Page 10 of 3013: Dreamer

Charm chuckled. “I’m not demoting my brothers.”

“You’ve been very patient with them,” Juliet admitted. “But you should kick their asses when they deserve it. Don’t hold back on my account. And I promise I will make sure they help out more.”

“Fair enough.”

Ayla made a humming noise. “My keeper just told me he is heading back to the security center with Magnus and Travis. I guess Evo found something that could be a potential problem. And Fenris and Razar are going to the casino to pick up the devices you confiscated.”

Charm glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough, only Raek, Conack, and Nicolo remained. They were all scowling as they watched a video projection of what had happened in the casino earlier.

“I should—”

“No. No more work for you,” Ayla commanded, slashing her hand through the air to emphasize her words. “You are officially on the disabled list. The only thing you need to do tonight is enjoy yourself.”

Since the bottle of champagne was shoved into her hand again, Charm took another drink before passing it again. “Well, I guess my wish already came true then.”

“Nope. You have to write down a different wish. Something from the heart,” Juliet insisted.

Charm lifted the blank piece of paper and rested it on her thigh, unsure what to write. As she rested her hand on the paper, she realized her injury had started bleeding again when a streak of blood appeared on the pristine white paper.

“You’re bleeding,” Brielle stated with concern.

“I’m fine,” she insisted.

Melody reached out and tugged on Charm’s good arm. “Come closer to the edge.”

Resisting her efforts, Charm asked, “Why?”

“Because you’re going to have to put the lantern on the water anyway. And the water has cleansing and healing properties, so you should stick your arm in,” Melody explained. “Back when I was rescued from captivity on Tartarus, I used one of the bathing pools the Dragon Warriors created to heal some of my wounds. I was suspicious of them and hadn’t trusted them to use magic to heal me directly. Now, write down your wish, then we can test out healing your arm.”

Charm had completely forgotten the pink water was infused with magic and couldn’t wait to see if it could actually heal her arm. Her friends had said that she should wish for something from the heart. Even if she didn’t believe in the silly ritual, she scribbled down the first thing that popped into her head.

She wished she had a fated mate.

Quickly folding the paper up, she attached it to the lantern, then started to unwrap her arm. She heard the sympathetic sounds coming from the others when they saw the raw, red wound.

Bracing herself, she shoved her arm into the thick, gel-like water. She’d been expecting it to sting or hurt a little.

Instead, it simply felt a little tingly.

Melody placed the lantern on the water for her and gave it a gentle push toward the center of the lake. Charm was about to thank her but was distracted when the paper she’d written her wish on began to burn. Rather than the expected amber sparks she’d seen before, it burst into a brilliant shower of purple light.

“Umm, is it supposed to be doing that?”

“I don’t know,” Melody said, sounding just as confused.

“Mine didn’t do that. Why didn’t mine do that?” Brielle complained.

“Maybe it was the pen you used? Perhaps different ink makes different colored sparks,” Lina surmised.

“That makes sense. If we—Charm!” Ayla gasped. “Look at your arm!”

She had pulled her arm out of the water without realizing it, and now blinked down at it in surprise. The wound wasn’t completely healed, but it looked weeks old instead of mere hours.

Magic truly was a remarkable thing.

“I ordered food for all of us,” Raek called out. “Come eat something if you are going to be downing bottles all night.”

Fuck it, Charm thought.

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