Page 99 of Hallows End

“Jonas,” she whispers. “Oh, goddess, Jonas. I thought I’d lost you.”

“I was trapped,” I reply and breathe her in. “But I got out. Nothing can ever keep me from you, my love.”

“She needs a hospital,” Giles says as he lifts Breena into his arms.

“No,” Breena wheezes. “No hospital.”

“Youabsolutelyneed a hospital,” he disagrees.

I squeeze Lucy and whisper in her ear, “One moment, sweetheart.”

“Jonas can help me,” Breena says and smiles sweetly at Giles. “I promise.”

Giles lays her on the bed and refuses to leave her side as I move over to examine her. To my astonishment, the ligature marks around her neck have already begun to fade. The bruises where the evil hit her are also lightening, and she seems to be breathing just fine.

“She’s recovering quickly.” I smile down at her. “How do you feel, Breena?”

“Oh, I’ll need therapy for sure,” she says. “But I think I’m okay—physically, anyway.”

“She’ll need a few hours to get back to herself,” Lucy adds from behind me. “Been there.”

I place my hands on her chest and close my eyes. I feel the fire build within me and push the energy into Breena. She takes a deep breath, accepting it, and when I pull back, she smiles.

“You reallyarea healer.”

“I really am.”

“Oh, darling,” Hilda says, taking her daughter’s hand. “I’m so proud of you.”

“I literally didnothing.” Breena looks at Giles. “Thank you.”

He licks his lips, shakes his head, and leaves the room.

“I guess he’s mad at me,” Breena says.

“I’d say he needs a minute to himself,” Xander replies. “I think we’ve all had enough work for one night. But we do need to meet soon. We defeated it tonight, but not for always.”

“Agreed,” I reply with a nod. “It will return next year at this time. And it will be angry.”

“We’ll be ready,” Lucy says. Her eyes narrow, and she points at Alistair. “In the meantime, what do we do about him? And who is he?”

“He’s the mayor of Hallows End,” I reply. “I’ll take him back.”

“No.” Lucy grips my hand fiercely. “You’renotgoing back there. Absolutely not.”

I pull her against me and brush my fingers down her cheek, smiling down into her gorgeous green eyes.

“Nothingcan keep me from you, my love. I’ll take him home and be right back.”

“We’ll want to make sure he doesn’t remember,” Xander adds. “For his own sanity.”

“I’ll take care of it,” I reply without pulling my gaze away from Lucy’s. “I promise, I’ll be right back. And I don’t make promises lightly.”

“No.” She lifts onto her toes so she can press her lips to mine. “You don’t.”

With Alistair tucked in bed and oblivious to what happened just hours ago in Breena’s house, I walk through Hallows End.

Rebecca Akerman walks out of her cabin to fetch some water from her well.