“I can take it from here.”
“You don’t have to.”
“It’s okay. Thank you, for everything.”
His eyes soften as he takes me in. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. You will always be my mistress.”
My heart wobbles at that and a sob threatens to spill out of me, but I wrestle it back down. “Thank you.”
Before the tears can come, I take the suitcase and head up the steps. I throw open the door and run all the way to my bedroom, where I fall on my bed and cry.
When I walk into the kitchen as my family’s getting ready for dinner, everyone goes still.
My parents look at each other, and my sisters stop talking. I force myself to smile. “What? Do I have something on my face?”
My dad stops tinkering with the model dragon he’s working on. I have no idea what it’s made of, but the small creature sits back on its hind legs, opens its mouth and releases a line of fire.
That’s how I feel too, buddy. Join the club.
“Everything okay, Chelsea?” Dad asks.
“Of course. Never better.” I tromp into the kitchen and open the fridge. Pull out the jug of sweet tea inside and start to pour myself a glass. “Just thought I’d hang out here for a while. ’Cause, you know, I missed y’all.”
Dallas grabs a stack of plates to set the table, but when she hears what I’ve said, she asks, “Okay, what’d he do?”
I stand there for a moment, telling myself I can be strong, but my lower lips begins trembling. “Nothing. It’s fin?—”
I’m trying to say the wordfine,but it comes out broken, and then I start crying again, except this time it’s huge, wracking sobs.
Next thing I know, my entire family has surrounded me, except my dad of course. It’s too many women for him, I think.
My sisters tug me onto the bench. One of them hands me tissues, another curses Eryx, even Emory asks if I want them to go over there and kick his ass.
That makes me laugh, and the tears start to dry up. Not completely, but enough that I’m able to tell them everything and end with, “So I left and came here. I didn’t know where else to go, but if one of you has already claimed my room?—”
“That would be me,” Dallas says, “but as you can see, I haven’t moved in yet.”
“That’s because you don’t really want to move out,” Emory says. “You just want everyone to think you do.”
Dallas’s only reply is to shoot my sister a dirty look.
My mom takes my hand. “Helena Buttercup is dangerous? Honey, why didn’t you tell us about the casserole?”
I cringe. “I’m sorry. I guess I thought…I knew y’all were safe. She didn’t want to hurt any of you. She just wanted Eryx and me, I guess.”
“And she attacked you?” Dallas stretches her cowboy-booted feet out in front of her. “She better be glad she moved, because if I see her again, I’m gonna drop-kick her into next week.”
I laugh. Really laugh like I haven’t in days. “And the magic? Is it okay?”
Mama nods. “We’ve been doing fine. Honestly.” She hesitates. "And your magic? How is it since the…unbinding?"
I flex my fingers. Gold sparks flicker. "It's there. Just empty. It's mine again. But less.”
"Less powerful?" Emory asks.
"Lessme,” I correct quietly. "When it was bonded with his, I felt fierce. Strong. Now it just feels ordinary."
Dallas squeezes my shoulder. "There's nothing ordinary about you, Chelsea."
