Starla and Remy used their magic to fix the damaged trees, encourage new growth, and coaxing green shoots from wounded roots. Ava and Liam took special care to plant the new saplings, while Anton, Claudia, and Kyler filled in holes where the soil had washed away and repaired the moss and grass.
Jessica, Lana, and Koa took on the task of fixing the weather spell. Together, they made quick work of the complex spell. They even added a few safeguards to ensure future Magical Combat classes wouldn’t cause the same type of damage. Despite the workload, it didn’t take them that long to restore the forest sublevel to its former glory.
When they were done, they made their way to The Corner Slice, a popular pizza joint run by a supernatural family who hadlived in Mystic for several generations. Starla had argued with Remy during the walk to the restaurant. He’d wanted to take her to a healer, but she was starving.
Of course, her growling stomach had helped her win that argument.
Since their group was large enough, they were able to grab one of the private rooms on the second floor. They ordered several pizzas, a few salads, and baskets of fries, onion rings, and wings. A few of them ordered wine or beer, while the rest settled for soft drinks. Because the football players had a game the following day, alcohol wasn’t allowed. Even with their super metabolisms, they tried to follow the rules. That didn’t stop them from glaring at Remy while he enjoyed his beer.
“Stop glaring at me and just eat your damn pizza,” he demanded.
“One beer wouldn’t hurt,” Anton sulked. “I’d burn it off before I finish this slice anyway.”
“It’s a rule for a reason,” Liam stated. “Remy can drink since he isn’t playing tomorrow. You are. Suck it up, wolf.”
Claudia chuckled, then raised her own bottle of beer in a toast. “You guys better win tomorrow. If I have to go to the game, you should at least entertain us.”
“Oh, we’ll win,” Kyler assured. “The question is, by how much?”
“We have to be careful and control the score, or people might get suspicious,” Anton explained. “So, we can win, but not by a complete blowout.”
“That must be a pain in the ass,” Lana commented.
“We’re used to it,” Koa said before stuffing some more pizza in his mouth.
“Who cares about the game. Can we talk about the freaking elephant in the room? What in hellfire are we going to do aboutthat?” Ava asked, using her fork to point at the small box they had placed at the end of the table.
While they were fixing the forest, they had found the amulet Remy had tossed out into the storm. None of them wanted to touch it, so they had placed it in a magical lockbox until they could figure out what to do with it.
“Too bad Damien is in the Hell Realm for the next few weeks,” Anton said. “We could definitely use his advice. I bet he’d love to experiment on that thing.”
“We need to find someone powerful who is experienced in dealing with dangerous magical objects. None of us can sense anything coming from the thing, but Starla was obviously able to activate it somehow. I don’t want someone else getting hurt if we ask them for help,” Jessica said.
“That’s a good point,” Starla agreed. The last thing she wanted was for someone to experience that same suffocating feeling she’d felt when her magic had been blocked by the amulet.
“Too bad we can’t just ask your magical app for help,” Lana teased.
Starla blinked at her. Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. “Why not?”
“I was joking, but yeah,” Lana said with a laugh. “Why the bloody hell not?”
Remy shrugged. “It’s worth a try. Go ahead, babe. Ask the magical app what we should do with it.”
Pulling out her phone, Starla opened the magical app.
Welcome back to Arcane Assist! Are you in need of assistance?
She thought for a moment, then typed out her question.
Can you find someone to help us figure out what to do with the cursed amulet that blocked my magic?
There was a brief pause, then a message appeared on the screen.
Come to The Sweet Spot bakery with your mate. It is closing for the night, but someone will be there to meet you. There will be cookies.
Reading the message over her shoulder, Remy growled in irritation. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Is that a threat?”
Starla frowned. “I don’t understand. Why would you think that is a threat?”
