“Give me a break,” I mumbled to the sky. “What am I supposed to be doing?”
Only the breeze answered, sending another scatter of petals my way. My headache returned, and I sighed—partly in frustration, partly in relief. The boringness of the vision, and the absolute silence from the house, had started to unnerve me.
Serena
[Hazel and Tejus’s daughter]
Vita sat up in the tub and screamed. Her eyes were wide with fear, her entire body shaking, whether from the freezing-cold temperatures of the tub or from what she’d seen in her vision, I didn’t know.
“Vita!” I cried, hauling her up and out of the ice water. Jovi, Field and Bijarki were by my side in a second—Bijarki with a towel that he instantly wrapped around her shaking body, moving us aside. She leaned on him, but her stare was fixed on Jovi, darting over his body until she started to calm down. Her breathing was labored, and Bijarki held her more tightly. I would have objected to him touching her that way had I not been absolutely sure that she needed body heat. Still, I would have preferred it to have been Jovi or Field.
“Vita, what happened?” I asked, cupping her face in my hands as I forced her to focus on me.
“The vision,” she replied, trembling. “It was horrible…I’m still, eugh—It was just…bad.” She started to realize who was holding her so intimately, and extracted herself from Bijarki’s grip. The incubus watched her with a frown, but let her move away from him and took a step back.
“She needs a hot shower,” Jovi announced, looking around for some more towels.
“No,” the Druid replied. “It will cause chilblains, she needs to warm up slowly. We’ll go upstairs when the others wake up, it shouldn’t be long now.”
Jovi looked like he wanted to object, but stayed silent—I agreed with the Druid, a sudden blast of heat would be painful for her. I stepped in, warning the others to give her some space, and held her tightly in the towel. It was the best we could do for now.
I anxiously waited for the others to wake up. Would they be as traumatized as Vita when they did? I watched their unnaturally still bodies, silently praying that they would open their eyes.
Aida was next.
She burst up and out of the water so suddenly, I almost jumped out of my skin.
“What the hell!” she cried out, looking wildly around her as Vita had, but her features were set in fury, not fear. Her muscles were taut, her body crouched into a predatory pose.
“Aida, it’s just us.” Jovi held out his hand to help her out of the tub. Her golden eyes widened, and after a few seconds she clutched on to him, allowing her brother to maneuver her onto the ground. He silently handed her a towel, and she took it gratefully.
My eyes met Jovi’s. I hadn’t expected this—the visions had affected our friends far more than either of us had anticipated. He held his sister tightly to him, and muttered something under his breath.
Field remained looking over Phoenix’s tub, but repeatedly glanced at Aida and Vita, clearly eager for my brother to wake up so we could all get out of here. Vita’s shakes seemed to be intensifying, and now I was sure it was down to a dangerously low body temperature.
“I need to get out of here,” Aida pleaded. “Please, Jovi.”
“Wait,” the Druid replied, moving over to Phoenix’s tub. “Field, help me drag him up. He’s stayed under too long.”
Field instantly yanked Phoenix up, lifting him clear of the tub. My brother coughed a few times, his body spasming as he tried to fight off Field. The Hawk wouldn’t let him, holding on tightly as my brother twisted in his grip.
“Wake up!” Field yelled at him, shaking him by the shoulders. Phoenix took a large, shuddering breath and stopped struggling. He looked around at us all, and I could see his muscles start to relax as he recognized where he was.
“Sorry.” He turned to Field, who handed him a towel and shook his head.
“Don’t be. Are you all right?”
“Been better,” my brother replied, looking back at the tub in confusion. He then turned to Vita and Aida, his eyes widening as he took in their shaking bodies and their still-wild eyes.
“Upstairs,” the Druid commanded. I didn’t hesitate to follow him out of the room, still clutching Vita to me as we ascended the staircase. The Druid came to a stop in the living room, where the fire was blazing. I walked Vita over to the chair in front of the fire—there was easily enough space for both her and Aida. Jovi joined me, helping his sister sit down.
“Phoenix, stand by the fire,” I urged my brother. He was standing in the doorway from the basement, looking around the living room in a gaze close to fascination.