The Witching Hour

Chapter 9 - Honesty

Aura's SUV glided into the open space in front of Ivy's apartment building. She turned off the ignition and faced Ivy with squared shoulders. Ivy did her best to avoid looking at Aura. The two had been playing nice when they were at training. Other than that, they didn't have anything to do with one another. A knife wouldn't have even cut through their tension.

"Ivy-" "Aura-"

The two spoke at the same time immediately stopping at the sound of the other. Neither wanted to be rude and continue on without giving the other a chance to speak. Tucking a stray dark curl behind her ear, Ivy gestured for Aura to go on.

"Ivy, I just wanted to say," she looked past the earth witch at the on-coming ominous clouds in the distance before returning to the expressive brown eyes of her friend, "that it's good to have you back."

Ivy stared at Aura unsure how to respond. Her mouth fluttered open, but all that came out was a soft sigh. She sat back in the dark leather, her chest rising and falling with intakes of deep breath. She tilted her head and ran her tongue against the ridges of her teeth. She was at an utter loss for words. Instead, Ivy reached forward and grabbed Aura's hands. Smiling, Ivy gave them a squeeze before cracking open her door to step out.

At the last second Ivy leaned down, poking her head in just underneath the frame of the door. "It's good to be back."

Aura exhaled in relief and a small, barely noticeable smile tugged at the corner of her lip. She bid adieu to her friend and drove off.

Ivy darted up to her apartment on the top floor. She furiously pressed on the buttons hoping that it would speed up the elevator. She had a lot to process from her training session and what they had learned at the end of it. The revelation about the vines but then a dead body turning up, it was all happening so fast.

The doors opened to her floor. She did her best to keep her worries to herself so that the hallway plants wouldn't react. Despite her efforts, they all sagged from her worry. The leaves drooped a little deeper, buds closing up if they were starting to bloom. She ran a hand across her freckled face and let out a groan.

"So fucking annoying," she muttered while attempting to open her front door.

Before she could further make a fool of herself, the door burst open with a beaming Hunter. He tempered his delight when he felt the mood Ivy pushed out. He pulled her in for a hug, cocooning her in a safety blanket in the form of his arms.

"Rough day?"

"You wouldn't even know the half of it." Ivy pulled away and set her bag on the couch.

Hunter walked over and peeled the jacket off her, taking note of the new burns she had come home adorned with. His fingers brushed against one at the nape of her neck. Sensing him analyzing the marks, Ivy snuck a glance at him before scurrying forward.

"It's nothing." She avoided the inquisitive eyes of her boyfriend. She busied herself with kicking off her Nikes and heading for the kitchen for some wine. Feeling his eyes on her, she swayed her hips with exaggeration and shot him a flirty, over the shoulder smile.

"Don't think you can distract me with those hips." He followed her into the kitchen and slipped onto the barstool.

She knew very well that she could, and she would continue to if it meant he didn't ask about her marks. Knowing she mostly had burns on her arms, she was safe with this next move. Ivy stripped off her leggings and threw them toward the living room, leaving her in her top and lacy underwear.

"You're such a tease." Hunter rolled his eyes, reaching for the bottle of wine to uncork it. He refused to be sidetracked. "How's training? Antonella isn't giving you too hard of a time, is she?"