Page 46 of Signed in Incubus

It was already mid-afternoon when our stomachs started to complain, reminding us that we’d had nothing but coffee all day. That was also when Prax pulled into the parking lot.

“Hello, ladies. Missed me?”

Gigi and Lily rolled their eyes, but my heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice.

“I’ve got some great news. I think I found the perfect temporary apartment. It’s a million times better than the one we saw this morning.”

Thatone had been a bust. The landlord hadn’t mentioned in the listing the smell of cat pee that permeated every inch of carpeting in the cramped little space. I noticed it the second Istepped in. The lady showing the place kept assuring me the landlord would get it cleaned up, but I couldn’t leave the place fast enough. The place had set off my allergies, too.

“I’d be happy to move in based on what I already saw, but we can go again anytime if you’d like to have a look. It’s above a pub, but Daryl, the owner, told me the soundproofing is excellent. He owns the whole building and lives on one-half of the second floor, and he did the soundproofing himself. And the kicker is we’ll have one of the Redrock brothers living just above us.”

“Redrock? As in Redrock Protective Services Redrock?” I asked.

“Yes and no. The fourth brother, Griff, isn’t part of the business. But I know him and his mate, Emily. I talked to them, and Emily said she hardly hears anything from downstairs. With that love-finder spell still in place, it might be a good idea to have someone like him as a neighbor. Daryl is ex-EA, too, so he’d be another useful guy to have around.”

“That does sound ideal,” Gigi said. “And probably a whole lot safer than my place if something like yesterday happens again. I’ve met the Redrock brothers and their mates. They come here sometimes. No one in their right mind messes with gargoyles.”

“Sounds terrific. Let’s go look. But after I eat. I’m starving.”

“Me too,” Lily said. “But, don’t hate me, our stomachs gotta wait a wee bit longer. I just got a message back from not_a_wizard, the guy on the forum with the mermaid and the harpy.”

We all crowded behind her to read the reply. According to not_a_wizard, there was a way to nullify the spell. Prettystraightforward, too: it was a simple redirection of a forget spell. He’d needed amplification since he’d cast it by himself, but the three of us together should be able to do it on our own.

There was one caveat, however. The second spell made everyone the love-finder spell had sent him forget he existed, including the sweet nymph he’d half fallen for already. The nymph had up and left without a trace, and he’d been looking for her since. All he had to go on was that she’d mentioned her home being at the foothills of a mountain, but which mountain, he had no clue.

“No.” It was Prax who spoke first. “Absolutely no way. There must be another option that doesn’t involve fucking with my memory. I refuse to forget you.”

“That’s just the spell talking,” I said, despite loving how his words made my heart skip a beat.

“No, it’s not. I like you. And I still would, even if there’d been no spell. There must be another way. Also, how does he even know his nymph made it home safely?” Prax was pacing now. “What if she forgot more than just him? What if the spell made her forget where her home was? Or her name?”

Shit. I hadn’t even thought of that. “I can keep the concealment spell on and see if that’s enough to deter the other suitors.”

I also didn’t want Prax to forget about me. I secretly hoped that the spell was right about him and he was the one.

“I agree with Prax,” Gigi said. “I think we should do some more research first before trying anything. I’ll consult my nana and see what she knows.”

“I can have a peek at the Darlington library,” I said. “I’ve been wanting to visit there anyway.”

“And I’ll keep checking the forums.” Lily closed her laptop with an air of finality. “Okay,nowwe can go for some noms.”

Chapter 23

Prax

Just as I’d expected,Penny loved the apartment above the pub, and we signed a three-month lease on the spot. It was spacious, well-maintained, and close enough to most things that she could walk if she wanted instead of taking the car. Most of all, she loved that it was a blank slate without any negative magic to hinder her work.

I borrowed a museum truck from Mateo, and we moved in the next day.

For the next two weeks, we fell into a comfortable rhythm of me leaving to do whatever work Desmon had for me and her staying home to work on her spell tutorials. Now that we were above the Howling Wolf, I felt better about leaving Penny on her own. Daryl considered the building part of his territory, and Griff was protective of his mate. I was confident that Penny would be safe here.

Her concealment spell must still be working because we never had any unwanted visitors. Nor did I ever see the real estate agent again. The video of him “sneaking into a woman’s room” had gone viral, and the last I heard, the asshole had been dropped by several of his clients. Penny’s parents had been awfully quiet, too.

She converted the second bedroom into an office with a filming area set up on one side and a desk on the other for her to edit. She’d given herself six months and a shoestring advertising budget to see if she could grow her side hustle into a full-time business.

Her excitement and energy were infectious, and I had no doubt she would succeed. But ever practical, she kept her eyes open for job openings in her field as well, just in case.

I met with the auction house, got myself set up as a seller, and selected a few items I wasn’t particularly attached to for the first sale.

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