His stomach knotted and he braced himself for something bad, because for the last thousand years, that seemed to be his lot in life. “Okay.”
“That day on the blood-cursed ground. I saw more than I told you.”
“Oh?”
“I was supposed to be the vessel for Yrsa. Something went wrong and it didn’t happen, but the explosions aren’t because I’m a bad witch, it’s a stress response my magic instinctively uses to protect myself from being overwhelmed or taken over.”
Magnus frowned. “Is this a real possibility?”
“No, I don’t think so. Mona and Hetty, because I did talk to her about it, think that my family have given up. I mean, they’re responsible for that curse that went horribly wrong on Flo.”
“Why did you hide this from me?” he asked, gently.
“You hated Yrsa so much. Look how you reacted in Tallowfield, when you saw I was her doppelgänger.”
He winced. “I know.”
“I thought…I thought you might reject me. I mean, I’m used to it. I wasn’t good enough for my family. I wasn’t Yrsa and I didn’t have any of their dark tendencies.”
Magnus brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “You can always talk to me. It’s kind of freaky that Yrsa was supposed to be reincarnated. In my old religion, we believe inendrborinn, but here’s the thing—you’re not Yrsa. You’ve told me that numerous times and you’ve proved it.”
Mercedes laughed. “Yeah, I suppose I have. I’m glad I’ve told you everything now. It was weighing heavily on me. I love you and I didn’t want that to be the reason you might not, you know, love me.”
He smiled at her, his heart racing, a sensation he hadn’t experienced since becoming a ghoul all those centuries ago. Unlike banging into walls, this was a side effect of mortality he welcomed. “I love you, Mercedes. I loved you from that first text about all those movies we love. Your goofy sense of humor and even with the explosions and enchanted appliances that react to you. I love you for you, and I don’t want to live this life without you.”
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. The moment their lips connected there was a burst of energy. Something connecting them, like a wrong being righted.
The kiss ended and she gasped. “Your eyes.”
“Now what?”
“They’re a beautiful shade of blue. You’re still white and have the fangs, but your eyes are human again.”
“Well, maybe we should experiment a bit more with this power exchange and see what else happens?” He growled, nibbling her neck.
Mercedes giggled. “I would like that.”
The next fewdays flew by. Mercedes moved in with Magnus, and though Hetty was sad that she was moving out, she was also happy for them. Somehow loving Magnus and breaking the curse had righted a wrong. Sven remained cursed but upbeat, and it bothered her that she didn’t know how to help him. Flo seemed to be more forgetful lately, even avoiding Mercedes a lot of the time and muttering to herself.
Still, she loved living at the dead-and-breakfast with Magnus. No matter how much they experimented, nothing else seemed to change with Magnus, and Mercedes was fine with that.
She loved him the way he was.
The ghosts had learned that when she entered Magnus’ apartment, it was off-limits. She’d given them a stern talking-to. And at least Mario, for now, seemed to have some clothes on.
Tumbledore and Sock Muncher, the dryers, no longer belched up lint. They were behaving quite nicely, and the two washers, The Spin Doctor and Agitator Betty, were also very happy to clean the sheets with no problems.
The dishwasher on the other hand, Foam Fatale,reallydidn’t like when she was in the kitchen. She much preferred Magnus, so Mercedes left her alone. She still hadn’t mastered enchanting her own Moptimus Prime, but she had Vlad the Inhaler Jr managing the carpets and there hadn’t been an explosion in days.
Everything was spick-and-span in time for the small wedding for Margaid and Finn out in the garden. It was the start of October and surprisingly still warm. The colors of the trees were at their peak. The sun was setting, creating a beautiful twilight aura in the garden, and the strung twinkle lights made it almost magical.
Phineas, the best man, had made a beautiful arbor out of twigs. Dazy had decorated it with autumn florals.
Mona had finally got Margaid alone and given her the vintage gown and styled Pearl in a beautiful diaphanous lace dress, which made her look even more ethereal. The moment Pearl walked down the aisle, Mercedes could see Phineas melt and not take his eyes off of her. Those two were so smitten it was ridiculous.
Finn looked absolutely uncomfortable in his tuxedo.
Magnus spent the entire ceremony chuckling as Finn tugged at his tight collar.
