Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up #4) - K.F. Breene Page 0,129
been too much death today. Austin had lost a few of his people, we’d taken the lives of more people than I cared to admit, and now Sebastian was gone, the guy who was supposed to join my team. My house. My life.
“I deadened my magic with the phoenix so you’d fight,” she said. “You needed them on your side, and you also needed a little shove to give the blood oath. By putting you in a dangerous situation, I nudged you into it.”
I closed my eyes, breathing through my nose. “I don’t care about that. I would’ve done it eventually anyway.”
“Just remember, I nudge because I love, and because sometimes you need it to reach your true potential.”
“This is not the time!”
“Good call. Chat later. Bye.”
What’d she think, we were on a call?
Mr. Tom handed me a pen. I reached down and checked “yes.”
The body disappeared.
Elliot Graves was ten times more advanced than I was. More experienced. If he’d employed Sebastian as a peon, then he was probably leagues above him in terms of magical ability.
I gritted my teeth. I didn’t care. I would take him on, and I would end his meddling in my life.
Epilogue
“It’s been an enlightening visit, to say the least,” Kingsley said, standing with Austin and me in the front yard of Ivy House. The rest of my people were in the house, flying around the woods, or tending to the flowers. Hollace had a green thumb, it turned out, and an eye for how a garden should look. He was quickly becoming Edgar’s best friend. He didn’t seem excited about that prospect.
It was a week after we’d ended the threat of Kinsella, although we still had no idea what had happened to the mage. Austin’s territory was as buttoned up as it needed to be, and Kingsley was anxious to get back to his family and his own territory.
“I haven’t taken orders from anyone but my wife in a long time,” Kingsley said, his eyes twinkling and a grin on his lips. He was usually only this free with facial expressions at Austin’s house, but clearly he was making an exception. “Not to mention I got to see some fabled creatures, including a female gargoyle and a freaking basajaun.” He shook his head. “That thing was ruthless. I’m glad I got off his mountain alive. I would rather not tango with one of those.”
“I hear that,” Austin said.
“Can you handle it if I hug her?” Kingsley asked Austin.
“Yeah.”
They weren’t teasing.
Kingsley stepped closer and wrapped me in a bear hug, lifting me up and shaking me a little. I groaned as the air was squeezed out of me. He set me down and backed away, laughing.
“It was good meeting you, Jessie Ironheart,” he said. “Thank you for pushing my brother back to his family. We’ve missed him. Maybe now he’ll visit once in a while. And sorry about…” He pointed at the grass. “I don’t tend to like mages, but he was all right.”
I nodded, my guilt over Sebastian’s death still fresh. “Thanks for coming,” I said. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”
He clapped Austin on the back. “I figured I’d tell you here, in front of Jess. The people I brought knew going in that they’d have a choice to stay here and join your pack at the end of all this. I brought the guys and gals who never wanted you to leave in the first place, plus some newbies who need more room to advance than is available right now in my pack. All but a couple of them are going to stay.”
Austin’s eyes widened. “I can’t let you do that.”
“It’s done. Consider it a territory-warming present. Once you get everything official, throw a huge feast for everyone.”
“You’re too good to me, brother.” Austin put out his hand to shake.
Kingsley grabbed it and pulled him in closer, bumping chests and patting him on the back. “We’re family, and families stick together. We want to hear from you. Aurora especially wants to hear from her Uncle Auzzie.”
Austin nodded, his heart warm, his face unreadable. Kingsley nodded as though he knew how much his words meant to Austin, how much Austin had needed to hear them.
Kingsley gave me one last nod. “Take care of him, because he won’t take care of himself. And let him take care of you. It’s his job, and he won’t want to do anything else.”
“Okay.”
To Austin he said, “Don’t let her get into any trouble.”