“Monique,” Thierry replied with surprise.
“And Sarah,” Monique said. “I see you successfully found your husband.”
“I did,” I squeaked, still not sure what the hell was happening.
Her attention turned to the shadowy warlock, and she shook her head. “Oh, Damon. You have been a very naughty boy. Do you think I have not been keeping an eye on you? Grimm has informed me of all of your unpleasant little plans, all so very selfish. All more proof of why it was best that we broke up when we did.”
“Monique,” Damon managed, his voice wrenching from the darkness, which had already started to fade into the surrounding night as his time ran out. “My love. I’ve never forgotten you. You are my truest love, my brightest wish. My soulmate.”
“That is so sweet. And you, Damon, are a…um, how do I best say this in English? A…pig dog. A big, ugly pig dog. That stinks like merde.”
“Do you remember when I told you about witches who work against the darkness?” Thierry whispered to me. “Monique happens to be one of them.”
I gasped. “Wait, what?”
The witch had seemed so clueless to me, so oblivious to the trouble I was in, but then I realized that was the act. The best way to not show how strong you were was to pretend to be the opposite.
“I’m sorry, Monique,” Damon said. “Everything you say about me is true. Please forgive me. Please help me fix this so I can make it up to you. I know you still love me.”
“I do love you,” Monique said. “It is my tragic flaw, c’est la vie. My love for a selfish, stupid, pig-dog warlock who cheated on me with every woman in Paris.”
“Not every woman,” Damon countered. “Please, Monique. There’s isn’t time to argue. Your magic is powerful, powerful enough to save me.”
“Yes, it certainly is,” she agreed.
Silence fell on the patio.
“Well?” Damon prompted.
“Well,” Monique repeated. “Perhaps in our next lives, we can find each other and try again. Au revoir, mon amour.”
“No!” Damon cried out. “Noooooooo!”
I swear I could still hear the pained, eerie sound of his voice long after the shadows disappeared completely.
“C’est ça,” Monique said sadly. “It is as it was meant to be. Grimm will be at peace now, frolicking happily with his elf friends in elf heaven.” She glanced toward us. “Or, I don’t really know. Whatever elves do in the afterlife.”
“Thank you, Monique,” Thierry said. “I sincerely appreciate your help.”
“It seems you are not the one who should be thanking me.” Monique turned toward Alicia. “You nearly lost your life because of your unfortunate choices today.”
Alicia stood there, her face chalk-white, her body trembling. “I must admit, I am feeling a great deal of regret.”
“I’m sure you are,” I squeaked angrily.
“I’m sorry, Sarah. And Thierry. I must have been under Damon’s spell, that’s all. I would never have done such horrible things I’ve been thinking properly. I mean, he was a warlock. Clearly, he cast a love spell on me that made me obey his bidding.” She turned to Thierry, her eyes bright. “You believe me, don’t you? And you can’t possibly blame me for any of this!”
“No, I don’t blame you.” Thierry shook his head, and I resisted digging my wing-claw through the material of his expensive jacket.
Alicia let out a shuddery sigh of relief. “Oh, thank you.”
“Your husband, on the other hand,” Thierry said. “Might blame you a great deal. In fact, I think he will finally grant you that divorce you’ve been so desperately wanting, but probably not with the exorbitant amount of alimony you demanded. Understandable, really. What he does beyond that as a response to your choices today is entirely up to him. He is one of the council elders, after all. Not me.”
Alicia stared at Thierry for a very long time before sitting down heavily in the patio seat.
“Seems a bit light of a punishment, if you ask me,” I told him.
“Had she harmed you, trust me, I would not be nearly this lenient.”
Monique drew closer. “Ah, little bat, I have enjoyed you so.”
I sighed. “Great. Glad to entertain.”
“Yes, yes. You are indeed very entertaining. You must come and visit me again in Paris one day very soon. I will take you on a magnificent tour of my beautiful city.”
“Sounds great. I’ll flap my bat wings over there.”
“You wish to remain a bat?” she asked.
I raised my bat eyebrows. “Well, no. Of course not.”
“Place your tiny wife on the ground, Thierry,” Monique said. “S’il vous plaît.”
Thierry did not hesitate before prying me off his shoulder and placing me down on the smooth patio surface.
I watched with deep apprehension and more than a little bit of hope as Monique whispered some words under her breath. I felt a dizzying whoosh. And everything went dark.
9
I blinked rapidly as I regained consciousness. My face was pressed hard against the ground, and I pushed myself up to a sitting position. Pushed with my very human (vampire) hands and sitting on my very human (vampire) butt!
Success! I even still wore the same clothes I had on in Paris, including my handbag over my shoulder and the brand new hot pink heels encasing my feet.
I looked up to find that Monique was gone, and so was Alicia. Only Thierry and I were left on the patio of the bed and breakfast. He offered me his hand, which I took immediately, and he pulled me to my feet.
“Thierry, what the hell—”
But he didn’t let me finish. He took my face between his hands and pressed his mouth against mine, kissing me deeply—so deeply my knees buckled. And it wasn’t only because I was still getting used to having knees again.
“No more witches,” I whispered against his lips.
“Agreed,” he whispered back. “When I couldn’t find you, I was so worried.”
“I know.” I leaned back and searched his face. “I was pretty worried, myself.”
He threaded his fingers into my hair and his lips quirked.
“What?” I asked.
“Your fur as a bat was the exact same color as your hair.”
“Boring brown?” I offered.
“Stunning, divine, beautiful chestnut.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “You do have a way with words, Monsieur de Bennicoeur.”
“Only speaking the truth.”
“Where’s Alicia?” I had to ask.
“Gone. But I’m not worried. I believe Alicia is harmless without the influence of Damon. Franklin will find her and deal with her. None of this will be a surprise to him. We really only confirmed what he suspected all along.”
I nodded, sighing with relief. “So it’s over.”
“It’s over,” he agreed.
“This feels like the longest day ever.”
“It certainly does. And now, I know you said you desire a vacation.”
My ears perked up at that. “I sure do. Anything in mind?”
Thierry nodded toward the bed and breakfast. “Perhaps you’d like to stay in this town for a couple more days.”
I gave him a look of shock. “You’re still rehearsing that funny bone of yours, aren’t you?”
“How am I doing?”
I laughed. “Not bad, really. But I wouldn’t take the stage at a comedy club quite yet.”
“Fair enough.” Thierry took my hand in his. “Then let’s depart this town one and for all, shall we?”
I grinned up at him. “Say it. Just say it one more time for me. Please?”
He raised a brow. “Assjacket.”
My grin widened. “There it is.”
We headed for the car without another moment of hesitation, and I heard my phone buzz. I pulled it out of my bag, surprised but happy that it seemed to be working again. The caller ID surprised me. I held the phone to my ear as I slid into the passenger seat.
“Hello? I said.
“Sarah, I’m so glad you picked up.” It was Amy, her voice choked with emotion.
I sat up straighter. “Amy, what’s wrong? You sound like you’ve been crying.”
“I have been! I’ve been crying all day thinking of our fight yesterday. I hate how it ended, Sarah. Listen to me. You are my best friend, okay? My best friend ever in my life—my weird, stupid, crazy immortal life. Got it? And I’m not going to let a few months of misunderstandings get between us.”
My throat thickened. “I feel the exact same way.”
“Good. So let’s forget all of that garbage and start fresh. You and me, Sarah and Amy, friends forever. And I don’t care how much you travel and how little I get to see you in real life; I’m going to jam up your phone with messages every single day. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” I couldn’t help but smile as a happy tear slipped down my cheek.
When we ended the call, I was smiling so widely my cheeks hurt.
Thierry pulled the car onto the road, headed out of Assjacket. “I’m very glad you made up with your friend,” he said.
“Me too.” I let out a shuddery sigh. “So, that vacation you mentioned.”
“Yes?”
“I understand if it’s not a great time right now, but maybe we can—”
“I was thinking Hawaii,” Thierry said. “For at least two weeks. We’ll celebrate your birthday there, on the beach. I know you like beaches. And Tequila Sunrises.”
“Love them,” I agreed. “So very much.”
“Then it’s decided.”
Yes, it seemed to be. I loved decisions like this. We’d survived another head-on challenge that threatened to shake us at our very core, but we stood strong. Together. I’d made up with Amy. I’d helped to defeat an evil warlock. And I’d survived being a tiny little bat…who could fly! Well, for a minute, anyway. It still counted.
I guess it was time for a new adventure. I mean, after our vacation, of course.
I glanced down at the slightly magical high heels Alicia had bought for me in Paris at a little shop called Rags to Riches. More like Rags to Witches, if you asked me. It was a place that I wouldn’t be returning to any time soon, even if its resident evil warlock was gone forever.
Still. I was totally keeping the shoes.
To check out all the side-splitting books in the Magic and Mayhem Universe, go to
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https://magicandmayhemuniverse.com/
And if you would like to read the book that started all the madness, Switching Hour is FREE!
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https://robynpeterman.com/switching-hour/
About the Author
Michelle Rowen is the bestselling and award-winning author of over two dozen novels. Writing as Morgan Rhodes, she is the New York Times bestselling author of the young adult, high fantasy Falling Kingdoms series. A former president of Toronto Romance Writers, Michelle lives in Mississauga, Ontario, where she refills her creative well by watching trashy reality TV and drinking a lot of delicious coffee.
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Other Books by Michelle Rowen
* * *
Immortality Bites
Bitten & Smitten
Fanged & Fabulous
Lady & the Vamp
Stakes & Stilettos
Tall, Dark & Fangsome
Sarah Dearly Mysteries
Blood Bath & Beyond
Bled & Breakfast
From Fear to Eternity
Living in Eden
The Demon in Me
Something Wicked
That Old Black Magic
Nightshade
Nightshade
Bloodlust
* * *
Books for Young Adults
The Demon Princess Series
Reign or Shine
Reign Check
Reign Fall
Standalone novel
Echoes
From Rags to Witches Page 9