MagicalMistakes (9 page)

“Even though I did this to you?”

A sardonic smile twisted his lips. “I didn’t say you are a
gifted spell caster.”

She hit his shoulder, smiling despite herself.

When his chuckles subsided a seriousness crept back into his
gaze. “I didn’t think I could care for one of your kind.”

Her chest tightened. “And now?”

In response he leaned closer and kissed her. The touch was
sweet, not passionate. It was gentle, tender. A gossamer caress that nearly
brought tears to her eyes. He touched her as if she were a treasure. Never
before had he treated her with such deliberate care.

“We should get back,” he said. “We will be missed.”

She blinked, unwilling to relinquish the moment.

“Mikayla,” he murmured, running a finger down her cheek. “We
need to go.”

“I don’t want to.”

He inclined his head. “You know what it would take to keep
me here. We wouldn’t have a deadline hanging over our heads.”

“Your deadline.” The words were whispered.

“Will you tell me?”

She kissed him in reply, much the way he had her. She could
tell him the truth, or she could answer him with her feelings. She brushed her
lips over his as she tried to show him how much he meant to her. Everything she
did was to save him.

When she drew back there was no anger in his eyes over her
refusal to answer. Instead his smile was almost sad.

“Let’s go,” he said.

As they dressed reality started to creep back into their
idyllic time-out. By the time they were fully clothed Ciar’s expression had
shuttered once more. With a last look at her, he turned and headed back to the
house alone. Mikayla watched him go, wishing with everything she had that she
could have made him stay.

Mikayla watched the sunset on her final day. She had spent
every moment scouring books and trying out spells to no avail. She couldn’t
reverse the curse and Ciar still hadn’t fallen in love.

Especially not with her.

She sighed as she looked out the living room window at the
darkening street. What would happen, she wondered, when the clock struck
midnight on their twisted fairy tale? What would Ciar do when she had no
answers to give?

All day long she tried to ignore the weight of his gaze on
her. Since their tryst in the garden everything had been both better and worse.
Ciar had stopped sniping at her but now there was the unspoken promise hanging
between them. Give him what he wanted and he’d be hers. For a little while, at
least.

It was a bargain she was far too tempted by.

“Did the magic wear off?”

The sound of her sister’s voice drew her toward the kitchen.
She paused in the hallway, listening in.

“Yeah,” Wyn replied. “Looks like Ciar is speaking in woofs
again.”

Mikayla heard the flipping of pages and figured her sisters
were still in research mode.

“I don’t know about you,” Wyn said, “but sharing a house
with two demons is making me a little antsy.”

“I’m not worried about their presence so much as I am
worried about their departure.”

Wyn sighed. “You mean, what their departure will do to
Mikayla.”

Tamsyn nodded.

“Look, would it be so bad if he chose Alina?” Wyn asked
after a moment. “A demon in the family does give new meaning to having a
brother-in-law from hell.”

Tamsyn sighed at the words. “Are you going to tell her she
can’t have him? I see that doing a lot of good.”

“Some people don’t know what’s best for them.”

“And you do?” Mikayla demanded, pushing the door open before
the conversation could continue.

Both sisters looked up guiltily but there was no apology on
their tongues.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Wyn said, not backing down. “Ciar
belongs with Alina.”

“He belongs with whoever can break the spell.”

“Which doesn’t seem to be you.”

Mikayla flinched.

“Wyn,” Tamsyn said warningly.

“No, we’ve all been pussyfooting around this and pretending
it’s okay. It’s not. There’s a reason demons and witches don’t get together.”

“I’ll be sure to return this tremendous support next time
you bring home a lover,” Mikayla snapped.

Wyn snorted. “Do I really look like the get-attached type,
little sis?”

“For that matter, does Ciar?” Tamsyn added, her gentle voice
making her opinion all the more damning.

“Look, I can’t explain what he makes me feel. I get that our
kind are less than compatible but that doesn’t change my mind. When I’m with
him…” She trailed off, thinking of the way he’d looked at her last night. As if
she were the only woman in the world for him. It should have been just sex but
when he touched her, she felt precious, treasured. How was she supposed to give
that up?

Tamsyn was watching her closely before her eyes widened.
“Hell,” she breathed, “you love him.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Wyn said. “She’s not that stupid. It’s
just lust.”

Tamsyn shook her head. “You’re not always right, Wyn.”

“Mikayla?” Wyn demanded. “Please tell me this is
infatuation.”

She opened her mouth to agree but the words caught in her
throat. The thought of Ciar breaking the spell with Alina was like a knife
through her heart. Loving a demon was foolish, idiotic. Her sisters were right
about that much. But now that she’d had him in her arms, Mikayla didn’t have a
clue of how to let him go.

“Hell,” Wyn breathed, echoing Tamsyn’s sentiment.

“I didn’t mean to,” Mikayla tried.

“We are all
so
screwed,” Wyn moaned.

Tamsyn whacked her over the head. “We could at least try to
be supportive.”

“Of my sister getting her heart broken? Sorry, no.”

“She’ll only get her heart broken if she can’t convince Ciar
he’s hers.”

An attractive thought, Mikayla mused. Her three days were
up, after all. What did she have to lose?

“Don’t you dare,” Wyn said. “Cut your losses and get out of
this while you still can.”

And go back to drinking at the Black Cat with her sisters,
casting spells for those with money enough to afford it and spending
meaningless nights with men who didn’t matter?

Could she live with the knowledge she’d chosen to save
herself pain over going after the one man who completed her? Even if only
heartbreak lay in that direction?

“How?” Mikayla whispered. How did she let him go?

Wyn looked mutinous, Tamsyn just shook her head.

“Tam, stop sitting on the fence. Get over here on my side
and stop our baby sis from ruining her life,” Wyn demanded.

“I can think for myself,” Tamsyn snapped.

Wyn shook her head in disgust. “Mikayla, don’t be an idiot.”

But she was very afraid that was exactly what she was being.
An idiot who chose safety over the best thing to have ever happened to her.

Still, there was one obstacle in her path if she were truly
to pursue Ciar. “Where’s Alina?” she asked.

“Outside,” Tamsyn replied. “Alone.”

“Good.” With the new revelations spinning in her mind, she
needed to have a chat with the woman.

She headed for the door before opening it quietly and
stepping out into the night.

Alina paced the backyard, barely more than a shadow weaving
through the darkness. Mikayla was about to call out when the woman’s words
stopped her.

“You wait,” Alina snarled. “When I bring home the true heir
we’ll see how well you can keep your throne.”

Instinctively Mikayla moved back into the shadows as she
listened. Alina continued to pace, gripping the cell phone with white knuckles.

“Don’t make me laugh, Rouke,” she said. “We both know what
our relationship is.”

She paused, no doubt listening to the person on the other
end of the line.

“I can’t have this conversation now,” she said at last. “You
shouldn’t have called me here. No. No, Rouke, absolutely not. I can’t—that’s
it. Goodbye. Don’t come looking for me.”

She snapped the phone shut and sighed, tilting her face up
toward the heavens.

“Who were you talking to?” Mikayla demanded, stepping from
the shadows.

Alina spun. “You,” she hissed.

“What’s going on?” She jogged down the porch steps to
confront the woman.

“None of your business.”

“It is if it has something to do with Ciar.”

Alina smiled but there was no pleasure in the expression.
“And why is that?” she asked. “He was my fiancé. I’m the one who will break the
spell. He doesn’t even want to be around you anymore. What I do with my future
husband is none of your concern.”

“Until the spell is broken, everything about him is my
concern. Who is Rouke?”

Alina narrowed her eyes as she stalked forward. “You may
have Ciar confused, but not me. I know you want him for yourself, but
thankfully you seemed to be doing an excellent job alienating the love of your
life. If you try to press this issue, you will find out very quickly which one
of us Ciar trusts. It’s your word against mine.”

Mikayla narrowed her eyes. Something was wrong. She’d bet
her last drop of magic on it. Alina wasn’t the kind of woman to put all her
eggs in one basket, which begged the question, what was she hiding?

“If you are doing something that will put my sisters or Ciar
in danger—”

“You’ll what? Turn me into a kitten?” Alina laughed. “You
may have the power, witch, but you don’t have the training to take me on.”

Calm settled over her. Alina was supposed to be the answer,
but if Ciar chose this woman she’d curse them both.

“I’ll ask you one more time,” she said, her voice devoid of
emotion. “Who is Rouke?”

Alina crossed her arms and arched a brow in response.

Mikayla inclined her head. Time to make another bad
decision.

Before Alina could pace away, Mikayla threw out her hands
and slammed them against the other woman.

Icy flowed through her fingers, dropping the temperature of
the garden so sharply she could see her breath.

“What are you doing?” Alina whispered as her lips turned
blue.

“No one hurts the people I care about.”

Foreign magic surged up against her powers, battling her
attack back. Mikayla gritted her teeth as she swamped Alina’s show of defense.
The demon powers singed her fingertips but they were no match for the waves of
ice Mikayla pumped into Alina’s system.

Slowly the demon magic faded as Alina’s movements became
sluggish. When she could barely bat an eyelash, Mikayla dropped her hands.

The freezing spell wouldn’t last long but at least it’d give
her a head start.

Mikayla raced into the house, leaving behind a woman-sized
ice sculpture. Both her sisters looked up as she crashed into the kitchen.

“What’s going on with you?” Wyn demanded, her eyes narrowed.

“I may have done something we’ll regret.”

Tamsyn pushed from the table. “What exactly have you pulled
us into this time? Are you incapable of thinking before you act?”

“Where is—” Mikayla’s question was cut off when the white
poodle trotted into the kitchen.

The dog froze for a moment when he saw her. He looked from
Mikayla to her sisters and back again.

“Wyn, Tamsyn,” Mikayla said, not looking away from Ciar.
“Alina’s frozen in the garden. I know you don’t approve but if you could stall
her, I’d appreciate it.”

Mikayla streaked for Ciar before anyone could move. She
scooped the dog into her arms even as her sisters surged from the table yelling
protests.

She raced through the house with a snarling dog in her arms.
Black smoke started to envelop him the second they were away from the others.

“Wait,” she demanded, throwing herself against the front
door. “Please wait.”

The smoke disappeared as soon as they hit the street.
Mikayla nearly collided with a neighbor who quickly jumped out of her way.

Ciar growled at the people strolling down the sidewalk.
There was no way he’d be able to transform in the presence of all the
strangers.

“Don’t bite me,” Mikayla warned as she started to run.

Ciar might be small, but it was a struggle to keep him in
her arms when he wanted to be free. She raced down the block and rounded the
corner, careful only to take paths she knew wouldn’t be deserted.

“Almost there,” she told him, quickly moving her fingers out
of the way when he tried to nip her.

Mikayla was panting when she finally rushed into the dark
playground. There wasn’t another person in sight and the moment she released
Ciar from her arms he started to change. She watched in silence as the dog
she’d stolen shifted and morphed back into his natural form.

For a moment he stayed kneeling to catch his breath. The
sight brought a frown to Mikayla’s face. She’d noticed his transformations were
affecting him more and more lately. But when he looked up at her with
rage-filled eyes everything else stopped being important.

With a snarl he launched himself at her. Grabbing her upper
arms he pressed her back against the red plastic slide.

“You keep forcing me into situations against my will,” he
hissed at her. “Why is it you think I won’t retaliate just because it’s you?”

“We might be in danger.”

Ciar leaned closer. “You have two demons under your roof and
you’re just realizing this now?”

His anger beat at her like a physical presence. “Who’s Rouke?”
she demanded before his rage could escalate.

Ciar’s eyes widened and he released her like she’d burned
him. “What did you say?”

Mikayla took a few steps back to put more space between
them. “Tonight I heard Alina on the phone with someone named Rouke. It didn’t
sound like a happy conversation.”

He shook his head in denial. “No. Alina wouldn’t have
anything to do with Rouke.”

“Why? Who is he?”

“He’s…” Ciar stopped.

“Ciar,” she snapped.

“Rouke is my cousin,” he replied. “And with my brother dead
and me here, he is the next in line to be the Clan Lord.”

The mysterious Rouke was in charge of one of the demon
clans? Not the best news she’d ever received. “How is he connected to Alina?”

“I have no idea,” Ciar replied. “But there was no love lost
between me and my cousin. Are you sure, Mikayla, you heard all this correctly?
Alina would never associate with him.”

Mikayla tried to shrug off the sting of his doubt. “I
wouldn’t lie to you,” she said. “I know you’re going to leave here soon but
until you do I want…” She paused. “I want to protect you.”

His eyes warmed at her words. “Protect a demon?” he asked,
stepping closer.

“Protect someone I care about.”

Carefully he reached out to touch her cheek, caressing her
skin in a feather-light touch. She leaned into the contact, closing her eyes.

“Why do you think I’ll leave soon?” he asked softly.

Mikayla looked up at him. “Are you not? I heard Alina tell
Rouke she was bringing the true heir home.”

Ciar stiffened. With a hiss of anger he drew away from her.
“What?”

“I—” Mikayla hesitated. “I just told you what I heard.
Aren’t you returning to the demon realm with her?”

“I will never return there,” Ciar snarled.

Mikayla frowned at the vehemence of his words. “Does Alina
know that?”

“She should.” Turning, Ciar paced away from her. Mikayla
could see the tension thrumming through his body. Not for the first time she
felt like she was trying to put a puzzle together only to discover she was
missing all the most important pieces.

“Ciar,” Mikayla called, stopping him. “I can’t play this
game with you anymore. Please, tell me what I’m missing. If something dangerous
is coming our way, I need to know in order to protect my family.”