Chapter 26
Marcus
Even with all three witches working together, Griselda, Penny, and Lily couldn’t open a portal big and stable enough for both of us to get home from Paris. They had no trouble opening portals to each other’s homes and apparently did it every Saturday, but cross-continent travel required a lot more magic.
“We really need to get stronger,” Lily had lamented.
They did, however, get a portal big enough to pass Gigi her purse, which was spelled to open up into her cupboard at home. They’d left everything we needed there, including the cord to charge her phone, which was currently plugged into the socket in her home, meaning we didn’t need to worry about finding an adapter. Clever.
It was for the best we stayed for a few days anyway. I was surprised to discover I still had access to my old bank account. I transferred everything to my account in the US. Then I told the bank I suspected my mother hadn’t been paying her taxes and wished to remove myself from the joint account to distance myself financially from her.
Elise hadn’t dipped into my earnings yet since she was still living high on her baby funds. That would probably end soon, especially when they start charging her for back taxes and interest. She’d be livid when she found out her backup was gone. I couldn’t wait!
Was it vindictive? Sure. But the bitch deserved it.
I spent the rest of the time there showing Gigi the city. It was so much brighter now that she was with me. Bella had always wanted to see Paris, so they’d passed her through on the last day so I could give her a quick tour.
We’d flown back like normal people, bringing lots of presents in our carry-ons for everyone who’d helped with the operation, including tons of goodies for Griselda’s employees since they’d stepped up and kept her coffee shop running while she was away.
I was surprised to see that Bullseye Fitness was now fully renovated. During my absence, Declan made up a story about how I had to fly to France for a family emergency, and everyone stepped up, offering to help get the place ready to surprise me when I got back. He had that much confidence that they’d get me back. Or maybe he’d simply been in denial.
The thought that everyone had gotten together to free me had a warm fuzzy feeling blooming in my chest. The fear that no one would notice if I was disappeared had been unfounded. Everyone I cared about had noticed, and they’d come for me.
I’d been in that maze for only three weeks, even though I could swear it had felt much longer. Next Monday was Bullseye Fitness’s new official grand opening, weeks late, but better late than never. That meant I had all weekend to relax and enjoy being truly free for the first time in my life.
It didn’t take long for Arcane Development to remind me that our problem with them was still unresolved. Except this time, we were ready. Declan had a rotation of our gym members watching the place every day, and they surrounded the perps, trapping them in Gigi’s coffee shop, and therefore inside her wards. Once inside, every magic wielder present, which included Gigi, her staff, several members of Bullseye Fitness, and surprisingly, Declan himself, worked to stop the spell that turned their words to gibberish from triggering.
Officer Cooley and Hayes were called in again, along with Seth, in his EA uniform, of course. The wizard took every opportunity to flirt shamelessly with Officer Cooley, making not-so-subtle innuendos that would’ve cost him his job if he hadn’t been a dragon’s wizard. She did her best to ignore him, but behind her impressive composure, I noticed the sparks of interest. She took sneak peeks at him whenever she thought he wasn’t looking.
This time, the culprits spilled everything. With solid proof against Arcane and an investigation underway, it meant we could relax a bit. But we still couldn’t drop our guard.
They wouldn’t give up this easily, and we knew it. If they couldn’t force us to sell the land so they could search for Bella, then they’d find some other way.
“What if they never stop looking for me?” Bella asked that evening after dinner.
The question had clearly been on her mind all day, and she sounded on the verge of tears even though she didn’t really exist physically aside from the pretty metal compact. “I wish I wasn’t special anymore so they’d just stop!”
It was the way she’d worded it that gave me the idea. We’d all agreed that Bella’s papa had been wrong; she couldn’t actually grant wishes. She gave advice. One set of reliable advice per person. But she could not do it for herself. What if I used my one good set of advice on her behalf?
“Is that what you really want, Bella?”
“Kinda. I want them to stop looking for me, and I don’t want to have this stupid talent anymore. And I want to be a normal girl, and I want to grow up and do normal woman things. I’m sick of this…whatever this life is.”
Gigi, who had been trying to get Triscuit to put away his toys, his least favorite trick, paused when taking note of our conversation.
“Well then, I would like my official solution now,” I said. “I wish for you to not have any magical talents you don’t want so they’ll stop looking for you and for you to be a normal girl so you could grow up and do normal woman things.”
Gigi was nodding with my words.
There was a sharp inhale. “Do you really mean that?” Bella asked.
“Of course I do. You helped me get my life back. It’s only fair that I help you to do the same.”
There was a choked noise that sounded very much like someone trying not to cry.
Not wishing to witness what was essentially a ghost breaking down, I decided to lighten the mood. “And besides, we can’t have a teenage spirit hanging out in the living room forever. I’d like to be able to bend my mate over the back of the couch.” I waited for the reaction.
“Marcus!” Gigi gasped.
“Ugh! TMI!” shrieked Bella, who’d been learning all the modern slang courtesy of Lily and Penny.
“So how about it?” I asked.
“Yes! I’ll give you the solution.”
Gigi handed a pen and a mini notepad to Triscuit and asked him to bring them over to me. He did. But instead of handing them to me nicely, he dropped them on me while mimicking the sounds of a bomb falling, which had Gigi and Bella both laughing.
“Alright, hit me,” I said, ready to write everything down.
Except the solution included only a single step: Put the compact on display at the Darlington Museum. That was it.
I scratched the base of my horns. “I see how that would get the wizards off your back. Everyone knows that most of the things on display at the Darlington Museum are part of Desmon’s hoard. Those wizards would be stupid or suicidal to try to steal it. But how does it help you become a real girl?”
“I don’t know,” Bella said.
“It was like that for me too. The steps she gave me didn’t make sense at all in the beginning either. I didn’t see how talking with Elise could get you back. Then she came with the dragon’s offer and we realized it was our way in.”
“But you were given more than that.”
“I was. But maybe this is all you could do or have to do.”
“What do you think Bella, should I do it? You’re the one most affected.”
“Yes! I haven’t granted you a wish before. It has to work!” She was still calling them wishes. Old habits died hard.
I put my hand into my pocket and fingered the business card Seth had pressed into my palm earlier with the ominously uttered words, “You’ll need this soon.” Had he known? Or was it just wizard’s intuition?
He was our quickest way to Desmon, and our best bet of getting the compact displayed at the Darlington Museum, so I gave him a call.
“See, I told you you’d need my number soon,” was Seth’s immediate reply.
Despite my mess at explaining, Seth seemed to already understand what was going on and I wondered again if he’d known about Bella all along. Damn wizard.
A few hours later, a portal opened up in Gigi’s living room and an older lady with her white hair wrapped into a neat bun at the nape of her neck stepped through. Beyond her, the portal showed nothing but swirling darkness.
That was strange. All the other portals I’d seen before showed what was beyond.
“Hi, I’m Elana. I’m here for Bella,” said the stately older lady.
Gigi didn’t immediately hand her the compact, and Bella stayed silent. She glanced briefly at Triscuit, who was in his cage. He didn’t react negatively to the woman.
“Bella’s my friend,” Gigi said finally. “I‘m sorry if I’m coming off rude, but I just want to make sure she’s going to be safe. What’s the plan for her?”
“Honestly, we’re not quite sure how to turn her back into a girl yet, but the first thing we are going to do is announce that the compact will be on display at the museum for a limited time. We plan on making a replica for the display while we figure out the rest.”
“And what’s in it for Desmon?” Gigi asked. The brave woman who’d faced down my personal dragon was back.
”I understand why you are reluctant to hand your friend off to a dragon. They aren’t always nice people.”
“You can say that again,” I muttered.
The woman just smiled. “Thanks to you two and Bella, Desmon has won a bet.” She turned to me. “He bet that your line would be free in less than five generations. You were the fifth generation and his last chance. Think of this as a thank you.”
The idea that dragons had been betting on my life like it was just a game irked, but then I realized that without the bet, I’d probably still be in that maze. Seth’s visit as an EA enforcer had been the clue we needed to find Bella and her solution.
There was a soft clearing of a throat as Bella decided finally to speak. “It’s okay, Gigi. I heard the dragon of Darlington is nice, for a dragon. I’ll go, but only if Gigi and her friends can visit sometimes.”
“Of course, dear. Now let’s get you back before Carly sets up your room without you.”
Gigi handed the precious compact to the older woman.
“Thank you for using your only wish on me, Marcus. You’re the best.”
Elana tsked. “There’s your first mistake right there, child. You shouldn’t call it a wish. That’s why everyone’s after you.”
We said goodbye to Bella and Elana as they disappeared through the swirling darkness of the portal.
“I think we did the right thing.” Gigi’s eyes were still where the portal had been.
“I think so, too.”
A sense of righteousness settled over us, and for the first time in my life, I truly believed that everything was going to be alright. I wasn’t alone anymore. I had friends, people who cared. I had a life that mattered, and I was freed from my obligations to the dragon. The gym was set up, our place would no longer be under attack, and most importantly, I’d found my mate in the most wonderful woman I’d ever met.
I grabbed the cover for Triscuit’s cage and tossed it over temporarily. “Now,” I said, rounding on my luscious witch. “I meant it when I said I wanted to be able to bend you over the back of the couch.”
I did just that, lifting her up and placing her over the back of the couch. I bent her over it, shackling her wrists in my larger hands. Lust poured from her, and I drank it in.
“That’s not fair, minotaur. You caught me off guard.” She shoved her ass back, bumping against the bulge at the front of my pants.
“Too bad, Kitten. You should have been paying attention. I’ve caught you and you’re all mine now.”
“Forever and ever?”
“Yes. Forever and ever.”