Bitter Demons

47. Trust Takes Time

In the light of day, the damage to the ritual area looked pretty serious. Jackson and I picked through the debris, looking for anything the witches might have left behind. A gaping chasm marred the ritual circle. I stood above the hole, looking down into the destroyed ritual room below.

"Exactly how much of this damage are you responsible for, young lady?" Jackson pinched my arm. I slapped at his hand and laughed.

"Hey, I didn't do that much," I said.

Jackson turned toward the marble statue that marked the entrance to the ritual room. "Thank God Aerden got out of that room before that crazy witch blew the top off the place."

I placed my hand on the cool marble. "I wish he wasn't trapped inside this statue. If I hadn't gotten my necklace back in time, I don't know what would have happened to us."

Jackson sighed. "Unfortunately, the only way to get him out of the statue permanently is to go through the initiation, which isn't any better. Worse, actually, in a lot of ways."

We stood in silence, his words hanging between us. We still hadn't had a chance to talk about the argument we'd had in the barn that rainy night, but I knew that he'd forgiven me. I still hoped he would be able to open his heart to me, but for now, I was happy just to be close to him. Trust takes time. I understood that better than anyone.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go downstairs."

The damage was much worse down below. The room was barely recognizable. "Do you think the portal is damaged?" I asked.

We moved toward the center of the room, but the blue stone that held the portal to Jackson's world was hidden under a stack of large rocks. One by one, I used my magic to move each heavy stone to the side. I stepped to the blue spot on the floor and wiped away the coarse dust. I expected it to be cracked or damaged, but it was exactly the same as before.

"It isn't even scratched," I said.

Jackson leaned over and picked something from the rubble. A silver cup with a ruby stone. Blood still stained the lip. "What's this?" he asked.

I shuddered. "Destroy that," I said.

With one hand, Jackson crushed the metal cup into a tiny ball.

"Hey, if you have that kind of strength, you should have been helping me move these rocks," I teased.

The corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile. Standing there with the sun shining down on him, he looked so gorgeous it took my breath away.