Page 24

As soon as they were inside the large room filled with tables and shelves, Lilly stood to join them.

Staring at Elle, she whispered, “By the goddess.” She pressed her hands to her mouth, and her eyes filled with tears.

Elle was taken aback by Lilly’s outburst until she said, “Your aura is pure white except the spot around the sigil.” The female wiped the tears from her face, then she held open her arms. Elle didn’t hesitate to step into the older female’s embrace.

It had been too long since she’d felt a mother’s love.

When Lilly released Elle, she held onto her wrist, right below the mark.

“This is some dark magic. Tell me how he marked you.” Elle explained what happened on the beach and why Grevolus placed the sigil on her arm. “And your Queen couldn’t remove it?”

“No, and the elders refused to go against the goddess’s wishes by coming through the portal to even look at it.”

“Are the elders more powerful than the Queen?”

“I don’t know. Maybe if they added all their gifts together?”

“May I?” Lilly held out her hand. Elle nodded, and Lilly hovered her hand over the sigil.

“I’m so sorry. Without a spell, I can’t remove the curse, but I might be able to make the pain go away.

” Lilly closed her eyes, pressing her hand against the sigil.

Luna joined her when Lilly’s brows dipped.

Seeing the mother and daughter working together reminded Elle of when her own mother taught her magic when Elle was young.

Warmth spread through her arm. It was pleasant, unlike the heat from Grevolus’s burning magic.

The pain receded, and Elle gave Lilly a small smile. “That’s better, thank you.”

“Let’s hope it lasts.” Lilly brushed Elle’s hair off her shoulder. “What’s the plan in dealing with Grevolus?”

“Carleigh thinks we should pay him to remove the sigil,” Tony said.

“But we haven’t really decided anything since we’re hopeful the Queen comes through for us.

Grevolus is expecting Elle back tomorrow, so after we stop by my house to see my parents, we’ll probably drive south and pray the Queen or Yari come up with a solution before we arrive.

If Grevolus hadn’t tied his life to Elle’s, none of this would be an issue. ”

“Meaning if he dies, so does she?” Luna asked.

“Yes.”

“Is there no way to, I don’t know, subdue him somehow?” Luna tapped her chin with a pointy fingernail. “Does he only have to think about the sigil, or does he have to mutter an incantation?”

“I don’t know.” Elle stepped closer to Tony, pressing her back to his chest. She needed his strength. “When I want to produce fireballs, I just conjure them in my mind, and they appear.”

“Fireballs?” Luna took a step back.

Elle held out a hand, and purple fire danced along her palm. She tossed it a couple of times before allowing it to fizzle out.

“So fucking cool,” Luna muttered. She glanced at her mom. “Sorry.”

“You think I don’t know you and your sister cuss?

” Lilly grinned at her daughter. If Elle didn’t know Lilly was a Gargoyle and had stopped aging, she would have thought the female was Luna’s sister.

The only difference was their hair color.

Where Lilly’s was dirty blonde, Luna’s was dark brown. “And if Elle’s going to meet Tessa...”

“Yeah, my mom can get creative when she gets going with foul language.” Tony’s arms tightened minutely. “Speaking of, we’re going to head home. Thank you for your help today.”

Lilly clasped her hands in front of her. “I wish we could have done more.”

Elle left the comfort of Tony’s arms and approached Lilly. “You did exactly enough. Thank you.”

Lilly hugged her again. “I’m going to go study Gram’s grimoire.

She never mentioned fae, but there might be a spell we could tweak.

Tell Dom I’ll be later than expected.” Elle didn’t know what a grimoire was, but she assumed it was a witch’s book of spells.

The fae didn’t have anything like that. At least, Lorhana hadn’t.

Everything they knew was in their minds.

“Wait.” Luna approached Elle, holding out a bracelet. “At least let me give you this. Do you know how to use a dagger?”

“I do.”

Luna slid the bangle onto Elle’s arm. “Grevolus knows about your fireballs, but he won’t see this coming.

” She stepped back, held up her arm, showing Elle her own bracelet, then in the next instant, a sharp knife was in her hand.

The bracelet was gone. She gave Elle the short spell to turn the jewelry into a weapon.

Elle tried it, and it worked. “To revert the dagger back to a bangle, just reverse the words in the spell. It’s all about intention.

If you want a sword, imagine one instead of a knife.

I showed you the dagger since they’re more practical for surprise attacks. ”

Elle practiced calling forth the weapon and sending it back to her arm. Once she had the hang of it, she thanked Luna, then she and Tony said their goodbyes and got back into his sleek sports car.

It took almost forty minutes to drive to where Tony called home.

When he turned into a driveway, he stopped in front of an iron gate and rolled down his window, where he spoke into a black box.

“Wonder twin powers, activate.” The gate swung open, and Tony rolled the window up as he eased down the driveway.

“I’ll add your voice to the security system later so you can open the gate if you’re ever alone.”

Elle nodded as she took in the scenery. Tall trees lined both sides of the long driveway, and when it opened up, a large wood and stone house appeared. The photos hadn’t done it justice.

“Welcome home, Sweetheart.” Tony parked next to an SUV and cut the motor.

Yes, this was his home, but now, it was also hers. “Tony, it’s... I don’t have words.”

The front door opened, and a stunning redhead stepped out onto the wide porch, followed by a handsome, dark-haired male. She knew from the pictures on his phone that these were his parents.

“Get ready for the whirlwind known as Tessa,” he warned.

Tessa, dressed in tight jeans, black boots, and a long-sleeved tee, jogged down the steps and didn’t stop until she was opening Elle’s door.

Tessa held out a hand, and Elle took it, allowing the female to help her from the low seat.

Tessa looked Elle up and down, grinning.

“Well, aren’t you something?” She wrapped her arm through Elle’s and led her to where Gregor was waiting. “Elle, this is Tony’s father, Gregor.”

Gregor placed a fist over his heart, bowed his head, and said, “On my honor.” He raised his eyes, and his face held a smile that was so much like Tony’s. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Elle. I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“Me too. But it is also my pleasure to meet you both in person. Tony’s told me so much about you.”

“Lies. All of it,” Tessa joked. “Come on in. Gregor made snacks to tide us over until dinner is ready.”

“It’s like I don’t exist,” Tony muttered as he joined his father.

Gregor clapped him on the shoulder and squeezed. “It’s good to see you again, Son.”

Anthony returned the gesture. “You act like it’s been years and not a month.”

“A month and two weeks,” Tessa called over her shoulder as she and Elle reached the door.

Tessa pushed it open, allowing Elle to go first. She stepped inside, getting the first glimpse of her new home.

The pictures on Tony’s phone had downplayed how large it was.

The room was cavernous with the living area, kitchen, and dining all in one open space.

A set of double doors bisected the back wall, where Elle could see a large deck.

The stone fireplace to her right was almost large enough to stand in.

The furniture was cozy-looking with quilts and throw pillows adorning each seat.

Tony placed his chin on her shoulder. “If there’s anything you want to change, we will. I want you to feel like this is your home, too, because it is.”

“It’s gorgeous. Much nicer than anywhere I’ve lived before.”

A stranger appeared from a hidden hallway, and Elle couldn’t help but stare even though Tony had described Dominic and the way he dressed.

His tight pants were tucked into tall boots, and his white shirt could only be described as billowy.

His black hair was tied back at his nape with a leather cord.

He placed his fist against his chest the same way Gregor had, vowing his honor before saying, “Hello, Lass. I’m Dominic Dubois. I believe you met my mate and daughter?”

This was Luna’s dad? Holy goddess. “Yes. They’re both lovely.”

“And was my Lilly able to help with your situation?”

“She couldn’t remove the sigil, but she did lessen the pain, and for that I’m grateful. She said to tell you she’s going to be later than expected. She wants to check something called a grimoire?”

“Aye, her grandmother’s spell book. What are you going to do now?”

“Let’s grab some drinks, then we can get to the dirt,” Tessa interrupted. Elle looked at the floor, but she didn’t see any dirt. Maybe they were going outside to talk? Then again, it was probably one of those sayings that had nothing to do with what was actually being spoken of.

“Anyone for some rum?” Dominic wiggled a bottle.

Tessa held out her empty glass. “I’ll take a refill.”

“Would you like something to drink? We have plenty of non-alcoholic selections as well as any type of liquor you could want,” Tony said as he directed Elle toward the sofa.

“Any soda will do, or a glass of water. I need to keep a level head.” Elle would love to try the rum Dominic offered, but she’d never had it and didn’t know how it would affect her.

Gregor brought trays of food to the coffee table along with small plates and napkins, while Tony grabbed Elle’s drink. He chose beer for him and his father. Tony had explained Gargoyles’ high metabolism and the fact that they couldn’t get drunk. Elle was a little envious.