Devils Roses 04 - Witch

It hurts Sam. It hurts so much."
    Sam nodded, "I will try Roland."
    "You will keep my secret?"
    Sam nodded.
    "Take Ophelia to Alabama. There is a region called Lillian. It is named for a black witch. Ophelia can find them. Be careful. No matter what trust no one and if it gets dangerous flash the pair of you out of there."
    "Should I bring Hanna?"
    Roland shook his head, "She will be sacrificed for the things inside of her. Marcus used her blood for all sorts of unsavory things for a reason. It contains things that can be used for very bad acts."
    Sam stood up from the chair, "I'm sorry for your losses Roland."
    Roland smiled a sad grin, "I know you are incapable of sorrow my son. You are incapable of all feelings. But thank you for the sentiment."
    Sam smiled, "I wish I could take it back. I wish I was able."
    "Can Ari change the fate?"
    Sam shook his head, "Too risky. Ophelia is such a major piece of all of the puzzles that if we don’t tread carefully with her the world is at stake."
    "Understood. Safe travels my son."
    Sam put his hand out for the old man to take.
    "Let me know when you’ve had enough."
    Roland chuckled, "Oh not yet. I have an arraignment with Miss Aimee."
    Sam smiled, "Fair enough."
    Sam flashed back to the mansion. He was sleepy and feeling lost in the story. Sirens really were the worst of the magic world. He wished he had never laid eyes on Hanna. He knew his heart would argue if it had a voice.

Chapter Twenty-Nine
    Ophelia

    She woke feeling cramped and sweaty. She looked down at her clothes and sneakers. She had fallen asleep still dressed. She kicked her shoes off and slid her jeans down. She pulled her t-shirt off and savored the night air on her sweaty naked skin.
    "I was going to do that, but I did promise nothing creepy."
    She sat up covering herself. Oliver sat in the chair next to the window.
    "You're really here?"
    "Yes, and I really just saw you in your skivvies."
    She pulled the quilt up and covered up, "You need to go back to your room."
    He shook his head and stood from the chair. In the silver moonlight his form filled the window. She watched as he unbuttoned a few of the buttons on his shirt and then pulled it up over his head. She felt the breath get sucked out of her chest. His tattoos were beautiful. The one that went up his neck partway was a blade, the hilt of it rested on his heart. His stomach had one on the side of it that dipped into his pants on his hip. It was a dark shape with a word running down the side of it. His right arm had one that wrapped around his shoulder and ran down his arm to his forearm. She looked at it trying to see it in the moonlight but couldn’t. He dropped the shirt to the floor. She pulled at the blankets. He looked twenty-two but she couldn’t get past the feeling he was old.
    He knelt on the bed. He bit his lower lip. She couldn’t help but stare at it.
    "What are you thinking?"
    She pushed her thoughts at him. He grinned, "You think I'm old."
    She laughed.
    He sat on the bed looking dangerous, like a boy her father would have warned her about.
    "Can you imagine what you'll feel like in one hundred years Ophelia?"
    She shook her head, "Dead. I guess."
    "But you'll live forever. Human's age but they don’t feel different. Ask any of them, physically they feel the age but mentally they feel as they did when they were twenty."
    "But you have always been."
    He shook his head, "Not so. I had a birth. It just wasn’t like yours. I was born in the night sky. I've always been made of magic. I'm not so different from you."
    He took her hand and placed it on the hilt of the sword where his heart beat. It was lazy compared to the rabid beat of her own.
    "My heart beats."
    She left her hand over his heartbeat but instead of laying it there she traced the tattoo. He closed his eyes. She leaned into him letting the covers fall. She climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around his waist.
    He opened his eyes. She pressed her hands on his chest feeling the heat pour from his skin.
    "Why do I feel this way with you?"
    His arms wrapped around her back, "Every soul has its mate. You are mine."
    "How long have you known?"
    "The minute you uncloaked yourself. I sent a friend to check on you."
    She pushed back, "The wolf who tried to eat me?"
    He shook his head, "No, what wolf?"
    She watched his face, "The one who tried to eat me but was thinking disgusting things about me. His mind was easy to read."
    Oliver grabbed her shoulders, "What wolf? What