Page 86 of Elora and the Crow

“So much,” Nimera said. “Plus, we’re trying to plan for the wedding. We want to get married a month after the baby is born, but I’m starting to wonder if that isn’t a little too ambitious. The wedding will be small, but there’s still a lot of planning involved.”

“You two should stay for dinner and tell us all about it,” Elora said. “Maybe there will be something Jonah and I can do to help.”

“Oh, um…” Caleb glanced at Nimera.

She squeezed his hand and smiled at Elora. “We would love to have dinner with you and Jonah.”

CHAPTER27

“Thank you for dinner. It was delicious.” Nimera smiled at Jonah and Elora as Caleb helped her into her jacket.

“You’re welcome,” Elora said.

Caleb hesitated before hugging Jonah. “I’ve missed you,” he said in a low voice. “Don’t you dare fucking disappear again on me.”

“I missed you too,” Jonah said. “I promise you I won’t.”

Caleb glanced at Elora, who had joined Nimera. They were exchanging phone numbers, and Caleb smiled. “I like Elora a lot, Jonah. I’m glad you’re dating her.”

This was the moment when Jonah told Caleb he and Elora were just friends. But he couldn’t. Not when every part of him screamed to make Elora his forever.

“We need to get going, babe,” Caleb said to Nimera.

“Two minutes,” Nimera said without looking up from her phone, “I’m showing Elora a -”

The front door exploded, drowning out Nimera’s voice and sending hunks of wood flying through the air. A piece the size of a softball slammed against Elora’s head, and she immediately collapsed. Nimera screamed as a jagged piece of wood pierced her right calf, driving her to her knees.

“Nimera!” Caleb shouted as hard yellow light flooded the foyer.

They threw their hands up to block the light, and Jonah squinted at the woman wearing the long black robe who had walked into the foyer.

“What the fuck?” Caleb said when she raised her hands and pointed them at him.

“Caleb, look out!” Jonah shoved his brother to the side just as a beam of yellow light shot from the woman’s hands. It left a sizzling hole in the wall, and Jonah dove to his right, sliding along the marble floor on his stomach toward the side table when the woman shot a beam of light at him.

The woman cackled harsh laughter as Jonah jumped to his feet and grabbed the gun from the holster fastened to the underside of the table. He fired at the woman, cursing when the bullets stopped a few feet from her and fell to the ground.

Caleb had crawled to Nimera, and he pulled her into his arms, studying the blood flowing from her leg. Beside them, Elora lay too still on the floor, and Jonah’s heart threatened to claw its way out of his chest. She couldn’t be dead. Please, God, Elora couldn’t be dead.

He stared at the woman, fear rocketing through him when she grinned at him. The memory of the light, of her voice telling him he would be trapped as a crow forever stampeded through him, and his whole body shook wildly as she cocked her head at him. “Hello, shapeshifter. It’s been a long time.”

“Get the fuck out of my house, witch,” he snarled before aiming his gun at her.

She laughed again, a high-pitched shriek that made him want to burst his own damn eardrums. “Your weapons are useless against me, idiot.”

“What do you want?” If he could keep her talking, keep her distracted, Caleb could get Nimera and Elora the fuck out of here.

Elora is dead. She’s dead because of you.

No, she fucking wasn’t! She couldn’t be dead.

“It took me longer than I thought to find you,” the witch said. “I knew the moment my spell was broken, but it was more difficult to find you than I expected. I should have kept one of your feathers, but I didn’t believe you’d ever break the spell.”

She studied him, her hazel eyes cold and ruthless. “It must have been a powerful witch or warlock who broke it. Tell me their name.”

“Fuck you,” Jonah said. “I won’t tell you again - get the fuck out of my house.”

“You dare to speak to me in such a manner?” The witch’s face went bright red. “Do you know who I am, you wretched slug?”

---