Page 20 of Christmas Magic

Chapter Four

With a groan, Molly sank onto the beige leather sofa in the living room and shut her eyes. “It’s almost nine o’clock. Can we skip the magic lesson?”

Shaking his head, Lucian sat beside her and braced his elbows on his knees. His gaze moved from the stone fireplace opposite to the pre-lit, artificial fir tree they’d bought together and set up while drinking eggnog. On the rug beside the tree were shopping bags of glass baubles and other ornaments; the beginning of their collection of decorations that they’d haul out of storage every Christmas. One day, hopefully, they’d have children to help put ornaments on the branches.

Such dreams made his and Molly’s lives seem normal. Ordinary, even. As his attention shifted to the five cats dozing under the tree, his conscience reminded him their lives couldn’t be more different from those of Regs.

If he needed any more proof, he had only to think of The Dealer he’d sensed earlier who could still be in the area.

Molly turned her head to face him. Opening her eyes a little, she said, “Can we postpone until tomorrow?”

“No. We’ll just do a short session.”

“It’s been a long day,” she grumbled.

“Stressful, too,” Galahad meowed. “I might have nightmares about onesies.”

Molly did look tired, but she hadn’t practiced her magic for the past four days.

“I also ate too much Tiramisu. My stomach’s too full. I don’t think I’ll be able to concentrate.”

Lucian had overeaten too. Impossible not to, after ordering such delicious food. Ever since sensing The Dealer, however, he’d struggled with a sense of foreboding—along with a renewed sense of urgency to get Molly trained in the use of magic. While Black Cat Antiquities and their home were protected by spells, and it was unlikely she’d have to confront a Dealer alone, the possibility remained. Lucian would never forgive himself if she had to face a dangerous situation and couldn’t properly defend herself.

He slipped his fingers into hers. “The more you practice—”

“I know.” She pouted. “You did promise to go all medieval tonight.”

“I will keep my promise.” If only she knew how much restraint it took for him not to sweep her up in his arms right now and carry her to their bedroom. With a few kisses and caresses, he could easily rid her of her pout, but such pleasures would have to wait. “We do have a commitment to The Experts.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Her voice caught, and he squeezed her hand. He remembered very well his grueling training sessions with Julius, in which he’d learned how to summon and manipulate his powers. Not easy. A bit frightening, too—and probably scarier for her than it had been for him.

While Lucian had known of his grandfather’s involvement with The Experts, Molly hadn’t had any experience with magic until a few months ago when the gold necklace she’d inherited from her late mother had kindled ancient DNA within her. The end result: Molly now had extraordinary abilities. She’d taken an oath to serve The Experts and use her magic for good. Lucian had vowed to teach her all she needed to know—and he’d not fail in that duty to his superiors or, especially, her.

“Just ten minutes,” he coaxed.

She sighed but pushed to her feet. “Fine.”

“Good.” Lucian stood as well. “For this lesson, let’s use….” His gaze settled on the snow globe that Molly had set out on the mantel. When the vintage snow globe depicting an embracing couple with a cat by their feet had come into the antique store, she’d insisted they had to have it.

“It’s so us,” she’d said, her eyes shining.

He fetched the snow globe. Facing her, he held it in both palms. The lightly-stirred-up flakes of snow inside settled once again to partly cover the couples’ winter boots.

“What am I supposed to do?” Molly asked.

“See if you can make the snow swirl.”

Dismay touched her gaze.

“Just try,” he said, more gently.

“It’s such a small space—and inside the glass.”

“That’s the idea. You have to really focus.”

“What if I crack the snow globe? What if it explodes? I don’t want to break it—and I sure don’t want to hurt you.”

Her concerned expression made his heart flip over in his chest. “It’s okay. I’ll be right here monitoring the situation.”