Chapter 23 #2
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my pen, a green one that reminded me of Casimir’s eyes.
Zane held the mirror for me as I unbuttoned the top of my dress just enough to expose the skin over my heart.
With Koa holding my notebook open to the final design, I began to draw a crescent moon that formed the outer boundary, with intricate lines crossing through it like a net designed to catch and redirect energy.
As I worked, I poured my magic into each stroke, feeling the familiar tingle of lunar power flowing through the pen and into the design.
“How does it feel?” Koa asked.
“Like moonlight settling onto my skin,” I whispered, concentrating on getting every line perfect.
When I finished, the ward glowed for a moment before the light faded, leaving behind the glittery green lines. I took a deep breath and nodded to Casimir.
“I’m ready.”
“I’m going to wrap this around your upper shoulders.” He held up the enchanted cord. “If the ward works, you shouldn’t feel any dampening of your gift.”
I nodded, steeling myself. The last time I’d felt my magic blocked, it had been Arabesque’s cruel hands performing the siphoning ritual, leaving me hollowed out and broken. The memory made me tremble.
“We’re here.” Koa’s warm hand found and squeezed mine. “Nothing bad will happen to you, Seri.”
“Yeah, pumpkin,” Zane added, his eyes unusually serious. “We’d burn the world down first.”
“All right.” I straightened my shoulders. “Let’s do this.”
Casimir draped the faerie cord around my shoulders, and everyone watched as he adjusted it to make full contact. I closed my eyes, waiting for that horrible, draining sensation, the feeling of my power being torn out of me.
Nothing happened.
My eyes flew open, and I reached for my magic and felt it respond immediately. I summoned a small sphere of moonlight to my palm, and it formed without resistance, floating above my hand.
“It’s working,” I gasped. “I can still use my magic!”
The realization hit me all at once. It worked. It worked!
The ward I’d created was actually working, protecting my magic. After all the research, all the failed attempts, all the tear-filled nights, I’d done it. I’d found a way to protect myself.
Tears welled up in my eyes, spilling over before I could stop them. The emotions I’d been holding back for so long—fear, relief, pride, joy—all crashed through me at once.
“It works,” I sobbed. “It really works.”
Casimir quickly removed the cord and pulled me into his arms. Koa and Zane joined the embrace, surrounding me with their warmth and strength as I cried against Casimir’s chest.
“You did it, beloved,” Koa breathed into my curls. “You incredible, brilliant woman.”
“That’s our girl.” Casimir pressed a kiss to my temple. “We’re so proud of you, Serafina.”
“Suck it, Harrow bitch!” Zane whooped. “Moonbeam’s got anti-siphon armor now!”
Foster mumbled something about walking Brumous and retreated from the lab. Too much raw emotion for him probably.
“I’m sorry,” I hiccupped, dabbing at my face. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“Because you’ve accomplished something incredible,” Casimir said. “Something that might protect not just you, but others as well.”
“I wanted to believe it would work, but I was so scared it would fail,” I confessed.
“You thought you’d fail at blowjobs, too, remember?” Zane teased, making my jaw drop even as my face flamed red.
“Fail?” Casimir’s arm tightened around my waist. “She’s lethal.”
“Our sweet ambush.” Koa’s whisper stirred the hair at my nape as I hid my face in Casimir’s chest.
“Hey, in all seriousness, what if we could make the ward permanent?” Zane said. “Then you wouldn’t have to keep redrawing it.”
“What, like a tattoo?”
“Yeah, but not just any tattoo.” I didn’t have to look at Zane to know he was dancing around with excited energy.
“A moonlight tattoo! You know we mentioned our nephilim friend, Kerry Harker? He has a ward branded on his arm that only needs to be recharged once a year rather than completely redone. You could do something similar with your lunar magic!”
“I could tattoo it with moonlight?” The idea made my heart skip with excitement.
“Theoretically, it’s possible,” Koa said. “Then you could use the moon to recharge it rather than draw on your own reserves.”
“That’s amazing!” I exclaimed, finally lifting my face to see theirs. “I could tattoo it on all of you, too! That way, you’d always be protected!”
I was ready to run to the library and start researching moonlight tattoos, but Casimir kept me in the cage of his arms.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” His lips twitched with the hint of a smile. “We need to do more testing before we can call this a complete success.”
“How?” I paused, my enthusiasm dampened a bit. “We can’t exactly test it against real siphoning.”
“We’ll find a way. I want to be one hundred percent certain it works before you make it permanent on your skin.”
“If the testing is successful, you could share this with others, Seri,” Koa suggested. “Maybe save someone else from going through what you did. It’s unique. I’ve never read of anyone attempting to design a ward specifically for this purpose.”
“Angelo del Vecchio’s family magic shop would be an ideal distributor,” Casimir added. “They have connections throughout the supernatural community.”
“That’s your choice, though.” Zane gave a little shrug. “It’s your creation. You can do what you want with it.”
I hadn’t thought about sharing my ward with others. The idea that something I created could help protect others was overwhelming in the best possible way.
“If it could help even one person, it’s worth it,” I said.
“Our beautiful, compassionate beloved,” Koa whispered.
“Just creating revolutionary magical theory like a boss.” Zane grinned.
“Changing the world one ward at a time,” Casimir finished, his green eyes warm with admiration.
Their praise washed over me like sunlight, filling me with a happiness so bright, it almost hurt.
I wasn’t worthless. These three men were proud of me. They saw me. They valued me. And for the first time in a very long time, I was proud of myself, too.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Not just for their praise, but also for rescuing me, for loving me, for giving me the safety and support to become the person I was meant to be all along.
I couldn’t say all that around the tears clogging my throat, but judging by the way they tightened their arms around me, they already understood.