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My family went through a scandal much greater than me and my seahorses saving magic folk who drifted too far and capsized. My little brother unintentionally began seeking his father’s post resulting in both of them being exposed for political corruption and my step-father’s part in my father’s murder sealed their fate. I allowed my mother to visit her grandchildren, but always in neutral territory and only when supervised.
“Show me the teeth!” Our children chanted until I submitted. I headed out, letting the craziness of our past and all the obstacles Maxine and I had to overcome just to get here roll off my back and out to the waves. The present was an entirely more pleasant moment for me to live in and focus on.
I went far out in the salty ocean water and came back as a huge shark.
They screamed and giggled as I chased them about. Finally, my chill son turned into something other than a float. What surprised me, though, was Opal. She turned into a fierce little shark, too. So, she did get more than just the original genetic mapping. Maxine had, too, but it wasn’t like before.
I knew she missed her magic. It made her life so much easier in so many ways, but Case was there and offered a power boost like a battery pack for my little witch when she wanted to make tea heat immediately rather than wait for a pot of water to boil.
Case possessed magic bestowed to it by her grandfather, a wizard. We learned that Case had been boosting the little magic Maxine possessed since she was a teen.
* * *
A few weeks after things were settled, Ellie and Braz stopped by. They both remained at the academy. Both still intent on becoming faculty and teaching there. Still, Braz could fly, so it made it a lot easier for them to visit us than for us to wrangle two little mercreatures and travel to them.
“You don’t have to do that.” I was so glad to see them. They were getting hours in the bank while practicing parenting strategies.
That is what they said, anyway. The kids loved being flown around. Ellie loved spending time with Max. I loved having twenty minutes to sleep without any interruptions. Sure, they were developing fast as little ones, but that phase was about to stall. They grew fast the first months which could be seen as a bonus feature, but also going from infant to toddler in months rather than years could wear out even the most prepared and energetic of parents.
Later that evening, when the twins were finally settled, Max and I sat across from Ellie and Braz for dessert. Maxine’s famous spiced loaf was good no matter who made it, but it was amazing when she made it. I was convinced that was where her real magic remained. In what she loved. It tasted better because she always made food with love infused in the intentions she set.
“I’m serious.” Ellie laughed. “I want to learn how to cook and I want you to teach me.”
“Okay.” Max nodded.
I teased Braz by saying, “I’d like to learn how to fly. Can you do anything to help with that?”
He chuckled and said, “I could toss you off the roof, see if wings spontaneously burst out of your back.”
“Hmm. That does sound tempting, but I think maybe we could just grab a couple cold ones and watch the game instead?” I laughed as Max rolled her eyes. “What?”
“Go. Go watch the games.” We did not have to be told twice.
CHAPTER 23
Nineteen years later…
Maxine
“Well?” I looked at my oldest son and waited for him to respond.
“I’m in.” He smiled so brightly. He reminded me so much of a young Thurston that I worried for his young heart and who would finally steal it. He was socially awkward and academically gifted. He was taller than his father and Thurst kept saying that was because he had more time to develop thanks to his twin sister.
“Go tell your dad.” I hugged him and then looked at my oldest daughter. “And?”
“Of course, I’m in.” She was so petite, but a powerhouse. A force to be reckoned with for sure. She was the epitome of style and ferocity. Where I worried for my son’s heart, I worried for someone else’s child’s heart when it came to this one. She was fierce and focused. Maybe no one would breach that fortress outside of her family and friends. That was okay, too.
She said, “Dad already knows.”
“What?” I asked but I knew she would tell him first. She adored Thurst and regardless of how much this little monster got up to mischief, he never banished her to so much as a corner much less a private island where… okay, so it made sense he might have seen the prison system my father built from a different point of view as a father. “You tell him everything.”
“He already knows about Midas, too.” She shrugged. “I told him.”
“You should not open your brother’s mail.” I shook my head.
They loved Blackthorn. They grew up visiting Braz and Ellie and their children on that campus and the neighboring town. Our Midas held the pub record for most meat consumed in one sitting. I was only a little jealous of that. I had come very close when I was pregnant with them.
They thrived in the waters there like nowhere else. Probably because they were born in those neutral and protective conditions. Blackthorn was as much home to them as Mayhem Manor, where we lived. I did keep the mansion and the lands. Thurst had horses again. Different kind, but caring for other creatures made out children more empathetic and we hosted camps for all children. Using the dome-like effect Ellie replicated for us, we were able to teach everyone to work together.
