"Sure you will," Maria replied, patting him on the back and letting him go. She looked over at the others gathered around them. "Hello. Who are you lot?"
"These are my sons and their mates," Cosimo said, and he cleared his throat. "And this is my... This is Marcella. Friend. Witch friend."
Maria looked up at him and back at Marcella before snorting with laughter. "Witch friend, huh? Still smooth as ever, I see. Can we get out of this hole? I'm starving."
32
Despite Maria's cavalier attitude, not all was well with the magician. She was unsteady on her feet, disoriented, and had to be carried by Lachlan out of the ruins of the temple.
Marcella made sure to pick up the other woman's pack, and Yelena secured the golden bracelet in a pouch woven with a warding spell.
Cosimo walked behind Lachlan, his eyes never leaving his sister. Marcella could only imagine how he was feeling. She didn't want to intrude on a family moment, despite not having anywhere else to go. His comment about being her 'friend' niggled at her. She didn't know how to define her and Cosimo's relationship either, but that didn't mean it didn't bother her.
The temple's ancient energy pulsed around her, and Marcella didn't take an easy breath until she was out of the hole and under the trees again.
"How did you find me?" Maria asked as Lachlan set her on her feet. "Did you use the statue?"
"Yes. How did you know?" Cosimo replied, holding out a hand to steady her. He gripped her shoulder, like he needed to see if she was real.
Maria accepted the bottle of water Charlotte offered her and had a mouthful. "When I found the entrance, I thought that maybe I should send you a way to track me."
"You couldn't have fucking called me?" he asked irritably.
Maria rolled her eyes. "I would have had to hike all the way back into town for that. If I thought you wouldn't have been able to figure it out, I wouldn't have sent it."
"How did you do it? What did you do to the statue?" Valentine demanded.
"First things first, I need my pack," Maria said, looking about. Marcella offered it to her. Maria gave her a big wink. "Thanks, beautiful. Wow, you really have amazing eyes."
Marcella giggled. "And you really are a Greatdrakes."
"Focus, Maria," Cosimo growled in warning while all his children grinned.
Maria rummaged through the bag and pulled out a bottle. She opened it and groaned in despair as she tipped out the disintegrated mess. "No, no. Fuck. Maybe I can snort it?"
"Anti-psychotics?" Apollo asked curiously. "Or something else? Because if you need something for anxiety, I can help."
"She needs food and hydration more than drugs," Charlotte scolded.
Valentine took the bottle from his aunt. "You are taking these because of the voice inside you?"
Maria's gray eyes widened. "Yes. How did you know? Are you the crazy one of your gen, too?"
"Something like that. You're not crazy, and you don't need this shit," Valentine said in a soft voice that Marcella only ever heard him use with Yelena. "Tell us about the statue, and I'll tell you about the curse."
Maria ran her hands over her face in frustration. "Fuck. Okay, but I need food."
Charlotte handed her a vial. "You need to drink this first. You were in a stasis spell for decades. This will help with nausea and disorientation."
Maria looked at Cosimo and gave her an encouraging nod. "Charlotte is a healer and a good one. She's my daughter and you can trust her," he said.
"She looks like Kenna Ironwood. You fuck her?" Maria asked.
Cosimo made a choking sound of horror. "Charlotte is mydaughter-in-law. These boys are mine, but Lachlan, Charlotte, Yelena, and Bridget are their mates."
"We are related to the Ironwoods? Bloody hell, what else did I miss? No, don't tell me yet. I can't think," Maria said. She drank the potion and then took the bag of trail mix from Bridget and started eating handfuls of it. "Where do you fit in, hot witch?"
"I liaised with thestreghein Forli to help find you. Cosimo is going to help me find Caterina Sforza's grimoire in return," Marcella replied and opened her bag to show Maria the contents. "I read your statue for its memories and followed it here."
