand. It… it looked like hands clawing at the beach. What? The peridot ring was so bright that I couldn’t even look at it, so I pulled it off my finger and threw it into the ocean. Suddenly everything was still.
I could hear Kate and Effie charging towards us, screaming all the while. Greta faded into view in front of me and I could sense Ryder’s eyes on me, he was close. Where had Miller gone? I collapsed down onto my knees, one hand still gripping Tony securely.
I looked left and right. Miller was no where around, but now Ryder was charging toward me behind Kate and Effie. He was a werewolf hunter, after all. As much as I wanted to pretend that the rivalry between him and Miller was just because they were fighting over me, there was something deeper behind it.
“Sadie, stay awake,” Greta pleaded. “It’s all gonna be okay, just keep it together.”
Was she right?
19
The sound of chatter downstairs woke me. My house seemed to be the central hub for all socializing, so it was no great surprise that Kate and Effie were downstairs debating something loudly as Greta tried to calm things down. Even in death, Greta acted like she was still the peacekeeper. She seemed to naturally take on the diplomatic role in the group.
My body ached from all the exertion of the magic I’d used the previous day. I’d slept for over twelve hours if the clock on my nightstand was accurate, and the sun was blazing through the windows onto the bed sheets. I must have forgotten to shut the curtains, or maybe someone had been in here already this morning to open them.
My dreams had been… interesting. It felt as if a huge portion of my sleep had been dreamless and peaceful, but then my brain had continued down the road of trying to guess what Ryder had wanted to say to me outside the doctor’s office. Had we kissed in the dream? All I could remember now was that I hadn’t wanted it to end.
“You’re awake! Sweet!” Kate hollered as she barged into the room.
“Oh, please come on in, don’t mind me,” I teased.
“Me casa es su casa,” she grinned.
“Yeah… but it’s my house,” I mumbled.
“You’ve been out for so long I figured I should come and check you weren’t dead. That would have been awkward,” Kate said as she jumped onto the bed and sat by my feet.
“Awkward? My death would be awkward? Jeez, I’m so glad I didn’t die then, I’d hate for you to feel mildly inconvenienced,” I smiled.
“Miller’s fine, FYI,” Kate said. The smile from my face faded and I sat bolt upright, my eyes searching her for more information. “He came by earlier, but you were still asleep. You have to admit, it was pretty hot for him to go full wolf-mode in the middle of the day to try and save you. I mean, he clearly forgot you are a witch that is capable of saving herself… but it was hot none the less.”
“How could he have known I would land safely; I didn’t even know I was capable of that,” I replied.
“Yeah, I mean that was some top-notch witch stuff. Effie and I were psyched about it!” she grinned. “Effie’s gotta go get the café ready for game-day, that’s why she’s just left. Don’t know if you heard but she was downstairs trying to tell me that she had a date for Shell’s Day and I just don’t buy it.”
“Game day?” I repeated.
“Yeah, its Shell’s Day today,” Kate replied. “The café is gonna be crazy from the moment it opens so Effie had to get over there to prep.”
“That’s today?”
“Yeah, that’s one of the reasons that lover boy came to visit. I told him right to his face that the wolf thing was a jaw-dropper move, he didn’t seem up for discussing it,” Kate shrugged. Miller wasn’t a huge fan of conversations about his werewolf status.
“He came for me? What time is that thing supposed to start?” I asked.
“There will be events on all day long,” Kate replied. “I’m sure you will still have plenty of time to hold hands and look longingly into each other’s eyes.”
“What do you mean still have time?
“Well Greta wanted to talk to you about what went on yesterday, I’m pretty surprised you haven’t woken up asking a million questions about the thing with the water,” Kate shrugged. “But hey, I heard you shouting Ryder’s name in your sleep, so you clearly had other things on the brain.”
My cheeks flushed red with embarrassment and I wished for the ground to swallow me. Then I remembered who I was talking to.
“I wasn’t shouting his name, was I? You’re teasing me,” I groaned.
“Ha, of course I am. You were sleeping like a log, but I came up here and you were still thinking about your saucy dreams so I could read you like a book. It’s our little secret though,” she winked. Darn mind readers.
“Hello?” Greta called from the hallway. “I would knock but… well I don’t have
