Night Witch (Weatherstone College, #2)(62)

“I’m handling lava,” Trevor rumbled, sounding tired. “Dad’s going to be busy helping Mom with all the rest.”

Dad pointed his finger at his son. “You call me if you have any issue. You haven’t graduated yet.”

“I’ll go with him,” offered Tobias, who was also a fire elemental.

“I think it’s best no one goes alone,” I suggested, pushing myself forward on the couch.

“Agreed,” Jenna said quickly. “Alice and I will go after the snake. There’s one at the reptile house in Chicago, so we don’t even have to leave the country.”

“We’ll get the candles and plants,” Noah and Haley said together. Noah added: “Most can be found at Weatherstone, and the others will be in the Kingston private stores.”

And Rafael Kingston wouldn’t stop them when his life was on the line.

“Leaving Logan and me to deal with the essence of the dead, a finger bone of a reaper witch, and, of course, the blood of a spellcaster.” I exchanged a glance with my mate. “That one will at least be easy.”

Logan’s smile almost did me in. “I’d happily bleed for you, Precious.”

Good-natured groans rang out around the room, but they all knew better than to give him too much shit about how soft he was for me. Though I did think I heard simp from Tobias as he grinned at his friend.

Logan sent him skidding across the floor with a little blast of power, before leaning back casually. “Not that we will need my blood. It’ll come from Rafael, since he’s the one who set this curse in motion.” Karma was knocking on that asshole’s door, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

“Everyone stays updated in the group chat,” Dad said, pocketing his phone and his part of the list. “We should aim to all be back with our items by the end of the day. Let us know if anyone has a problem with that.”

Mom spoke up quickly. “Wait, the suppression potion will take at least a week to release Paisley’s power.”

Logan’s expression was worrying as he leaned forward. “I have a plan to cleanse it from her essence quickly, once I confirm it won’t worsen the curse. If it’s not possible, then we’ll find a necromancer to help us. Headmaster Gregor owes me more than one favor. It’s not ideal, because we don’t want to bring attention to Paisley and her affinity, but we can’t delay with this curse worsening.”

I wasn’t surprised the headmaster owed him favors . . . It felt like a normal day when you were mated to a powerful spellcaster. Even if he was only two years older than me, Logan had lived a Hel of a lot more life.

“How will you procure the bones of a reaper?” Jensen asked.

Mom’s face fell, but she didn’t cry. “I know that your gran would want us to save Paisley. She’s buried in the family crypt. You’ll find the bone you need there.”

Taking the bones of a witch or warlock wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Essences of the magic that bound us in life would linger in death. Unless she released her bone to us, we’d never be able to steal its power. We’d have to wait and see how Gran felt about us taking her bones when we got to her crypt.

“It’s settled, then,” Dad said, looking around the room. “Those of us with the ability to open transports can collect the ones who can’t, and we’ll all meet back here tonight. If someone doesn’t show up or check in, we’ll track them down and make sure they’re okay.”

“Good luck,” Logan said.

“And thank you,” I added. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate every single one of you in this room. You’re the best family and friends I could have hoped for.”

I gasped as Tobias barreled into me for a hug, holding me against his hard chest as he rocked back and forth. “If you knew my actual family, you’d understand why I’m so happy to be part of this one,” he said with a fake sniffle. At least I assumed it was fake.

Logan nudged him away. “Hands off, Tobes. If you want to keep them.”

Tobias and Noah exchanged an amused glance. “Jealous Logan is my favorite,” Noah said. “It’s nice to see him flus tered for once.” Logan simply leveled him with a glare, and Noah laughed, unconcerned.

“He simps only for her, remember,” Tobias added, exaggeratedly serious. “Let’s not get our asses fried.”

My heart fluttered when Logan didn’t deny that comment. That flutter turned into a hurricane as his hand slid down my back and cupped my ass. I spent a good few seconds reminding myself that there was no sex at all until this shit was over. Which was almost as much incentive as the whole going to die from this curse part.

As Dad and Logan headed out to the porch to set up the transport magic needed to start moving us around, Mom pressed a kiss to my cheek. “We’ll see you soon, honey,” she said. “Stay safe.”

“Love you,” I replied, throwing my arms around her and holding on tight.

Everyone else gave me a hug as they left, until it was only Logan and me in the house.

He took my hand, leading me back into the living room. “We need to try to cleanse you of the suppression potion first,” he said. “But there are a few risks.”

Magic was all about balance, and I was more than ready for the payment. “What are the risks?”