Page 23 of The Heirs

A few seconds longer passed than before, but suddenly a glowing light was coming out of both of Halley’s hands, casting the room and Halley in a dim light. A proud smile adorned her lips, and I couldn’t help smiling back. Every milestone was a leap for her.

For the rest of our hour, Halley and I went back and forth. I threw something at her, she shielded it. I went to attack her; she moved something in my way. I came at her with a makeshift weapon, she disarmed me. The more we practiced, the quicker she got, reading my movements and controlling the power as if she had been doing it for years.

Finally, we stopped, and I could tell Halley was fatigued from the overuse of her power. Unfortunately, she would be working much harder against the Hunters and needed to be able to cast enchantments even on the brink of exhaustion. And she needed to be able to do some actual damage.

“Are we done? I’m fucking exhausted.” Halley stated, her breath heavy.

“Almost. Eli told me you’ve been looking into the more aggressive enchantments.”

Part of me felt bad that we talked about Halley when she wasn’t around, but now wasn’t the time for boundaries. We all needed to do everything we could to make sure she was strong enough for this fight.

Looking ashamed, Halley agreed. “I don’t want to hurt others. But I’m also not stupid. They want to kill us and Icando some damage.”

I also knew from Eli that Halley hated the idea of the destructive enchantments. She didn’t want to hurt others, something that genuinely surprised me given how her mother had been brutally murdered in front of her eyes.

“You don’t need to feel bad. I hope you don’t have to use any, but it’s better to be prepared. But you need to actually practice them.”

I already knew what her response would be before I spoke, so I wasn’t surprised when she started adamantly shaking her head no.

“Practice? Knox, these enchantments seriously hurt people. I’m not practicing them on anyone.”

I interrupted her before she could continue.

“Halley, you need to know what to do. Obviously, don’t go exploding my insides, but even something small, you can heal me right after.”

Still shaking her head, Halley denied my idea. “Nope. No way. I’m barely hanging on by a thread here. Even if I managed to hurt you, I sure as hell couldn’t heal you.”

Noticing her body begin shaking, I realized it was my turn to take the lead once again and comfort her. Stepping closer, I got into her personal bubble, tipping her chin up so her eyes met mine.

“When we are up against the Hunters, you’re going to be exhausted. And unlike the rest of us, two sides are coming at you. You will need to protect yourself even on the brink of death. We’re doing this and then we’ll be done for the day.” She still looked worried, biting her lip hard and so I repeated her words. “Me and you, yeah?”

The statement seemed to knock the same feelings into her that they did me and she nodded, the stubborn gaze back. Moving away from me, she shuttered her emotions. Looking at me with a blank gaze, I felt her power swirling in the room and wasn’t surprised when the inky smoke began swirling around her outstretched palms.

And then without warning, I felt the burning in my hand, each bone breaking at once, crippling me with immense pain. Eli hadn’t shared with me what enchantments Halley had been researching, telling me he didn’t even know himself. And now I understood why. Because with what little power Halley had left, I knew at full power she wouldn’t just break a hand. She’d break the whole damn body.

Cringing, I held my hand close to my chest and Halley finally snapped back to normal, the shadows fading and a concerned frown taking over her face.

“Shit, shit, shit. I tried to only break one finger. I’m so fucking sorry Knox.”

Rushing over to me, she took my injured hand in hers, gently touching the skin that was already turning black and blue.

“I’ll be fine. But you did it.”

Halley looked up at me and I could still see the shadows haunting her eyes, making me wonder what she had thought of to perform the enchantment. Part of me didn’t want to know.

“Think you can heal me now? I may not need my hands with my power, but it hurts like a bitch.”

My words shook the rest of the shadows from Halley’s gaze, and she frowned again. Closing her eyes, I felt my bones begin mending, the relief instantaneous. My hand was completely healed, meaning our closeness wasn’t necessary anymore and yet I couldn’t bring myself to draw away.

“Good work. With a little more practice, you’ll be the best Enchantress in the realm.” I tried to make a joke, hoping to cut the tension building, but it fell flat due to the huskiness in my tone.

Halley seemed to pick up on the shift too, heat entering her gaze. I shouldn’t be this close. I shouldn’t be thinking about leaning in and tasting her lips. I shouldn’t want to make a move on Eli’s girl. And yet, something drew me in, something I couldn’t control. I began to move closer, and Halley’s breath hitched, but she didn’t move away. Did she feel it too? I was centimeters from her lips now, tasting her breath on my own, ready to lean in, damn the consequences.

The door banging open jolted me out of the trance and I turned towards the interruption. Zachariah stood in the entryway, eyes wild, nothing like the man I used to know. Halley and I both stepped back from each other, the distance feeling much larger now.

“Knox. I need you in a meeting. Now.” Zachariah spoke and I recognized the tone of his voice. It was a Council meeting and I didn’t have to guess that it was about the attack on the Hunters.

I began walking towards the door, ready to follow the orders that were handed to me, just like I always did. Before I could leave the room, Zachariah seemed to finally notice who else was here.

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