by Maria Dean
Like X's role, the involvement of the Russos was often blown out of proportion. Everything with the Russo name was now a magical landmark. Irene's pet shelter was flooded with support after the Sealing. Magical beings and humans alike found new friends in every nook and cranny. Chewie the Rottweiler went home as a companion animal for a wheelchair bound witch, while the kittens that had once latched onto Beatrice were adopted by a certain lonely mythologist. Lorenzo Russo was the hot new name in the art community, though he seemed content on staying in the shadows. Matilde's fashion lines flew off the shelves faster than she knew how to process. She found herself with enough money she finally broke down and asked Nya to marry her.
Beatrice and Nicole, the more reclusive Russo cousins, made it clear they didn't want their business partners to view them differently based on the event. "We did little to help, truly," Nicole would assure them. "I just helped feed the team." Beatrice, as the one who found Astrid after her fall, took a little more credit than her sister.
Christian's business grew in support. He opened a second storefront in Saint Paul, near Calypso's new residence, and began to offer job training classes to neighborhood teens. The Magdalena Russo youth center grew out of these workshops, becoming one of the Russo family's best assets.
Lionheart Law, in the wake of their successful suit against VidaCo, experienced an uptake in clientele. As Daniella from HR put it, "Everyone wanted a piece of the Lionheart limelight. We were the best around, and all of Minneapolis knew it."
Sally took a few months off to pursue her own law career, only returning when Winston and Tom asked her to speak at their wedding. It was a long, arduous speech that referenced Wedding Crashers and Die Hard, among other things. Winston went on the record to say it was the best speech he heard that night.
Astrid watched her coworkers succeed from the sidelines. After Beatrice found her, she had to spend another month in recovery before she could start moving again. The magic didn't leave her when she sealed the gate, as she'd thought. It became her. When she passed out, the portal energy took her home, leaving her comatose and alone until Beatrice and her son walked by. Calypso, who portalled home on her own, took turns taking care of Astrid until she woke up. A family doctor declared put her on bedrest afterward, forcing her to work the rest of the VidaCo case out of Giovanni's bedroom.
Not that she was complaining. His apartment building was on a transit line and allowed dogs. Moon Moon, after being released from the confines of the pet shelter, almost destroyed Giovanni's precious couch. It took a week before the two were friends, and another two weeks before Moon Moon decided he liked Giovanni more than Astrid. Perhaps it was because Giovanni fed the dog a ridiculous amount of steak while Astrid was on bedrest.
He took good care of her when she needed it. Astrid owed a lot to Giovanni, though she wouldn't admit it. When she needed space, he gave it to her. When she was awake at night, terrified her father would break out, he held her while she cried.
It wasn't where Astrid thought she'd be all those months ago, when she first took Magdalena's case. And though the alchemic ordeal was absolute chaos, Astrid decided she was at a place where she was happy it happened.
Other Books By Maria Dean
This is Maria Dean's entire book library at the time of publication, but more books are coming out all the time. Find out EVERY time Maria releases something by going to www.mariadean.com and signing up for her alerts NOW.
Unmasked: Book 1
Deceived: Book 2
Frozen: Book 3
Elixir: Book 4
Alchemy: Book 5
Destiny: Book 6
About the Author
Maria lives with her husband Andy, her 2 beautiful children and slightly mad dog Bruno.
Sign up for Maria's news letter at: BookHip.com/KJRXAZ
And grab a free book whilst you're at it.
Connect with Maria
BLOG:http://www.MariaDean.com/blog
FACEBOOK:https://www.facebook.com/mariadeanauthor/