by Chant, Zoe
Finally, Aleta’s face softened.
“No,” she said. “We would not force the child to go if she truly has bonded with you.” She paused, pursing her lips slightly. “But we expect you to keep your word. Ruby needs to learn how to use whatever powers she does still have. Without that, she could be dangerous, both to you and herself. Do we have your promise? We will be able to visit her, and teach her how to be an alicorn?”
“Of course,” Hector said instantly. “I understand how important it is. I had to learn how to control my own powers myself. The only thing we care about is that Rubes – Ruby – is taken care of.”
“Then we have that in common,” Tassos said. “We alicorns are so rare that we need to look after each other. And if you are willing to help… then perhaps we should not turn aside your offer.”
“But I hope you understand what we need of you in return,” Aleta said.
“Anything,” Myrtle blurted, before she could think.
She meant it, though. Relief pounded through her – she couldn’t quite let go of Ruby just yet. She still needed to reassure herself that Ruby was going to stay right where she was. Here, with them, where she belonged.
“Keep our existence a secret,” Aleta said. “Be cautious who you tell about Ruby, and what she truly is. If enough people were to know about us, we would never know another moment’s peace in our lives. We would be hunted, just as we were before.” Aleta paused, her strange silver eyes boring into Myrtle. “Will you promise me that?”
Myrtle’s heart was in her throat. She nodded. She knew there was nothing else she could do.
“Of course,” she finally managed to get out. Beside her, she could see Hector nodding.
Aleta nodded. “Thank you.”
“Come, Aleta. We need to go.” Tassos’s voice was soft. His eyes flickered to Hector. “Trust that we will find you soon. And we will discuss what we need to do for Ruby to grow up safe, protected, and loved.”
Myrtle opened her mouth to say something – she wasn’t quite sure what – but before she could make a sound there was the same brilliant flash of white light as before that made her scrunch up her eyes and turn away. By the time she turned back, Tassos and Aleta had already re-taken on their alicorn forms, and were rising gently into the sky with elegant sweeps of their wings.
Myrtle stared after them as they went, the faint impression of their light still lingering in front of her eyes. She still couldn’t quite believe that anything so beautiful truly existed in the world.
But more importantly, it means that Ruby’s not alone after all – she’s not the last of her kind.
The thought brought her a great deal of comfort as she looked down at the little creature snuggled in her arms.
After all, raising a baby is hard enough. But raising a baby shifter? A baby alicorn? We’re both gonna need some help with that.
The thought sent a warm shiver through her – both of trepidation and anticipation.
Can we really do this? Can I really do this?
She supposed she – they – had no choice but to try. Ruby was theirs, now – and she was truly the most wondrous thing Myrtle had ever seen. She couldn’t wait to watch her grow up.
“Mee-eeh?”
Ruby made a soft noise, as if she was looking for reassurance that she really was staying here with them.
“Of course you are, sweetie,” Myrtle crooned at her, stroking her neck. “You’ll always be with us.”
“Too right,” Hector said, his voice a low rumble, as he reached out to ruffle Ruby’s mane. “You’re stuck with us now.”
Ruby spread her wings, whinnying in delight before zipping up into the air, wings fluttering, as if she couldn’t stop herself from flying from sheer joy.
As they stood together watching her, a sudden thought struck Myrtle, and she felt an irresistible laugh bubbling up inside her. Or maybe she was just hysterical from fatigue. Either way, she couldn’t stop the laugh from bursting out of her mouth at the idea.
I told Mom I didn’t have time to find a man or have a baby because I was going to Australia. And now it seems like I have both.
“What’s so funny?” Hector asked, cocking his head slightly.
“I – I’ll explain later,” Myrtle said, not sure Hector would find the thought as amusing as she did right now. He hadn’t met her mother – yet – and probably wouldn’t appreciate just how deeply ridiculous the situation was.
“Well, all right.” Hector let out a long, slow breath, before looking over his shoulder at where Cecelia still lay. “I suppose I better do something about that, before she wakes up and starts chucking a fit. But first –”
Hector raised his hands, cupping her face with them, before pulling her into a kiss.
Myrtle smiled into it, wrapping her arms around Hector’s shoulders, letting herself melt into the kiss. But as much as she wanted to stay here forever, Hector probably had a point about Cecelia. She broke away from him, stepping back from him with only the mildest amount of regret. Ruby fluttered down a moment later, alighting on her outstretched arm. Myrtle pulled her close against her chest.
“Come on, let’s go,” Hector said.
“Where to?”
Hector grinned. “Up there.” He pointed upward to the roof of the skyscraper, where the helicopter had landed. “Those bastards took my mobile phone and my laptop, and I’m going to need one or the other to call Callan to come pick us up before someone notices the giant snake up here.”
Myrtle gazed upward. The skyscraper rose dizzyingly up before her.
“Okay, but how are we – oh. Right.”
One day, she thought, as she watched Hector’s body shimmer and then begin to change shape, one day, I’m going to get used to that.
She grinned as Hector, now in his massive griffin form – the head and massive wings of an eagle, the hindquarters of a lion – lowered his shoulder and invited her to climb up onto his back. She gasped as he took off, leaping into the air with one mighty beat of his wings.
But that day is not today.
Myrtle snuggled forward, burying her face in the soft, warm feathers of his neck, and smiled.
Chapter 15
Two days later
Holding the phone between her shoulder and her ear, Myrtle did her best not to roll her eyes.
“Of course, Mom – I’ll definitely bring him home to meet you just as soon as I can.”
“Does he have a friend? Or a brother? Could you bring him too?” Her mom was laughing as she said it, but Myrtle honestly couldn’t tell whether she was joking or not.
“I dunno, Mom, it seems like everyone over there already has a husband.”
“Oh, Myrtle, you know I’m just joking. Your father thinks it’s hilarious. Don’t you, Jules?” A pause. “I said, you think it’s hilarious!”
Myrtle didn’t hear what her father might have said to that, but her mother continued on after a moment anyway.
“But didn’t I tell you, Myrtle? I knew you’d find a good man one of these days. You just had to keep at it, bat your eyelashes a little and show people there’s more to you than that big brain of yours. Now. Naturally you’ll be bringing him over for Christmas to meet everyone –”
“Oh gosh, Mom, I think he’s here now,” Myrtle said hurriedly, feeling bad for lying, but really not wanting to get corralled into her mom’s Christmas plans right now. “I better go, we have, uh, lunch plans.”
“Oh, he’s there right now?” Her mother sounded like she was about to pass out. “Hector is? Well, put him on! I need to make sure he understands how to treat my daughter nicely!”
“Another time, Mom,” Myrtle said firmly. “We’ll miss our booking if we don’t go now. So, bye – I’ll talk to you soon.”
After several protracted goodbyes, Myrtle actually managed to get her mom off the phone within fifteen minutes – a new record for her.
Once she’d finally hung up, she flopped back on the plush coverlet of the bed, exhaling slowly. It wasn’
t that she didn’t love her mother, but she really could be a bit… much, sometimes. Myrtle had finally screwed up the courage to call her to tell her about her trip – and about Hector – and it had all gone more or less exactly how she’d thought it would.
Her mother was delighted – of course – and Myrtle was happy she was happy. But it didn’t mean dealing with her happiness was any less exhausting.
Myrtle rolled over on the bed, conscience pricking her a little at the way she’d lied to get her mother off the phone.
I’ll make it up to her, she thought. I really will bring Hector over for Christmas, if he can make it. I’ll even ask him if he can bring a friend, just for Mom.
With a twist in her stomach, Myrtle realized she was thinking as if she were definitely going to stay in Australia with Hector. They hadn’t talked about that at all – there’d been literally no time to discuss the future, when the last few days of the present had been so hectic. But the thought had come to her so naturally she’d barely even noticed she was having it.
Myrtle swallowed. Would it be possible for me to stay here? I’m only on a temporary visa, after all…
Shaking her head, Myrtle sat up, groping for the TV remote. She couldn’t get ahead of herself. She didn’t even know where her next round of funding was coming from. She’d have to apply for a new grant in the new cycle, and hope for the best.
But that was nothing new. That was just being an adjunct.
Nonetheless, she couldn’t help chewing her lip as she channel flipped. Nice though this hotel room was, and grateful as she was that Hector’s agency had put them up in it, she was anxious to get back to Good Fortune and re-start her moth search. At least when she’d emailed the proprietress of the motel she’d been assured all her stuff was still in her room where she’d left it, waiting for her to come back.
She and Hector had spent the last couple of days here. He’d explained that they’d need to stay put until the agency had finished cleaning up the mess Cecelia had left behind – and until he could be properly debriefed.
That was where he was right now. Despite the fact he’d assured her it was all completely standard, she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
It’s only reasonable, Myrtle tried to tell herself. A lot of stuff happened. Ruby happened. Giant snakes happened. Alicorns happened.
And she’d been all caught up in the middle of it.
Do they cancel people’s visas here for that kind of thing?
She supposed she’d know soon enough.
And I miss Ruby, too, Myrtle thought, pain needling at her heart. It didn’t seem possible that she’d only known Ruby for such a short amount of time. Having her here with her now while she waited to find out what would become of her might have helped, but Ruby was off getting a general health check. Myrtle knew it was absolutely necessary, but she still couldn’t wait to see her again.
Ruby had looked at her, eyes wide, while Myrtle had explained that the nice doctors would be taking care of her for the next couple of days. Ruby had given her a sad meeh, but she’d seemed to accept the situation.
Nonetheless, Myrtle was counting the minutes until she could go pick her up.
Seeking distraction, Myrtle stopped channel flipping on something that looked like a soap. Her head still whirled with questions – the world of shifters was something she still had a lot to learn about. Not to mention everything else she’d have to get used to – the strange cloak and dagger world Hector worked in, and how completely she felt her life was about to change.
Speaking to her mother had at least forced some semblance of normality back into Myrtle’s life, and she was grateful to her for that, she supposed. Talking to her mother had assured Myrtle that some things, at least, would never change.
Frowning, Myrtle tried to focus on the soap opera she’d landed on. An extremely blonde woman was flicking her hair over her shoulder, pouting in distress.
“No, Chloe, you don’t understand,” she was saying. “I know I just married Shane, but it’s not him I love – it’s his dad! It’s always been his dad!”
Ooh, juicy, Myrtle thought, sitting up a little. Maybe she could lose herself in a little mindlessly salacious entertainment for a while.
“Oh my God, Maddy – you have to tell him,” Maddy’s equally blonde friend replied, eyes wide. “You can’t go on like this! You just can’t! It’s wrong! Why would you even marry Shane in the first place if that’s how you felt?!”
“I knoooooow,” wailed Maddy, “but how can I –”
Myrtle had been absorbed in just exactly how Maddy was going to handle this situation, but at the sound of the hotel room door opening, any thought of Maddy’s sham marriage and her feelings for Shane’s dad left her head. Looking up, she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face as Hector came into the room.
Myrtle’s heart leapt into her throat and she jumped up off the bed, crossing the room at light speed.
“Hector!”
She threw herself forward, feeling his arms envelop her. He buried his face in her neck, hands clutching at her back, lifting her off her feet as he came into the room, kicking the door closed behind him.
Myrtle pressed her lips to his before she could think, feeling how warm and solid they were. Bliss rose within her.
Okay, this might be a little excessive, Myrtle thought to herself. He’s been gone all of – she checked the clock – five hours, and you’re acting like you haven’t seen him in a year.
Just now, however, she literally couldn’t bring herself to care.
“So, what happened?” she asked when she could finally bring herself to stop kissing him, running her fingers through his hair.
Hector shook his head. “Not much. Just the same old bullshit as usually happens at these things.”
Licking her lips, Myrtle asked, “What did they say about Ruby?”
“That she’s fine,” Hector said. “No problems, no nothing. We can go get her this afternoon.”
“Oh, thank God,” Myrtle breathed. “I hope she hasn’t missed us too much.”
“I’m sure she’ll be in a good sulk for at least a couple of hours,” Hector said. “But then again, maybe they had more lenient apple puree rules than us, so perhaps she won’t want to come home.”
Myrtle laughed. “You may be right.” She paused, frowning, trying to sort out which question she wanted to ask next from the hundreds that were buzzing through her mind. “Has Cecelia still lost her memory?”
Hector nodded, pensive. “Yeah, apparently so. Oh –” He looked at her a little sheepishly. “And they asked me if I thought you were a spy.”
Myrtle was so surprised she could barely think. “A what?”
“That’s what they were hinting at. I shut it down pretty quickly, but at first they thought it was suspicious how you just happened to be in Good Fortune at the same time as the egg. And I guess they thought Cecelia was your liaison, because they made a big deal about you both being American.” His lip twisted in dry humor. “They suggested you honeypotted me into taking you around with me.”
Myrtle stared at him a moment, gaping, before she burst out laughing. “Me, a honeypot? Have they seen me?! Like it came down to me and some seven-foot Russian model in a slinky black dress, and the honeypot hiring agency said, ‘Sure, send the dumpy American with the frizzy hair?’ Yeah, right.”
Hector pressed his lips to hers again, silencing her before she could get any more words out. When he pulled back she was breathless and panting, heat rising in her belly.
“If that’s what’d happened, it would’ve been a good judgment call on their part,” Hector said, his voice hoarse. “Because I don’t want anyone else, seven-foot-tall Russian model or not. Just you.”
He kissed her again, as if to press home the sincerity of his words. Myrtle closed her eyes and let herself be convinced – not that it took very long.
Hector’s desire for her was undeniable as he lifted her in his arms again. Myrtle felt the bed aga
inst the back of her legs before she tumbled back onto it, Hector above her.
“So how did you convince them I wasn’t a honeypot?”
Hector laughed a little ruefully. “I had to tell them you were my mate – but I would’ve had to tell them sooner or later anyway. Anyway, it completely cleared things up. You’re off the naughty list.”
“Oh, well, as long as they don’t think I’m a spy,” Myrtle said, laughing. She shook her head. “I still can’t believe that.”
“You’d be a pretty effective one, I gotta say.” Hector flashed her a smile. “You say jump and I’d jump.”
“Well, I promise not to ever use that ability for acts of international espionage,” Myrtle said. “I can write that down for your boss, if you like.”
“Pretty sure it’ll be fine,” Hector said, laughing.
They kissed again, and Hector’s hands ran lightly up her sides.
“One thing I didn’t talk to them about was what happens after this,” Hector said, his voice suddenly sobering. Myrtle blinked, not sure what he meant, as Hector looked into her eyes, his expression serious.
“Myrtle, I want you to know that I’ve thought about it, and I’d be perfectly happy to go back with –”
Knowing what he was about to say, Myrtle lifted her hand to cover his lips.
“I know you would, and I appreciate it. But I’ve been doing my own thinking, and I want to stay here, if they’ll let me. I think… it’s time I got out from my sisters’ shadows. I feel like I’ve never really been seen for me, as opposed to being Bryony’s younger sister, or Poppy’s younger sister, or Aster’s younger sister. In my hometown, everyone knows everyone, and it’s hard not to make comparisons. Especially when everyone in your family is a local celebrity.”
Hector’s low laugh sent a ripple of pleasure through her stomach. “Well, all right, but if you ask me no one could hold a candle to you. So I understand if you want to let your sisters have the spotlight for a little while.”