“Lucian,” she said again, unable to control her panic. Dismay gripped her as, her eyes streaming, she took in the burning home. Flames were visible through the front windows and on the roof, while smoke spewed toward the sky.
Thankfully, her mother’s cats seemed unharmed. What about Galahad, prone on the grass? What about Lucian?
Last she remembered, they’d been inside. She’d been about to kill Lucian. Not her, exactly, but Agnes.
Molly’s gaze found Lucian talking with a gray-haired police officer.
Thank God he was all right, but….
She frowned. Blinked. What exactly was she seeing?
“The dark-haired guy carried you out of the house,” the paramedic said, reclaiming her attention.
“I don’t remember.” Molly coughed again. She recalled acknowledging her love for Lucian, the rising intensity of her feelings, and the brilliant light, but then nothing until she’d awakened moments ago, wearing a bathrobe she couldn’t remember putting on. She sweltered, but was grateful not to be wearing only lingerie in front of the gathered crowd. Some of the onlookers were taking pictures that might end up on social media or in the Cat’s Paw Cove Courier.
As she glanced at Lucian again, guilt gripped her. She’d been horrible to him, whereas he’d been kind and selfless. She hadn’t been in control of her body or actions, however, when she’d meant to kill him. The sorceress had. But, Agnes wouldn’t be a threat any longer.
“Let’s check your vitals again,” the paramedic said.
“I’m fine.” She really did feel okay, apart from a sore throat and some sore spots from Agnes fighting Lucian.
“It won’t take long.”
With a grudging sigh, Molly relented. She did, after all, need to figure out what she’d say to Lucian when they next talked.
While she answered a few questions for the paramedic, firemen brought Crow and the other Dealers, who were still unconscious, to the ambulances. She’d avoided looking at Lucian—she’d worried she’d catch his gaze—but as the paramedic finished up, her skin tingled with awareness.
Lucian approached. His hair was a sweaty mess, his clothes were burnt in places, and he looked exhausted, but to her, he’d never looked more handsome.
Tears brimmed as Lucian nodded to the paramedic, who picked up his bag and went to help the others tending to Crow. Lucian sat down beside her. He smelled strongly of smoke: a scent that reminded her of the danger he’d confronted to save her life.
She longed to throw her arms around his neck and tell him, with passionate kisses and tender caresses, how sorry she was for all that had happened between them. She loved him, so very much. Her heart almost couldn’t hold all of the love she felt for him. But, after all she’d done, how could he ever want her?
Tears slipped down her flushed cheeks.
He obviously noticed, because he set his fingers under her chin and gently, firmly, forced her to look at him.
His wary gaze searched hers. “How are you?”
She knew what he was really asking: whether she was still possessed by Agnes and trying to deceive him, or whether she was her true self again.
However, with so many other people around, she could hardly tell him the evil sorceress from the Middle Ages, who’d possessed her through a gold necklace, was no longer able to wreak havoc. The paramedics might decide she needed to be hospitalized.
“I mostly feel like myself,” she said.
“Mostly?” The suspicion in his eyes didn’t diminish.
She had to make him understand she was herself again; that she’d never knowingly hurt him or anyone else ever again. How, though?
Lucian’s hand settled over hers. “You were a damsel in distress earlier.” His intense gaze continued to search hers, as though to confirm she was indeed herself. “I had to save you from the fire.”
“You went all medieval knight to the rescue, once again.”
“I will every time. That’s who I am.”
She thought of the silver bolts he’d shot from his hands and the talking cats. Rose was busy scolding the squire for his “dramatics.” Galahad, thankfully, was sitting up now.
Some of the paramedics and police officers nearby, several of them watching her…. If what she suspected was true, they had magical abilities. So did the gray-haired man Lucian had spoken with earlier.
How was she able to perceive magical powers? She hadn’t been able to do so before the sorceress inhabited her body.
Panic fluttered, because she needed to understand the changes in herself. Lucian, with his magical expertise, might clarify things for her.
If he was willing.
He might not want anything more to do with her.
Their conversation now…might be his goodbye.
She set her other hand over his; she couldn’t bear for him to walk away. “Can we talk?”
“We’re talking now.”
“Can we go somewhere a bit more private?”
He glanced at the gray-haired policeman and after a couple of seconds, looked back at her. “Okay. Can you stand?”
“I think so.” She pressed her heels to the ground and he offered her his hand to help her to her feet. The robe gaped in front, and she grabbed it with one hand to hold it closed—a bit pointless when Lucian had already seen her almost naked.
His gaze rose from her clenched fingers. A muscle leapt in his jaw.
They walked across the lawn to the fence dividing her mother’s yard from the neighbor’s. “This is far enough,” he said.
She faced him. Despair and remorse welled up inside her. “Lucian….”
He squeezed her hand.
“I’m sorry.” Her voice wobbled. “I’m so sorry for what Agnes did to you.”
“Molly—”
“She’s not in control any more. I am.”
His expression grim, he shook his head. “That’s unlikely, I’m afraid.”
“I swear, I am ninety-eight-percent myself.”
“The remaining two percent…?”
“Not cause for concern.”
His stare sharpened. “How can you be certain?”
“I just am.”
“How about explaining to me? How is she no longer controlling you?”
“I…I’m not sure. But, in the house, she was hurting you. She intended to kill you—”
“Yes.”
“—and I couldn’t let her. I got upset. I knew, without the slightest doubt, that I… love you.”
“Love?” he murmured.
Molly nodded. Tears streamed down her face. “I thought I would explode with love for you. Agnes tried to stop me from acknowledging my feelings, and…I couldn’t take her telling me what to do anymore. Something inside me snapped. Then, the light.”
Lucian’s eyes widened. “That light…spell….”
“Spell?”
“Yes, spell…was you.”
Chapter Eighteen
Molly’s expression held both astonishment and fear. “To cast a spell,” she said carefully, “I’d have to have magic.”
Lucian wondered how best to answer, but he’d already revealed the truth. “Yes.”
A cry broke from her. He sensed the instant her legs buckled and stepped forward to catch her in his arms and draw her against him.
He never wanted to let her go; wanted her in his arms like this every single day for the rest of his living days. But, that might never be.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Experts rushing toward them, but he signaled for them to stay away. He wasn’t in danger; Molly posed no threat.
“I have magical abilities now,” she whispered against his neck. “Because of Agnes.”
“Mmm.” He savored Molly’s warm breath on his skin. He didn’t want to scare her, but the fact she had powers made her even more of a concern to The Experts.
“That would explain….”
He moved her to arms’ length and tried not to notice the lacy top of her bra revealed by her robe. “E
xplain what?”
She gnawed her bottom lip as her gaze darted to the ambulances and fire trucks. “Those men. I can tell the ones who aren’t really firemen, police officers, or paramedics.” Her breath hitched. “Or even neighbors.”
His heart sank. “Tell me what you see,” he coaxed.
“It’s like…a thin, shimmering light around them.”
“A kind of aura?”
She nodded. “They’re different colors.”
Damn.
“The gray-haired man you were talking to earlier…. His light’s strong.” She looked back at him. “You have an aura too. It’s silver, like the light you shot from your hands.”
Dismay tangled up inside Lucian. He’d wondered if she’d remember seeing him use his powers at the antique store and in the house. Clearly, she did.
What a bloody mess.
With a heavy sigh, he drew her back into his embrace.
“I have to know, Lucian. You have magic. Do you see the auras too?”
“I do.”
“The colors—”
“They vary, depending on the place and time in which the person got his or her magic.”
“Why is yours silver?”
He tightened his hold on her. “I got my magic in the Middle Ages. I was—”
“A knight?”
“Yep.”
“Oh my God. Galahad?”
“He was my squire. We’ve both been reincarnated a number of times.”
“Just like my mother’s cats?”
“Just like your mother’s cats.”
Molly was silent a long moment. He sensed her struggling to comprehend all that she’d learned in the last few moments.
“Can my magic be taken away?” she asked quietly.
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
She shivered. “I don’t want it!”
“I understand, but—”
“What am I going to do?” Desperation sharpened her voice. “Those men, the ones watching us….”
She knew.
“They’re aware I have powers. They’re going to take me away, aren’t they?”
Lucian kissed her hair. “I’m afraid so. Your powers must be—”
“I won’t go with them.”
Admiration wove through him at her defiance, but she needed to hear the truth. “You won’t have a choice.”
“I want to be with you.” A sound like a sob broke from her. “I love you—”
“—as I love you.” Lucian slid his hand up to cup her face and then kissed her. Her mouth, hungry for him, opened beneath his. For a blissful moment, he allowed himself to feel nothing but the pleasure of their kissing.
As their kisses slowed, she moaned. “They can’t make me go with them.”
“Regrettably, they can.” Resentment gnawed, because he’d never forget the day he’d been forced into the service of The Experts. But, this was the twenty-first century, and the love he’d found with Molly was a true love worth fighting for.
After more than eight hundred years of obeying The Experts’ rules, surely he’d earned the right to ask a favor or two.
Molly rubbed her lips together and glanced at Julius again, who was speaking with several paramedics. Crow and the other Dealers appeared to be waking. “Is that gray-haired man the one in charge of the Magicals?”
“He is. His name’s Julius.” Resolve tingled in Lucian’s veins. “Come with me.”
“Why? What—?”
He kissed her and linked his fingers through hers again. “I believe there was a very good reason we found each other in Cat’s Paw Cove. We’re going to make The Experts believe it, too.”
Hugging herself, Molly looked at the smoldering remains of her late mother’s home. The firemen, having done all they could, were reeling in their hoses. The ambulances had left hours ago with Crow and the other Dealers, who’d seemed disoriented and unable to remember the events of the past few days. According to Julius, reports had come in of Dealers in various Florida counties—people suspected of having contact with the sorceress—collapsing and suffering memory issues. At least none of them would be fulfilling Agnes’s desire to hunt down Molly’s relatives.
She heard the familiar sound of Lucian’s Mini and glanced toward the road. He waved to her through the windshield, parked, and got out. He’d changed into a snug pair of jeans and a black, button-down shirt, and his hair looked wet from showering.
Earlier, a neighbor Molly had chatted with a few times had invited Molly into her home for a shower, change of clothes, and a sandwich. The borrowed turquoise top and floral-patterned skirt were a bit loose, as were the sandals, but they were much more practical than the bathrobe.
Lucian strode to her, pulled her in close, and kissed her. “Okay?”
Molly snuggled against him. “Mostly.” Once the fire had extinguished, she’d see what could be salvaged. According to Rose, the cats had pushed the historical society folder into some flames and watched it burn, which, in truth, was a relief. Insurance and other paperwork needed to be finalized, but she wouldn’t dwell on those things right now.
“Your cats are settling in well at the apartment. Galahad’s taking good care of them.”
“Thank you. And thanks for letting us stay with you, until…well, for now.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, but he kissed her again. “My pleasure. Ready to go?”
She swallowed hard as her gaze returned to the house. “All those memories….”
“We’ll make new ones. Together.”
“Yes,” she murmured. “We will.”
A nervous tingle raced through her as she recalled her and Lucian’s conversation with Julius. The older man had been rather intimidating, especially when he’d asked her to sit in his air-conditioned patrol car—which wasn’t really a police vehicle at all—and had questioned her about the sorceress and how Molly had locked Agnes away in her mind. He’d also explored her mind using strange instruments and magic.
He’d confirmed the sorceress was indeed confined by an extremely powerful spell. There were few records, apparently, of Magicals with Molly’s ability.
“You’re exceptional in many ways,” Julius had said with the faintest smile.
Lucian, sitting beside her in the back seat, had squeezed her with his arm around her waist.
“That’s nice of you to say, but honestly, we all owe a great deal to Lucian,” Molly said. “If I hadn’t met and fallen in love with him, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat Agnes. She might never have been stopped.”
Julius scowled. “We don’t know that.”
“We do,” Molly insisted.
“It’s obvious you view Lucian as a hero—”
“Because he is.” Molly couldn’t resist a proud grin. “He’s one of the most honorable, selfless people I’ve ever met.” Lucian made a strangled sound, as though embarrassed by her words, but she pressed on. “Every day, with his magic, he protects this town, its residents, and its visitors. I’m going to use my magic to help others, too.”
Julius’s brows rose.
“Does that mean…you’ll be staying in Cat’s Paw Cove?” Lucian asked.
“I just might.” She smiled. “I’ve found a great reason to stay.”
He smiled back. “I know you enjoy teaching, but I could use your help at the store. My grandfather has talked several times about retiring—”
“If that’s a job offer, I accept.”
“Perfect. You’re hired.” Lucian leaned in and kissed her.
Julius muttered under his breath. “Hold on, you two. Agnes, and therefore Molly, must be constantly monitored.”
“Easily done,” Lucian said, “if Molly’s working alongside me.”
“She’s only just discovered her magic,” the older man countered. “She must learn how to use it, control it—”
“I’ll teach her.”
“As you are aware, Lucian, it’s not that simple. There are procedures—”
“Here and now, I pledge my
skills, my magic, my life, to the Experts.” She held out her hand, palm up. “Need me to swear an oath with my own blood? I’ll do it.”
The gray-haired man rolled his eyes. “We haven’t required that since the Dark Ages.”
Her pulse skittered. “So? Does that mean you’ll accept me?”
She waited, hardly daring to breathe.
“It means,” Julius finally said, “I’ll discuss the arrangement with my superiors and The Archivists.”
But, after consulting with his peers, Julius had said ‘yes.’ Before getting out of the patrol car, Molly had vowed to serve The Experts. She’d recited the same oath that Lucian had made over eight hundred years ago.
As the afternoon breeze tousled her hair, Lucian pushed strands back behind her ear. “Why don’t we go back to my place? I’ll pour us some wine, and I’ll cook dinner, too.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Weariness seeped into her as they walked to the car.
When Molly and Lucian entered the apartment, all five cats, curled up together on the sofa, looked up at them.
“Poor Molly. She looks exhausted,” Petunia said.
“As she would be, after all that’s happened today.” Daisy pushed up to all four paws. “We should go ask for snuggles. That will help her feel better.”
“That’s sweet of you, but don’t get up,” Molly said. “I’m fine. Really.”
Rose’s mouth gaped. “She can still understand us?”
“Yes, Rose,” Molly answered. “I can still understand you.”
Lucian shut the door. “I did bring you cats up to date on the details. Remember?”
“Rose had a senior moment,” Petunia said.
“Another one,” Marigold noted.
Rose huffed. “I can’t be expected to remember everything.”
“Ladies,” Galahad meowed. “If Molly doesn’t need snuggles, I’ll take ’em.” He rolled onto his back, paws up. “Who’s first for cuddles?”
Shaking his head, Lucian took Molly’s hand again and led her to the kitchen, where he poured them both glasses of white wine. “Bring your drink,” he said then motioned to the spare bathroom. “I expect you’d like to freshen up. Take all of the time you need. I just have to run down to the shop, but I’ll be back soon.”
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