Chapter 16
The problem with having travelled to another dimension was returning without a damned thing.
No phone, no cash, no credit card. I mean, sure, I looked rich in my fancy ballgown, but Manny, the owner of the pizza joint, who had been serving me pizza since I moved into Grams’ place, still wouldn’t give me a slice.
“No freebies,” he stated with a shake of his head. “If I give one to you, then every regular would start asking and I’d go out of business.”
Doubtful since he made the best pizza ever but I could respect his wishes. However, I still wanted, make that needed, a slice of familiarity.
“I don’t suppose I can borrow your phone?”
That he allowed, and after the initial squeal that rendered me deaf, Flo arrived to the rescue in my car. She didn’t come alone.
A not-so-dead Ulseere accompanied her, as did Cedric.
Upon seeing the former, I squealed, “You’re alive.”
“Thanks to you. If you’d not stopped Gryvak from stomping my head, we wouldn’t be speaking,” his wry reply. “I’m pleased to see you managed to return unharmed.” His tone also indicated surprise.
“I wouldn’t say unharmed,” I grumbled. The revealed secrets and the fact I’d seen my dad get murdered and then not-so-accidentally set my half-brother on fire would likely scar me for a long while—but I’m sure several bags of chips, a few joints, a bottle of wine, and then more chips would help.
All of them had questions, especially given my outfit, but a pizza parlor was hardly the place to talk. Once in the car, I put them off, saying, “I want to first hear what happened after I left.”
Apparently, I’d dropped my phone in a spot close enough to Ulseere that he could answer the next time Flo called, which turned out to be like seconds after I went through the portal.
She quickly—AKA drove like a demon out of hell according to Cedric—and arrived on the rooftop to find Ulseere alive but unconscious.
“Hold on a second,” I interrupted. “You climbed up those zillion stairs… Then what? Dragged Ulseere back down?” The math on that didn’t work since Flo was built smaller than me and hated exercise almost as much.
Flo grinned. “I couldn’t have done it without Cedric’s help. He cast some kind of spell that made me strong enough to not just sprint up those stairs but fireman-carry Ulseere to the car.”
My gaze went to the cat. “Since when can you wield magic?”
“Technically, I always could. However, when I was tethered to the Grimoire, my ability was restricted to aiding whichever witch owned it. With the book destroyed, I’m no longer a slave to anyone’s whims but my own.”
My brow remained creased. “If the curse is gone, how come you’re still a cat?”
“Because the morph into this feline form comes from a different curse,” he muttered. “Now that you’re safely returned, I’ll be working on removing it.”
“I told him I’d help,” Flo piped in.
“As will I,” I hastened to add. Gotta admit, I wondered what a dryad looked like.
The story didn’t have much to tell after that. Ulseere refused the offer to take him to a hospital and recovered from his electrocution. They’d spent the days I’d been gone trying to find a way to open a doorway to Infernal to find me.
“Ah, you guys were going to rescue me?” I choked a little.
“Duh.” I saw Flo’s eyes rolling in the rearview mirror. As for Ulseere, he clasped my hand in his. “I’m sorry you had to deal with Gryvak alone.”
“Yeah. Not my idea of a fun time,” I grimaced.
“Your turn,” Flo chirped as she pulled into my driveway.
“After I eat. I am crazy hungry.”
Once inside my house, I collapsed on the couch, the skirt of my dress flouncing and the fabric crushing.
Didn’t care. I never planned to wear it again.
I reached for the pizza, and my friends sat staring at me in silence as I groaned and moaned my way through four slices. Don’t judge. It had been a tough week.
Only as I leaned back with a sigh, and wished I knew how to loosen the bodice on the damned dress, did Flo finally murmur, “You going to tell us what happened?”
I spilled about everything. Gryvak and his kidnapping—with much emphasis on the shitty food in an obvious attempt to torture me with starvation.
My time in the basement cell—omitting the trauma of pooping in a hole and using my undies to wipe.
I finished with the whopper of a meeting with the king, the revelation he was my father, Gryvak’s literal backstabbing, my flaming temper tantrum, and my return home.
By the time I finished, and reached for another breadstick, they all sat there dumbstruck.
Ulseere cleared his throat. “Urieus was your father.”
“Yup.”
“And he claims your mother denied knowing how they got to that beach?” Cedric murmured.
“Yeah.” I eyed the cat. “What do I get the impression you know something?”
“Remember how I told you that page to open a doorway disappeared from the book around the time you were conceived? I think your mother took it.”
“And cast it?” I scoffed. “Doubtful. Grams had her magic all tied up, remember? Not to mention, she ended up on a beach with my dad, not in Infernal.”
“Because that spell is for opening doors to any dimensions so long as you have a small piece of it to work with. Even a grain of sand would be enough.”
“I didn’t need anything to open a portal to Infernal,” I replied, remembering how easy it had been on the roof.
“You had yourself. Your flesh is of two worlds, thus it makes sense you could get to either.”
“Oh, I guess that makes sense. But still doesn’t explain how my mom got around Grams leeching her magic or how my dad got to the beach.”
“That is strange,” Cedric mused. “But then again, there are forces beyond what we can ken that might have played a part in that.”
“For what purpose?”
“You mentioned a prophecy. Could be someone wanted to nudge it along,” Cedric suggested.
I grimaced. While I’d not particularly liked my dad upon meeting, I liked even less the possibility I’d been used to kill him.
Flo cleared her throat. “I’m curious. Why was Charlie’s Grams trying so hard to find her dad?”
“I have to wonder if she suspected he might not be human,” I mused aloud. “Gryvak said something about my aura giving my paternity away.”
Cedric snorted. “Probably a good thing she never found out the truth or she might have been stupid enough to attempt to summon the king. That wouldn’t have gone well.”
No shit. Daddy dear would have likely smote her on the spot.
With our stories exchanged, and my belly finally content, I needed out of this damned dress.
“I am going for a much-needed hot shower,” I declared as I tried to stand—and failed. Damned flounces.
Ulseere came to the rescue and hauled me to my feet then followed me to the bathroom, where he also helped me out of my dress.
And then let me just say, it was the most satisfying shower I ever had.
My bed the most comfortable thing once his roving hands and mouth had sated us both enough we could sleep.
The next morning, though, reality hit, and when I woke, I told Ulseere we needed to have a serious talk—which only happened after I put on a shirt because someone kept staring at my boobs. Couldn’t blame them. They were pretty damned nice.
How to start… Bluntly because that was how I rolled. “I guess now that you no longer have a mission to complete, you’ll want to go home.”
He pursed his lips. “Not necessarily. The king is dead, and given I have no obligations, I believe I shall stay in this world a while longer.”
“Doing what?” I murmured, almost afraid to get excited.
“Pleasuring you for starters.” He grinned, and I just about dove at him. “I also wish to understand your world better. While I don’t believe Infernal is ready for your technology, you do have other innovations, especially when it comes to crops and animal husbandry, which might prove useful.”
“Why, Ulseere, don’t tell me you’re a farmer underneath all that macho arrogance?”
I’d swear he blushed. “Being able to feed a populace is important.”
Spoken like a man who could be a king but, instead, he chose to stay on Earth with me.
His witch.
His lover.
My prince charming.
“Oh fuck.” I jumped out of bed, barely remembered to grab some track pants and was hopping into them as I raced out of the bedroom.
I skidded to a halt in the living room to see Cedric perched atop the couch. “Now what?” his sour query.
“Ulseere wants to stay. Here. With me.”
“And?”
“And is he doing it of his own volition or because I summoned my one true love and the magic is making him?” Because that would be wrong on so many levels.
The cat snickered.
“Not funny,” I huffed.
“He’s laughing because there is no magic strong enough to make someone fall in love,” stated Ulseere.
To which Cedric added, “Especially not someone as mentally strong as a shadow prince.”
“Really?” Yeah, I wanted to be sure.
Ulseere wrapped me in his arms. “My emotions and my desires are my own. And while it is surprising to me, I do feel a strong affection for you. Why else would I stay, instead of making a bid for the throne?”
I gaped. “You’d give up a kingdom for me?”
“I don’t need a crown to fulfill me. Just my queen.”
Yeah, with that kind of declaration I dragged him back in bed, where we spent the day mostly. We obviously made snack runs because we both needed to keep up our strength to consummate our love.