Bella Vita (59 page)

As the doors opened, sunlight filled the
hallway. It was slightly blinding. I wanted to reach and take
Leland's hand for support, but I had to keep my game face on. I
straightened my back, held my head up high, and marched into the
room. Leland was slightly behind me- the proper position for a
guard. The doors closed behind us with a sound of finality.

“
Ah, you've come to see me
as well... and you've brought the tasty Australian.” It was obvious
she was in a mood.

“
Yes, Issy, we've come to
see you. And today I intend to bring you back to us.” My voice held
the confidence my thoughts didn't.

“
Bring me back to you?” She
snorted.

“
Yes, this isn't you.
You've been spelled. I've told you before. Today I'm going to fix
the spell. To heal you.” I looked her right in her big beautiful
green eyes.

“
And what if I don't want
to be that pathetic girl again? What if I don't want to be the
family outcast?” There was a hard glint to her eyes.

“
You don't have a choice.
Once you've been restored to your mental self, if you decide to be
a vindictive bitch, that's your choice.” The sneer leaked out of my
words.

“
Isabella, you don't wanna
be that person- this person. You were the sweetest dame out there.
I'd gladly take you as my lady if you come back to us from the dark
side, darl.” His face was truthful and hopeful.

“
You want me, Cowboy?” She
laughed.

“
Yep. I've always wanted
you, sweet cheeks. But you were supposed to wed that cheese
bucket.. I couldn't step on toes for love.” His smile was bright
and happy.

“
Interesting... fine, Emma,
you can do whatever it is you think you can do to help me. And you,
Cowboy, I'll remember what you said once I'm on the flipside.” She
purred at Leland.

I spelled her to sleep before she could
decide otherwise.

“
Leland, if you want me to
take that out of her mind while I'm poking around in there once
she's normal, I can...” I wasn't sure if the offer was moral, but
it felt right regardless.

“
What I said to her was
true. When Issy left with the wolf, it was heartbreaking, but it
left opportunity for her to one day come back to us. The douchebag
she was supposed to wed, took off with some just-turned redhead and
got married within three months after he was supposed to be married
to Is.” His heart was on his sleeve now.

“
Leland, do you still want
to be tied to me? The ceremony tonight might affect some of this
stuff...” I was floundering.

“
Emma, I know that those
that serve the royalty have to have little to no family, and are
willing to put their life before whatever they have on the outside.
If Issy comes back to the vamps, then she'd have a place here as
Dom's sister... which would put her here with me. If she doesn't
then I don't have to worry about it. She's gonna go through a rough
bit anyways, darl.” He shrugged.

“
True. I trust your
choices, Leland. Now let's test my awesomeness.” I winked at him as
I sat next to her, took her hand, and closed my eyes.

Her mental state was the same as before. I
was slightly worried that her mind might adjust to functioning like
this and then go into shock should it be restored. I waded through
the chaos that was piled in her thoughts. It was almost impossible
to try and pretend like the mess wasn't there, but after a while I
adjusted to it. I was able to find the threads that make up who we
are. Each was coated in a thick green slime, I wasn't sure it was
meant to deter or just be horribly gross.

The slime made it hard to find the source of
the spell. I could feel when I was going the wrong way, but when I
went the other way it felt all the same. It was like a bad game of
Marco Polo. Once I was going the right direction, I decided it was
best to stop and let my mind adjust to this new element- much like
I had to do with the strange-cluttered chaos.

Since time is different in that state, I
wasn't sure how long I sat letting the slime become used to me and
me to it- but I knew it was quite a while. After a while I began to
feel a subtle undercurrent that only led in one direction. It was
like the gentle hum of an electronic device being on, or the tiny
squealing sound that you hear when a television has been left on
without an image on the screen. Visually nothing had changed, but I
could feel the power of the spell now. Following it back to its
source suddenly became a piece of cake.

However, when something
presents itself as too easy, you should always be leery. The spell
was a snarled, jagged bleeding wound of glass and pain. It tied
into all of Issy. I knew I was getting tired, but since I had
finally encountered the damn thing, I was
not
going to let my exhaustion push
me away from healing my friend.

I studied the spell for as long as I could
stand. There were gentle differences, like it was color coded for
manipulation.

I need to figure out the
right color combination and then it should be a snap.
I tried not to pout.

I had no clue what would happen if I tried
to untangle my friend in the wrong order, but I figured it could
only be a terrible thing.

Logic this out... think,
Emma. What could the possible order be?
My
thoughts whirled with possibilities.

Magic functions on some
basic level of nature. It's what manipulates it, but it's still
part of nature... what's super colorful in nature?... Trees,
plants, rocks, hmm... Rainbows!
I turned
back to the mess in front of me and I knew it was the colors of a
rainbow.

It took me a few more minutes to figure out
the right order for a rainbow, but as soon as I had it I approached
the beast holding her captive and began unweaving it.

The spell wasn't knitted together, it was
shaped around the very fabric that made up Isabella. For every
strand of spell, I had to work it from its anchor in her
subconscious, and then pull it bit by bit out of her. I could feel
her sleeping body react to my manipulation of the spell, I knew it
was probably a little painful for her, but I managed to keep her
asleep as I worked. If she woke while I did this, it would empower
the spell and sink it deeper into her... I could feel that, and I
knew if it got to that then I would never be able to get our Issy
back.

When I held the violet strand, after freeing
it from Issy, I began deconstructing the spell. There were no
markers on it which would tell me who made the damn thing, but I
could see it was done by a very powerful witch. Once I had it
broken down, my only option was to zap it the hell out of her. The
pain would flare through her and wake her, but I had no other
option- it couldn't stay even in pieces inside her.

Even with my exhaustion, my energy recoil
was like a shock to my system. When I sent it to the spell, it blew
me back into my own mind and startled her awake.

“
Em?” Her voice was pinched
with pain.

“
Yes... Issy?” I tried to
restraint the gasping spasm of my breathing.

“
What the hell happened to
me?” I could still hear the pain in her voice, but she was coming
through it all.

“
What's the last thing you
remember?” I was very aware of Leland hovering next to me with
concern all over his face.

“
I remember walking toward
that club... you know the one where everyone can go... and then
nothing... what happened?” Issy looked at me with serious worry in
her eyes.

“
Oh, Issy. Shit, I wish you
remembered more. This is gonna be hard, sweetie.” I sat up straight
and inched closer to her to retake her hand.

“
Where am I? And why is
Leland here?” She was starting to get scared.

“
You're at the vampire
palace in Italy. You're home. We brought you here after the
accident. Honey, I don't know how to tell you this so it doesn't
hurt- Jack's dead.” I let the words hit her.

“
What?” Shocked covered her
face.

“
You guys were attacked by
the rogue witches that are trying to start war between us. Only
Jack was killed because you're a vampire and he was a very public
wolf figure. The wolves believe you did it.” I didn't know what to
tell her, I figured all of it was best.

“
I killed
Jack...”

“
No. The witches did and
then they spelled you. It took me a while, but I just got the spell
off you. Leland, can you get Dom for me?” It came out more of a
statement than a question, but I heard the light knock, whispered
talking, and then Leland was standing by me again.

“
I was spelled, and Jack is
dead.” Her eyes were empty.

“
Yes, I'm so sorry, Issy.”
I didn't know what to do.

“
Isabella!” Dominic rushed
through the door and threw himself at his sister.

“
Dominic?” Her face flashed
confused before it shut down again.

“
Yes, Issy. I was so
worried. Thank you so much,
mia
bella
!” He gave me a meaningful look while
he continued to hold his sister.

“
Can I have some time
alone?” Her voice was distant.

“
Yes, of course. There are
people here that will want to see you later... but now rest. If you
need either of us, just have one of the attendants outside your
door fetch us.” I said to her as I rose.

“
Thank you, Em. For
everything.” She managed a weak smile before her gaze shifted out
the window.

I tried my best to walk out the room, but
there was a slight limp in my step.

“
Darl, you okay?” Leland
whispered as we reached the door.

“
I will be, I just need to
rest.” I gestured for the door.

“
Mia
bella
, what happened?” Dom's eyes were
bright with excitement- I just couldn't reach that
level.

“
Later, my love. I must
rest.” I said as I stepped through the door.

“
Is she well now, Your
Majesty?” Georgie took in my appearance and concern shifted his
face.

“
She is once again our
Isabella. However, she didn't remember the death of her lover, so
she'll grieve. Please keep a sharp ear on her, and check on her in
a few hours if she doesn't requested anything. I told her you were
attendants, so try not to look frightening should she come out.” I
told the two very gently.

“
Yes, of course, Your
Majesty. We're proud to serve you. Perhaps you should rest,
Milady.” Georgie said with such warmth it made my eyes tear
up.

“
Thank you, Georgie. I
believe I'll do just that.” I walked myself out of the wing
unassisted.

“
Mia
bella
, let me carry you. No more saving
face.” Dom's arms encircled me just as my body gave way to
exhaustion.

“
Em, rest. We'll handle
everything for a while, darl.” Leland's words echoed in my mind as
I fell asleep.

It took several days for Issy to be willing
to talk to anyone. Then it took weeks before she actually wanted to
come out into the palace. Our concern was brushed aside by her
doctors. Each one of them told us to give her time, but to not let
her dwell in her sorrow. I sent Leland to play cards with her.

Since I forced him to let me go through the
ceremony the night I healed Issy, I didn't have enough energy to be
aroused by anything, so all we did was the sacred kiss that sealed
his servitude to me. I could tell he had to fight the need, but I
think in the end we were both thankful.

I was able to send him anywhere and I knew
that he would know if I was in danger and he 'd come. It was a nice
feeling, since Dominic had lots of Bella Notte work to attend to
away from Italy and his sparse teaching schedule-something I missed
dearly, but was glad my students were still continuing their
training, and Mike was in Ireland trying to keep his people
peaceful while we solve Jack's murder.

The day I took Issy's guards away was a
beautiful day. I could see she wanted to be able to walk in the
gardens without someone watching her every move. I had all the wing
guards dispatched back to their regular roles. Georgie and Harold
would remain on Issy detail as her bodyguards, but they'd start the
following day. I had her brought into the library.

“
Issy, I know that you're
tired of being stuck with around-the-clock eyes on you. Part of it
was for your protection, and the other part was because I needed to
know that you were totally back to yourself.” I said to
her.

“
Em, you can see I'm me
again.” Her eyes pleaded for me to understand.

“
I know. I've taken the
wing guards off, and for today you'll be on your own. But tomorrow
Harold and Georgie will start as your bodyguards. We don't know if
the wolves will come after you, or if the witches will strike at
you again.” I wanted her to know her situation.

“
I understand. Thank you
for today. I suppose I'm restricted to the grounds though?” I could
tell she was trying to make the best of it.

“
Unfortunately, unless you
want to take the boys with you, yes.” I hated feeling like a
tyrant, but I wanted her to be safe.