AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Casey snorts. “Good for them, but don’t get any ideas. I’m not into sharing.” I’m about to assure her I feel the same, when she adds, “Speaking of sharing and airplanes though, have you heard from Ferris? It’s so weird that he and Felicity just…took off yesterday.”
“They left a note,” I say. “And they’re young. It’s not so strange that they might want to spend New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas.”
She wrinkles her nose. “No, I guess not. But Felicity seemed so happy here. I thought she was going to stick around for a while.”
“They’re coming back,” I assure her. “At least Ferris is. He’s taking over as ambassador for the clan in my absence. And I’m pretty sure he and Felicity are more than friends.”
“No, you’re wrong,” Casey says. “If he and Felicity were together, I’d know about it. She promised to tell me before she lost her virginity so I could help her figure out birth control, and she never breaks a promise. She’s flighty, but her word is her bond.”
I frown. “She’s twenty-one, nearly twenty-two.”
“Yes, and?” Casey says. “She’s still a virgin. I know it. She would have told me if she weren’t.” She shrugs. “And she would have told me if she were into Ferris. She can never keep a crush a secret, not to save her life, even though she swears she isn’t interested in boys. Or girls. Or anything else. She has this idea that she’s going to be an old maid.”
“But she’s so young. And stunning.”
“I know, but she can’t see that yet,” Casey says. “But she will. She just needs time to grow into her feminine confidence.”
Accepting that she knows her sister best, I nod and let it go, though I would swear I caught Felicity and Ferris exchanging loaded glances at the solstice dinner.
But soon Amy and Annabelle wake up from their nap and I’m too busy playing fetch with them in the basement with the little ghost boy to worry about younger siblings. Felicity and Ferris are both of age and Ferris, at least, has a good head on his shoulders.
He’s a little rough around the edges at times, but I trust him with my life and Felicity’s. I also trust him with my job and think a diplomat who looks like he runs a motorcycle club instead of a poetry reading will be a good change of pace for our allies. It will keep them on their toes.
Just like my girls keep me on mine.
When we head upstairs after the early winter sunset, I’m stunned by the surprise party waiting for me in the kitchen, but not surprised. My wife spoils me, a thing I enjoy nearly as much as spoiling her in return.
“No way,” she breathes when we’re done eating, her hand flying to cover her mouth as I bring out the ring. “Edmond, you shouldn’t have. I have our wedding ring. That’s enough for me.”
“But not for me,” I insist, sliding the glittering vintage diamond onto her finger. “I wanted you to know that I’d ask you to marry me all over again if I had the chance. Best decision I ever made, even if it was under…slight duress.”
Casey arches a brow. “Slight?”
“Maybe slightly more than slight,” I admit. “But that’s in the past now. You and Amy are safe, all the curses are broken, and it’s smooth sailing from here on out.”
“I found it,” Blaire blurts out from the end of the table, where she’s been buried in a book Annie brought home from the library since we finished dessert.
“Found what?” Colin asks from my right as Annie says, “Let me see,” and jumps off Baron’s lap, proving she’s still surprisingly spry for a woman in her second trimester.
Blaire points at the page. “It’s right here. The prophecy of the six sisters. That creep you guys met in the caves wasn’t lying.” She gulps and pulls a “oh shit” face. “And Mom might have actually been trying to do this, guys. Maybe she wasn’t just a lady who liked to spread the love. Maybe there was a method to her slutty madness and a reason we all have different dads.”
“Except Sophie and I,” Annie murmurs, leaning over Blaire’s shoulder to read what she’s found. “See, right there, it says six sisters bound only by mother’s blood. Sophie and I share a mother and father so that doesn’t fit.”
“And there are seven of us,” Sophie says from the floor in the living room, where she’s helping Amy build a dragon out of Legos. “So that doesn’t fit, either.”
Annie frowns as she reads on. “No, it doesn’t. As it stands, I don’t see a way this prophecy could be true for our family.” She reaches down, shutting the book and keeping her hand over it when Blaire huffs in protest. “Nope, we’re going to pretend we didn’t see this and stay quiet about the entire business. Things are finally peaceful and good. The last thing we need is people worrying that we’re going to take control of Nightfall, travel through time into the past, and reorder the space-time continuum to make the world a better place for witches.”
My eyes go wide. “What? Why would you do that?”
“We wouldn’t,” Annie says brightly. “Of course, we wouldn’t.”
“Not unless one of our own were in some kind of desperate trouble,” Casey says, calling bullshit on her sisters, the way she always does. She loves them, but she keeps them honest. “You know we would. I would, anyway. If Edmond needed my help or if…” She lowers her voice to a whisper as she adds, “Or, Goddess forbid, something happened to one of the kids. If Aurora or Amy were in trouble, we’d be reordering the space-time continuum so quick it would make your head spin.”
“Then it’s probably good we don’t fit the profile for this prophecy,” Annie says, collecting the book. “And that Mom failed to make it happen, if that’s really what she was trying to do. Messing with space-time is a big, scary no-no.”
“Thank the Goddess for twins,” Sophie says. “I’m not ready for any more drama.”
“Yeah, me, either,” Blaire agrees even as she shoots a narrow look Darcy’s way, making me certain they’ll be discussing this more later, when they’re alone.
