Page 20 of Mochas and Minotaurs

He just grinned. “That’s Declan for you. You said you wanted a distraction. Declan called the boys in and said they were doing aphotoshoot to advertise the new location. Anyone chosen for the ad gets a free month’s membership.”

“I guess it’s working because they gave up. I managed to fix a bit of the ward, but there’s so much more to do.”

The photo shoot continued for about an hour after our spotter gave up and drove off. By then, I was totally exhausted. I checked the time. It was almost 6 p.m., which is when the Witch’s Brew closes on weekdays. While I’d managed to boot the intruder with Declan’s help, I’d only managed to patch up a few holes.

And I had the advantage of playing defense. Defending a long-established barrier was much easier than breaking one down from the outside. Magic liked consistency, and the channels that protected my home ran decades deep. They’d been set down by my grandmother. Even the extension around Marcus’s place felt secure, and I assumed it was because it had found the grooves left by previous magic.

I moved to find the next area that needed work and tripped on something on the floor.

“Fuck!” I swore, frustrated. Why was it on the floor? That was when I noticed that many of my beloved objects were scattered around the room next to the walls. I had been grabbing them and then just dumping them as I went.

“I think you need to stop and rest,” Marcus said. “You did great.”

“But there’re still so many weak areas.” Wow, my voice sounded so whiny.

“You can fix them tomorrow. You need rest now.”

I was so tired that I didn’t remember Marcus luring Triscuit into his cage with a pistachio, proof that my familiar must be exhausted too. I also didn’t remember him guiding me to the couch. All I knew was I was eating some very yummy Mongolian beef. The fork came to my mouth again.

Wait. Was Marcus feeding me? I blinked. He was! And I was curled up in his lap like a child. His brows were furrowed, highlighting his bullish features.

I then realized I had random items tucked around my body. Had he done that? I knew I tended to hold things to myself when I worked, letting the objects help refuel my magic.

When I didn’t eat the next spoonful, he held up a sugary milk tea for me instead.

“Thank you.” I took it from him and took a long drink. It tasted like milky syrup with a hint of tea, which was fine right now because I needed the sugar to function.

“Are you feeling better?” Marcus asked. “You had me worried.”

“I am. Thank you for…” I waved at our unconventional setup.

I looked around, and I caught the reflection of myself in a mirror shard on the mosaic lamp stand. My makeup was a smeared mess, and the natural red of my hair was peeking out through the black illusion. But it wasn’t these external features that worried me the most. It was my sunken eyes and hollow cheeks.I looked like I’d aged thirty years. No wonder Marcus was so concerned.

“I think I overextended.”

“You think?” He pulled me a little closer. “Don’t do that again, little witch. Is there anyone else who can help you fix up the wards so you’re not doing this by yourself?”

“I’m not by myself. You’re here.”

He grunted, unamused. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah,” I said, grabbing a pair of chopsticks and feeding myself. “And if I’d known this would happen, I would’ve called them before I started. I should call them now.”

Marcus handed me my phone, and I was soon catching Lily and Penny up on a three-way call.

“I can come by right now,” Penny said.

“Me too,” Lily agreed. “I’m working from home tomorrow so I can totally zombie it.”

“No,” Marcus said, surprising the other two, who didn’t know he was listening in. “Gigi’s been working on this for hours already. She needs rest first.”

There was a collective gasp on the other line.

“Is that the sexy minotaur next door?” Lily asked. “He sounds close.”

“Sexy minotaur next door? I’ll take it. And yes, it is. But Gigi needs rest.”

“Hey, I don—”

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