The Beautiful and the Faultless | Cami O'Connell

Chapter 17

Ingrid didn't respond, her eyelids fluttering closed. Kol tried to wake her up, but relaxed when he heard her snoring lightly. She was actually asleep from exhaustion, not unconscious because it'd hurt her too severely.

He laid her down on her bed, and Irene immediately began to bawl, wanting attention. He'd taken the cat to his room for a bit to play with Davina, who came by to make sure Ingrid was okay. When he brought Irene back a few hours later, Ingrid was still asleep, and Irene was more than happy to crawl onto her stomach to nap with her.

When Ingrid woke up, it was a whole day later, and Josh was in the room, waving a string around while Irene chased it.

"Holy crap," she said groggily. "I feel like I woke up in another dimension."

"Did you at least sleep well?" asked Josh.

She stretched her arms above her head. "I feel rested... but I don't think I dreamed anything. It's like I closed my eyes and now I'm here. What time is it?"

"Ten in the morning."

"Damn, I slept twelve hours?"

"Nope, you slept for thirty-six."

Her mouth dropped open. "Holy fuck." She checked her phone, seeing the date was indeed different on her homescreen. "Did anyone tell Cami?"

"I did," said Josh. "She came by to see you for a bit but you were out like a light. Irene enjoyed her company, though. I fed her, and she didn't break anything, probably because you were in the room the whole time. She did fall asleep on your neck, though, and you were breathing weird for a bit until I finally got her to choose a different spot."

Ingrid narrowed her eyes at Irene, who glanced back innocently. "I wonder if she realized that could kill me," said Ingrid. From the look on Irene's face, she had no idea. But Ingrid wasn't too sure about that.

"You missed a fight," said Josh. "Hayley and Klaus went at it. More like... Hayley took her anger out on him, because he didn't exactly hit back."

"Oh damn. Are they okay?"

"Hayley and Jackson are now living in an apartment across the street. They're not home now, just because they went into the Bayou to check on the other wolves, to help get everyone situated." He pointed at a small box on her nightstand. "They left that for you, though."

Ingrid wiggled over to the other side of the bed, and opened the box, smiling when she saw a necklace similar to the one Jackson had given Hayley for their wedding, except the green stone was in the middle of a star instead of a crescent moon. "I love it," she said, sitting up and stretching her legs. "Mm... where is everyone else?"

"Rebekah is packing. Apparently, now that Hayley's back, she wants to do Freya a favor and travel to try and find a spell that could recreate Finn's body, so that he can join everyone. Kol got angry about that, so he's with Davina now. Freya and Marcel are in the courtyard watching Hope while Elijah and Klaus continue snapping at each other about Hayley's new living arrangements. Cami's at work."

"I think I could use a drink," said Ingrid. "After I eat something, of course, because my stomach has been empty for over a day."

Josh accompanied her as she had some french toast in the dining room. Then, once Ingrid had bathed, they took Irene in her stroller to walk around the city, heading toward Rousseau's.

"Hello little one," said Cami, smiling when she saw Irene looking around Rousseau's excitedly. She beamed at Ingrid. "How do you feel?"

"I feel okay," she admitted. "It doesn't feel like I've gotten my magic back, but at least I'm not in pain." She sighed, and shrugged. "Tomorrow, it's back to the same routine. Training. Attempting spells. That sort of thing. And this Saturday..." she pursed her lips to contain a smile, "Gumbo and maybe a movie at my place?"