Fight With Me

Chapter 38

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Chapter — What Is Mine

Hope

After the separation, no one tries to touch her.

They circle us like we are something feral. Freya keeps her voice low. Keelin does not make eye contact. Rebekah watches Josie the way she watches storms, calm on the surface but ready to move.

Josie does not let go of me.

Her arms are locked around my waist, her face pressed into my chest like if she looks up something will take me away again. Her magic is buzzing under my skin. Not wild. Focused. Intent.

"She needs rest," Freya says gently.

Josie's fingers dig in harder.

"She is resting," Josie replies. "She is right here."

I wrap my arms around her, instinctive and deliberate. "We are not doing that again," I say. My voice does not shake. "You do not separate us."

Freya hesitates. "Hope, the bond is escalating faster than anything I have ever seen. Josie's reaction was not just emotional. It was physical. Magical. If this continues unchecked..."

"If this continues," I interrupt, "you will stop making decisions without us."

Silence drops over the room.

Rebekah clears her throat. "I love a good power struggle," she says lightly. "But maybe now is not the time."

Josie finally lifts her head. Her eyes are too sharp. Too bright.

"She is not the problem," Josie says. "You are."

Keelin stiffens. "That is not fair."

"I do not care," Josie replies. "You hurt her."

I feel it then. The shift in her magic. It coils tighter around mine, threading through it, anchoring. Protective in a way that makes my skin prickle.

Freya looks at me. "Hope, you need to help me here."

I do help her.

I pull Josie closer and turn my body so I am between her and everyone else.

"She is scared," I say. "And you proved her fear was justified."

Josie exhales slowly, like my words settled something in her chest.

They back off after that.

They always do.

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Josie

I do not sleep.

Every time I close my eyes, I feel the space where Hope could be taken again. My magic stays awake instead, alert and watching. It hums in my veins, sharp and ready.

Hope does not leave my side.

She brings me water. She sits with me on the bed. She does not ask me to calm down. She does not tell me I am overreacting.

She lets me hold her wrist while she sleeps.

It is not enough.

When Freya knocks on the door hours later, something ugly twists in my chest.

Hope stirs. "It is okay," she murmurs, already reaching for me.

"No," I say.

Freya opens the door slowly. "I just want to talk."

I stand, placing myself fully between her and Hope. I do not raise my voice. I do not need to.

"You are done talking," I tell her. "Every time you do, something bad happens."

Freya's eyes flick to Hope. "This is not healthy."

Hope steps forward, her presence solid at my back. "Neither is forcing distance on people whose magic is fused," she says.

Fused.

The word sends a thrill through me that I do not try to suppress.

Freya swallows. "Josie, you threatened us earlier."

"I warned you," I correct. "There is a difference."

Keelin appears behind Freya, her expression tight. "You are becoming dangerous."

I smile. I cannot help it.

"I already was," I say. "You just did not notice because I was quiet."

Hope's hand comes down on my shoulder. Heavy. Steady.

"Enough," she says, not to me.

To them.

"If anyone touches her again without her consent," Hope continues, "you answer to me."

The air shifts.

Rebekah mutters, "There it is."

Freya looks shaken. "Hope, this bond is changing both of you."

"Yes," Hope says. "And we are still choosing each other."

They leave after that.

I lock the door.

Hope watches me carefully. "You scared them."

"I meant to," I reply.

She studies my face, searching for something. "You are not losing yourself."

I step into her space, pressing my forehead to hers. "I am finding myself," I say. "And she is you."

Her breath stutters.

She cups my face. "You do not need to protect me from everyone."

"I do," I insist. "Because they will keep trying to fix us until there is nothing left."

Her eyes darken.

"No one fixes you," she says quietly. "No one takes you away from me."

Relief crashes through me so hard it almost hurts.

I cling to her, not ashamed of it. My magic wraps around hers instinctively, possessive and sure.

Outside the door, something in the compound creaks and groans, magic reacting to us.

I do not care.

Let the world adjust.

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