During their morning shower, Talia checked Damon's condition.
There were no black runes visible on his body, Sapa was unreachable, and their bond was solid.
Witches told Talia that the black runes were unpredictable, and she really hoped that the full moon ritual will be effective and that Sapa won't suffer any permanent consequences.
Damon assured Talia that he was fine, other than not being able to reach his wolf.
After double-confirming that both of their necks still had remnants of the last night's marking (even though they didn't mark each other again in the morning), Talia and Damon reluctantly left the bedroom in time to join others for breakfast.
They enjoyed the privacy that the third floor of the packhouse provided, but they had guests and many important things to handle. Lovey-dovey time was over. For now.
Talia and Damon descended the stairs into the lounge on the main floor to see Cornelia sitting on the sofa. She stood up and looked at them, as an obvious sign that she was waiting for them.
Cornelia saw Talia and Damon coming down the stairs and holding each other tightly like they didn't want to put a single fraction of space between them. Cornelia never met Damon, but she knew that he was Talia's mate because he looked at Talia in the same way Axel looked at Yasmin.
Cornelia hid the dejection that grew inside her behind a stiff expression. Will she ever get to experience that feeling of intimacy that only a mate could provide? Before last night, Cornelia believed that her mate was out there, and they will meet eventually, but now that she met him and the magic didn't happen… Cornelia was not sure what to expect.
'That is Cornelia. She is a high-ranking witch.', Talia told Damon through the mind-link. 'Thanks to her we have the potion and spell to remove dark magic.'
Talia was happy that the mind-link came in handy already. It was like their little secret and it made her feel even closer to him.
Damon knew from memories Talia shared who Cornelia was, but he appreciated this reminder because any female other than Talia was not important, hence, in danger of being forgotten.
When Damon and Talia reached the bottom of the stairs, Cornelia called, "Talia, may I have a word?"
Seeing that Damon had no intention of letting Talia out of his hold, Cornelia added, "I will appreciate it if I can talk to Talia in private." Damon was Talia's mate, but to Cornelia, he was a stranger.
Damon frowned, but he didn't object, so Talia took that as an OK.
"Let me introduce you first. This is Damon, my mate."
And just like that, Damon's sour mood was gone. This was the first time for Talia to announce him as her mate!
"Damon, this is Cornelia, the Priestess in the Silver Flame Coven. Until we officially open the passages, and our people start mingling, we will be introducing her as Gideon's cousin."
Cornelia and Damon exchanged a few pleasantries and then Cornelia went with Talia to the living room, leaving Damon to stand in the lounge.
Damon didn't want to go to the dining room without Talia and he also didn't want to leave Talia out of his visual range but sneaking on them didn't seem right.
Damon got an idea.
He took his phone and turned on the feed from the security camera in the living room, and then he put a Bluetooth earpiece in to listen to what was going on there. With that, he went to the dining room.
In the living room…
"It seems that the potion worked.", Cornelia said.
"Yes, thank you. Is that why you wanted to talk to me in private?" Talia didn't want to waste time on chit-chat because being away from Damon was making her nervous, and Marcy might be there any moment.
Damon told Talia the plan and she knew Damon got this under control, but still, she needed his proximity.
"I want to leave.", Cornelia said.
Talia was confused. "Leave? Where?"
"Back to the Midnight Guardians pack, and maybe home."
"Why? Did something happen?", Talia continued probing. She remembered that Cornelia was enthusiastic to explore other realms, so this request came as a surprise.
Cornelia was not willing to talk about James and what happened between them. Or maybe it was better to say what DIDN'T happen.
Last night, Cornelia spotted many mated couples, and right here in the packhouse were Mindy and Gideon, Maya and Caden, Dawn and George, and now Talia and Damon. They were all couples, and the fact that James couldn't see her as his mate was gut-wrenching. After a night of no sleep, Cornelia's resolve to leave this place firmed. She wanted to go far away from James.
"I feel homesick. That's all."
Talia didn't believe her, but she also didn't feel it was right to probe into Cornelia's private matters. They were not close and if Cornelia didn't want to open up, there was nothing Talia could do about it.
"I understand.", Talia said. "But will you consider staying another day or two? Tomorrow evening is the full moon, and I would be at ease with the knowledge that you will be here in case something goes wrong with the ritual or if Damon relapses."
Cornelia was not willing, but she remembered Evanora's words that since Cornelia was going with Talia, it was her duty to represent witches and leave a good impression. With that, Cornelia agreed reluctantly. It was just one extra day. "Alright. After the ritual, I will leave."
"Thank you, Cornelia. In the meantime, if there is anything you need to make your stay here more pleasant, just let me know. If you want, we can arrange for someone to show you around. Darkbourne is nearby, and there is a human city a bit further. The human city is bigger and has many things you didn't see."
Cornelia thought that going sightseeing would be nice. It will definitely be better compared to sitting in the packhouse and waiting for the time to pass, and she didn't want to risk lingering in the area and bumping into James again. "Yes, please. I would love to see the town with someone." Maybe she could go into the restaurant or a sweetshop and try local delicacies.
Talia was happy with this. "Excellent. We can assign you a few warriors to act as guides and for protection. Let me think about this and we can talk more after breakfast." Talia was eager to join Damon and she could mind-link with him about who would be the best to escort Cornelia.
Talia and Cornelia entered the dining room and Talia quickly scanned the people present, releasing a breath of relief when she confirmed that Marcy was still not there.
Damon was already on his feet, holding a chair for Talia to sit, on his left.
Cornelia's brows came together at the sensation of a familiar pull, the same one she felt last night. Her sight fell on the back of a head full of blonde hair and she couldn't believe her luck. James. What was he doing there?
Cornelia met him last night in the garden, and then in front of the packhouse, but she didn't imagine that he would actually be here!
