Magic to the Bone (18 page)

“We’ve got a proposition for you,” Ciaran said, grinning at my obvious relief.

“Oh?” I motioned toward the stack of folding chairs we’d borrowed from
the sewing shop behind us. “You guys want to sit?”

Ciaran and Brie shook their heads, but they were still smiling like they’d eaten canaries or something.

“We want to be partners. Help you out with the building. Go in for thirds.”

“That’s not going to be cheap,” I said. In my surprise, I forgot little details like manners and politeness.

Ciaran laughed. “I’m a leprechaun,” he said with a wink.

“You got a pot of gold hiding in a rainbow?” I made a face at him, not exactly enjoying being the butt of a joke they weren’t letting me in on.

Ciaran leaned in toward me and flicked his fingers by my ear. He pulled his hand back and a gold coin appeared there. When he held it out to me, I took it. It was heavy, solid. One side was stamped with a shamrock, the other with a triskelion similar
to the mark that he, Brie, and Iollan all had tattooed.

“There’s more of that, whatever you need,” Ciaran said.

“Thanks,” I said. “Is Iollan still out in the Frank?”

Brie nodded. “He’s finishing up the new safeguards on Balor’s head.”

“Good,” I said. I had no idea where the three of them had relocated the head to and I was glad of that. The druid had argued that nobody should know except him,
but he had needed Brie and Ciaran’s help. That stone box wasn’t light, even for a giant to carry.

“I’ve got a meeting set up with Perkins tomorrow at two, to hammer out some paperwork and details. Will that work for you?” Brie asked me.

“Yeah, sure, of course,” I stammered. “I’ll be there.”

“Great, see you tomorrow,” she said. She and Ciaran walked away, waving to Levi as he leapt free of the
Caterpillar.

I stood and watched them go, the coin still in my hand.

“Sandwich for your thoughts?” Alek said. I hadn’t heard him approach, but I rarely did.

I turned to him and accepted the meatball sub, but I dropped it into the chair beside me and instead held up the gold coin.

“Ciaran and Brie want to go in on the building,” I said.

Alek put his own sandwich down.

“Good,” he said, looking
not the least surprised.

“They tell you?”

“No, but it makes sense.”

Alek stepped up to me and pulled me into an embrace. He’d barely let me out of his sight, much less his arms, since the fight with Samir. It was the most obvious sign I had that he had been terrified for me. I twisted in his arms to face the street and leaned back into his strength.

“Think Harper will ever come back?” I said
softly as I watched Ezee chasing Levi around the tractor, trying to whack his twin with a baseball cap.

“Yes,” Alek said. His voice was a deep rumble that vibrated in his chest, almost like a purr.

“You sound so confident,” I muttered. “How do you know?”

“This is her home,” he said. “You are her family. This is where she belongs. Her heart will draw her back when she is ready.”

I watched my
friends laughing in the rubble of my shop and took a deep breath of air that held the promise of spring. Then I lifted my chin, tilting my head back until I could see the golden stubble on Alek’s own chin. He tipped his head down and pressed his lips to my forehead.

And thinking about it, I understood his confidence. He was right. Alek usually was.

He was my family. This was my home.

I closed
my eyes and let him hold me. For the first time in a very, very long time, I was at peace.

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Annie Bellet lives and writes in the Pacific NW. She is the
USA Today
bestselling author of the
Gryphonpike Chronicles
and the
Twenty-Sided Sorceress
series. Follow her at her website at
www.anniebellet.com