Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
REGAN
Landing on Megelle Island was like landing in a Hallmark movie.
Everything about the Island was charming.
From the little shops that lined Main Street to the small apartments above them.
Balconies overlooked the main road, each of them decorated with shining heart-shaped balloons.
Light music drifted on the wind, making the Island feel dreamy and romantic.
The display windows were adorned with hearts, flowers, and glittery, stuffed toys.
Heart-shaped boxes of candy were stacked in neatly arranged displays that enticed almost everyone to purchase them.
Red and white twinkle lights were draped from one side of the street to the other.
Fae flew overhead sprinkling glittery pink magic all over, which covered the street and gathered in my hair.
Couples strolled hand in hand, gazing at each other with gob-smacked looks on their faces.
I spun in a small circle and groaned. “Valentine’s Day.”
Andreas chuckled. “What, you don’t like Valentine’s Day?”
“I do!” Kaso pulled a small bag of heart-shaped candy from his inside pocket and handed it to Chanel. “Happy Valentine’s Day, love.”
Chanel gave him a wide smile. “I love these.”
“I know.” Kaso beamed down at her.
I whirled around on Andreas and smacked his arm. “You knew it was Valentine’s Day too.”
“I might’ve.” He grinned and shrugged. “Is it supposed to mean somethin’ with us?”
I kicked at the ground, totally deflated. “I don’t know.”
“Because I got you somethin’.”
My eyes snapped up to his. A hint of excitement shot through my stomach. I’d never celebrated Valentine’s with anyone before. “You did?”
“A very important ring.”
My stomach dropped and I took a small step back. An engagement ring was not on my list of things to get this year. I wasn’t even ready to admit I'd fallen for this guy yet. I held my hands up. “Um . . . Andreas, wait–”
“Relax.” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a cherry-flavored Ring Pop and handed it over to me.
My hand shot out and I snatched it from his fingers. “My precious.”
He pulled out another. “Just in case you wanted one for each hand.”
“Yeah, because you need two things to suck on,” Chanel teased.
“Shut up.” I quickly unwrapped them and shoved them onto my hands. “I can handle more than one.”
“When it comes to candy rings, okay, but when it comes to men, you’ll only ever have one.” Andreas’s gaze bore into mine. “Just sayin’.”
I waved his words away. “We’ll see.”
“Yeah, we will.” He winked playfully.
I held my hand out toward Chanel and wiggled my fingers with the giant Ring Pops on them. “You like?”
She leaned forward, about to lick one, and I yanked my hand back. “There is a line and you’re about to cross it.”
“Fair point. Besties shouldn’t share spit like that.” She chuckled and popped one of the heart-shaped candies into her mouth. “So, where is Christopher? Riven said we would find him on the Island, but as far as I can tell, no one is running or hiding. Did Riven tell any of us the plan?”
“Nope,” Kaso said with a laugh. “But it’s Riven, so I don’t usually ask.”
“We need a better vantage point.” I hooked my hands under Andreas’s arms and my wings popped from my back. My shoulders jerked from the movement, but with a single flap we were up in the air, hovering above Main Street.
Chanel was right beside me with Kaso, and we both spotted the perfect place to land.
Without a word we dove down toward a roof.
I dropped Andreas at the same time Chanel let go of Kaso.
They easily landed beside each other and straightened their suit coats.
Andreas ran his hand through his hair, brushing it back from his face only for those messy strands to fall back into place.
I dropped down next to him, watching his every move.
He glanced at me with those amber eyes. “You keep lookin’ at me like that, we’re gonna mess this up because imma take you someplace private and make you forget about this mission.”
“Focus,” I told him, but I meant it for myself too. “I can’t stand having a loss on our record.”
Chanel nodded. “It’s time for Christopher to meet Clementine.”
“I don’t know. I think Riven might be better.” Kaso chuckled. “A little torture should be in the works.”
I nodded. “In this case, I condone violence.”
I stepped closer to the edge of the roof, gazing out over the colorful lines of the Serenity. It was a rainbow array of sparkling peace.
Chanel stepped up beside me and sighed. “It’s too quiet.”
“What’s that?” I pointed toward a spot where the colors seemed brighter but were mixed with a hint of darkness.
“I’ve never seen anything like that before.” Chanel grabbed Kaso’s arm at the same time I grabbed Andreas. We took off in the direction of the disturbance and were there in mere seconds.
We dropped down in a bright forest that hummed with activity. A small cottage sat there with warm light coming from the windows and a thin plume of smoke drifting up from the chimney. “You get him!”
A loud cackle sounded and then an even louder popping sound came from behind the cottage.
My eyes widened, and we darted to the back of the cottage.
There, in the middle of a small meadow, stood Christopher with Gertie and Sylvie smacking him with their little handbags.
The two old ladies were dressed in thick red sweaters with little pink light-up hearts.
Susan ran into the meadow with a huge pink box held high over her head as she bellowed and ran toward them. “Out of the way!”
Gertie and Sylvie ducked to the side as Susan leapt up into the air high above his head.
She brought the box down over his skull and it exploded open.
Hundreds of wooden hearts with wolves carved into the front of them shot up into the air and rained down around Christopher.
He clutched his head and staggered to the side.
The other two women leapt back in, taking turns whacking him with their purses.
I took a step toward them to help when a deep voice rumbled. “I wouldn’t.”
I froze and glanced to my side. “Constantine?”
“Indeed.” Constantine Vauntero was the eldest of the royal Vauntero children . . . and the grumpiest. The Vaunteros ruled the Island and kept it safe for any supernatural who wanted to live here. There was one resounding rule: no violence.
“No violence, huh?” I arched my eyebrows at him.
He shrugged. “He deserves it. There’s always an exception to the rule.”
“I like this guy.” Andreas chuckled.
Constantine slid a narrow-eyed glance toward Andreas. “I don’t like you.”
“Win some, lose some.” Kaso clapped Andreas on the shoulder. “The suit needs work anyways.”
Constantine looked down at himself. “I stand by my choices.”
He was dressed in a bright-red suit with a pink button-down shirt and a red tie with pink light-up hearts that matched the three sweaters that the women beating on Christopher wore. He held one of those candy heart-shaped boxes and offered me one of the chocolates.
I shook my head, then held up my hand. “So why aren’t you helping?”
He held his finger up. “Wait for it.”
“Waaaa whooooooo,” a man bellowed from within the forest.
I knew that voice, and I took a step back and held my arm out to block Andreas from moving closer.
Chanel threw her head back and cackled just as Jumbo and Sal shot into the meadow riding a huge bottle of champagne.
Golden glitter shot from the end of it, making the two of them soar into the clearing like they were riding a rocket.
Sal rode in the front wearing a white toga and a gold olive leaf headband that barely contained his puffy white hair.
He held a tiny bow with his wand strapped across it like an arrow, while Jimbo rode behind him wearing a giant heart costume.
“Golden Girls, down!” Constantine called out, and the three women dropped to the ground.
“Golden Girls?” Chanel chuckled. “I love it.”
“Yep,” he growled but said nothing more.
Jimbo and Sal crashed right into Christopher, knocking the air from his chest. He hunched over, sucking in deep breaths as they rolled off the champagne bottle.
Sal pointed his wand at the ground and yelled, “Happy Valentine’s Day!”
The meadow exploded with red, white, and pink confetti. Sal flicked his wand and the confetti swarmed around Christopher as he swung his arms trying to dodge the confetti. “STOP! ENOUGH!”
“Back it up, boys.” Sylvie charged in with her wand raised and a chocolate fountain appeared beside her.
Jimbo and Sal took a step back and Gertie chuckled. “I’ve always wanted to try this.”
She flicked her wrist and the chocolate shot from the fountain. It did a little loop in the air and poured over Christopher’s head. The confetti continued to swarm around him and stick to the chocolate covering his skin.
I chuckled. “Talk about tar and feathering.”
“He deserves nothin’ less.” Andreas tried to fight a smile.
“Twenty bucks says he begs for mercy in about five seconds.” Chanel practically bounced on her feet.
“I’ll take that bet.” Kaso scoffed. “But I might wanna cash in on something else.”
Jimbo ran around the meadow with his vampire speed looking like a big red blur in yellow rubber boots. He darted across the meadow, then came to a sliding halt beside Christopher and stuck his foot out at the last second. Christopher tipped back and fell onto the ground.
“And for my last trick!” Sal pointed his wand at Christopher and a blast of glittering magic surrounded him. “Choco-confetti-statue. It’s a work of art!”
Christopher froze into place, the confetti hardening instantly.
I hunched over as fits of laughter overtook me. “I can’t even.”
“Dude, we suck.” Chanel pointed toward the meadow. “I mean, we should’ve thought of that.”
“It does inspire creativity,” Andreas agreed.
I strolled out toward Christopher with the others beside me. We stopped and stared down at him. “When I see him like this, I agree . . . we do suck.”
“Don’t take it too hard. Jimbo and Sal can take down anyone.” Constantine sighed. “It happens regularly.”
“And you say you hate cleanin’ up our mess.” Andreas scoffed and motioned toward the meadow. “How ya gonna clean this up?”
“Did you have all this waiting for us?” Syliva jabbed her finger into Jimbo’s chest.
He spread his arms out. “What? We brought champagne.”
“You were gonna spray us with it, weren’t you?” Gertie jabbed Sal with her elbow.
“Of course not.” His eyes darted to Jimbo.
“You’re lying.”
He threw his hands up. “We got you a chocolate fountain.”
“That you used to turn him into a statue.” Gertie put one hand on her hip while wagging her finger at him.
“There’s really no winning this.” Kaso shook his head and chuckled.
Chanel arched her eyebrow at him. “Good thing you’re learning so quickly.”
Andreas sighed. “We gotta clean this up.”
“I’ll do it.” Constantine sighed. “We’re used to cleaning up after these two here.”
I shook my head. “We have to make sure he gets back to Zuriel.”
“Do you want to take this mess to him?” Constantine motioned to the chocolate confetti statue that was now Christopher.
I glanced at Chanel. “Hard pass.”
“No, definitely not.” She shook her head.
“It’s simple enough.” Constantine sighed. “He won’t be the first or the last that we’ve exiled. Zuriel will make su—”
“What will I be sure of?” Zuriel’s deep gravelly voice came from behind us.
We all jumped whirled around to face his glare.