“Do your magic, witch,” Tor demanded, I looked at Noc and Clarabelle and fresh tears came to my eyes.

Clarabelle lifted both hands to the sky.

I held my breath.

Then I shouted, “Noc! When Phoebe gets here, look her over. She’s my best friend, she makes great dirty martinis, she’s a little crazy and she really likes shoes but, trust me, no joke, she’s loyal, she’s funny and she’s awesome!”

Tor’s arm tightened around me as I watched Noc grin at me and shake his head.

“Seriously!” I yelled.

The air turned pink.

“Shut up and go home, babe,” Noc shouted back.

“You be happy too, Noc,” I yelled in return.

His face split into a smile and I heard his deep chuckle.

Clarabelle’s hands started to glow and I looked at her.

“Thanks, Clarabelle!” I yelled.

“My love, be quiet and let the witch concentrate,” Tor growled in my ear.

“We have to say thanks, Tor, she’s –”

His arm squeezed the air out of me.

“Quiet,” he grunted and his arm released.

“Bossy,” I snapped when I had air in my lungs.

The pink mist started at Salem’s hooves and moved up.

I pressed back further into Tor’s strong body and tried to control my escalating breathing.

“We’ll be fine,” he whispered in my ear.

The headlights bumping down Clarabelle’s muddy lane lit us from our other side. I turned my head and saw my Dad’s Volvo followed by Phoebe’s Mazda.

Jeez, Dad drove the Volvo. It was a wonder they made it out of the city.

That thought made my throat burn and my nostrils sting. The pink mist had covered most of Salem and was at our waists when I lifted my hand to my mouth, touched it to my lips, curled back my fingers and blew my kiss.

Salem had disappeared and the pink mist was to our chests when the cars stopped, three doors opened and three beloved bodies urgently folded out.

“I love you!” I yelled, raising my hand high to wave over the advancing mist. “Always!” I yelled before my throat closed and the mist masked them from view.

“Always!” I heard Phoebe yell.

“Always, my funny girl!” Mom shouted.

“Always, sweetheart!” Dad bellowed.

The sob tore out of my throat and I closed my eyes. Tor buried his face in my neck as his arms squeezed tight and Salem threw back his head and snorted.

One tear slid down my cheek and I opened my eyes.

The soft light from colorful lanterns all around and coming up from the city illuminated Tor’s courtyard where Salem was standing. I saw the ships bobbing at sea, their lanterns slanting long reflections across the glassy water. I heard the gentle water of Tor’s big, beautiful, circular fountain tinkling. Above us, billions of stars blinked brightly, a glittering curtain of night sky.

Tor’s mouth moved to my ear.

“We’re home, my love.”

“Home,” I whispered.

Salem stamped a hoof.

I sucked in breath.

Then I twisted in my man’s arms, threw mine around his wide shoulders and held on tight as I stuffed my face in his neck and burst into tears.

One of Tor’s arms held me close while his other hand slid up my back to play with the ends of my hair and he did this for a long time as I cried.

Chapter Thirty-One

Compassion

Six weeks later…

I could hear the city of Bellebryn bustling with activity and see the white garlands of fresh blooms adorning the shops and houses. There were so many of them, the very air smelled like a blossom. All the lanterns had been changed, even the ones on the boats that rocked at anchor on the emerald green sea. They were all now white. The huge wrought iron, silver-crested gates to Tor’s castle were festooned with draping sheets of ivory held up at the sides in massive rosettes decorated with flowers. And in the fountain in the courtyard, blossoms drifted as the water drifted down twinkling like diamonds in the sun’s rays.

Today was a day of celebration.

But first, there was some unpleasant business to attend to and I wasn’t looking forward to it.

To say the least.

The fingers holding my hand squeezed.

“Tell me again about our parents in your world, Cora,” Rosa whispered from my side and I turned to my sister and smiled.

She asked me to do that a lot and I figured she did it because she thought it helped the ache in my heart.

And she was right.

“They’re funny and crazy and they would love you,” I told her what I always told her which also happened to be the truth. Rosa, I had discovered what I thought to be true when I first met her, was very lovable.

Her head tipped to the side and her pretty blue eyes lit. “Do you think our mother has talked our father into getting rid of his…” she hesitated then finished, “car?”

I shook my head, looked back to the amazing view and whispered, “Probably not.”

And this was probably true.

Rosa moved closer to me and I let her hand go so I could slide my arm around her waist. She reciprocated the gesture.

Aggie, on my shoulder, hopped gently and gave a soft, “Chirpy, chirp?” which meant, “All right, Cora?”

“I’m all right, Aggie,” I whispered.

Aggie gave my neck a soft peck and that made me smile a soft smile.

Rosa was doing well after the loving care Dash and her parents had showered on her once she’d been rescued from the clutches of Minerva. She hadn’t talked to me about it, rather she seemed intent on learning more about me. This was likely in an attempt to create a replacement for the sister who had betrayed her, a sister she loved, a sister she could never again trust.

I was letting her have that play because Rosa was delicate and she needed it but it wasn’t entirely altruistic.

I liked having a sister.

I let the happy vibe in the air fill me as I gave her a squeeze and let out a sigh at the same time I heard the beat of boots on the marble floors behind us.

I let Rosa go and turned to see Tor striding purposefully our way.

God, he was hot.

Tor stopped at us, swept me with his eyes then he looked at his soon-to-be sister-in-law.

“You’ll stay in these rooms, no matter what. Yes, Rosa?” he asked gently.

She nodded. “No matter what, Tor.”

He watched her a second then his eyes came to me. He reached in, took my hand and I sighed again.

“Come, my love,” he murmured, clearly looking forward to this as much I was. “Leave the bird,” he ordered and I nodded.