Page 72 of Monsters in Love

“Certainement. Why?”

“Could you fly out and get a couple? I think we need to do some digging.”

“Sure.” He unfurls his massive wings—honestly, they truly span at least 15 feet—and simply lifts into the air. He may be a grumpy gargoyle, but damn, he has an excellent body with some very handy skills.

He’s back moments later with a pair of shovels. “Where are we digging? And why?”

I point to the base of the statue. “Right there. The spot that Alice is essentially watching over. If my hunch is right, Mary left something there.”

Lucien

This expedition is turning out to be more interesting than I’d anticipated. Then again, the whole evening has been unusual. The fact that Annie has been spellcasting to help me…it’s hard to fathom. I never thought a Winslow witch would go out of her way for me.

That’s why I initially decided to humor her with this maze trek. It seemed silly when we’re so short on time, but she was so certain that we needed to do this that I felt obliged to help her. I must admit, over the past several days, I’ve grown accustomed to her spontaneity and sense of humor. For the first time in recent memory, I’ve actually had fun. She deserves the credit for that, and so I will help her, even though I have no idea what we’re doing in the maze under a full moon.

I follow Annie’s instructions and begin digging at the base of the statue, and to my surprise, she takes up her own shovel. I assumed she’d let me handle the physical labor, but she seems intent on digging up whatever might be buried here as quickly as possible. I suppose I must get used to her surprising me, as she keeps doing it.

With the two of us working, it doesn’t take long. We find a long metal box buried about a meter underground, and I heave it out of the dirt. I attempt to open it, but despite my best effort, I cannot pry off the lid.

“It’s locked,” I tell her.

She narrows her eyes at it. “Not just locked. Magically sealed. I don’t think there’s any normal lock you couldn’t break.” She takes the box from me and waves her hand over it, whispering an incantation under her breath. The latch releases and she pops open the lid, revealing piles of yellowing paper.

“Oh my god,” she says, examining them.

“What is that?”

“Savings bonds. Piles of them. Luc, these must be worth a fortune.”

“Define ‘a fortune.’”

She looks at me. “I don’t know offhand, but a lot. Enough to pay off the mortgage and probably tackle the reno besides.”

“Is there anything else in there?”

“There must be,” she mutters, riffling through the box. “Mary didn’t put these here.”

She collects all the papers into a neat pile, revealing one final item: a dull, gray-blue stone the size of her fist with veins of silver running across its surface. What to her probably looks like a normal, if interesting, rock. But to me, it’s everything. My breath catches as I stare at it.

“Mon Dieu,” I whisper. “You found it.”

She removes the item from the box and hands it to me. “This is your heartstone?”

I nod. “I can’t believe it. I’d begun to think it was lost forever. It still needs to be reinserted into my body, but to even hold it after all these years...” A wave of sheer joy pours through me; I can’t remember the last time I was this elated. Possibly never. All because of her. “Annie, thank you.Merci beaucoup. This is everything to me.”

She closes the box and recasts the sealing spell. “We’re saved. Both of us.”

I nod, and then on impulse, lift her by the waist and twirl her around. She laughs, a bright, tinkling sound, and madness comes over me. I lean forward and plant a smacking kiss on her lips. She tastes like spun sugar and starlight. It’s dizzying and delicious and I want to keep doing it for the rest of the year. The rest of the decade. Maybe the rest of forever. But I restrain myself.

After a moment, I set her back down and she blinks at me. “What was that for?”

I shrug. I can’t really explain it to myself, either. A little more than a week ago, she was an annoying hindrance. Now she’s Annie, my friend and savior, a vibrant woman who is the first human who has ever been willing to help me. A beautiful witch who smells like vanilla and apricots, who refused to be put off by my cold shoulder, who genuinely seems to like me, despite my faults. She’s a miracle.

“Do it again,” she says, and it’s my turn to blink.

“What?”

“I want to see something,” she says. “Kiss me again.”

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