It was nice to see they hadn’t changed even with the horrors we’ve been through. There was just one question that burned inside of me, one I didn’t know if they’d welcome, but I really wanted to know so I could show themmy support.
“Are you two dating?” I tried to keep my voice kind and a bit uninterested, hoping they would be less anxious about telling me if I didn’t stare them down while I waited for them to answer.
“Oh, um.” Astrea shot Claire a horrified look, but to both our surprises, Claire just laughed.
“Have you only just now figured that out?” Claire asked, her face a mask of humor.
“No,” I quickly defended myself, pouting as Astrea joined in on the laughter. “I started to question it before Astrea was cursed, but I knew for sure you liked her when you continued to take care of her in my absence.”
Astrea gave Claire a loving smile, before her gaze met mine. “We were dating before I got cursed. Which was also the reason I shot the Silver Lock Coven down before meeting Giro. They’d knocked on my door and told me they wanted to talk. I knew they were witches, so I invited them in, thinking they wanted to talk about Gran or something like that. But instead, they showed me a picture of Giro, telling me how rare male witches were, and that this one had picked me to marry. I was apparently supposed to feel honored by that.”
“Seriously?” I asked, appalled by how normal that behavior had seemed to them.
She nodded. “Yep. Took me a few seconds to realize they weren’t joking. They thought it was this huge honor, getting a male witch for myself. I kindly told them I was in a committed relationship, and that I had no interest in men. They weren’t happy with that, arguing that I’d never even met Giro, and once I did I would without a doubt change my mind.”
“Was that when they cursed you?” I dared ask.
She nodded. “I led them to my door, telling them, once again, that I wasn’t interested in joining their coven, or marrying Giro. One of them gave me her hand to shake, and I figured, why not, if it made them leave faster. But when my hand met hers… all I felt was a tiny stab, like a pin prick, and then the world turned black around me.”
“I’m so glad they’re gone,” I said, feeling my anger towards them rise once more.
Astrea held her hand out to me, and I took it, glad for the contact. “It’s in the past now. And Claire stayed true to me all of these years. I feel like the luckiest and most loved girl in the world. You did everything you could to help me, which just shows I truly am loved, and Claire… well, I never imagined us ever parting, so I was pleased she’d waited for me. I would’ve done the same in her place.”
I shook my head, still a bit stunned. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize sooner.”
“We planned to tell you, actually,” Claire said, her arm rubbing Astrea’s leg. “But then Astrea got cursed. It didn’t feel right to tell you without her.”
“I can see why,” I answered, feeling lighter already now that I knew everything. “So, we’re all good?”
They both grinned at me. “Yeah,” they said in unison.
“Anything new going on?” Claire asked, tugging Astrea down on the couch so they could cuddle.
I tried to think what news they might have missed. “Cole and Dina are fated,” I announced.
“Oh, we know,” Astrea laughed.
I threw my hands up. “Then I don’t know! —Uh!” I exclaimed, remembering that I did, in fact, have something to share. “I gave Sev a moonstone necklace.”
They blinked, then Astrea threw herself at me. “Yay! A wedding!”
“Wait? What?!” I said, pushing her back a bit. “What are you talking about?”
That seemed to confuse her. “You gave him a moonstone?”
“Yeah?”
“And did he accept?”
“Of course, he did. He loves me.”
“Then what is the matter?”
“Now you’re both confusing me,” Claire complained, groaning like we were causing her a headache.
Astrea pointed towards me. “Felix proposed to Severin, but he seems confused about why a wedding is involved with a proposal. Trust me, I am just as confused as you.”
“Proposed?! I thought it meant I would love him forever!”
