Magic Against Magic

*Rowan*

I pace around outside for a few moments, waiting for Hezzlie. I’m sure she was in speaking with her mother. She wasn’t in her room–I know that much. Not that I went looking for her. I just happened to walk by her room on the way out of my office. That’s all.
It’s not like I can’t function without her since I realized she was my mate and have finally marked her as such.
It only takes her a few moments after I called her through the mind-link for her to show up. She appears around the corner of the house with a smile on her face that has my heart rate increasing. The reason I brought her out here fades from my mind, and all I want to do is pick her up and carry her back inside of the house to the closest bedroom and rip her clothes off her again.
Hezzlie raises an eyebrow. “Why are you looking at me like I’m a slab of meat?”
I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face. “I guess because I’m a carnivore.”
“You’re an omnivore.” She folds her arms beneath her breasts, making them even more tantalizing.
I shrug and take an extra moment to think through what she said. I’m distracted. “Uh, right now, all I can think about is devouring you.”
She bites down on her bottom lip and smirks at me, shaking her head. “I don’t think that’s what you brought me out here for, is it?”
“Sadly no.” I take a deep breath and let out a sigh. “I want to show you these doors we found and see if you can do anything about the spells that have been cast on them.”
Now, I see her hesitate. She swallows hard enough for me to see her throat bob up and down. “I can definitely try.”
I’m not surprised that she’s a little leery of using her magic against an unknown force. Knowing Hezzlie, she’s probably doubting herself. Unfortunately, I haven’t allowed myself to spend that much time with her, so I don’t know her as well as I would like to. But I do know from reading her file that her self-esteem was grievously injured when she started having those dreams and thought she was losing her mind.
I blame her father for that. He should’ve had her grow up in the castle with him so that he could make sure she knew exactly what she was. Maybe he didn’t even know she existed, but he knew there was a chance the woman he brought back to his hotel could get pregnant, and he didn’t even care enough to check on her.
He’s such a fucking dumbass.
“Let’s look at this one.” I step over to her and extend my hand.
Hezzlie looks at my hand and up at me, like she’s still not sure she can trust me, but then she slips her fingers into mine, and they fit exactly as they should.
I take her over to the stairs we found after my mother’s funeral. Reaching down, I grab the handle we discovered and pull it up, flipping the heavy concrete door over and letting it hit the ground with a thump.
I hear her inhale deeply and then wince a little at the mildew-scented damp stairwell I’ve revealed. The stairs are steep and narrow, but we can see all the way to the bottom, and it’s dark down there.
She’s not scared of going down, I know that much. She’s only afraid she won’t be able to help me.
“It’s fine,” I reassure her. “Just give it a try. It might be that we need to find another witch to help, too. Like maybe whoever put the spell on the door is stronger than just one witch.”
She arches an eyebrow at me, and I decide to stop talking because I’m probably inadvertently insulting her.
I step down first, pulling her with me, and in a moment we’re standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking at the door. It’s impossible to tell at the moment that it has a magic spell keeping it from opening, but I know if I try to open it, I’ll get shocked.
“Don’t touch it,” I warn her.
Hezzlie looks at me for a moment and then lifts a hand. Immediately, her yellow light sparks out and connects with the ward around the other door. The light arches like a lightning bolt, filling the small space with the scent of ozone and crackling yellow light that merges with the soft violet light coming from the door. The two sources ripple against one another, arching back and forth, but neither seems to give until Hezzlie lowers her hand.
“It’s strong,” she says. “I can try to blast through it, but I don’t want to do it with you standing here.”
“Why not?” I ask.
“I might make it explode or something if I give it all the magic I have, and I don’t want you to get hurt,” she explains.
I snicker. “I’m going to be fine.”
“You don’t know that.” She tips her head to the side with a warning look, and I can’t help but reach up and brush my palm over her cheek.
“What about you?” I counter. “What if you get hurt?”
“I can’t try to open it for you if I’m not here,” she counters. “I think I can defend myself, but I don’t know if I can protect both of us at the same time.”
I understand what she’s saying, but I don’t want to back off. Every instinct inside of me is shouting that I’m the one who should be protecting her, and I’m not going to simply leave her here to fend for herself when there’s a possibility she could get hurt.
Hezzlie takes a step toward me and runs her fingers through my hair. The electricity I feel pulsing through me has nothing to do with the magic she contains within her hands. Instead, it’s the intensity of having her hands on me. She leans in closely, and I do the same until our lips brush. She taunts me, letting her tongue dart out to drag along my lower lip before she backs away. “Don’t make me move you to the top of the stairs.”
“You can’t do tha–”
I start to levitate off the ground, and my eyes bulge. “Don’t underestimate me, Your Majesty.”
“Put me down, Hezzlie,” I insist, using my Alpha voice. I do not like this at all. Not that it doesn’t seem enticing to be able to fly around the air, but I don’t like being out of control, and I’m completely under her power right now.
She laughs and sets me back down on the ground. “Fine. But go up there, okay?” She hooks the top of her head in the direction of the stairs.
I growl at her, but I know she’s not going to use her magic against the ward barring the door until I move out of harm’s way. I also know she’s proven that she can keep herself safe, even if I don’t want to walk away from her.
Before I go, I lift her hand and brush my lips over her knuckles and then go back up to stand at the top of the stairs. I can still see her from up here, but it’s difficult, and I won’t be able to get to her in time if that door comes flying back at her. I think maybe it’s time to call James out, just in case she ends up hurting herself, but I also don’t want her to think I don’t believe in her.
I do. I do believe in her. I just can’t stand by and take a risk that she might get hurt when I could prevent it–I can’t lose her, too. Not now. No this soon.
Not ever.
All of my options fade away as I see an intense yellow light fill the space between Hezzlie and the door. She’s backed up so that she’s standing on the second to bottom stair, and her light is so bright, I have to squint. I don’t see the purple now, but I don’t know if that’s because the yellow is preventing it or if it’s gone.
When she grunts in irritation, I get the idea that the spell around the door is still in place.
“Come on, fucker,” she mutters. “Break already, you stupid bitch.”
I can’t help but chuckle a little, despite my previously grim thoughts. She certainly has a personality I can get on board with.
This goes on for several minutes, and I’m about to tell her that I think she should stop. Maybe we can find another witch, when Hezzlie shrieks, and the light grows even more intense. Then, it’s suddenly gone, and she falls backward onto her ass, landing on the stairs.
I rush to her, hoping she’s okay. She’s just sitting there when I reach her, and when I put my hands on her shoulders, she’s warm, almost hot to the touch.
“Hezzlie? Are you okay?” My eyes are locked on my mate’s face. She’s sweaty, and her hair is sticking to her face.
She nods. “I’m fucking fine.”
“We can always try to find another witch who can–”
“It’s open.” She interrupts me, looking up to meet my gaze.
My eyebrows arch. “What?” My head swivels in the direction of the door and realize it’s open. It’s fucking open.
“Holy shit,” I mutter.
“Holy shit indeed.”