Alina and I explained things as best we could. It was hard to remember all the details because everything happened so fast. One minute, I was kissing Blake, and the next I was being thrown through the air. I touched the back of my head and my fingers came away bloody.
“Oh.” I rubbed my fingers together. “Um, what do I do now? I mean, about my injuries. Do I need to go to the hospital? I’m pretty sure Felicity cracked my ribs and the back of my head is a mess. Alina healed me a bit, but then Felicity attacked us again.”
The pain from all of my injuries was slowly increasing now that the adrenalin had faded.
Parkinson smiled. “We have paramedics on their way that are Descendants and are trained in how to treat us. You’ll be in good hands.”
I sighed. When I looked at Alina, I took in her appearance for the first time since this all started. She had blood on her face and neck, cuts on her arms and legs, a black eye, and I cringed again at her ruined dress. “Are you okay?”
She smiled. “Yeah. I’ve started healing already. You have too. Some of the smaller cuts are already gone.”
I looked down at my arms and swiped my fingers on some bloodied spots, revealing smooth skin underneath.
Parkinson’s eyes went wide. “You girls sure heal fast.”
I didn’t know what was considered normal for us, so I just took his word for it. I was told that the more fae blood someone had running through their veins, the more powerful they were and the faster they healed. I wondered who my real parents were, but I may never find out.
I had to assume that Alina didn’t tell me she was a Descendant for the same reason I couldn’t tell her about me. I understood, but I still didn’t like all the secrets we had to keep.
My nerves were on edge and as footsteps approached us through the bush, I started to shake, but it was just the ambos. They asked me and Alina to sit down on a nearby rock while they tended to our injuries.
The guy treating me put a hand on the back of my head and gasped. “You have a fractured skull that has been partly healed.”
I sucked in a breath. “I was thrown through the air and hit my head and back on a tree trunk, then I landed on the ground. I think both my ankles are sprained.”
He checked my ankles. “They’re nearly healed.”
Then he held each one until they were fully healed.
“Alina healed my ribs and head a little, but Felicity attacked us again.”
He nodded and got to work using a large clear quartz crystal to help with the healing and adding a few words here and there to enhance the magic while he put his hands over my injuries. He did his best to clean my skin after he’d finished. I was so relieved to be pain free I almost cried.
The woman healing Alina didn’t say much, but I got the impression that Alina had more injuries than me. She’d held her own against two and three Descendants at once and had some awesome fighting skills. I was still trying to come to terms with her being a Descendant the whole time I’d known her.
Someone had put up crime scene tape and we were directed to stand outside of the area. The police were spread out looking for any evidence in the bush and were preparing to dig to find the body of the ghost.
My eyes darted around as I quickly scanned the area, but I couldn’t see him.
Parkinson strode over. “Right. Time to get you guys out of here.”
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After spending hours at the police station answering a ton of questions about what happened at the party and with the confrontation between me and Laynee and Emily and her friends the night before she disappeared, we were finally allowed to go home.
Someone drove Alina out to get her car and they’d called Tracy to take me back to Waratah. I still had trouble thinking of it as home. It wasn’t my home. It would never be.
I spent the whole trip telling Tracy everything and I was wrecked by the time we pulled into the driveway.
I gave a heavy sigh as we walked through the front door and Tracy asked me if I wanted something to eat or drink. At some point, someone had given me a cup of tea in a foam cup at the station, so I was starving. I had no idea what time it was, but the sun was rising and I was beyond tired.
I gave her a weak smile. “No thanks. I’m too tired to eat. I’m just gonna go to bed.”
“Are you sure? I’m gonna make some breakfast and have a strong cup of coffee.”
“I’ll be alright. Goodnight.”
She chuckled. “Goodnight.”
I plodded up the stairs, planning on stripping off my ruined dress and wrapping myself in a dressing gown and falling into bed. A ghost is stuck wearing whatever they had on when they died, so I made sure I never slept naked.
All the things that had happened started to play like a movie in my head. Again. I still couldn’t believe that Felicity had taken things so far. She’d killed Bridgette. She’d tried to kill me and Alina and Jason. She’d been totally out of control.
Parkinson had explained that the more you use dark magic, the more it affects your mind, your body, and your magic. Felicity had been using it for a long time, and they suspected that she’d decided she had nothing more to lose after disfiguring her face, so she’d increased her usage of it.
The image of Jason with a tree branch through his chest and poor Bridgette impaled on a tree flashed into my mind and I tried to push them away.
I opened my door to a nice, dark room. I decided to leave the light off and get into bed as quickly as I could, but movement caught my eye and I almost screamed.
“Maddie! It’s alright. It’s just me.”
Relief flooded me. “Jackson? You scared me half to death. What are you doing in here?”
“Waiting for you. Where have you been? Do you know what time it is? Almost six o’clock in the morning.”
“I—”
“You know you have a curfew. You keep telling me you’re trying to behave so you can go home–”
“If you’d let me talk, I can explain.”
I could just make out the shape of him with his arms folded and it annoyed me. He wasn’t my father.
My knees felt weak. I needed to sit down. I trudged over and eased myself down onto the side of the bed. I was glad I hadn’t turned on the light. Glad that he couldn’t see the state I was in.
He shifted his weight to the other foot. “What then? What happened to make you this late?”
“Felicity happened.”
“What do you mean?”
“She totally lost it.”
A wave of exhaustion hit me. The last thing I wanted to do was go through the whole story again. I wanted to lie down and close my eyes. I opted for a shortened version of events and he stood still for a while as if in shock, but then he became agitated, swore a few times, ran a hand through his hair.
The sunlight was starting to light the room some more and Jackson stopped and stared at me, then moved the curtains back from the sliding door.
He gasped. “Maddie! Are you okay? Why didn’t you tell me how badly you were injured?”
“I’m okay now. I’ve been fully healed.” I stood to emphasize my point.
He looked like he wanted to check me over for injuries. “But you must have been in so much pain…”
“Yeah. I was. I had a cracked skull and some broken ribs.”
He stepped forward. “What? Is that from when she slammed you into the tree?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, my God. What is wrong with that girl? Is Alina alright?”
“Yes.”
“And you said Felicity killed a girl?”
I swallowed and fought the tears I could feel behind my eyes. “Yes. Just because she told Felicity that we were telling the truth. It was her gift. She could tell if someone was lying. But Felicity had totally lost her freaking mind by that point. I’m so glad they all turned on her. I don’t know what…”
I couldn’t go on. It all seemed to hit me at once. Tears streamed down my face as I looked up into his eyes, then I closed my eyes as a sob escaped from my mouth. I’d been keeping it together up till that point, but I couldn’t do it any longer.
My eyes flew open as his arms wrapped around me and I fell into his embrace.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnY7UdMJ5jS
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Author's Note: I don’t know about you, but I feel relief after Maddie was able to let out all of her emotions. Have you been in a situation where you needed a hug and to have a good cry? I have. Sometimes it’s good to let all your grief out. Do you agree?
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