He winks at me over the rim of that bloody mug, and I silently question every life choice that led me to trusting him with her safety.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
“Thank you, Iain. We will return this once we complete our research. Are you ready to begin the removals? We have a long day ahead of us.”
Iain spends the next thirty minutes removing the timeline reset spell from Aurora, restoring every memory she ever had of Louie.
“You two know she’s got some kind of glamour spell on her, too, yeah?” Iain asks as he cleans up the mess from his spell work.
“Ah, yes,” I say, turning to Aurora. “I thought we might keep that spell active. It hides your fiery, hellish energy imprint and replaces it with a very human one. It doesn’t work on everyone, though. Iain and I felt there was something off about it, but lesser creatures won’t, which could keep you safe. However, I leave it to you, Aurora.”
“Iain, could you remove it later?” Aurora asks, while he mutters something about the goddamn price of sparrow feet these days like that’s the real crisis here.
“Aye, little blackbird, I could remove it. But your monster over there’s gonna have to pay me more. Keep in mind, though, once you get your powers, that spell won’t do dick,” Iain says, flashing me a manic, glassy-eyed grin.
Aurora sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.
“Okay, let’s leave it for now. I’m glad I know it’s there. And if I ever want it gone, I’ll deal with it myself. But … thank you for letting it be my decision.”
“Of course, darling,” I purr, kissing the back of her hand.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and all the bleedin’ saints!” Iain roars, grabbing a filthy tea towel off the counter and chucking it straight at me in pure disgust before storming toward the door.
“Let’s go outside and deal with the hellhound,” the wrakh grumbles from the foyer, clearly not happy about working magic on a hell-beast.
When we step outside, Louie hops out of the car window and trots over to us. Iain’s eyes go wide as he takes in her size and protective presence.
Aurora, Queen of the Underborne, falls to her knees in front of Louie, ruffling the fur on her neck as she recounts the things we learned.
“Not scared of much, that one,” Iain mutters, watching in awe as the goddess baby-talks the hellhound. “Hurt the little blackbird, and I’ll kill ya. You know I could.”
I turn to Iain and nod in acknowledgement. I’d kill myself if I ever harmed her. He wouldn’t have to worry about that. But unfortunately, his concerns are valid.
“The Disciples do that to her neck?” Iain asks.
Fucking wrakhs and second sight.
“You know they did. And I would appreciate a heads-up the next time they’re in the area. I’ve only recently learned the Disciples are still active. I’ve spent too much time isolated from both the human and creature realms. It’s time I rekindled old alliances and reminded certain parties who I am. Because whether they realize it or not, we all have a stake in keeping Aurora safe.”
Iain grunts in response, then clears his throat.
“Alright, hell-beast, let’s get that spell outta ya so the lot of you can get the fuck off my property!”
It takes forty-five minutes to crack the spell. Iain likens it to opening a safe: right combination, right sequence—et voilà. Fully functional hellhound.
When Iain finally gets it right, there’s a moment where nothing happens. The four of us stare at each other awkwardlyuntil Louie vanishes in a burst of flames. Thick smoke curls from the scorched earth, swallowing her whole.
Aurora’s hand tightens in mine.
My shadows surge, reaching for something. Anything. But there’s nothing to grasp. Nothing to hold onto.
Just fire and smoke.
Then silence.
Iain takes a step back, slow and wary. “Well … that’s not fuckin’ supposed to happen.”
After a few minutes, the flames die down. I expect a pissed off hellhound with singed fur to emerge, cursing Iain and threatening his life in delightfully violent ways, but there’s no movement within the ash-thick haze.
