20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

T he wind howled in his ears, but he was sure he heard his name. He looked up towards the water. The rain had stopped. His foot was still poised above the fire, ready to kick sand into the flames.

“Draven, please don’t!”

He turned towards that voice. He would recognize it anywhere. Olivia.

Olivia, Jill, and Parker all ran towards him, hands raised in defense. He looked down at the book in his hands and the way he was standing so near the flames. To them, it must have looked like he was trying to burn the book.

Olivia came closer, slowing her steps as she did. “Draven, please. Give me the book. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.”

Magic flowed from her fingertips. White and gold. Bright and bewitching, just like her. The fire in her eyes was striking. God, he loved her. Probably the most inappropriate time to have a thought like that. But there it was.

“Olivia,” he said, turning slowly around to face her head-on.

“Don’t move, Draven. Don’t take another step.”

Jill and Parker were slowly making their way towards them, eyes bouncing between Draven and Olivia.

His eyes locked on Olivia’s. In them, he could see fear and determination. But there was also something else. Something he dared to hope she could still feel for him. The way she had approached him, ready to use her magic to stop him, he was sure that meant she hated him. But the way she was looking at him now, with so much love and tenderness. Maybe there was hope for them yet. He took another step away from the fire, holding the book out to her. Too late, he realized his mistake. She lunged, pushing her magic out towards him. The force of it knocked him off his feet and into the sand—the book flying out of his hands and to the sand by her feet.

Olivia screamed. The sound was like something out of a nightmare. Blood pounded in his ears, his heart racing in his chest. His head hurt. His back hurt. Everything hurt. But he supposed he was probably lucky to still be breathing, given the circumstances.

He stared up at the sky; the clouds were starting to clear. Was it a coincidence that the moment he saw Olivia again, the rain had stopped? Or had he hit his head harder than he thought?

He had always believed in magic. Now that he had really seen it in action, sexual foreplay notwithstanding, maybe he had been seeing it everywhere for a while. Like when you bought a car, and suddenly everyone on the road seemed to have the same one.

Now he was just rambling to himself.

He waited a moment for the world to stop spinning. Then he sat up just as Olivia reached him, getting down in the sand to sit near his head.

“Oh my gosh, Draven, I’m so sorry. I did not mean to hit you that hard. I wasn’t trying to hurt you, I swear. I reacted on instinct. I just wanted to get the book out of harm’s way.”

“It’s okay. I actually kind of liked it.”

Her laugh was weak and watery. “I think maybe you hit your head. You’re not making sense.” She reached out a hand to help him sit up and then moved away.

He missed her instantly.

Footsteps sounded somewhere nearby. “Is he alright” Parker asked.

“Hey,” he said, turning towards her. “I’m good.”

She waved at him weakly before grabbing the book where it had landed in the sand. She gave him a small smile and backed away. He could see Jill standing a little further back, her phone held to her ear.

“Draven, I’m so sorry,” Olivia said, voice nearly a whisper.

He shook his head. “I’m fine, Liv, I swear. How did you find me?”

“Well, Parker came to tell me the book was missing and I sort of put the pieces together from there. I figured whatever you were going to do, you would want to do it here. I know this place is special to you.”

His breath hitched at her words, even amidst all of this chaos. When she had every right to turn her back on him and all they had shared, she proved how much she understood him.

While he found that incredibly touching, it also served as a reminder of just how much he did not deserve her.

“Olivia, I am so sorry. For everything. For lying, for using you, for speaking to you the way I did earlier.” Her eyes were filled with so much sadness. It took everything in him not to pull her into his arms and never let her go. But would she want that? After everything, he’d just done.

“What you told me about my mother, I did not understand it. I was angry and scared. I think I was so wrapped up in what I assumed to be true, that I wasn’t willing to accept what was actually true. You were telling me that my mother actually did something to warrant punishment, that she chose to do this bad thing. My whole life, I’ve believed my mom was the good guy and my dad was the bad guy. To hear that might not be true, it gutted me.”

She moved closer to him, her hand raising to touch his face. At the last second, she changed her mind, lowering it back to the sand. He hated that he was responsible for her hesitance.

“I can understand that. It hurts when you realize that your parents don’t always make good choices. Or that they’re not very good people at all. It’s something I had to come to terms with about my birth parents. That maybe they did not want to deal with a child that had so many medical issues. It hurt and I’m not saying that what your mom did is anything like that. But I can understand why you were so angry.”

“I appreciate that. But that doesn’t make what I tried to do any more acceptable.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t. But I feel like I should have tried harder to understand how you were feeling. I didn’t even try. I just got defensive, trying to force you to see things my way. I didn’t understand how you could have such a skewed view of magic when it has been nothing but good to me. But I realize now that it did not play the same role in your life that it did mine.”

He sighed. He truly did not deserve her. “I didn’t really give you a choice, Liv. Look. My mom died. It was fast and awful and I never really had a chance to process the whole thing. So, when I found her journals, I felt like I had a piece of her back. When I read what happened, that she lost her magic, I did not understand how something like that could happen. And I felt like she deserved better. I was too lost in my grief.”

“What changed your mind?”

He smiled softly. “My mother. I found one of her spells in the book, actually.”

“You did?”

He nodded, laughing. “Well, I didn’t actually find it. I had set the book down to build a fire. When I went to go pick it up, the wind had blown it open to the page with her spell. It was some silly spell about making a good wind for sailing. But I took it as a sign. Her way of telling me that magic was good. The truth is, I’ll never really know why she did what she did.”

“But if you had to guess? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry. But that’s the one thing none of us knows. I don’t think your mom ever told anyone.”

“I really don’t know. When I was a kid, before my dad left, he and my mom argued all the time. But I never paid attention to what they were arguing about. In her journals, she just said that magic was always coming between them. But, if she lost her magic trying to give him some, I would think that he left because she did not have magic anymore. In her journals, she talked about him wanting her to try and get her magic back. But she would not. She accepted the consequences of her actions. I’m guessing he left when he realized she would not change her mind.”

“I’m so sorry, Draven. I can’t imagine what that must have been like for you.”

He shrugged; he had come to terms with not having a father a long time ago. Everything he had been working towards over the last month had been for his mother. “It was hard at first. But I had my mom and my brother. We never felt any less loved. If my dad did leave because he could not love my mother without her magic, I don’t want anything to do with him. I barely knew him then and I have no idea who he would be now. I don’t know how they met or even when they met. I do know that after everything happened, they moved to New York together and then had me and Lucas. I don’t even know where he is now.”

“You’re sure you don’t want to find him? We could do that, you know, using a locator spell.”

He placed his hand over hers, interlacing their fingers. “I’m sure. I have no idea where my father is or what he’s up to these days. I would assume if he hasn’t tried anything by now, he probably never will. But Liv, there is something I wanted to talk to you about. I think there should be a protection spell on the book. I don’t know if it’s my place to say anything, but I think it’s a good idea. I mean, look at what I almost did. I don’t want anything to happen to you, or this town, or magic.”

He glanced back at Parker and Jill. Both of them had moved closer, waiting for him to continue. “I may have been the first to attempt anything, but I don’t know if I’ll be the last. I think we need to make sure that this never happens again. I may not have magic of my own, but I want to do what I can to help protect it for my mother and her legacy, and for you,” he said, turning again to look at Olivia.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Jill said. “I honestly can’t believe we never had a protection spell on it before. Seems like a major oversight.”

Parker glared at her. “Don’t let my abuelita or mama hear you say that, Jill. We’ve literally never had a reason to. Not in a town like this.”

He could feel his face growing hot. “Sorry, guys.”

The three women all turned to look at him before bursting into laughter. At least they could already joke about the whole thing. Honestly, the whole thing was absolutely ridiculous. How could he have possibly been so single-minded and selfish? He really did not deserve their forgiveness. But he was glad to have it.

Jill walked up to him, face set in a determined scowl. “Just promise me you’ll never do anything to hurt Olivia again. She really cares about you. I forgive you now, but I won’t be so forgiving if anything like this ever happens again.”

He looked her straight in the eye, hoping she could see how serious he was. “I promise you, Jill.”

She smiled. “Good. By the way, you’ll be having words with my husband too. He’s not happy with you at all.”

He cringed. Hopefully, he hadn’t completely burned a bridge with Malcolm. He needed at least one friend in this town if he planned to stay. But that really depended on Olivia. They would need to sit down at some point and really figure out where they stood with each other.

Parker spoke up from behind them. “About that protection spell. I might have just the thing for that, actually.”

Olivia laughed. “Why am I not surprised?”

Parker shrugged, a blush rising to her cheeks. “It’s a spell I’ve been toying with for a while. I think it could work for this. Here,” she said, pulling a piece of paper and pen from her pocket. She wrote down some words and held the paper out to Olivia.

“You want me to do it? But it’s your spell.”

Jill stepped forward. “You should do it, Liv.”

He gave her hand another squeeze. “Come on I’ve never seen you use magic before. Well, not for anything like this.”

She looked at him, worry clear in her brown eyes. “Are you sure?”

Her concern broke his heart. He wanted her to know that her magic was something he was proud of. He could see now just how miraculous it all was. And he was proud to be a part of it, even in a small way.

He pulled her towards him, arms wrapped around her waist. He lifted her chin and bent down to place a soft kiss against her lips. “I’m sure. I want you to know your magic is amazing. You’re amazing. I love you, so damn much.”

“I love you too, Draven. More than I ever thought I could.”

He laced his fingers through hers and let them hang between their bodies. “Then let’s do this. You and me, together.”

She winked at him and lifted the paper containing the spell up, holding it out so they both could see it. Parker walked over to Draven and held out the book to him. Slowly, he reached out to place his hand on the cover. Together, he and Olivia began to read:

With magic that burns so light and bright.

Hide this book now from Evil’s sight.

We call upon the elements – Earth, Water, Fire, Air.

Guard this book from Evil’s touch.

We cloak it now in witch's light.

He felt it the moment the last word left their lips. A rush of power like nothing he had ever felt before—an ethereal glow shining from their joined hands.

She glanced over at him. He was sure his face held a mixture of shock and joy. To be able to do this with her, to help protect the town. It was truly a gift. If only his mother could see him now. Hopefully, she would be proud.

“You’re amazing,” he breathed as he pulled her in for a hug. Then he pulled back slightly to whisper in her ear. “Who knew magic could be such a turn-on?”

He was pretty sure her laughter could be heard clear across town.