Marcella looked at Charlotte, the only one not acting suspiciously. "Out with it."
"Cosimo was worried, so we are here to check your wards and mental well-being," she said, and the other two glared at her."What? I'm not going to lie to her. We wanted to see you, too, because from the looks of that message you sent Cosimo, you aren't telling us the whole story."
Marcella couldn't help but laugh at their eager faces. They weren't her mother, but she sensed when La Madonna was at work. She knew Marcella yearned for the company of women and sent her some. "Okay, come in. There had better be something filled with chocolate in that bag. I'll find some water for these flowers."
The women followed Marcella into her apartment, all wide-eyed and eager to exclaim over paintings and antiques.
"What's all this for?" Yelena asked, staring at the dining table covered in objects.
"I was cleaning my altars. I like to do it once a week and give them a new arrangement. Who wants something to drink?" Marcella asked, moving into the kitchen.
"If I get you to make me tea, will you read my leaves?" Bridget asked, studying the statue of San Lorenzo before lighting his candle with a snap of her fingers.
"I don't read leaves, but I read coffee grinds," Marcella replied.
Charlotte called. "I want coffee too."
"I want to help clean your pretty statues. Are they your gods? What happened with Carlo?" Yelena rattled off.
Marcella laughed and filled her kettle. "Mio Dio, one thing at a time. Let's start with coffee and go from there. It's been a long night."
"I can sense dirty fingers have been pulling on the wards," Charlotte said disapprovingly. "Cosimo was right that your ex has been an asshole."
Marcella huffed out a breath. "Is Cosimo ever wrong?"
"Not often," Bridget said and rummaged in the bag, pulling out an almond croissant. "He's worried about you. All of us are, because you are our friend, and we really don't like bullies."
"I give in. Here," Marcella said and pushed her phone across the counter to Bridget. Charlotte and Yelena crowded in to look over her shoulders.
Marcella got busy making a French press full of coffee while they became a chorus of snorts, giggles, and gagging sounds.
"That dick isn't something he should be proud of," Bridget commented, turning the phone this way and that. "He didn't even pose it right to try and make it look better."
"Is this big for a human man?" Yelena asked, wrinkling her nose. "Maybe dragons just have bigger dicks."
"Do they ever. Or it could just be Greatdrakes dicks," Charlotte said, surprising Marcella and setting the other girls laughing. It wasn't something she expected the more reserved Charlotte to say, but perhaps she just needed to get to know her better.
"Dragons are big, eh? Fae, too?" Marcella asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"In general, they are all over big. Same with the wolf shifters. Big Viking dudes who love to get naked and turn into wolves? You see it all whether you're looking or not," Bridget replied and waggled her eyebrows.
Marcella was still laughing as she poured them all coffee and arranged the pastries on a plate. She snagged the chocolate croissant before anyone else could.
"Bas baking again?" she asked.
"Oh, no. He was too busy trying to get Cosimo to leave Florence to bake. These aren't bad, though," Bridget replied. "So you are a witch. Can't you like, hex Carlo's dick to shrivel up or something?"
Marcella shook her head. "I'm not that kind ofstrega. I could do it, but I won't. It's not worth the magical price for a moment of pettiness. Ignoring Carlo costs nothing, and it pisses him off more than anything else. His ego is astounding."
"Probably a good thing you didn't share all these with Cosimo," Yelena said, chewing her lip. "He wouldn't hesitate to hex Carlo, that's for sure. If he stopped at hexing and not dismemberment."
"He offered to castrate Carlo for me, and I have to be honest, this morning I was tempted to take him up on the offer," Marcella said and rubbed her shoulder. "Carlo will be worse in person, so I'm happy you are all coming."
Charlotte pushed a flake of pastry about her plate. "Why is he being like this now? He's had years to try and get you back."
"It's a control thing. If he can't have me, no one else can," Marcella said with a shake of her head. "I'm not with anyone now, but just knowing I'm working with a magician like Cosimo has fired up his machismo bullshit."
All three girls looked thoughtful, and silence stretched out in the kitchen.
