They couldn’t hear the hyenas anymore.
But Peep and Plume assured them that the hyenas aren’t the only threat. Surely, the mage has more of her followers after them. Followers that they can’t see.
But the lack of a threat didn’t allow them to become relaxed. Eddie is still under the spell and therefore, is a threat himself. And there was always something in the back of Alex’s mind that told him Eddie was bound to be more dangerous than they thought.
He is bound with the mage, yes. But something told him that Eddie was going to be the death of them.
Alex walked at the back of them. He ensured Eddie was always in front of him, always in sight. Octavia wasn’t speaking much. It made him think that maybe she was upset with him for the way he was handling Eddie. At first, he thought he was being too rough with him, after all, Alex was twice the boy’s size. But then, he put himself in his shoes. Remembering that Eddie is a kid, under an evil witch’s spell, he was going to fight that way.
The dark-haired boy watched as Octavia climbed up on a log and balanced each step on it. She liked to do this a lot. She’d done it on the curbs of the sidewalks, logs, and the stone walls that fenced around the park. Once, she tried to do it on the stairs, but she fell and broke her leg. He moved toward the log, still where he could keep an eye on Eddie. And he watched the boy closely.
“Hi,” he spoke. She kept her focus on not falling. “How are you doing with... with all of this?”
When she finished balancing off the log she hopped in the snow, shrugging her shoulders in response to her brother’s question. “I miss Aria,” she admitted. “Do you think she’s alright?”
“Remember how we met her? She can take care of herself, I’m sure that as we speak, she’s fighting her way out.” Alex assured her. “Is there anything else that’s bothering you?”
“Just Eddie,” she told him. “I don’t like the spell.”
“I know.”
“And I don’t like how rough you are with him.” Octavia added. Alex sighed.
“I know,” he apologized. “I’ll try to be more gentle, but it’s hard when he fights like that. I’ve never seen a kid with so much willpower.”
“That’s not true,” she pointed out. “Remember Amy? The girl who was always fighting the boys? You tried to help her one day and she told you to go away, but you kept helping her anyway.”
“You know that Amy and I are friends, right?” he spoke. She nodded.
“Yeah, but you get my point. Both you and Amy were too stubborn to stop fighting the boys.”
“In fairness, they were being very rude. All the time.” Alex told her. Octavia nodded but hummed knowingly.
“Sure.”
He let out a breath. “Anyway, until the spell is broken, I think you should stay away from Eddie.”
“What?” she questioned, looking up at him with big blue eyes. “Why?”
“He might be dangerous,” Alex spoke. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“It’s just a spell, Alex,” Octavia persisted, stopping in front of him. He looked her in the eye. She was so innocent. Innocent, sweet, little Octavia. “Deep down, he’s just like me, I know it.”
He pursed his lips. She knew how to get what she wanted from him. Unfortunately, he’d been wrapped around her fingers since the moment she was born. But he was able to resist her charm when it came to her safety. “It’s just until the spell is broken, and if Peep and Plume are right, it won’t be long.”
A defeated look came across her face as she let out a sigh. “Fine.”
He felt bad for disappointing her. But it was only for her own safety. He looked back to where Eddie was.
He hoped that Eddie knew he was under watch. Maybe then, he’d accept that there was no sense in fighting. Maybe then, he wouldn’t want to escape.
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