Epilogue
CALLIE
Six Months Later
My eyes popped open at five AM, and I was immediately wide awake.
I’d known it was going to be impossible to get a full night of sleep ahead of launch day for Restorative Curses. But at least I’d gotten some rest in. I had worried it might be an entirely sleepless evening.
I resolved not to wake Maddox. For all these months of getting the business ready, he’d been such an incredible rock. He deserved a full eight hours.
Of course, the intent was in my head for a fraction of a second before I realized I didn’t sense his weight next to me.
I was alone in bed.
I sat up, taking in the expansive view from our downtown apartment. The unit itself was modest, but the view… we’d been here for months now, but it still impressed me every time I laid eyes on it. So glittering and awake, even at this ungodsly hour.
The soft clink of a pan and the scrape of a spatula carried through the open bedroom door. I pulled on my robe and padded down the hall to the kitchen.
Maddox stood at the stove, his back to me, completely focused on whatever he was cooking. He’d thrown on sweatpants and nothing else, his shoulder blades shifting as he worked. The table was already set with orange juice and tea.
I settled into my chair just as Maddox slid a golden omelet onto my plate.
“Wow. Perfect timing.” I picked up my fork. “You’d almost think you’re the magical one.”
Maddox got his own plate and sat next to me. “When you’re really stressed, you always sleep exactly five hours. You don’t have a setting for less than that. You fell asleep at midnight. No magic required, just math.”
I bit into the omelet, and it was fluffy and rich, exactly as I liked it.
It took me back to that first omelet I’d demanded he cook for me, the evening after he’d first come crawling back hoping to get uncursed.
I could never have imagined my punishment would develop into an actual culinary passion for Maddox.
He took such joy in tinkering around with slight variations and trying to get each one just right for me.
“I keep thinking about how different this would have looked if I’d been doing it alone. I couldn’t have done it without you,” I said.
He gently put his hand on my thigh. “You absolutely could have.”
I ran down the list. “You’ve been handling all the paperwork, you’re completely holding things down at home, you’re basically feeding me every meal—”
“Because you need to be free to do the real work. I’m helping you get it done quicker and with less stress. My contributions are at the margins. You’re the star.”
“It was nice to just be able to practice and study,” I conceded.
Short of the actual cursing, I had been practicing everything else to death.
Truth-searching spells, to make sure my clients had been authentically wronged, and weren’t lying to get me to punish someone who didn’t deserve it.
Financial capacity magic to price my services on a reasonable sliding scale.
And I’d been studying the principles of curse magic extensively, with the top teachers. My improvisational skills were excellent, but it seemed irresponsible to rely on them when charging clients to curse their betrayers.
But at the end of the day, you couldn’t practice a curse. You either cursed someone or you didn’t. I could do all the prep work I wanted, but the core of this whole venture… I just had to prep as hard as I could, and then hope I could deliver in the moment.
“Don’t worry,” Maddox said in response to my expression. “You’re amazing at this. I’m the proof. Everything is going to go great.”
His confidence centered me, and reminded me I actually shared it.
Yes, there was some part of me that had doubts, and it flared up now and again. But I believed in my business plan and my magical ability.
Maddox was right. This was going to work. For the first week, I only needed to help one person. Deliver one good curse, and the rest would follow.
As we ate breakfast, we debated where to go for our celebratory dinner at the end of the week.
I spent the rest of the morning reviewing curse magic principles one more time, then we walked the fifteen minutes to Restorative Curses together.
Maddox took my hand as we stepped outside, his fingers warm and steady around mine.
We arrived at Oleander Lane. We’d chosen a street with steady foot traffic, but without the overwhelming chaos of the main drag. Close enough to catch curious tourists, far enough not to feel like part of the circus.
As we turned onto our block, I enjoyed watching the Restorative Curses sign come into view. Maddox had taken care of finding and hiring the witch who designed it, and it was gorgeous.
I was so focused on the sign that I barely noticed when Maddox squeezed my hand and stopped walking.
“What is it?”
Maddox pointed to the door, and I gasped.
A gorgeous calico cat sat serenely on the front step.
“Could that be…?” Maddox whispered.
“Maybe,” I said, afraid to get excited. I’d confessed my dwindling hope that a familiar would ever show up, and my fear that if one never did, it would mean Restorative Curses had been misguided from the start.
We approached slowly.
“How do we know if it’s a familiar, or just a stray?” Maddox asked.
“Just a stray?” the cat said. She peered at Maddox and narrowed her eyes. “I can already tell you’re going to be trouble.” She turned to me. “Hello, Callie. I’m Anya, your familiar.”
To my surprise, I burst into tears.
“Yes, you may pick me up,” Anya said.
I grabbed her and squeezed her tight, breathing in the warmth of her fur.
The enchanted door sensed my presence and unlocked itself. I pushed it open and carried Anya inside as Maddox followed.
“I can’t believe it!” I clutched her closer. “I was afraid this would never happen.”
Anya’s head pivoted as she took in the office. “I guess that’s why I don’t see a space prepared for me.”
“I thought about setting something up, but honestly I was afraid I would jinx it if I was too presumptuous…”
“Well, I never had any doubts,” Maddox said as he crossed to his desk and pulled a luxurious cat bed out of the bottom drawer. “Where should we put it?”
My tears had been coming under control, but the fact that he had been so confident in me brought them right back.
I set Anya down. With my hands free, I pulled Maddox close and kissed him.
Anya was circling the bed warily, not settling in yet. “How did you know to expect a cat? What if I’d been a raven or an owl?”
“There’s a bird perch in the supply closet.” Maddox took my hand again. “When you told me the familiar would only show up when you found your real purpose, I knew I had to get ready for them.”
I kissed him deeply, trying to communicate everything I felt. When I pulled back, his eyes were bright with happiness.
“The bed is close to acceptable,” Anya announced. “It’s not quite soft enough.” She rubbed her head on the cuff of Maddox’s sleeve. “This is soft enough. Take it off and line the bed with it.”
Maddox started unbuttoning his shirt.
I laughed and caught his wrist. “We need to be professional. Front office staff cannot be shirtless.”
Anya sighed heavily. “I think shirtless male staff would be great for our branding, but you know best. The bed will do.” She addressed Maddox. “I’m pleased you didn’t argue with my command. I take it Callie has explained the hierarchy to you?”
“Hierarchy?” he said, confused.
“Yes, the one in which I rank above you. Obviously, Callie is in charge, but it is traditional for a witch’s mate to serve her familiar.”
“Oh, I had no idea.” He paused. “But Callie’s one of the first witches to ever settle down with one man. How can it be a tradition?”
Anya gave Maddox a dark look. “Every tradition starts somewhere,” she said icily.
I had to look away to keep from laughing. I loved her already.
My heart rate picked up when I realized it was time for the final walk-through before opening the doors. As Maddox made sure his reception area was all set up, I went through the consultation and casting rooms and confirmed everything was exactly as I wanted it.
I returned to the main waiting area to find myself loving Maddox even more, for how gamely he was attempting to engage with Anya.
“So, where do familiars come from?” he asked her.
Anya’s ears flattened.
“I mean, before your witch finds her purpose. Are you suspended in a magical realm somewhere, waiting to be called?”
“What? Magical realm?” Anya replied, baffled. “I was working in marketing.”
I jumped in before they could continue. “Marketing! Great! We could use your expertise here. I’d love to not have to rely so much on foot traffic and how common betrayal is.”
“Honestly, those two should be enough,” Anya pronounced. “But if you want to be proactive, I have selective telepathy that lets me home in on specific emotional states. I can locate the nearest people feeling betrayal and heartbreak.”
“That sounds like an intense thing to experience,” I said.
“It is, but I have to turn it on. I mostly leave it inactive.” Anya gave what I could only describe as a shrug. “Honestly, I’m glad to have a meaningful use for it. I can read minds, and all I was doing with it was monitoring focus group reactions to toothpaste commercials.”
She pointedly turned to me. “Shall I try it now? Are you ready to open for business?”
I looked to Maddox to steady myself, and he beamed proudly back at me.
I was ready.
And curious to see what Anya could do. “Please,” I said to her.
“Just give me a minute.” Anya tilted her head and closed her eyes.
A long moment passed. “Is she doing it?” Maddox whispered.
Suddenly, Anya’s entire body went tense, and her eyes flew open. “A tourist staying at the Nightshade Grand just discovered her husband is having an affair. He brought his mistress along on their vacation, and he’s been hiding her in another room at the same hotel!”
She stalked across the room. “I’ll be right back with our first client.” She hopped out the window and was gone. Silence settled over the office.
Maddox crossed to me and took both my hands. “How are you feeling?”
I looked around the space we’d built together. The consultation room where I’d hear people’s stories. The casting room where I’d channel my power to help them. The desk where Maddox would greet clients with his newfound compassion. The cat bed where our familiar had already made herself at home.
A year and a half ago, I’d been in a dying marriage, my magic abandoned and my purpose lost. The path from there to here had been devastating, but we’d come through it transformed.
Now I was opening my own business, deeply in love with a man who adored and believed in me, and about to help someone else escape the same pain I’d survived.
My heart was pounding, nerves and anticipation flooding through me in equal measure.
“I’m terrified,” I admitted. “And more sure of myself than I’ve ever been.”
He pulled me close, and I rested my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “For everything.”
“I’m the one who’s grateful.” His words came out low and resolute, like an oath. “You gave me everything.”
Maddox and I pulled apart, both smiling.
I squeezed his hand once, then moved toward the door.
This was it. The beginning of what we’d built together.
I opened the door.