Page 88 of Of Flame and Fury
I laugh. “I’m sure they say a lot.”
She inches away from me, her smile fading. “I told the others what you said about Johnny, and you’re right. All this comes from him, his spirit, his magic, and his blood that now mixes with the shifters.”
“Did you find him, Destiny?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No. It took me a long time to find this. But it’s like you said, he’s close, and only stronger than me because of the side he chose to take.”
My heart breaks a little. I know where she’s going. “If he lives, I won’t make it this time. He’ll be too powerful, and there won’t be enough left of me to save.”
Every part of me starts to rage. I keep my voice soft just for her. “Then how ’bout we make sure the little bitch goes first?”
“It’s what we’re hoping for.” She wrinkles her nose. “Besides, I paid a lot for this dress, and I was hoping to wear it to a christening next week.”
I give her a once-over. “Ah, yes, that would be lovely.”
Gemini gathers me to him, placing one arm around my shoulder and nodding respectfully. “How are the others?”
“They’re planning to fight their way out. It’s best. I can’t hold the wards much longer.”
“Will they make it?” I ask. Damn it, she’s Destiny after all. She should know how this shit goes down.
“Fate and destiny have been altered as a result of Johnny’s deeds. I can’t see anything past the present, and neither can he. It’s why he’s determined to complete his task.”
“So, regardless of that vision I had long ago, the one where Celia and Aric hold their son, they may not survive it?”
“Nope,” Destiny replies. “We could all be slaughtered for all I know.”
There’s the pick me up we all needed.
She brushes herself off as I just gawk at her.
Gemini clears his throat. “You were saying about theweres?”
Destiny fluffs her hair. What’s left of her colorful plumage fluttering to the ground. “Hmm?”
More throat-clearing. My man is really working hard to keep his patience. “When I told Taran about theweres, and how they didn’t need much to marry their mates, just a promise, you mentioned they did need something more.”
“Oh. Yes. Yes, yes, yes.” She spins, the octopus limbs scraping up debris as she does. “They needed me.”
I glance at Gemini. “They needed Destiny?”
She laughs. At me. “No. They needed someone of magic and status to marry them under the full moon.”
She spins again, this time with more flare. “I’m here for you. To marry you.” She stops smiling, appearing just a little sad. “That is, if you’ll honor me with the task.”
When Celia and Aric were married, she was in a beautiful white gown on the beach. She said her vows as the sun set and those she most loved in the world gathered around her.
I’m standing in dirty Converse All Star sneakers that are too big for me, beside my half-naked lover, and a makeshift Justice of the Peace wearing an octopus gown mere yards away from a vampire corpse. This is my life, how I was meant to get married, and I’m ready to do it.
Gemini and I smile at each other. “It would be our great privilege to have you,” he says.
Light shines down on us as a full moon rises over the canyon, illuminating a midnight blue sky. Fake Misha disappears as grass sprouts from the mud, growing until the tips skim my waist.
Destiny steps forward, sighing from the effort this extra boost of magic cost her.
Gemini’s sweats are gone, replaced with traditional Japanese wedding attire. My tattered and dirty dress elongates into the now beautiful fabric hugging my curves and erupting with sparkles.
It’s not real, any of it. But our love is.