Chapter Ten
“I’m so sorry! I can’t believe the necklace I gave you tried to murder you,” Jessica said between bouts of sobbing.
Starla wanted to comfort her friend but knew better than to try to pull away from Remy while he was in full-blown scenting mode.
Since they had left the greenhouse, he had been glued to her side.
His extreme protective attitude toward her made sense after what had just happened, though he didn’t need an excuse to remain next to her.
After they finished making love, they knew it was time to take care of the wind and rain tearing through the sublevel. Without the amulet, Starla was able to stop the storm and clear the sky of dark clouds using her magic. Fixing the rest of the damage would take a little more work.
In order to complete that task, they called in reinforcements.
Briefly leaving the greenhouse, they waited for Anton, Kyler, Liam, Koa, Ava, Jessica, Lana, and Claudia to arrive.
Once they were back inside the main greenhouse, they briefly explained what had happened before leading everyone down to the forest sublevel to help with the cleanup effort.
After hearing everything, Jessica was inconsolable with grief and guilt. Starla and Remy didn’t blame her for anything that had happened. No one knew the amulet had been cursed, including Damien and Professor Towers, two powerful and experienced supernaturals.
“Calm down. No one thinks you were trying to kill her,” Lana assured, rubbing Jessica’s shoulder as she continued to weep.
Anton nodded. “For real. I mean, if you were, it would be pretty stupid to use the gift you gave her.” When Koa shoved him, he said, “What? I said ‘if,’ not that she did it.”
“We should get you checked out by a healer,” Ava said, her worry clear. “What if whatever the amulet did to you caused some sort of permanent damage?”
Starla let out a squeak of protest when Remy’s arms tightened around her, and he lifted her off her feet.
“Fuck that, we are going to see a healer right now.”
“I’m fine. Put me down,” she ordered with a wheezing laugh. When he ignored her, she poked him in the chest to warn him that she meant business. “We can’t leave the trees like this, especially that one. It saved us, Remy. We owe it to them to heal them first.”
“You’re right.” He sighed as he set her feet back down on the ground, but he refused to release her. “Let’s get this done so we can find someone to examine you.”
They spread out and started to fix the damage done to the trees and other vegetation.
They collected shattered limbs and gently set them aside in a pile, while others worked together to fix broken branches.
A few members of the group gathered fallen leaves and cleared away debris, making sure not to disturb any of the delicate roots exposed by the storm.
Starla and Remy used their magic to fix the damaged trees, encourage new growth, and coaxing green shoots from wounded roots. Ava and Liam took special care to plant the new saplings, while Anton, Claudia, and Kyler filled in holes where the soil had washed away and repaired the moss and grass.
Jessica, Lana, and Koa took on the task of fixing the weather spell.
Together, they made quick work of the complex spell.
They even added a few safeguards to ensure future Magical Combat classes wouldn’t cause the same type of damage.
Despite the workload, it didn’t take them that long to restore the forest sublevel to its former glory.
When they were done, they made their way to The Corner Slice, a popular pizza joint run by a supernatural family who had lived in Mystic for several generations. Starla had argued with Remy during the walk to the restaurant. He’d wanted to take her to a healer, but she was starving.
Of course, her growling stomach had helped her win that argument.
Since their group was large enough, they were able to grab one of the private rooms on the second floor.
They ordered several pizzas, a few salads, and baskets of fries, onion rings, and wings.
A few of them ordered wine or beer, while the rest settled for soft drinks.
Because the football players had a game the following day, alcohol wasn’t allowed.
Even with their super metabolisms, they tried to follow the rules.
That didn’t stop them from glaring at Remy while he enjoyed his beer.
“Stop glaring at me and just eat your damn pizza,” he demanded.
“One beer wouldn’t hurt,” Anton sulked. “I’d burn it off before I finish this slice anyway.”
“It’s a rule for a reason,” Liam stated. “Remy can drink since he isn’t playing tomorrow. You are. Suck it up, wolf.”
Claudia chuckled, then raised her own bottle of beer in a toast. “You guys better win tomorrow. If I have to go to the game, you should at least entertain us.”
“Oh, we’ll win,” Kyler assured. “The question is, by how much?”
“We have to be careful and control the score, or people might get suspicious,” Anton explained. “So, we can win, but not by a complete blowout.”
“That must be a pain in the ass,” Lana commented.
“We’re used to it,” Koa said before stuffing some more pizza in his mouth.
“Who cares about the game. Can we talk about the freaking elephant in the room? What in hellfire are we going to do about that?” Ava asked, using her fork to point at the small box they had placed at the end of the table.
While they were fixing the forest, they had found the amulet Remy had tossed out into the storm. None of them wanted to touch it, so they had placed it in a magical lockbox until they could figure out what to do with it.
“Too bad Damien is in the Hell Realm for the next few weeks,” Anton said. “We could definitely use his advice. I bet he’d love to experiment on that thing.”
“We need to find someone powerful who is experienced in dealing with dangerous magical objects. None of us can sense anything coming from the thing, but Starla was obviously able to activate it somehow. I don’t want someone else getting hurt if we ask them for help,” Jessica said.
“That’s a good point,” Starla agreed. The last thing she wanted was for someone to experience that same suffocating feeling she’d felt when her magic had been blocked by the amulet.
“Too bad we can’t just ask your magical app for help,” Lana teased.
Starla blinked at her. Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. “Why not?”
“I was joking, but yeah,” Lana said with a laugh. “Why the bloody hell not?”
Remy shrugged. “It’s worth a try. Go ahead, babe. Ask the magical app what we should do with it.”
Pulling out her phone, Starla opened the magical app.
Welcome back to Arcane Assist! Are you in need of assistance?
She thought for a moment, then typed out her question.
Can you find someone to help us figure out what to do with the cursed amulet that blocked my magic?
There was a brief pause, then a message appeared on the screen.
Come to The Sweet Spot bakery with your mate. It is closing for the night, but someone will be there to meet you. There will be cookies.
Reading the message over her shoulder, Remy growled in irritation. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Is that a threat?”
Starla frowned. “I don’t understand. Why would you think that is a threat?”
“What does it say?” Jessica asked.
After Remy read the message out loud, Claudia shook her head and chuckled. “Come to the dark side, we have cookies.”
Starla still didn’t understand why they thought that was funny, but she didn’t bother asking for an explanation. “Has anyone been to The Sweet Spot before?”
“All the time. It’s actually right across the street,” Ava told her. “Everything there is so good. I’m surprised you haven’t been there yet.”
“I haven’t left campus much,” Starla admitted.
“Remy has been keeping her pretty busy at home,” Anton snickered, then he ducked to the side to avoid a slap on the back of the head.
Ignoring them, Starla asked, “Would someone at a bakery really be able to help us?”
“Yes! Actually, this makes perfect sense. I should have thought of it before since….” Kyler started to speak, then his words trailed off, and he slammed his mouth shut.
“Since what?” Jessica asked, glancing around. “Why aren’t you finishing whatever you were saying?”
“He can’t,” Liam said. “We are bound by the rules of our pack, so we can’t.”
“Technically, Kyler is still part of the Bazin Pack here in Mystic. Once he and his family move down to New Orleans after we graduate, he will join our pack,” Remy explained. “But until then, they have to abide by whatever Alpha Bazin says, which includes not spilling any of their secrets.”
“What is so secret about a bakery?” Lana asked.
Liam and Kyler glanced at one another, then they both shook their heads.
Claudia rolled her eyes. “This is a pain in the ass, but I know how it goes. I’ve spent years trying to figure out ways around my alpha’s directives. They might not be able to explain freely, but we can guess what they are trying to say if we ask the right questions.”
“My brother and I do the same thing, although it is a little different when your alpha is also your dad,” Ava said with a grin. “Is the owner of the bakery part of the pack?”
“Yes and no,” Liam hedged.
“Okay, this is totally not helpful,” Lana complained.
“Who is the owner of the bakery?” Remy asked.
“There are two owners, Autumn and Jordan,” Kyler explained. “Jordan is a fairy, just like Starla.”
“What about Autumn?” Jessica asked. “What kind of supernatural is she?”
Silence.
Obviously, that was part of the secret.
Remy chuckled. “What? Is she a god or something?”
“Yes.”
His smile faded. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, now I understand why the app wants us to go to the bakery.” Starla turned to smile weakly at her mate. “But at least they are going to have cookies.”