Page 92 of Enchanting Her Monsters
“Don’t!” Calder throws his hands up. “Don’t think like that.”
“I won’t risk not telling you all how I feel.” Osen turns to Flint. “You’re the rock bed that keeps us all sane. I’m sorry I didn’t appreciate that enough when I was alive. And I have no doubt you will be the most incredible mate to our girl.”
“I will do my best with that honor.” Flint bows his head. “And may you live to see that happen.”
“Arran, you have been the best pack mate. And seeing you heal with Jade has been a blessing in this situation.”
I nod, biting my lip so hard it bleeds. “I love you. Try not to leave us again.”
“Maxum,dude,” Osen chuckles. “It isn’t like you don’t know how much I treasure our friendship since you can read my mind.”
“I know, asshole,” Maxum says with a playful smirk. “Now get the fuck back into your own body so I can have some alone time with my woman.”
Osen shakes Jade’s head with a wide grin. Then he turns to the phoenix. “Calder, I love you so much, it aches in my very soul.” As Osen says this, Calder rushes forward and gives him a bruising kiss.
“Same.” Calder presses his forehead to Osen-Jade and then drops away.
Osen doesn’t offer Jade words, or perhaps he does through their mental connection and wishes to keep it private. Likely, since he usually isn’t one for public declarations of affection.
“Focus,” he guides her. “See in your mind what you want to make happen. Feel my soul and magic gather into your grasp and then coax it back into my body. This is your birthright. You can do this.”
Jade closes her eyes. Through our bond, I sense she’s calling upon her strange magic. Her skin begins to glow and when she opens her eyes to gaze at Osen’s body, they shine like stars. Almost too bright to look at.
She opens her mouth and a bizarre combination of light and shadow flow from her lips. The shadows I recognize… Osen’s incubus magic. The light must be his soul.
The cloud of energy slides into Osen’s nostrils.
Jade falls backward when the transfer is complete.
I catch her, holding her close to my chest. Her eyes are half closed, and she’s spent. Wielding magic this powerful, especially for new magic users, can be taxing.
I cup her head to my chest and expectantly watch Osen’s body. I was hoping for a gasp of air or a wiggling finger. But nothing.
“It didn’t work?” Calder asks, sounding heartbroken.
“Give it a minute,” Maxum whispers. “He was dead for a while. I suspect the body will need to heal and reconnect to his spirit.”
We wait and wait.
I don’t know if it’s been a minute or an hour. It feels like days as we wait for our friend, former lover, and pack mate to wake.
But he remains frustratingly still.
“Anything?” Calder asks as he leans over the casket, his hands fisting in agitation.
“I don’t sense brain waves. I thought by now…” Maxum drops into a crouch and hangs his head, giving up.
“Jade?” Flint calls and strokes her hair. “Heartstone? Do you feel him? Or is he truly gone now?”
Jade blinks and rouses to the room, her eyes falling onto Osen’s inert body. “He’s in there. Feels stuck.” She struggles to talk.
“Fuck!” Calder slams his fist into the wall. “We need to release him!”
“I could try taking him back inside me,” Jade suggests.
“No,” we all say in unison.
“He was hurting you.” Maxum stands again and walks over to stroke her cheek. “His magic and soul together were too much for you to contain. I’m afraid he might take over and you’d cease to exist.”
