Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Two

Josie

We landed back in Louisiana at sunrise. The feeling of stepping on familiar soil without the threat of losing our lives felt freeing. It was almost unfamiliar at this point. Knowing that Mother wouldn't show up to drag us back or Deidamia wasn't one step behind, waiting to kill us, enabled me to breathe.

Kellan caught me around the waist as we landed on the ground. Fern and Ernest decided to stay back and make sure the golden spindle was destroyed before they joined us. I had never been happier to go through a vomit-inducing portal ride.

I was glad they stayed behind. I needed to go check on my dad, and I needed time to think. Having an audience when you tell your dad that his wife is dead wasn't ideal. I had so many things running around in my mind on top of the death of my mother.

I had powers. I stopped Kellan in thin air, and I hadn't had time to think about it.

Kellan slid his palm up my hip to the back of my neck. He angled my face toward his and stared down at me. "What's the matter?"

"I'm afraid."

He inclined his head. "We've beaten the bad guys, Josephine. There is nothing to be afraid of anymore."

"Isn't there?" I asked, turning away from him to go toward the cabin.

Kellan's heavy footsteps followed me toward his porch, where George welcomed us. I let him lick my fingers a few times before I sat down on the steps and stared out at the forest.

Kellan sat beside me and waited for me to speak, while George went crazy on him. The silence was nice. It was a change from Jacob's badgering when I needed my space.

"I'm afraid to go see my dad," I stated. "My mother wasn't who he thought she was, and I killed her. How do you think he's going to take that?" I asked. "Not to mention I have powers, and I don't think I like that. I'm not a witch. I don't want powers. I don't want a different life. I don't do bad things—"

A single tear raced down my cheek, and Kellan wiped it away hurriedly. "You're not bad," he said swiftly, turning me to face him. "Just because you have power doesn't make you bad."

I wanted to believe that, but how could I? Both my mother and my aunt used their power for bad. Were you born with the good or bad gene? What happened to them to make both so cruel?

"How do you know that?"

The corners of Kellan's eyes softened. "Because I know you."

I smiled despite the roller coaster twirling around inside of me. "I'm afraid because I used it that it's going to hurt me, or ... I don't know. Consume me?"

Kellan ran the pad of his thumb against my bottom lip. "I won't let that happen."

"What if you can't stop it?" I asked, wrapping my palm around his wrist.

"Nothing has stopped me so far," he said. "I don't let the people I care about get hurt."

I chuckled. "You're right there. You just fell from a castle for me. Stabbed a dragon and went through hell to find me. I hope my dad pays you well."

He laughed. "Speaking of, don't you think we should go see him? He's probably worried because his wife and daughter are missing."

I cringed. "I don't know what to say to him. What do I tell him?"

Kellan stood and stepped off the bottom step. "How about the truth?"

I swallowed the hard lump of nerves in the back of my throat. "I guess that's all we have to go on, isn't it? I don't think he'll believe the truth."

Kellan led me toward his old pickup and helped me inside. The cracked seats pressed against the back of my legs as I maneuvered myself to get comfortable.

The engine started after a few moments, and Kellan looked relieved. "I never know if we're on good terms or not," he said, backing out of his driveway. "She goes dead on me a lot."

I chuckled. "She must sense the urgency to get somewhere. Maybe she'll go dead on the way, and I won't have to talk to my dad today."

Kellan reached over and squeezed my thigh. "It's better to get it over with now, right?"

"If you say so," I mumbled.

Kellan drove us toward my parents' house. Guilt weighed on me as we pulled down the driveway and noticed two cop cars parked out front. "He called the cops. Which means he doesn't think your mother would have gone into the realm."

I shifted as Kellan parked and grabbed the door handle. Giving him a glance over my shoulder, I stepped out and walked toward the front door.

The door was heavy beneath my palms as I pushed it open and stepped inside. Dad's voice came from his den. The cracked door let me hear some of their conversation.

"—she just wasn't there this morning. I don't know where to look."

"There was no sign of forced entry, and your alarms didn't go off. Would she have left to meet someone somewhere?"

Dad's cry broke my heart. I couldn't tell this man that his wife was gone. How could I? I turned to look at Kellan when I noticed Luther standing by the stairwell.

I walked over, and he brought me in for a hug. "I can't believe you're safe," he whispered. When he pulled away, he looked up at Kellan. "Thank you for saving her. I knew you could do it."

If he only knew the hell we"d gone through.

Kellan nodded and inclined his head toward the den. "What's going on here?"

Luther frowned and ran his fingers into his salt-and-pepper hair. "I don't want to be the one that tells you, but your mother is missing."

Kellan wrapped his hand around mine as the den doors opened. Two cops walked out into the hallway. They slipped passed us, and I found my way down the hallway to my father.

He sat at his desk with both elbows on the counter. "Daddy?" I asked in a voice that sounded too much like the child I used to be.

He looked up with tears on his face and stood up swiftly. "Josephine," he said, walking around his desk. "Where have you been? What happened? You left ..." He pulled me against his chest and held me there tightly.

I inhaled the smell of his cologne and listened to the frantic beating of his heart. "You and Fern were here, and then when I got back, everyone was gone. Did your mother go after you? We told you to stay here." He pulled back and shook my shoulders. "Tell me."

I inhaled. "I don't know where to start. I—" I looked over at Kellan, who nodded at me to continue.

Dad watched the gesture, and his shoulders stiffened. I could sense his unease at my comfortableness with Kellan.

"The woman that took me was a witch. The spindle that was stolen from her ... you remember the card we found in my room." He nodded and folded his arms over his chest. "Mom took the spindle, Dad."

He scoffed after a few moments of silence. "Your mother? Stole this spindle? What in the hell are you talking about?" he asked.

I cleared my throat. "I found the spindle under Mom's Garden. She followed us to the other realm. She's sisters with the witch that took me."

Dad's face turned angry, and he looked down at the ground. "Stop this nonsense, Josephine. Did Kellan tell you that? What did you do to my wife? Where is she? I need to hear this from her. This is insane. Spindles. Witches. You"ve lost your mind going through those portals."

I shook my head as tears fell down my face. Dad watched as I began to silently cry, and he tightened his fingers into fists. "What. Happened. To. My. Wife?" he asked again.

"She followed us, and demanded we help her steal back the spindle. I told her no, but she threatened us. I had to do it."

Dad stepped forward and roughly grabbed my shoulders. "You had to do what, Josephine? Say it—"

"I killed her. I hid eggs in the food we brought, and she ate it. She died in the other realm, and so did Deidamia. The spindle is being destroyed."

Dad's fingers dug into my skin. I tried to reach forward and touch him, but he shoved me across the room. I fell to the floor, and I felt our relationship shatter into pieces.

Quicker than my father would ever be, Kellan stepped over and grabbed Dad's shirt in his fist. "Do not ever touch her again. She's telling you the truth. Maybe you should take a second to calm down. Realize that you're destroying the last true relationship you have on this Earth. And trust me, being alone is lonely."

I scurried to my feet and covered my mouth with my palm. Dad's anger turned to tears, and he recoiled into himself on the floor.

The look on Kellan's face turned to pity. He knew what that pain felt like. He knew the pain my father was enduring at the moment.

Kellan stepped over to me. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

I nodded. "I'm fine. I think I want to leave."

Kellan wrapped his arm around my shoulder and guided me toward the door. I stopped and looked down at my dad. "I'm sorry. She's my mother. I loved her. I had no other choice. If you want to talk, call me."

Kellan and I walked into the hallway, where Luther patiently waited. He must have read my face. "Please don't leave him. Make sure he's okay?"

"Of course," Luther said, running into the den. A gust of relief and sadness blanketed me. I felt my legs grow numb as we walked outside of the house and toward Kellan's pickup. I caught myself on the hood of his truck and took a deep breath.

Kellan barricaded me against him, one arm on either side of me. He leaned in and softly kissed my neck. "Are you okay?" he whispered against my flesh.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I'm hurting."

"I know you are," he said. "Let's get home. You need to rest."

I loved hearing him call his house home. I had no idea what my future held, but I knew Kellan would be there with me. I turned to look up at him as the sound of a vehicle moving swiftly down the driveway caught my attention. I looked over to see Jacob's vehicle parking beside us.

I tensed. As if we needed any more drama, he would show up today with his nonsense.

Kellan watched as he parked and opened the door. "Who"s that?" he asked.

I sighed heavily. "Jacob."

Kellan looked down at me. "Your ex?"

"Unfortunately. I have no idea why he's here."

Kellan shoved away from me and faced him. I loved the fearlessness on his face and his ability to flip the script so quickly. "Let's find out, then."