Chapter 24: Simply The Way Things Were

Brennan glamoured himself and released his magic bubble once he got closer to the surface. He was off to the side of the boat now and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"HEY! OVER HERE! HELP!"

Someone on deck swiveled around in disbelief before getting several other people's help to throw out a life preserver and drag him to the safety of the boat. He had to be careful than no one touched his wings as they helped him up.

"What on earth are you doing out here?!" one of them asked.

"I'm a marine biologist," Brennan said tiredly. "I was swept out to sea during the storm a few days ago. My research team is probably really worried about me. Can I call them?"

"You've been out here for days?! Wow! Of course you can but we don't have any service out here aside from an emergency radio. I'll have to contact the coast guard and they can get a hold of them for you. Where are you coming from?"

"Miami."

"…it's a really good thing we found you. You never would have made it back there after already swimming for days. What's your name? I'm Jim Colfer."

"Brennan Trent. Nice to meet you."

Jim called out to one of his crewmates to get him some dry clothes, food, water, and a blanket while he made the call to the coast guard himself. They couldn't turn around because they were headed in the opposite direction of Miami but they could get someone to come pick him up.

Brennan was very glad he accounted for this possibility when he told Talori the plan. Otherwise they would be in trouble.

He knew there was a good chance the Coast Guard would get involved since he had been shipwrecked. It hadn't happened to him before but he had heard stories from colleagues in the field.

It took the Coast Guard a few hours to show up and they asked him countless questions about what he had been doing out there and his research team before they got close enough to shore that he could call them. He managed to get a hold of his understandably freaked out supervisor just before they left work.

"Brennan! You're alive?!"

"Yeah," he said sheepishly. "Sorry for worrying you."

"Forget that! Everyone is going to be thrilled. Are you okay? Did you get hurt at all?" Everett worried.

"I'm just exhausted and sore from swimming for so long. I'm going to get checked out when I get back to shore just to be safe. I'm really okay."

"I can't believe it! You rest up good, you hear? I don't want you stepping foot in this place until you've recovered from your ordeal. Take a week. Your research will be waiting for you when you get back."

Brennan sighed in relief. As he predicted. "Thanks, Everett."

"Of course! It's not every day someone gets swept out to sea and lives to tell the tale. I want you in peak condition before you think about work," Everett said sternly. "I have to go tell everyone else before you leave. Be warned, they might want to come check up on you."

His sigh was less relieved this time. The last thing he needed was well-meaning but nosy humans getting into his business. He couldn't exactly turn them away though considering how scared they must have been seeing the wind drag him off. It made sense they would want to see he was okay for themselves.

"Thanks for the heads up. I'll see you in a week."

Brennan hung up the phone and thanked the member of the coast guard who had let him use the phone. They nodded before asking, "Is there anyone else you want to call?"

"Not right now. I'll wait until we're closer to shore. I'm going to need someone to pick me up."

"You got it."

The boat made good time so they were back before the sun completely set over the water. He borrowed that human's phone again to call Harmony and fervently hoped she picked up. She tended to get wrapped up in her projects at the worst of times and wasn't always the best at answering her phone. The best way to get a hold of her was to show up at the witch coven.

===

Harmony Netzley was a simple witch. She loved learning and experimenting above all else so feelings came second. That was simply how things were for witches. Everything was a transaction.

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There wasn't anything wrong with that. It was simply the way things were.

She was young, hungry, and desperate to prove herself to the coven leader. She had left her mother's coven as soon as she reached adulthood, wanting to branch out and try new things.

This was standard. Witches hardly ever stayed in the same coven for more than a century. Trying new things was their way of life. She had left the Redwood Coven in favor of the warm, sunny weather of Florida but kept in touch with her friends and family using a mixture of technology and magic.

She liked the Coastal Coven. A lot of the witches here were younger like her and had traveled from other covens throughout North America. A witch could fit into any coven anywhere but she preferred this one because of the particular witches in it.

It didn't hurt that there was a lot to do in Miami. There were plenty of fae around here too though their service area covered several states.

Harmony had only ever lived in two places so she enjoyed meeting more well-traveled fae like Brennan Trent. Most fae seemed content to stay in one place for centuries and that seemed so boring to her!

Thinking of Brennan…she wondered why he hadn't dropped by in so long. He normally showed up every couple of days to talk to her as she worked. It was a solid arrangement because he liked to hear about magic and she liked to hear about everywhere he had been.

At this point the other witches hardly noticed his presence anymore. At first they had been weirded out that a fairy spent so much time in their coven but eventually they accepted that their bizarre friendship was as transactional as the ones they shared with the elves, if in an entirely different way.

More than half of the witches here had elf boyfriends (for lack of a better term) because they were trying to perpetuate their race. Harmony did too. He was actually supposed to be coming over soon.

They weren't true relationships. Neither witches nor elves were into that sort of thing. They tended to meet up once a week or so to try and get pregnant and that was the extent of it.

It was unfortunate that fae babies were so rare. If a witch was lucky, she would have one or two children in her lifetime and that was after bouncing around from partner to partner constantly every few decades.

Harmony had met Castian Reycan at a party specifically meant to match up witches and elves shortly after moving here and they had been following that arrangement ever since. Aside from that they had their own lives and didn't interact unless it was to say hi if they happened to run into each other.

He was a pretty good-looking guy. Human male models often reminded her of elves minus the pointed ears and long hair.

His looks were a stark contrast to hers. He was tall and pale with straight red hair that went to his waist and turquoise eyes. She was on the shorter side of average with a black flippy bob, dark skin, and glowing green eyes.

More likely than not, any child they might have would look like her since that was how witch genetics worked. She looked like her mother and aunt rather than whoever her elf father had been.

Not that Harmony truly expected to have Castian's child. It usually took decades if not centuries to get pregnant and she didn't know how long she would stay in Florida. Still, she had to try. It was her duty as a witch and it wasn't like sleeping with him was a chore.

The doorbell rang, breaking her out of her thoughts. That should be Castian now.

He was just getting off work at Elite Financial Solutions' Miami branch because he was still in a suit, as he was every time she saw him. Sometimes she wondered if he ever wore anything else.

Unless she was going out somewhere she tended to dress rather casually. Not right now though because she knew Castian was coming over. She had put on a red mini dress and makeup for the occasion. She always tried to make herself look nice on their 'date nights.'

Harmony opened the door and smiled at him as she gestured for him to come in. "Hi, Castian."

"Hello, Harmony. You look nice."

Her smile grew wider. That was about as complimentary as he got. Elves were such stiffs. She had worn this on purpose because she knew he liked red. At least she assumed he liked red because seven times out of ten his tie was red when she saw him. Tonight he was shaking things up by wearing a blue one.

"Why thank you! So do you."

His lips twitched, which was his version of a smile. He took off his coat and began loosening his tie. "What have you been up to this week?"

Basic small talk. That was about the extent of their conversations but Harmony was used to it. She had plenty of people around to provide more mental stimulation. His role in her life was purely physical.

"Same old, same old. Though Thalia did end up blowing up her office again. It's a good thing we turned the fire alarms in the back off years ago or the human firefighters would be knocking down our door every other day. My aunt is notorious for explosions," she said with a shrug. "You?"

"Nothing new on my end either. Banking gets rather repetitive."

Harmony couldn't imagine having such a boring job. At least her version of repetitiveness had more oomph.. You didn't see explosions at a bank.

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