Witch Emerging (High Witch Book 2) (17 page)
Read Witch Emerging (High Witch Book 2) Online
Authors: Mona Hanna
“Are you alright, Ariel? Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m going to miss her. I’ll miss both of them.”
“You’ll see them again,” Brayden said. “I know the trip is horrendous, but it’s manageable. Sean was at sea for years, so he can handle it, and Hallie can heal herself with her magic if she gets seasick. They’ll be in our lives.”
“I hope so,” she said. “I just can’t help but feel part of the journey is over. My dream of meeting all the High Witches is partly finished, and I feel an emptiness. I want to do more. I want to be part of something big.”
Brayden looked at her as they walked. “It’s not really enough, you working with me and my mother. I know you’re proud of what you do, but it’s not enough, is it?”
Ariel bit her lip, then glanced at him. “No,” she admitted softly. “I love you both, but… no. I want more.”
“Then you’ll have more. But I think your biggest challenge is coming up in, what, a few months?”
Brayden grinned at her, and Ariel smiled, putting her hand on her stomach. Little Erica. Her greatest love; her greatest joy.
She laughed. “I can’t wait to teach her!” Ariel said gleefully. “I can’t wait to train her! And she’ll never be ashamed of who she is. I’ll make sure of that.”
Brayden smiled. “As long as she doesn’t get
too
confident. Can’t have her blowing up the house if she doesn’t get her way.”
“Brayden!” Ariel exclaimed. “She won’t be spoiled. She’ll be perfect. And you know what’s lovely? Hallie is like my sister, and Erica has a sister out there—the other High Witch. She’ll be close to Erica’s age, only a little older. We have to find her. We have to protect her, too.”
“Raising a High Witch and finding another? Sounds big to me,” Brayden said. Then he stopped walking, put down the bags, and looked at her. “There’s so much you’ll do, Ariel. So much that will happen for you, for all of you. You’re not destined to brew potions, and I hardly think Hallie is destined to work as a scribe forever, although she wants to go back to it right now. You’re going to change things, I can feel it. I know it. You’re amazing, and there’s nothing you can’t do. But not because of your power. Because of your heart.”
Ariel stepped towards him and kissed him, holding his face in her hands. She looked at him closely when she pulled back. “You’re going to be the greatest father in the world,” she whispered. “And I love you with my whole heart.”
He smiled crookedly. “And I love you with all of mine.”
***
Hallie lay in bed with Sean that night, resting in his arms. They hadn’t said anything for a while, both exhausted. The past week had been wonderful but tiring. Both of them had just relaxed after Ariel and Brayden had left, not really speaking much, just spending time alone. Hallie thought about just drifting off to sleep but wanted to ask Sean something. She was nervous but had to get it out. “Sean?” she asked. “Are you awake?”
“Yes. What is it?”
She paused for a moment. “We haven’t really spoken about… I mean, what we’re going to do next. We’ve spent nearly all our time with Ariel and Brayden, and you didn’t bring it up, and I didn’t bring it up, and I don’t know what…”
Sean turned on his side and looked at her, still holding her. He kissed her on the forehead. “What would you like? What do you want for us?”
She looked away, suddenly shy, not able to say what she really felt.
Sean kissed her forehead again, bringing his hand up and burying it in her hair. He sighed deeply. “Should I tell you what I was thinking?”
Hallie looked at him. “Yes! Oh, yes.”
He smiled. “I don’t want to pressure you, and I don’t want to crowd you. I haven’t said anything because I was giving you time to rest after all that’s happened. But what I’d like is to move here, to your town. I want to stay with you. I did carpentry work before I left to go on my uncle’s ship, so I can always go back to that. I don’t know where you want me to live, but I want to be with you, Hallie. There’s no point in me going back home—where you are is home. And you’ve made a life here, and I don’t want to take you away from that. I don’t know if you’ll get your old job back, but even if you don’t, you’ll find something else. All I want is to spend my life with you, every second, and well, I’m yours if you’ll have me.”
Hallie gently kissed him on the mouth before looking into his eyes. “I love you,” she said. “Everything I said the day before what happened with Nicholas, I meant. I’m yours too. It would be madness for you to live anywhere else—I want you here, with me, forever. I never want to be apart from you. Stay with me. Please stay.” She hugged him tightly, the thought of him being anywhere but with her making her heart break.
He held her closely, whispering in her ear how much he loved her. Finally he pulled back, smiling at her, his eyes twinkling. “People will talk, us living together without being married,” he said, grinning. “How long should we let them talk?”
She suddenly lost all her breath, her heart starting to beat faster. “What do you mean?”
He kissed her softly, tenderly, then placed a kiss on her neck. “How long before you marry me, Hallie?” he whispered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.
“You haven’t asked,” she said, her heart fluttering.
He kissed her neck again. “Should I correct that?”
She wanted to kill him for teasing her, but she could barely breathe. “Oh, Sean…”
He kissed her, the longest, deepest kiss she’d ever had, clutching her to him while his tongue slid against hers. She sunk her fingers into his hair as his hands moved over her body, and then he reined kisses down her neck, her chest, finally stopping to stare at her. She bit her lip, desperately wanting him to ask but frightened he wouldn’t.
He gently took her hand, brushing it with his lips before gazing into her eyes again. “I’ve loved you since I was eight, since the day I first saw you. I used to imagine marrying you, even when I was a kid, but I never told anyone. Least of all you. Every time someone was mean to you, it broke my heart, hence me punching half the boys in our town. I love you so much, and there’s not a single soul in this world I could love more. You’re sweet and kind and beautiful and have the biggest heart in the world. You’re so strong, and if our children have half your strength, half your heart, they’ll be the luckiest people in the world. And I do want children with you. I want everything with you. I want to live here, but as soon as we can, I want to marry you, want to tell everyone you’re mine. I don’t want to spend a second without you. Nothing will ever keep me from you. So will you, Hallie? Will you marry me?”
Hallie kissed him, a long and slow kiss, wanting to show him her answer, but he stopped, gazing at her. She could see the anticipation in his eyes. She smiled at him. “Yes, I’ll marry you,” she whispered. “Oh, Sean. Of course I’ll marry you.”
They kissed again but didn’t stop. They made love all night long. Hallie knew they’d make love for the rest of their lives.
Brayden paced the front room of the house, Ariel’s cries as she was in labor making him so anxious he could barely stand it. She was in their bedroom with the midwife and his mother and Aunt Sophie, and all Brayden could do was wait. He felt helpless, useless, and had to keep stopping himself from barging into the room. It was his child being born! His baby! He couldn’t bear the sound of Ariel in pain, and his heart ripped in two every time she cried out. He kept pacing, his hands clasped firmly behind his back. He couldn’t stand the waiting. Then he heard it.
Ariel gave a final loud scream, and a baby’s cries could be heard, high and shrill. Brayden could hear the women exclaiming and ran towards his bedroom, dying to go inside. He waited impatiently. After a while, Brayden’s aunt opened the door and gestured for him to come in. He walked inside and looked over at Ariel.
She sat on the bed, her hair damp with sweat and her face looking exhausted, holding their tiny baby in her arms, wrapped in a white cloth. The midwife and his aunt were tidying up at the foot of the bed, and Brayden’s mother stood beside Ariel. Brayden rushed to her side, leaned over, and kissed her on the forehead.
“Ariel, you did it,” he said and kissed her head again. “I’m so proud of you. Oh, my love.”
His wife was crying, and Brayden wiped away her tears. He looked at his child—so small, her skin pink with dark hair on her head—and he fell in love immediately. He reached his hand out, almost scared to touch her, and brushed her cheek with his thumb. He felt tears fall from his eyes also and put his arm around Ariel. “She’s here,” he whispered.
“I love her,” Ariel said, her voice hoarse. “Oh, Brayden.”
Brayden kissed her on the cheek, finding it hard to contain his emotion. He sighed deeply. “You did perfectly—you’re both perfect. Ariel, I can’t believe…” His voice became choked up, and he had to stop speaking. Brayden watched his wife and child, his heart full, and knew all of his dreams had come true. He touched Erica’s hand as she lay in her mother’s arms, knowing the perfect little angel was going to change their lives forever.
Ariel began to cry again. “My Erica, my darling Erica,” she sobbed. “I love her. I love her so much I can’t breathe.”
Erica wriggled in Ariel’s arms, her tiny hands reaching out, and Brayden smiled at her. Already striving. Already growing. Already living. The three of them had so much to go through together.
He was going to love every moment.
Mona Hanna is an author of fantasy/romance books. She enjoys writing about love, magic, conflict, trials and the joy of overcoming them. Mona enjoys reading, movies, chocolate, and adores cats. She hopes to release many more fantasy books in the years to come.
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