Stella gives me a heartbroken look but Michelle winks at me. “So what’s the plan?” she asks.
I shrug, “Go to Boston, unless you know of a way to call the witches.”
Stella shakes her head, “No. We sent the nixie for the earth witches. I nod, “I’ll fly us over.”
“You and Wyatt?” Constantine asks from the book.
“Yeah, me and her. The earth witches like me better than you.”
Constantine smiles but continues to read, “Apparently, all women prefer you to me.”
Wyatt grins, “It’s my boyish good looks.”
Constantine gives him a look, “I always thought you resembled your mother.”
Wyatt laughs. Stella winks at him. Of course I get another shitty look from her though. Gill laughs, even if he doesn’t get the jokes. I smile at him, “Do you think this is the right choice, bringing back the fae?”
He nods, “The white stag spoke to you. That is everything we fae have waited for. We know of the prophecy of the white stag, only the savior may see him though.”
Wyatt wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses the side of my face. I almost pinch myself to see if it’s real.
I look up at him, “We have to go see Willow.”
Mona looks excited, “I almost forgot—Gill can paint the painting you need. He can make a magic painting.”
I look at Gill. He nods happily. I think he only plays one station, content.
“You can paint a panting like the one I broke, and it will go to the same place?”
He nods again, “I can mend the one you have.”
I almost squeal. I rush over and grab his hand, dragging him down the hall. My wings shoot out of my back as we’re running. He starts to laugh. I wince and blush, “Sorry. Sometimes when I get excited…”
He shakes his head, “It’s fine. It could be worse.”
I give him a look. He shrugs, “There is a man cursed in the garden. He turns into a donkey when he gets excited.”
“Creepy.”
We get to the room and dig the slashed painting out. He touches the slash in the canvas, “I need a couple hours, but I’ll have it as good as new.”
Wyatt is standing in the doorway, grinning when Gill leaves. He cocks an eyebrow, “I have an idea on how to waste a couple hours.”
I look down blushing, as he closes the door.
Life
We touch the star, holding hands and hoping it works. I close my eyes and instantly we are there, on the hillside. Willow comes running as soon as she sees me. She tackles me in the grass, “NENE!”
I hug her. She stops and smells me, “Oh my God. What did I say about sex?”
I grimace. She turns and looks at Wyatt, “It drains her. She has to feed more often if she does it.”
Wyatt gives her his cocky grin, “Well, she must be starving then.”
Fitz walks up, giving Wyatt a disturbed look. Wyatt clears his throat and I look back at Willow, “He’s kidding.”
She sighs, “I told you no.”
“Mom, stop. We’re married.”
She narrows her gaze, “Fire witch ceremonies don’t count, and being married doesn’t make you less of a sin eater. You are what you are.”
“Popeye?”
She scowls. I smile, “Okay, sorry. I won’t do it again until I have everything fixed.
She sighs, “That isn’t the point I’m making. You have to eat more when you use energy.”
Wyatt gives me a look, “We’re doing it again.”
Willow gives him the bad look. It’s close to the one she used on him when she stabbed him with the knitting needles. I see him flinch a little. I’m sure he recalls it. She points, “You will get sick if she eats often.”
I make duck lips, “Mom, he’s an angel.”
She looks at Fitz who nods, “John, the archangel.”
Willow’s mouth opens and then closes.
She looks at him and nods, “Oddest combination ever.”
I smile, “We have another issue.”
She gives me a look, “The antichrist?”
I shake my head, “Gretel and Constantine took memories from us, from when we were young. It was when I was one of the other girls but Wyatt was a boy. We want them back.”
Fitz looks nervous.
Wyatt turns to him, “What do you know?”
I point at him, “That’s why you let them put the evil in me. You didn’t want me with him. That’s why you looked like you crapped yourself the first time you saw me. You knew all this time.”
He loosens his collar, “We never imagined you would find yourselves again. The curse was perfect. You could be in the same room and not even see each other.”
Willow looks at him, “What did you do?”
He shakes his head, “They were so young and she was the… well, you know. We had already poisoned her. She was dying and he was a child. His heart would break and you know what happens to us when our hearts really break. We never recover. Look at Gretel, she’s still evil.”
Willow gets off of me and looks at him with hatred in her eyes, “What did you do to them?”
He looks down, “We got the fire witches to curse them and then we let Constantine take her.”
I wince. My memories of him saving me are not real. Maggie feels sick inside of me and Ellie feels betrayed. She’s a savage, so it’s not good. She wants blood.
“We knew she was dying. We had poisoned her already. It didn’t matter if Constantine took her. He wanted her. He thought she might help bring back his sister, Stella. She was devastated at the loss of their family members to us. He and Gretel made a deal; Constantine would wipe their memories and recreate new ones after the witches separated their souls.”
Willow’s hand draws up to her lips, “You separated soul mates?”
He looks ashamed, “I’m sorry, Willow.”
She shakes her head. Instantly they are gone from the painting and only Wyatt and I are there. The lady who was there the first time I had been, walks out of the cottage. She looks modern and cleaned up. She gives me an odd look, “Are they all right?”
I shake my head, “I don’t know. May we leave through your portal?”
She nods, “Of course. Careful, it’s awful out there.”
I take Wyatt’s hand and touch the star. We are instantly in her little house. He looks at me, “We are soul mates?”
I nod, “I know.”
He smiles, “I can’t even be mad. I don’t know why, but I can’t. I have you, so I don’t care.”
I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his lips, “I love you.”
He holds me to him, kissing me back and then my forehead, “I love you too.”
“Do you think Willow will forgive Fitz?”
He shakes his head, “I don’t know. Would you forgive me?”
I don’t answer. I want to say yes, but if he tried to separate two people I loved more than life, I don’t know if I would.
He nods, “I know. I don’t know either. That’s pretty intense.”
“But we found each other again.”
He bends and kisses my face, “I will always find you.” I lean into the kiss, “I know. I tried running before, remember?”
He laughs, “You can try again it you want, but I’ll find you.” He looks down on me, “Seriously though, we need to find this witch who cast the spell. Only the one who casts it, can remove it.”
“What if she’s dead?”
He shrugs, “We’re going to the Van Helsing house and we’re not stopping until we find the answer.”
We leave the small house, clutching our jackets and sweaters. We are both dressed in Stella and Constantine’s clothes. Her boots feel weird on my feet, but I’m grateful to have the warm clothes and somewhere I can call home, besides Wyatt.
He pulls me along the street. I don’t have any weapons, I don’t like that.
We run like we are evading someone, looking around us and trying not to make a sound.
When we get to a car that is parked in an alley, he runs over to it. There is a dead man on the street next to the car. Wyatt doesn’t even think twice; he reaches into his pockets and pulls out keys. He presses the fob. The back lights light up. He gives me a grin. We both climb in. He backs up and drives like the psycho he actually is. I forgot how bad it is to drive with him when he is on a mission.
He looks at me, “My dad… uh… yeah. My dad might know the way to the witch.” His face flushes. I realize how he must be feeling, learning his parents are not who he thought they were. I put my hand on his, “I know.”
He looks at me, “That you do.”
We drive to his parents’ house on the ocean. I shudder when I see it. The memories are not only painful to remember, but I can feel the pain all over again.
He gets the door for me and takes my hand. The hateful little brat opens the door with a crossbow in her hands. She points it at me, “Why is she here?”
He shoves her out of the way, “We need to see Dad.”
“He isn’t here. Hasn’t been in five days.”
Wyatt looks at her, “You’ve been alone for five days?”
She scoffs, “I’m two hundred years old, Wyatt, not seven. Why is she here?” She keeps the crossbow on me.
He looks at me, “She is my wife and she is the savior of our people, so she can go wherever the hell she likes. Put the bow down.”