“What happened?”
“You passed out on us.” She winked at me. “That champagne does have quite a kick.”
I hadn’t drunk any champagne. I shot Gabriel a look. If Keisha didn’t know where I’d been, then that meant…“You came on your own, didn’t you? To help me and Luc?”
The archangel’s pale cheeks reddened. “He lives, yes?”
I pushed to my feet. “He should be here.”
Keisha put a hand on her hip. Her grandfather clock, with its skull and bone chimes, bonged and clacked in the background. “What are two talking about?”
In her eyes, I saw the incredible human she was. The incredible voodoo priestess as well. I laid a hand on her arm. “I was in purgatory. Had a few monsters…um, fears…to slay. You put a spell on Lucifer so he could come to me when he lost his magic, remember?”
Her face reflected shock. “The blood spell? I cast that for him months ago.”
“Months? I thought you just performed the spell tonight.”
She looked contrite. “You two belong together, sweetie, and after you took that trip to Hell, Luc and I decided it might be a good idea for him to be able to track you no matter where you went.”
“He said it happened tonight. Why did he lie about it?”
Gabriel spoke. “He feared for your safety, but knew you would reject any magical attempt to bind the two of you.”
Magic. “The two of us are magic. I’m not hiding from that any longer.”
The magic inside my chest sent up a hoorah.
Adam and Eve exchanged a look. Emilia pushed through the others and threw her arms around my neck. “First Hell, now purgatory. What is going on with you?”
What indeed. I hugged her hard. “I figured out who I am and why I’m here.”
“Ah.” Her eyes lit up. “Does this mean you’re giving up Witches Anonymous?”
Cephiel came into view, Marcia by his side. She leaned in, all ears, and I suddenly knew more about her intentions than I cared to.
“Not yet.” I gave Marcia a subtle back off glare. Cephiel thought he’d been sent to protect me from Lucifer. Little did he know he needed my protection. I wasn’t sure exactly how yet, but my instincts about Marcia screamed danger. “I have work to do on controlling my magic.” And other people’s.
Another chime of the clock reminded me to focus. Motioning Mikayla over, I drew her and Em into a circle and hugged both my sisters. “There’s so much I have to tell you both. About our mother. About our future.”
Mikayla’s brows disappeared behind her bangs. “Our mother?”
“Yep. We’re family now.” I grabbed Keisha. “All of us.”
“You have definitely had enough champagne,” she said. Over my shoulder, she told Gabriel, “Start some coffee. Make it strong.”
Catching Keisha’s hand, I placed it on my stomach. “Can you feel her?”
“Her?” Those big dark eyes widened. Then danced with surprised joy. “No. Really?”
“What?” Emilia demanded. Mikayla looked confused.
Patting Emilia’s shoulder, I broke the circle and backed up. “I’ll explain everything as soon as I find Luc.”
“I’m here.” The crowd parted and the last of the clock’s peals echoed through the house as the fallen angel of my dreams, clothed in his favorite leather pants, biker boots and silk T-shirt, materialized.
Damn. My heart climbed into my throat. Clothes or no clothes, I would never tire at the sight of him in any form.
He caught me around the waist, pulled me close and kissed me. Long and deep. I waited for the Mark to come to life. In this world, it was still a part of me.
It stayed frozen from Gabriel’s touch. Between him and Zayfeer’s ability to reverse the curse, this might just work. I kissed Lucifer back, reveling in the freedom.
When we broke apart, I whispered, “Happy New Year, Bringer of Light.”
He caressed my cheek, stared deep into my eyes. Then he hugged me tight and murmured in my ear, “Happy New Year, Amo.”