Maximum Witch

chapter Twenty-Four


“Willa, you’ve barely eaten anything in days. If you keep going on like this, you’re going to make yourself sick.”

Justin’s soft yet stern words managed to drag Willa’s focus from the highlighted charts and maps that pinpointed the areas of the Atlantic and beyond where they’d already searched for Max. The ever-present heaviness in her chest only intensified as she took in the sorrow and sympathy swirling in the duke’s eyes. She’d been subjected to countless similar expressions from the various Atlanteans who’d been involved in the search-and-rescue mission for the past two weeks. She knew what they thought—that Max would never be found. They might not have the guts to say it to her, but she read their doubts loud and clear.

She swallowed past the thick lump in her throat. “I’m not hungry.”

“Starving yourself won’t—” Justin broke off, the strained look on his face more than finishing his sentence.

Bring Max back. Yeah, she was plenty aware that depriving herself of food wouldn’t magically return Max to her arms, but the emptiness within her wouldn’t go away anytime soon regardless. Blinking back the moisture rapidly accumulating on her eyelashes, she returned her attention to the documents spread out on Justin’s dining-room table. Because of its easy access to Atlantis, the ducal mansion had been converted into a quasi base camp for the search and rescue. There was a constant stream of people that came and went at all hours of the day and night. Each time a team member appeared, the hope would balloon in Willa’s heart, only to wither when there was no news on Max.

They were running out of places to look. The regions they’d covered outweighed the miniscule amount of land and sea that had yet to be canvassed. The royal army and the thousands of volunteers providing endless man hours had done a remarkable job. Although she was grateful for that, she also died a little more inside each time another area was crossed off the list and still there was no sign of Max.

If they didn’t find him soon, she didn’t know what she would do. In the back of her mind, she knew she needed to prepare for the worst—the possibility of Max never coming home to her.

Her stomach cramped, and she pressed a hand to her mouth to hold back the anguished moan that wanted to break free.

A noise sounded behind her, and she turned just as Boone entered the dining room. He looked as tired and emotionally drained as she felt. He stopped next to her, his arm banding around her in a comforting hug as he perused the charts. “I’m leaving in a few minutes to investigate a couple of these tiny islands in the Pacific.” He tapped the section in question on the map. “While I’m gone, I want you to get some sleep. And eat, damn it.”

She really wished everyone would stop trying to force-feed her. “I’m going with you.”

“Willa, you need to rest.”

“No. I need to find Max.” Her voice cracked on his name.

Boone watched her for a long moment before exhaling a heavy breath. “It goes against my better judgment to let you come, but you’ll probably just sneak into the portal after me, won’t you?” He ran a hand through his uncombed hair when she nodded. “Fine. But on one stipulation.” He reached for the plate holding a roast-beef sandwich and waved it beneath her nose. “You’re going to eat at least half of this.”

She wanted to argue, but the glint of determination in Boone’s eyes made it clear he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Without saying a word, she grabbed the sandwich and choked down the required amount. Thankfully her belly didn’t rebel.

Five minutes later, she joined Boone in the portal. In less time than it’d taken her to dip her toes into the reflecting pool, she and Boone emerged in the warm, crystal-clear waters of the Pacific Ocean. Boone morphed into his seal form, and she held onto his slick mammalian body as he cruised them in the direction of the islands they’d be searching. The group of small, uninhabited atolls ringing the lagoon were little more than oversized sandbars that provided nesting grounds for seabirds and the occasional turtle. Even though Willa knew the odds of locating Max on any of the atolls was slim, her heart still thundered with anticipation as she scrambled toward a scraggly cluster of buffalo grass. Like a madwoman, she hacked through the vegetation with her hands, desperate sobs sawing from her lungs.

It seemed hours passed before she realized that Boone’s arms were surrounding her.

“Willa, stop. He’s not here.”

Tuning Boone out, she continued kicking and swinging her limbs, taking out her anger and frustration on the sand and plant life. Boone hugged her tighter. She struggled against him, trying to break loose. Pain and misery were wounded beasts clawing inside her. They whipped their way upward, tunneling past the constriction in her throat. No longer able to contain it, she screamed, long and loud, her agony pouring free. Eventually the scream faded to racking sobs and she slumped within the circle of Boone’s embrace. His fingers sifting through her hair, he soothed her with tender caresses and soft words. Eventually she quieted, the tears gone but the heaviness in her heart no less staggering.

The sun beating on her face felt like a cruel joke in comparison to the dark emptiness in her soul. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without him.”

Boone continued to rock her, wisely not offering any meaningless platitudes that would offer her little comfort. They stood there for a long time, until the sky began to pinken into a sherbet hue. Boone’s hand curled around her limp one. “It’s time to go home.”

Home. One that didn’t include Max.

The barrenness in her soul was endless.