“I understand that now. Thank you.” I didn’t always appreciate his methods or attitude, but at least now I saw where he was coming from. At the end of the day, Mr. Fluffikins was just a simple cat who suddenly found himself with far more power than he’d ever expected to wield. We were the same in that way.
He paced to the far corner of the table, then turned back toward me.“It’s time we stop denying what you were born to be. We need to unite you with your purpose.”
The glittering pink orb of world magic floated across the table, drawing close to me.
“Reach out and take it,” the cat commanded from a few strides away.
I raised my hand and extended my index finger. I didn’t take any time to think or consider the implications of accepting such a huge responsibility. In my bones, I knew this was right. Necessary.
The orb began to pulse as it moved forward and gently lapped into my skin. I watched in amazement as its rosy glow spread over me, not just settling in my heart like the other magics that had come before but filling my whole body.
Fluffikins gasped.“In all my lives, I never thought I’d see such a sight. You’re… incandescent.”
When the vampire magic had been dominant in my system, I felt a constant absence, emptiness. Holding the world magic inside me now, I felt the exact opposite—whole, complete, able to feel every sensation that competed for my attention.
And it was wonderful.
“How do you feel?” Mr. Fluffikins asked, examining me with awe.
“Right,” I murmured in awe. “Like this is the way it should have always been.”
An enormous smile stretched between his whiskers. The first I’d seen from him in quite some time. “Do you remember how we tested the curse earlier today?”
“Parker,” I said with a wistful grin. Remembering the feelings I’d developed for him over the past couple weeks, I now yearned for him with renewed intensity. Was I making up for lost time? Or did everything burn more brightly now that I had stepped away from the vampire curse and back into the light?
“I can bring him to you, see if the curse is removed to your satisfaction. However, you can’t tell him what you are. You can’t tell anyone.” He plopped his rear on the table, daring me to argue with his decree.
And what he asked was huge. How could Parker and I grow our relationship if this huge part of me had to remain a secret between us?“Won’t he be in danger protecting me? Won’t all of you be in danger?”
“Unfortunately, yes, but they’ll be far safer if they don’t know the exact nature of what you are.” Fluffikins tilted his head to the side and mewed. I’d never seen him look so much like an actual cat before. Was this his way of communicating regret or pity? Or had he simply grown weary of me, of this conversation, of what we both knew would come next?
“Connie knows,” I said, bringing this strange moment between us to an end. “She figured it out at the restaurant.”
He sighed and hung his head.“You are the strongest of us all. You can wipe her memory if you choose. You could even clear mine.”
“No,” I said and then realized something strange and startling. “I trust her. But I agree not to tell the others.”
“Very well then, but if you change your mind, you know what to do.”
I nodded, feeling the weight of this new responsibility deep down. I’d never been anyone special. I’d always just done enough to get by. But now?
Now I was the most important person on the entire planet.
I kind of wished I could tell my ex-husband and his new wife, just to rub it in their faces, but I had far more important things to worry about now.
“I’ll send Barnes in,” Fluffikins said. “But first you need to control your glow. This is supposed to be a secret, remember?”
A secret. Yes.
Keeping it would not be easy.
Though it would be vital.
24
Parker appeared a few minutes after Mr. Fluffikins left the conference room. Thankfully, I’d quickly managed to tame the powerful new force within me. The added pressure of a deadline seemed to help. I wondered if that would be important later. I’d have time to figure it all out when the moment was right. Not much time, but it would have to be enough.
“Is everything okay?” Parker asked as he pulled out a chair beside me. “The boss cat sent me in. Did he tell you what’s going on?”
I nodded, afraid to meet his eyes in light of the lies that would be coming. That was another thing Fluffikins had left to me, coming up with an explanation that would minimize any further questions.“My witch magic didn’t go away because it’s my natural magic,” I explained, preferring not to hide my magical nature completely. “Joining the PTA awakened what was already in me.”
Waves of joy undulated from his chest and crashed into me. I could not only feel my emotions now, but his, too. And I didn’t even have to look to know he wore a giant smile on his face. How many new abilities would I discover? Did I even have any limitations left at all?
“Tawny, that’s fantastic! You’re like me. Our magics match.”
I let out a soft laugh.“Yeah.”
“Did Fluffikins already take back your vampire magic, then?”
I nodded.“He also wants to keep me around for a while longer to help me get a hold on my new abilities.” Well, at least that part wasn’t a lie.
The soft gray eyes that had initially sparked my attraction to Parker now shone with happiness.“Seriously, this is perfect,” he continued, not realizing that my mood didn’t match his own. “I don’t have to try to protect you, and I don’t have to worry about your safety anymore. You’re not a helpless normie stuck in a world of magic. Now you can take care of yourself.”
Now this, this I didn’t like. “I could always take care of myself. And I was never helpless.”
“Sorry, sorry, you’re right. I apologize for my misguided chivalry, but I promise that’s the last you’ll see of it. Oh, Tawny. I’m so happy. I wanted to date you, anyway, but now that our magics match, so many things will be so much easier.” He pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me.
“That is good news,” I said, forcing a smile. He had no idea that our situation had gotten so much worse. But if I told him, I’d be putting him in the direct line of fire.
He raised his hand to caress my cheek, and I leaned into it.“May I try to kiss you again? Since last time didn’t… Well, you know.”
Yes, I wanted this. I wanted him. Even though now I would be the one keeping myself at a distance to protect the other.
I tilted my head up and closed my eyes, and a moment later his lips found mine—soft, gentle, and searching for answers.
Yes, I wanted him. Needed him. Even in a crazy new world that seemed so wrong, I knew Parker was right for me. We were just getting started, but already he elicited feelings in me that I had never felt with my ex-husband.
Joy. Trust… Hope.
Hope that Fluffikins’s grim predictions for the future would not come to pass, that one day this man and I could live out our happily ever after.
But our story was just getting started, and we still had many monsters to slay.
I pulled back and placed a hand on Parker’s chest.
“Did you feel anything?” he asked, studying me carefully.
“I felt many things,” I teased. “And they were all right.”
He let out a quick sigh of relief and then kissed me again.
“Your curse. It’s gone! I don’t know what I would have done if you stayed a vampire, Tawny.”
“Well, now you don’t need to worry about that anymore,” I said, holding back the fact that what I actually was might be even worse. I’d just been entrusted with this secret, and already I wanted to share it with him. Wanted to but couldn’t.
Ugh.I needed to change the topic.
“Did you finish questioning the vampire chefs?” I asked casually before realizing that this was, in fact, a very good question to ask. With the world magic coiled inside me, I might be able to get them to talk, to tell me things they hadn’t told the others.