Page 198 of Magic of the Damned

“Plans with Anand?” I asked.

She nodded. “I wish he’d come to watch the rehearsal, but he and Gus don’t get along.”

“What? Your boyfriend and the man who has had a crush on you for years don’t get along? Shocking!” I teased.

She disregarded my comment with a grimace and a roll of her eyes. I still couldn’t figure out why it was something she chose to ignore. Perhaps acknowledging it would somehow compromise the band.

“Have fun axe throwing,” I said, opening the door to the car.

“How do you know that’s our plans?”

“Because it’s your plans almost sixty percent of the time. You weirdos,” I shot back. “Jazz club then axe throwing. Movie and axe throwing afterward. Cooking class followed by axe throwing. Sex and then axe throwing.”

“We’ve never!”

I smirked. “What? The sex and axe throwing are wrong? Or the wrong order?”

“I’m done with this conversation,” she countered with a grin before leaving.

Dominic met me at the door with a roguish smile and a hug. His lips pressed against mine in a passionate, lingering kiss that sent small shivers through me. Despite waking up to his alluring looks, I was still captivated by them, and his touches continued to be as intensely inviting.

“How was your last day?”

“Emotional and bittersweet, until Emoni called us dramatic and pointed out how easy it would be to visit if we wanted to see each other.”

He chuckled. “Did you expect anything else from her?”

“I’m convinced she was more concerned about leaving so she could get to rehearsal so she could see Anand.”

Smirking, his brow lifted. “I’m sure you pointed that out.”

As the self-appointed hypocrisy buster, I was quick to point out her concern with me dating Dominic but not holding the same concerns when she started seeing Anand. She’d waved it away as it not being the same.

“No, it doesn’t even bother her. She’s shameless,” I complained. “And she told me I could refer to her as the Shameless Lady of Wrath and Fire.” She’d proudly adopted the title.

“Of course she did,” he said, his fingers lacing through mine.

Noticing a levity to his smile and demeanor, I pulled him closer and traced the curl of his smile. “What’s this about?”

“Madeline broke the spell today.”

“Who’s happier, the witches or Helena?”

Helena had been allowed to return home but was restricted from the Perils. Dominic took preventative measures to keep her from using Celeste as a bargaining tool against him or the witches.

“Of course the witches because their bloodline is safe. Helena doesn’t know. Celeste will remain in the Perils. I don’t trust that they can keep her properly imprisoned, and I can’t risk her escaping and performing the spell again or worse.” His deep intense eyes held mine. “Because I still don’t trust Helena,” he admitted, responding to my question before I could ask. “I’ll lift the restrictions and give her full access to the entire home and see what happens.”

I hadn’t determined if the hurt of her betrayal had decreased or if he was better at hiding the tinge of anguish in his voice when he discussed her. He never had it when discussing his father, as if his betrayal was expected. But Helena’s cut deep and left a lasting wound.

Helena no longer had the luxury of impunity for her actions that she’d taken for granted for so long. She wore that lifestyle change in the rigid weary frown that had become a fixture on her face. Or perhaps it just reasserted itself when I was around.

“My mother is looking forward to our visit to the Vita this weekend,” Dominic reminded me in an abrupt but welcomed change.

“Me too.” I’d grown accustomed to her ways and would go as far as to say that I liked her and she liked me, not just tolerated. I was liked as much as she could like “an expendable human,” which was high praise for her. She still viewed me as an enigma for declining to explore options to retrieve my magic. Even with Dominic informing her that the probability was nearly impossible, she didn’t understand me not exploring it despite the slimmest of chances.

“My mother has you this weekend, I’m sure Emoni will have you later this week, and I have you today.”

“You always have me,” I quipped, lifting to my toes and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

With a devilish glint in his eyes, he grinned. Lacing his fingers through mine, he led me to the kitchen. Placed on the table was a cake. Moving closer to get a better look, I saw it was an exact replica of the book The Discovery of Magic.

“This was our beginning,” Dominic said. And a reminder of everything we’d gone through to get to this point.

I took in the intricate details of the cake, from the font of the title, the coloring of the cover, and the cream-colored pages.

He leaned down, the warmth of his breath brushing against my lips. “You’re a witch,” he said with the same assertion he had on our first meeting, but now he was teasing me with it.

I grinned. “No. Dark Caster…former Dark Caster. I’m just as dangerous.”

His eyes glinted with dark amusement. He leaned in, capturing my lips in a deep, lingering kiss. “Of course you are, Little Luna. You’re the peculiar human who captured my heart.”

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