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CIARA WOKE UP BESIDE Jenna.
Jenna was still asleep. But she wasn’t running a fever, and her breathing was steady. Knowing Jenna was fine, Ciara dared to get up. She walked to the bathroom and washed her face with cold water.
After that, she headed upstairs to see how Henry was. She was glad to find Ray watching over Henry. It had been a long night for Mary.
“Good morning,” Ciara whispered, not wanting to startle Ray.
He looked at her and smiled. “Morning.”
“How is he?” Ciara asked, remaining near the doorway.
“He should be fine. I told Mary to get some sleep. She was exhausted.”
“I bet.” Ciara nodded. “But I bet you’re tired, too.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“No, I mean it. I got enough sleep last night. I can watch over him now.” Ciara glanced at her slowly healing best friend. “Yesterday was rough for all of us.”
Ray sighed and nodded. “Alright.” He stood up. “If you insist.”
“I do.”
“Wake us up when he wakes up,” Ray said. “We’ll be in the twins’ room.”
There was plenty of room in the house, even with the injured guests there, because the younger Rosslers were staying at school. The magical school in Great Britain was a boarding school of sorts, and the students even spent some of their weekends there.
“Of course,” Ciara said, and Ray left the room. She took a seat beside the bed, watching her best friend.
It was like reliving a nightmare. Ciara was numb from inside, and she knew that feeling all too well. From January, when Theo had died. Except it had been worse, because she had been alone in their house. Every piece of that house had reminded her of him.
Ciara reached for her phone and began typing. She needed to tell Jesse she couldn’t make it to the gym.
Once she sent the message, all she could do was wait.
Looking down, she realised she was still wearing her gym clothes from the previous day. But that was the least of her worries.
She worried about Henry, even though he was going to make it. He looked better already.
Still, the thought of what could have happened made her shudder. It made her sick to her very core.
Ciara was prepared to wait for hours. But to her surprise and relief, Henry woke up in less than an hour.
His eyes fluttered open. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light. Then he turned to look at his best friend.
Ciara cupped his face. “You’re awake.”
“Hi there,” Henry mumbled groggily. A shaky smile made its way to his face.
“Hi.” A grin spread across Ciara’s lips.
“W-what happened?”
“You were attacked at the flat and—”
Henry’s eyes widened. “Jenna!”
“She’s fine. Just asleep. You had it worse.”
Henry sighed, his muscles relaxing.
“There were other attacks, too, targeted at other members. A-and there was a mission. You’ll hear about those later,” Ciara said. “I should wake up your parents.”
Henry furrowed his eyebrows. “Wait, wait. How long have they been sleeping?”
“Your father went to sleep an hour ago, but I’m not sure about your mother.”
Henry nodded. “Do you have to wake them up?”
“I doubt they’re getting much sleep. They were extremely worried.”
“Fair enough.”
Ciara stood up. “I’ll be right back.” She left the room and made her way to the twins’ room where Henry’s parents were. She tried to wake up the two exhausted parents without startling them. “Henry’s awake.”
Mary burst into tears. She scrambled up and ran out of the room. Ray followed right behind her. Mary’s sobs sounded all the way from Henry’s room, filling the house.
Ciara couldn’t imagine their joy. They had nearly lost their son.
She wanted to let Henry and his parents talk alone. So she walked downstairs to go check on Jenna who woke up when Ciara opened the door.
Ciara smiled and walked over to the bed. She let Jenna know Henry was awake, and Jenna demanded to see Henry, so Ciara helped her up the stairs.
Jenna rushed to hug her boyfriend with her newfound strength. They clung onto one another as if the other would vanish otherwise.
“Someone needs to inform Liam!” Mary realised, watching her son and his girlfriend hug.
“I’ll take care of that,” Ciara said, knowing no one wanted to leave Henry. She didn’t want to leave, either, but she also didn’t mind.
Mary looked at her and smiled. “Thank you, dear.”
“I’ll be right back,” Ciara said and left the room.
Once she was out, she used magic to teleport. Appearing in front of Liam and Iris’s block of flats, she hurried inside, up the stairs and to their flat door.
“You were there until five in the morning!” Ciara heard Iris scream inside when she was about to knock.
“Yes! I was looking after my brother and his girlfriend who were both severely injured!” Liam yelled back at Iris. “What else would I do there?”
“Ciara was there, wasn’t she?” Iris’s voice was thick with accusation.
Eavesdropping made Ciara feel guilty, even if it was accidental, but she didn’t dare to knock. Not yet.
“You honestly think I would cheat on you?” Liam asked, disbelief shining through his voice.
Ciara was livid. Iris had no right to accuse Liam of something he hadn’t done when she was cheating behind his back. That was where she drew the line.
She raised her hand and knocked, having heard enough. The flat went silent, and soon Liam opened the door.
“Henry is awake.”
Liam had had a deep frown on his face, but his eyes widened upon hearing the news. His muscles relaxed, as if someone had lifted a heavy weight off his shoulders.
“Go.” Iris had her arms crossed across her chest and her lips pursed together. She showed no sign of going with Liam.
Without another word, Ciara and Liam teleported to the Rosslers’ house. Liam rushed straight to Henry’s old room with Ciara right behind him. Kneeling beside the bed, Liam pulled his younger brother into a bone-crushing hug.
Ciara stayed in the doorway, smiling.
But her smile dropped when she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She left the room and walked downstairs, picking up the call. “Hi,” she said to Jesse.
“Hi. I got your message, but I thought I’d check up on you. Did something happen?”
“Thanks. And yes, something happened.” Ciara exhaled. “H-Henry and Jenna were attacked and, well, a lot happened.”
“Attacked? A-and are they okay?”
“They will be. But it didn’t look good at first.”
“Was it the witch hunters?”
“You know about them?” Ciara asked, her feet halting.
“Of course. I mean, they’ve been on the news lately.”
“Oh.” Ciara wasn’t good at keeping up with the news outside work. “Well, it was them.”
“Where did they attack?”
“Henry’s flat.”
“You could have been there.”
“I know.”
“You need a new flat for sure. It’s not safe there.”
“You’re right. It just looks like there will be a funeral and a few other things to arrange before I can think about a new flat.”
“So someone died?”
“My...” Ciara struggled to get words out. An invisible force tightened around her chest. “My old mentor.” The words were like burning hot pieces in her throat.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks.”
“You should stay with me,” Jesse said. “I have a guest bedroom. You can have it for as long as you need. For free, too. You’ve helped so much with the gym.”
“Are you sure?” Ciara asked. “For real?”
“Of course. I’d like to know you’re safe.”
Ciara bit back a smile, even though Jesse couldn’t see it. “You worry about me?”
“I would.”
Ciara hummed. “I...I’ll have to talk with Henry, but I’ll consider it.”
“Of course.”
Someone cleared their throat behind Ciara, and she spun around to see Jenna.
“Uh, Jesse, I have to go,” Ciara said. “I’ll call you when I can, okay?”
“Okay. Stay safe.”
“I will, thanks. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Ciara hung up and shoved her phone in her pocket before turning to face Jenna.
Jenna smiled. “Jesse, huh?” Her voice was teasing, but her smile seemed genuine.
“Yes.”
“He’s worried about you?” Jenna asked, grinning.
Ciara rolled her eyes. “I told him there was an attack, so he got worried, that’s all.”
Jenna nodded. “Well, Mary and Ray think the flat’s no longer safe.”
“They’re probably right.”
“You and Henry need a place to stay. I mean, Henry could stay at mine, but my flat is so small and—”
“If Henry can stay with you, then I have a place to stay.”
“You do? You got a flat?” Jenna asked, dumbfounded.
“Not yet. I was supposed to go see one yesterday, but that didn’t work out for obvious reasons.”
“Oh.”
“But Jesse offered to let me have his guest room.”
Jenna raised her eyebrows. “Jesse wants you to live with him?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Romantic or sexual?” Jenna asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Ciara groaned. “Oh, my goodness, Jenna!”
Jenna giggled, even though the movement made her wince because of her wounds. “So, which one describes your relationship with Jesse better?”
“The s-word.”
Jenna laughed again, even though she tried to hold it in. “Ciara! What are you? Five?”
“I’ve slept with him once.”
“After your break-up, you mean,” Jenna said. “So, what is he like these days?”
“He’s matured a lot,” Ciara said. “He’s polite and laid-back, but also caring. Plus, he has a better sense of humour these days.”
“That is a must.” Jenna’s grin widened again.
“What’s with the face?”
“Nothing.”