Maisie laughed so hard that the vines slowly creeping up her thighs retreated. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
“Nope,” Briggs said.
“Okay, so he used find my location to discover that his wife is in Alaska, and he what… charters a private jet to fly him directly there?” Kinsley asked. “Because it took the two of you two different planes and nearly seventeen hours to get home from Alaska.”
“He teleported,” Cece said.
“The fuck he did,” Maisie said, sitting up straight, her cookie forgotten. “Teleporters are a myth.”
“He used magic,” Cece said. “Apparently, if a witch or warlock is powerful enough, they can use magic to teleport.”
“Holy shit,” Kinsley said. “Did you know that was possible?”
“Not until recently,” Cece said. “Anyway, Werner didn’t know why his wife and son were in Alaska, but he suspected it had something to do with me because he knew Briggs was my mate and he had…”
“What?” Kinsley asked.
“He’d looked into me after he introduced himself to Cece,” Briggs said. “He knew that I was from Wellington, so when he realized Adora and Alistair were in Wellington…”
“Clever,” Maisey said.
“He teleported to Alaska just in time to help us stop his wife and kid from drowning Briggs and setting me on fire,” Cece said.
“You did most of the work,” Briggs said, squeezing her hand.
She smiled at him. “I think it was a team effort.”
“So, where are they now?”
Cece sighed, her stomach clenching as guilt washed over her. “They’re locked up in magic suppressed cells at the WWC.”
Briggs kissed her temple. “You don’t have to feel guilty, my mate.”
“Fuck feeling guilty,” Maisie said as the vines returned to creep up her legs. “They tried to kill you, babe.”
“I know, but Werner is so… sad,” Cece said, tears pricking at her eyes. “He came to see us yesterday, and he looks like he’s aged about ten years. It’s awful.”
“You aren’t responsible for what they did,” Kinsley said softly. “So, that’s it? They’re locked up for good now?”
“There’ll be a trial in a few months, and we’ll have to testify, but both of them are,” Cece hesitated, “half-mad from using dark magic. Werner thinks they’ll both be imprisoned for life.”
More guilt bit at her stomach, and she was grateful for Briggs’s support when he slipped his arm around her and tucked her up against him.
“I’m sorry, Cece,” Kinsley said.
“Thank you.” Cece studied her hands. The knuckles glowed a light green, and she traced them lightly with her fingertips.
“So, will you try to have a relationship with this Werner guy?” Maisie asked.
Cece nodded. “Yes. He knew nothing about any of this, and he’s not at fault for any of it. I want to get to know him better, and he wants to have a relationship with me, too.”
“Of course he does. You’re fucking great,” Maisie said.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kinsley studied the wall where the hole had been. Briggs had patched and sanded it, and a few days later, he and Cece repainted the entire room. “The house is looking good. I can’t believe how many improvements you’ve made in the last couple of weeks.”
“It’s easy to do when your mate is ridiculously good at home repairs,” Cece said with a laugh.
Briggs grinned at her as Kinsley said, “Well, you should be able to sell it no problem once spring hits. Have you picked a section of the city to live in yet? Because there are some gorgeous houses about ten minutes from my place that are…”
