Page 53

“Nice catch,” I say quietly.

He glances at me. “Nice distraction.”

“Yeah, well. I was running out of insults. Another thirty seconds and I might've had to start commenting on her shoes.”

The corner of his mouth twitches, but then he looks back toward the enormous boulder. “Thirty seconds would've been too long.”

I swallow because he's right.

We stand there for a moment, looking at the rock that has finally put an end to seven hundred years of Vera's cruelty.

At least, I hope it has.

“Anyone else worried she's going to burst out from under that thing and start throwing fireballs?” I ask.

Nick's expression darkens. “We should make sure.”

Reluctantly, we approach the boulder, leaving Toto safely near the tree line, well away from the worst of the debris.

It's even bigger up close, embedded deep in the churned earth at the base of the cliff. A few smaller rocks continue to tumble down around it, and the air smells of dust and freshly broken stone.

Protruding from beneath one edge of the boulder are two shriveled legs, bent at angles that leave absolutely no doubt about what's happened to the rest of her.

“Well,” I say. “That's going to leave a mark.”

Nick raises an eyebrow at me.

I give him an innocent look. “Too soon?”

“She's dead,” Leo says, his voice flat and utterly without regret.

I study the enormous rock again. “Yeah. I'd say that's a fairly safe diagnosis.”

I immediately turn away from the remains as I see Toto shiver. “Come here, gorgeous.”

She steps into my arms, and I hold her close for another moment, needing to feel her warm and breathing against me.

Then I look over her head at Leo. “So,” I say, staring at the enormous boulder where Vera used to be. “Pretty sure dropping a mountain wasn’t part of the plan.”

Leo folds his wings. “No.”

“Right. Because I distinctly remember us discussing the whole flying-surprise thing, but I feel like I would've remembered the part where we flattened a seven-hundred-year-old witch.”

Toto raises her hand. “That was my idea.”

I look at her. “Of course it was.”

She bites her lip, looking entirely too pleased with herself for someone who nearly got squashed into a pancake. “I saw the boulder, and I thought if Leo could get up there—”

“Hang on.” I hold up a finger. “You saw a giant rock hanging over your head and thought, Ooh, I know! Let's drop that on myself?”

“On Vera,” she corrects.

“Vera had her wand at your throat!”

Toto shrugs. “I knew Nick was fast.”

Nick exhales heavily. “I'd have appreciated a little more warning.”