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“THAT FLAT IS NO LONGER safe,” Ray said.
Everyone—Ray, Mary, Henry, Jenna, Liam, and Ciara—gathered around in Henry’s old room where Henry was still on bed rest.
“You’ll have to move out,” Ray said, talking to Henry and Ciara.
Ciara nodded, agreeing with him. “Henry has room at Jenna’s flat, and I have a place to stay. So that’s sorted.”
“A place to stay?” Henry blinked, staring at Ciara.
“Jesse offered me his guest room.”
Henry raised an eyebrow. “Jesse?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
“But we need to get everything from the flat,” Ciara said.
“We should do it today. You’ll have to go to the flat anyway,” Ray said, gesturing to Ciara’s gym clothes. “It’s better to take care of it now.”
“Now now?” Liam asked.
“I can’t even walk yet,” Henry said. “I can’t—”
“We’ll do it without you,” Ciara said.
“But—”
“Jenna can take your stuff to her flat,” Ciara said, and Jenna nodded.
Henry sighed. “Fine. Just make sure you don’t accidentally forget something.”
“Sure thing.”
***
CIARA, JENNA, RAY, and Liam went together to see the flat. It was safer to go as a group, because the witch hunters could be watching the place.
Ciara packed her own things. She used magic to make one of her bags bigger from the inside, while it remained the same on the outside. It helped her fit everything in one bag.
She didn’t have much to pack. Just clothes, makeup, and other essentials.
Once she had finished, she helped Liam in the kitchen. They were using magic to teleport everything to Jenna’s flat. They had moved some of the furniture to the Rosslers’ house, because the bed, the sofa, and the table wouldn’t fit in Jenna’s flat.
“So, you and Jesse?” Liam asked while he and Ciara were casting items to Jenna’s flat.
“Not dating.”
Liam furrowed his eyebrows. “Don’t you think it’ll be weird? Living with your ex-boyfriend, I mean.”
Ciara shrugged. “Would it be weird if we lived in the same flat?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I’ll let you know if it’s weird living with Jesse,” Ciara said, continuing to cast the items.
“So I’ll know to never move in with you?” Liam asked, amusement sparking in his eyes.
Ciara chuckled. “Exactly.”
***
MOVING ALL THE FURNITURE and other items from Henry’s flat to Jenna’s place took most of the day. Once they were finished, Jenna, Liam, and Ray were going to head to the Rosslers’ house for a late dinner.
Ciara considered joining them, but she had already called Jesse and told him she would go to his flat soon. So she said goodbye to the others and teleported outside Jesse’s flat.
Jesse had already prepared the guest room. He had even made the bed. He had also made dinner. Just pasta with pesto sauce, but it was way better than anything Ciara could have cooked.
“As far as I know, you still can’t cook,” Jesse said when they were eating.
“That hasn’t changed.”
Jesse smiled and looked up from his plate. “So, rule number one, you stay away from the stove and the oven.”
Ciara chuckled. “Sounds like a plan. But I can deal with the dishes then.”
“Well, I won’t argue with that.”
Ciara chuckled. “No surprise there.”
Jesse raised two fingers up. “Rule number two, warn me before you bring anyone here.”
“I’d rather not walk in on you and some girl having sex on the sofa, either. So, the same goes for you?”
“Deal.”
“Rule number three, I pay rent,” Ciara said. “How much?”
“I already told you, no rent.” Jesse shook his head. “You can help at the gym.”
“Are you sure? Because I can—”
“I am sure.”
Ciara nodded. “Fine.”
***
CIARA DIDN’T HAVE TIME to help Jesse around the gym at first. She was helping others plan Doherty’s funeral. He didn’t have any family, so there were no relatives to arrange anything.
Jesse understood, assuring Ciara it was okay. He offered to help her, even by listening, but she kept to herself. The more he tried to make her talk, the further away she pushed him, and eventually Jesse gave up.
Ciara was locked in her own headspace until the funeral. Even the ceremony was a blur for her.
She kept staring at the coffin throughout the funeral. The thought of Doherty’s corpse lying inside felt unrealistic. She had a hard time accepting it.
Theo’s funeral had been worse, but it was still a rough experience. Doherty had been like a father figure for Ciara. She couldn’t believe she had lost him, too.
She struggled to say goodbye and let go. She couldn’t get any words out at the ceremony, and it didn’t help her move on.
There had been too many funerals already. Each felt more and more surreal. As if they were an endless nightmare.
Doherty was gone, but Ciara was struggling to bring herself to accept it.
It was tough for others, too. Some members had known Doherty even longer than Ciara had. Some of them had been part of the group because of their friendship with Doherty, and they left the group after his untimely death.
The group became smaller—close to non-existent. Ten members remained—Ciara, Henry, Jenna, Liam, Iris, Mary, Ray, Eric, Hannah, and Tony. There hadn’t been more than one meeting since Doherty’s death. He had been their leader—the uniting force of the group, and there was no one to take his place.
Ciara was lost without the group, and she was on suspension until the beginning of December. She wasn’t sure how to keep hunting down the witch hunters.
But giving up wasn’t an option. Nothing could keep her from tracking down those terrorists.
The fight was personal. The witch hunters had already taken too much from her. Dozens of co-workers, then Theo and Doherty.
Ciara could get information from her old co-workers in the States and in Canada. With their information, she hoped she could continue to fight.
No one else had to know. She didn’t want anyone to risk their life. She had already lost enough.
This time she would fight alone.