“I agreed to it. Sondre said it would mean my son was here. That was enough.” She touched Dan’s wrist. “We all have reasons we make the choices we make. I left because they said he was dead, and it was a lie. I came back because they said I could bring him. Sometimes, under all the bullshit, there’s one true thing. One goal. One reason. For me it was love, but not wanting todieis a pretty valid one, too.”
Dan nodded. “So we’re good?”
Maggie gave him a wide smile. “I’m not sure anyone isgoodor evil.”
“Not like that!” Dan objected. “I meant—”
“I know what you meant,” Maggie said over him. “But if you’re going to be House Grendel, and I’m going to be around arguing about the antiquated laws around here, you might want to tuck that thought in a pocket. We’re going to disagree on things, Dan. That doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.” She paused and grinned. “You might as well be my stepson or brother-in-law the way you and my husband act. He’s protective of you.”
“True,” Axell murmured. “He’s threatened me.”
“In his defense, there was that whole… health-magic class where you and the doctor and I…” Maggie shrugged.
“Magic. Not by choice,” Axell pointed out. “I am Dan’s.”
“Right… You are sleeping with one witch Sondre’s protective over and shared orgasms with his exandhis wife. You’re never going to be on his good side.” Maggie grinned.
“Am I on yours?” Axell met her gaze.
“Yes.” She looked to the end of the hallway, where Sondre had appeared. “Drinks. Tavern. Soon.”
“Often,” Axell amended with a grin.
The two of them walked away, and Maggie turned to look at her spouse. There were new and old memories of her time here that contained him, as well as memories of her escape. Whatever else she knew, she was certain of him.
She walked toward him, smiling slightly when he paused at a classroom door and gestured. It wasn’t perfectly private; someone could walk in. Their suite wasn’t either, though, not until Craig moved back to the other world.
“Hi.” She smiled up at him, ignoring the ancient desks in the room as she followed him to the teacher’s desk. “Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you that.” Sondre opened his arms as she stepped closer.
“You helped me save my son.” Maggie reached up and stroked his cheek. “You helped me escape to find him, and you proposed a plan to help me have him here where I could keep him safe from Leon.”
“But I let them manipulate things, so I was married to you,” Sondre pointed out.
“Was that your idea?”
“No, but…” Sondre shook his head.
“I’m happy right here with you.” Maggie stretched up and kissed his chin. “I wasn’t looking for this, forus,but I still want to try it. Do you?”
“Yes.” Sondre’s hand curved around her hips, holding her still. “I want to be yours, but I think you need to talk to Craig about the school plan first. I don’t want you to resent me later if he hates it or…” He shrugged. “Being a parent means putting your kid first, and he’s the only kid I’ll ever have so that’s what I want to do here.”
Maggie felt like her heart was melting into goo. “How could any woman resist you?”
“Most don’t,” he teased. “Well, at least they didn’t until I had a terrifying wife.”
She mock-scowled at him. “The only one getting to be with you now is going to be me. Is that okay?”
“Very.”
She pressed a little tighter to him, loving the feel of being enveloped by him. “Find us a classroom like this later, and we can play a bit of naughty schoolgirl.…”
He groaned. “You are incorrigible.”
“You love it.”
“I do. I loveyou,Maggie.” Sondre lifted her up and kissed her, and she started thinking that maybe this classroom, this moment, could be—
