The Legend of the Eight: The Charmed (Book 4)

12: Remember Me

TWELVE: REMEMBER ME
SEPTEMBER 26
WIL DIAMOND

THERE WAS ANOTHER GAME ON Saturday, that time against the werewolves-only school, Full Moon Preparatory School. Wil was supposed to attend the game with her friends and Oliver but her new beau had to cancel for a staffing issue regarding his charity's upcoming event. So Wil opted to skip the game too. The Academy would win. They always did.

She grabbed her Nikon and wandered around the Academy, snapping shots of the historic building and its enviable architecture. It was easier when it was empty. She could take the same shot a hundred different times without anyone interfering or stepping into the frame. It was nice.

An orange, late-summer sun peered through tall stained-glass windows, casting a mosaic on the marble floors. The bronze figures in the Records Room had been recently polished, leaving them to glisten in the light.

There was a bust of King Louis, her great-something grandfather and there was a shadow across his face which gave him the appearance of a burly mustache. Wil giggled and then focused her lens before snapping away. The proofs were as funny as she thought they'd be and when she was done in the Records Room, she headed towards the stairs in hopes of finding more inspiration.

At the end of the third floor hall, there was a light on and she started towards it. The building was quiet, disturbed only by the faint sound of bubbling and someone's soft murmuring. It appeared she wasn't the only one with the idea to skip the game.

She peeked into the room, a seemingly empty potions lab, and saw a heated cauldron on one of the tables. Scattered around it were various supplies but there didn't appear to be anyone accompanying the mess. Wil started taking pictures from the door, documenting the abandoned creation, until suddenly the culprit walked out of the storage room and returned to the table.

Wil's breath caught in her throat and she flung herself against the wall outside, terrified that he'd seen her. Working in that room with his dark eyes trained on his work was Damon Donovan. When he didn't seem to notice her, she quietly peeked around the door and watched.

He wore his usual dress shirt and jeans—untucked and loosely buttoned—and he had taken off his watch, leaving it on the table where he worked. His face had a light sheen of sweat on it, painted on from working so hard. He mixed the ingredients together expertly, without needing to read any books for guidance. He just knew. Wil watched him, admiring focus twisted into his face. She admired the way he worked in the low light like there was nowhere else he'd rather be. Before she knew it, Wil was taking pictures of him, capturing that raw focus and energy within him.

He was just as handsome as ever. He took the eucalyptus oil and added four drops into his pot and then reached for a vial of liquid sunlight. As he did, he mistakenly knocked over a jar of black oak ash, spilling some into the potion. He must not have noticed because he didn't react and he uncorked the liquid sunlight.

It was in that moment that Wil remembered the combination of black oak and liquid sunlight created a devastating reaction that bordered on fatal. Quickly, she put her camera down and ran into the workspace, tackling Damon to the ground. Moments later, the liquid sunlight touched the potion and set off an explosion so large, it would've taken them both out had they still been standing.

They landed on the ground with a thud and Wil fell into Damon's chest with perfect ease, like she was meant to be there all along. For a minute, they were still. Rhythmic inhales and exhales mixed between them and they stared at each other, catching their breaths.

"I—"

But Wil didn't have the words. They disappeared the second she landed on his chest and lost herself in his coffee brown eyes. Her glance drifted down to his lips and she wondered if kissing him would feel the way she remembered it. If it would send tingles down her spine and make her heart race. She missed that.