Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Jessie -
You need to go to that dinner tomorrow. Wear this dress. Mind the pocket watch. That’s now your thing. Play with it as much or as little as you want. Tell Austin to wear the watch you gave him.
Bring Cyra to test the food, though it shouldn’t be needed. Bring Dave but use his alternate name. Edgar and Tristan should be there for magical detection and overall scariness.
Try to make friends. These are the good sort of mages you’ll be helping. They might be a little arrogant, but most mages are.
Broken Sue should guard the outside door, no watch, along with Mr. Tom in his disguise. You shouldn’t bring any more than that or they’ll balk.
Most importantly, if anyone attacks you with magic, return fire. It doesn’t matter who it is, attack back.
Miss you.
Sebastian
Then, below, in a different pen and clearly as an afterthought, he’d written:
I also put in another brooch for Cyra and the associated spell. You really ought to do something about those gnomes. And don’t thank me for the watch. I took it from Ivy House for just such an occasion.
“So he is getting my messages,” I said, handing the note to Patty because I was sure she was bursting with curiosity. “Yet he hasn’t ever replied.”
I pulled out the garment bag, handing it off to Tristan to hold, and unzipped it. The dress inside was a silky powder blue with a full skirt. On one side, a pocket had been sewn in with a little loop at the top. A metal chain descended from the loop into the pocket and attached to a very cool gold pocket watch with an intricate, flowerlike pattern. I hadn’t even known this was in Ivy House.
“Oh, Jessie, that is just gorgeous,” Patty exclaimed, looking at the dress.
“How’d he know about the dinner?” I asked, pulling a pair of white silk gloves from the bottom of the box. “Cyra and Hollace were already on the road when I got the invitation.”
“They’re clearly doing a great job of strengthening their network.” Tristan turned the dress so he could re-zip the garment bag. “Can I see the note?”
Patty handed it over before taking the dress from him. “I’ll go hang this in your room, Jessie. We don’t want it to get wrinkled.”
“He didn’t choose a very strong group to go with you,” Mimi said with a sniff. “No offense to Edgar, but it might be better for Broken Sue to be on the inside, not guarding the door.”
“Mages fear the weird,” I told her, checking the time. We needed to get going. “He suggested bringing the people who will make the mages the most nervous. It’ll in turn make them think I’m more powerful. I’m not quite sure about the logic, but he’d know. If he’s telling me to go, he’s not worried about the danger they pose.”
“Except he told you to return fire if anyone attacks,” Ulric said.
“That’s just common sense.” I replaced the lid on the box for unknown reasons before heading into the kitchen to see how Austin was doing. He’d wanted to make a dessert to bring.
He was sitting at the round kitchen table, his black dress shirt crisp, his shoulders looking fine and muscular, with the harsh afternoon light glowing through his tousled hair.
“Hey,” I said, noticing a serving platter with chocolate-covered strawberries wrapped with cling film.
He stood, checking his watch for the time. The face glittered with diamonds. “Hey, baby.” He looked me up and down and smiled, his swagger prominent as he crossed the distance to wrap his arms around my waist. “You look beautiful. Are we really supposed to be so dressed up just for a dinner at their house?”
“Yeah, it’s his thing. He’ll have Camila pull out all the stops. I thought you were going to make a Bundt cake.”
“I was, but I like this option better. It’ll remind me of our fondue forays when you wrap those lips around the fruit.”
I ran my palms up his chest as fire flashed through my body. “And now I will think of that, too.”
“That was my hope.” He kissed me lightly and waited for me to wipe the lipstick away. “Ready?”
“Yup.” A wave of butterflies filled my middle. I sure hoped this didn’t go badly.
TWELVE
Jessie
Austin rolled up outside of the house in his fancy car, still sporting all of that swagger. He didn’t get out of the car right away, though, even though we were ten minutes late. He stalled, capturing my hand.
“Why are you nervous?” he asked, lacing his fingers through mine.
I took a deep breath, not really wanting to be honest. I knew he was giddy about staking his claim in front of my ex, and the magical part of me was eager for him to do it. The Jane, though, still had a lot of misgivings. Those feelings Aurora had picked up on weren’t so easy to shake.