Everlasting Embrace (Embrace Series) (18 page)

Everyone agrees and leaves the suite
,
heading back to their rooms. Ebony goes into her room she
’
s been sharing with Elyn. Nathanial and I retire to our room
,
where Nik is sound asleep. We pull
him
in
to
the bed with us to cuddle for a little bit
. T
he connection to him is indescribable.

As he sleeps next to me
,
I trace every curve of his face with my index finger. The softness of his skin is something I wish I could bottle and sell to women. Leaning close
,
I brush my lips against the top of his head. His soft
,
downy hair tickles my lips
,
and I take in his essence, the baby smell. It
’
s so sweet and pure
,
just like him. Pure perfection
lies
next to me
,
and I have never been happier to still be walking the earth
as I am today. A new family was created
:
myself, my husband Nathanial
,
and his little brother that we shall raise as our own son, Nik.


  

  


Eliza and Ebony have the spell ready; they went out early this morning to retrieve all the items they require.
Ben sits in the middle of the room
.
Placing a salt circle around Ben for protection
,
and placing a small ceramic bowl in front of him
,
they prepare to begin, placing the ingredient
s
before them. With a strike of a match
,
Eliza lights a small charcoal round in the bowl. The charcoal is only about an inch round
,
and
a
half
-
inch
,
or less
,
deep
; it
burns red but lets off no smoke. Placing a small amount of dragon
’
s blood incense on it
,
we watch as it smokes just a tad from the incense and rises around Ben. With a hammer
,
Ebony crushes a moonstone and sprinkles it on the charcoal, then they begin to chant
:

Powers from the earth
,

Powers form the sea
,

Powers from the air
,

And powers from the fire
;

Cloak this being
,

Protecting him from all that may cause harm
.

They light a white candle and drizzle magickal oil around it, then toss some mandrake root in
to
the bowl. The fire from the charcoal burns bright
.
Eliza pricks her finger and drips the blood on the flame,
and
Ebony does the same
:

With our blood
,

And with our power
,

Hide this being

From those whom seek to destroy
.

With our power

Watch over him
.

They place the angel feather on the fire
,
and the flame burns bright as the sun
, so bright we have to
shield our eyes. The glow surrounds Ben, wrapping him in its protection
:

So mote it be

So mote it be

So mote it be

Without warning
,
the light and the smoke retreat from Ben
,
smoldering
in the bowl
,
until nothing more than ash is left. Eliza scoops the ash in to a small vial
,
sealing it and tying it to a rope. She opens the salt circle and places the charm around Ben
’
s neck.

Right before our eyes, Ben begins to change
; not
physically, but something is happening that none of us can explain. He lifts off the ground, levitating the same way El
y
n does
. A
n energy ripple covers him from head to toe, weaving in every bit of him. He strai
gh
tens his l
e
gs
,
reaching for the ground beneath him, but cannot reach. We can see it
and
feel it
,
and
we
know that the spell has worked
;
Ben will be protected from the angel hunters.

Home Sweet Home

Everyone rushes to the corridor to gre
e
t us as we enter the supernatural school. Dakota is the first one there, running to Ebony.

“
You
’
re alright,
”
he exclaims
,
looking over her frantically before taking her in his arms.

“
Yeah
,
we
’
re all okay
,
and
we
even found a way to protect Ben.
”

“
I can
’
t tell you how much I
’
ve missed you.
”

“
What
,
have the students been a little hard to handle?
”

“
No
,
Ebony
,
I missed you. I
’
ve fought my feelings for so long now
,
and I can
’
t do it anymore. I
’
ve felt a connection between us since the first time we met.
”

The rest of us stand in absolute shock as Dakota places his hands on either side of Ebony
’
s face and kisses her.

“
Dakota, I
…
I
…
I can
’
t
.
I
’
m married.
”
She pushes him away.

“
Ebony, I
’
m so sorry
,
but you
were
married
.
Matt is gone
,
and no one knows when
,
or even
if
,
he
’
ll return.
”

“
He promised me
.
I have to hang on to that.
”
A tear runs down her face
.
“
H
e
’
s
my
soul mate
.
I
’
m so sorry Dakota. I felt a connection to you too, but it was always Matt
—
and it always will be Matt. I
’
m sorry
…but
some little crush can
’
t compare to the love of a
soul mate
.
”
Ebony turns and retreats to the main house.

Dakota stands there
,
broken hearted
.
“
W
hat was I thinking?
”
He turns to go back to his room.

“
Dakota, she cares for you too
. I
t
’
s just too soon. She
’
s still waiting for Matt to come back
,
”
I try to console
him,
to
no avail.

Once Dakota closes the door to his room and everyone allows the shock to wear off a little, we continue with the greetings. The students are excited
,
and seem to want to show us all they
’
ve learned. I can
’
t stop thinking about Ebony
,
and decide to join her back at the ma
i
n house with Florence and the babies. The rest of them can explain the events of our trip. I need to help my best friend th
r
ough whatever
it is
she is feeling right now.


  

  


“
Ebony
,
where are you
?
P
lease talk to me
,
”
I say
,
searching
from
room to room, then I realize she
’
s in the guest house. I take the tunnel to go see her.

Ebony and Matt lived in the
guesthouse
with Elyn for a short period of time after they were married. It
’
s connected to the main house via a hidden tunnel. I race through the tunnel and barge in the door. Ebony is sitting on the sofa with her knees pulled to her chest, sobbing hysterically.

Racing to her side
,
I wrap my arms around her
.
“
Ebony
,
hun
ny
, I
’
m here for you.
”

She nuzzles her h
e
ad into my shoulder
.
“
Sophia
,
I kissed another man. I
’
m a horrible person.
”

“
Aww
,
kiddo
;
Matt is gone
,
and we don
’
t know when he
’
ll come back. I know him
,
and I
’
m positive
that
he would never want you to suffer like this, or be alone. Matt would want you to be happy.
”

“
He could come back anytime
,
though.
”

“
Yeah, but it could be a very long time
,
too. He had eighteen years of earthbound training
.
W
e have no idea how long his greater training may take.
”

“
Sophia, I like Dakota, I really do. I just feel so guilty
. I
t feels wrong
;
Matt was
…
is my
soul mate…
I could never experience true happiness with anyone else.
”

“
How do you know
,
i
f you don
’
t try?
”
I lift her chin so she
’
s looking into my eyes
.
“
Ebony
,
I will stand behind whatever you decide. This is your choice
.
I just want you to consider your options. Dakota loves you
—
we
all see it
,
and he loves Elyn too. He would never want you
,
or your daughter
,
to forget Matt, but he might make you happy. Just think about it.
”

“
Do you mind if I just have some alone time?
”
She asks with tears flowing freely down her face.

“
Sure, but I will be back to check on you. Ebony, I love you like a sister
,
and I just want you to be happy again.
”
I kiss her on the forehead and take my leave.


  

  


I do a quick check on Florence and the kids before heading back to the school. They seem to be doing fine
.
I notice Elyn
has
a slight edge to her and wonder if her empathy is kicking in again. Maybe the spell Ebony and Eliza placed on her is losing its mojo. This will be something to investigate a little later; she isn
’
t too bad right now. With that
,
I take leave and go down the mystical elevator to the school.