Something Borrowed Something Bewitched: A Supernatural Legacies Short Story

 Three men gathered at the edge of the woods. One wore a chain maile hauberk and a sword on his back. He was taller, burlier, and spat a lot more than the others. His face told the tale of a life of violence.

 

Some brawls he might have even won.

 

The second wore a long gray robe with a cowl neck. A length of rope, resembling what was used for sailboat rigging, cinched the waist of the robe. On his head sat a pointy hat with a drooping point. He stroked his straggly beard with one hand and held a stick that could be a wand with another.

 

The third man wore a tunic with leggings and leather shoes with curling toes. Instead of a sword, he had a lute strapped across his back. 

 

The geniuses gathered around a chalk outline of a pentacle within a circle. Gibberish squiggles and a scattering of Elder Futhark runes lined the circle and some were within.

 

Out of their mundane range of sight, I leaned against the tree, wishing I was anywhere else.

 

My stepsister Jada’s dark eyes danced, and she covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. She was almost as tall as my five foot ten.  

 

Looking down at my cuticles, I said, “I'm glad one of us is having a good time besides our suspects."  I don’t know why she didn’t laugh at the idiots. We were far from mundane earshot in the forest above the clearing where the trio stood below.

 

Jada sobered, jabbing her thumb at the three strangers. "These are the 'supes wielding foul magic in Blyth Park'?" 

 

I lifted an eyebrow, surprised she thought Director Tan would give rookies something actually dangerous to clean up. "Yup." 

 

There it was. The disappointment she felt all the time as an enforcer limning Jada's face. The only reason they got junior enforcer status was for backup and these kinds of cases.

 

Someone had leaked that belief shaped magic and that all supernaturals got their powers from belief. Since the news wasn't through the International Supernatural Enforcement Agency's official channels, as they'd threatened all supes we’d do, most mundane humans took the information leak as a hoax. Cognitive dissonance wouldn't allow their small minds to believe their gods got some juice from the human imagination.

 

The Supernatural Council of the Americas took it as a direct threat to all supes. I.S.E.A put us agents on high alert for mundanes trying to level up and get some magic. Some mundanes took it as their time to shine. The three dudes in cosplay were of the final variety. 

 

Picking up the sound of something flying fast toward my head, I ducked.

Jada lifted a hand, her mouth moved as she whispered an incantation, and the object incinerated where my head had just been. 

 

The stench of burnt plastic slapped my nostrils. I spun around to see who threw something at me. A couple of thirty-something tech dudess in polo shirts and cargo shorts jogged up. 

 

One of the strangers threw up his hands. "Hey! That was my frisbee."

 

My hackles raised and my wolf stirred from her slumber. He was getting too close to our space. I had to suppress a growl. Five years ago, I would've torn into him—maybe verbally. Maybe, I’d throw a punch. Today, I let Jada defend herself. 

 

Jada blinked her big eyes innocently. "It startled me." 

 

Usually, her guileless act won everyone over, but one of the newcomers wasn't having it. He jabbed a meaty finger in their direction. "This is a magical crime. I'm reporting you to I.S.E.A!" He dug in the pocket of his cargo shorts.

 

Part of Roxy wanted to tear the phone from his fingers and punch him. That part had gotten her nothing but trouble in the past. She was an agent now.

 

I examined her nails, shifting just enough to look up at them through her bangs with glowing wolf eyes. "Go ahead. I'm sure my superior will love to hear from you that you interrupted our investigation." 

 

Polo shirt opened his mouth to argue, but his buddy clapped him on the shoulder and said, "We can play frisbee golf some other time. Let's go have a drink at Hollywood Tavern." In a quieter voice, which I wouldn't be able to hear if I weren't a shifter, he whispered, "This isn't a hill we want to die on, and I don't mean figuratively."

 

Frisbee guy's body relaxed. The two wandered back the way they came.

 

Jada cocked her head to the side and furrowed her eyebrows. "What's frisbee golf?" 

 

Roxy pointed to a pole with two discs parallel to each other. A loose chain net connected the discs. Players were supposed to land the Frisbee in the netted discs like putting a golf ball into a hole. The post happened to be nowhere near where the two polo shirts threw the frisbee. Figures. 

"Frisbee golf is a dumb game for bored dummies like Chad."

 

“You think everything that your stepfather does is stupid."

 

"Phyr is my stepfather. Chad is Kirsten's husband," I corrected. "Not my anything."

 

A bright smile lit up Jada's face—a smile that used to make my heart flutter before we were stepsisters-ish. "So, you're cool with our parents' situation now?"

I shrugged it off but was far from cool with it. Whenever my father did things that pissed off the pack, I had taken the brunt of their anger about him bringing a fae prince and a witch fae into the pack house.

 

However, Jada’s mom Miriam had always felt more of a mother than my own, and Phyr had won my heart by making me magical cupcakes that danced in the air for my birthday every single year since he’d come into my life. The fae prince had also made the pack back off without telling me how. Even my Aunt Princess acted nicer since Miriam and Phyr had moved in. He was a monster, as was Miriam, but in a household of monsters, they protected me.

 

Jada squinted in the direction of the clearing where the wizard LARPers had been. "Ugh. Where did the Deadly Trio go?" 

 

“Probably went home to get their dice.” I had nothing against D&D. I didn't really care about the wannabe mages went either. However, I would do anything to avoid a conversation about my feelings.  “Wait, something smells… is that rotten eggs?”

 

Jada’s nose flattened and her nostrils widened, jet fur sprung where brown skin had been. The rest of Jada remained human, but her nose was now that of a panther. She scented the air. 

 

I resisted the urge to shake like a wet dog. Animal shifters all had different lore as to why they could shift, but it was only one animal per lore. Jada wasn’t an animal shifter. She was a demigoddess that could change into animals, and I think she could make herself look like another person but didn’t do it. Her father Raf, a demigod who ascended to a god, could and it was creepy as heck to witness. Her mother and stepfather could glamour their appearance but couldn’t shapeshift into another person.

 

Jada covered her panther nose. "Oh, that's awful."

 

Finally realizing the stink for what it was, my stomach dipped.

 

Someone had opened a portal to Hell. 

 

“Demon!” we exclaimed at the same time.

 

We sprinted down the hill in the direction of the scent. We might be too late.

“There was no salt around that circle,” Jada cried, picking up the pace to preternatural speed.

 

A summoning without a salt circle meant a demon was unleashed unto this world unhindered by pesky things like boundaries. Unless it was a crossroads demon, who usually only came to this world to do a little bargaining and shift belief, demons hated being summoned to earth against their will to do a mortal's bidding, and they showed their dissatisfaction by tearing apart their summoner. 

 

The stench of Hell thickened into a nasty paste in my nostrils. I swallowed back the bile rising from nausea. The back of my neck tingled as the hairs rose, my angelic side warning me of my enemy. Foul magic pricked my skin. My wolf writhed within, begging to be free.

 

I was going to shift, but not to my wolf form. Still running, I pulled my hoodie over her head and flung it to the side. My tank underneath would give to my wings or tear. It didn’t matter. The demon needed to know what they were dealing with

 

When I shifted into a wolf, there was pain, too. You learned to manage it the way you managed to leave your body behind. It was a part of being a magical creature. Being of two types of magical being meant twice as much to manage. I was a generation removed from being an angel, barely a nephil, but I was the granddaughter of the Archangel Gabriel and powerful shifters. My Grace was stronger than most with angelic blood.

I could fight a demon. I might not die, but I wouldn’t lose either.

 

Fire blazed two distinct lines between my shoulder blades. My skin stretched and split as my angel mark, mundanes often mistook as a tattoo, ruptured. Wings shot from my back and unfurled. My muscles burned, adjusting to sensation, since it all happened in seconds.

 

In the clearing, the erstwhile live action role players circled around a massive, hooded figure in a midnight cloak made of living shadows. The shadows obscured the demon’s red face with four pairs of eyes and four sets of nostrils, four legs and four arms. Demons technically had one mouth containing four rows of serrated teeth. They weren’t fooling anyone by cloaking their appearance.

 

“Well, are you going to say why you summoned me or are you going to continue to urinate yourselves?” The resonant voice sounded like four creatures speaking at once. 

 

The scent of human piss smacked my nose. The stink of Hell and urine turned my stomach.

 

“I—I want to be a wiz—wiz-wiz—"’

 

“Peek-a-boo?” Jada mouthed.

 

Knowing what she’d meant, I nodded. We’d play a little game with this shithead. I spread my wings. Jada slipped from this plane to another behind them.

 

“Begone, demon,” I commanded, putting my angelic gift from the Herald into it to amplify my voice. “Leave this world.”

 

The mundanes turned around. Their eyes bulged, and their mouths dropped.

 

The demon released a raucous laugh. “A baby nephil dares confront me? I was born before your sire was a welp in Heaven.”

The erstwhile LARPers found themselves between a demon and an angel. Their heads snapping back and forth between the two, Roxy thought they might get whiplash. One dropped to his knees, reciting Hail Mary.

 

Ignoring the mundane, I scoffed. “Seriously? You’re going to pull ‘I’m ancient and powerful’? I don’t give a rat’s ass how old you are. Go. To. Hell.”

 

The demon narrowed their eyes. That was all for the mundanes and they both knew it. Age was not a factor when it came to magic. The demon was hoping for a belief boost.

 

“You don’t have the authority to just kick me out, little nephil.” 

 

Was that mocking derision in the demon’s tone? It didn’t matter. 

 

“The International Supernatural Enforcement Agency says different. I’m an agent, Big Smelly Demon.” 

 

While they talked, Jada’s hand and arm appeared near but not too close to the robed figure. I wouldn’t have noticed it, if I hadn’t been looking for her to reappear somewhere nearby. In her hand, she held a small bottle of salt and began pouring. All Roxy had to do was keep the demon occupied but not piss them off too much. Her partner needed to complete the entire circle, or the spell wouldn’t work, and Roxy would actually have to fight this jerk.

 

The demon laughed. "That name means nothing to me or my king.”

 

A frisson skittered across her shoulders. 

 

Didn’t Lucifer let his minions know about the hold ISEA had on all supes? They could all lose if ISEA gave up that study on the effects of belief. Then again, she’d never seen the study. What if it was bullshit?

 

Jada almost had the circle complete. The demon hadn’t noticed it yet, but Jada would have to reach in front of him, far away enough from the shadows that made up his cloak to finish the circle. 

 

A distraction. She needed to provide a distraction. Roxy flapped her wings, making sure all eyes were on her and not the floating hand. “I grow tired of your insolence. Begone!”

 

Her gaze was on the demon, but she laced her words with magical persuasion that would affect the mundanes. The D&D heroes took off, scrambling to get away. The cartoonish way they pinwheeled and ran would’ve been funny as hell if there wasn’t still a demon to banish.

 

She couldn’t let her eyes dip to Jada’s hand again.

 

“Are you allowed to do that, little one? I don’t think you’re supposed to influence humans or engage with me at all.” The demon stroked their chin. “Perhaps this how you’re going to make a name for yourself?”

 

My insides twisted. There was no way they could know what rookie agents were allowed to do. I covered my fear with attitude, placing my hands on my hips to hide the shake and rolling my eyes for added effect. “Whatever. Your victims are gone. No bargains here.”

 

The demon chuckled softly. “I didn’t come to their pitiful summoning. They just so happened to find me when I was here, looking for you.”

 

I had to admit, I was intrigued. I also didn’t know if Jada’s circle was complete, so she egged the demon on. “Sure, you were.”

 

“We know how the supernatural council and your father operate.” The cloak ruffled as if they’d spread all four arms underneath. “I.S.E.A. makes al their rookies investigate small, insignificant threats that are likely false.  Therefore, I knew you and the spawn of the witchfae would be assigned something easy. It was simply a matter of using my earthly minions to spread enough rumors there was a powerful demon granting wishes in this park that sooner or later you would show up to investigate. They also watched this wood, waiting for your presence. I didn’t expect those cowards to show up.” The demon managed to sound annoyed. The trio must have thwarted a sneak attack. “I figured toying with them would definitely get your attention.”

 

That was clever. Would I admit it? Not in a million billion years. “Uh- huh. So, what do you want?”

 

“My king wishes to attend the nuptials of his dear nephew and his former consort. He has not yet been invited, and as an ally to the council and close kin to your father … well, you may understand how my king might feel.”

 

I barked a laugh. I couldn’t help it. The devil was upset his ex didn’t invite him to her wedding so he sent a demon to get him one.

 

The demon’s hooded head reared as if affronted. “I fail to see the humor in my statement and find your diplomacy skills lacking. Please tell your friend to stop pouring salt. I am here for a purpose and will leave when it is fulfilled. Also, salt makes my nose itch.”

 

Jada appeared next to Roxy. A wry grin turned up the corner of her mouth. “You mean to tell me that you went to all that trouble because Lucifer is having FOMO?”

 

“I do not know what FOMO is, but I do know I was foolish to believe I could entrust two infants with a matter of great significance. Letting a heart wound like this fester will not work well in anyone’s favor, treaty or not.” The demon placed their hand over their hearts. This one was going for an Oscar worthy monologue.  “My king loved her dearly. You are too young to fathom this, but that doesn’t go away in twenty Earth cycles for the long lived. The only hope to mend his rendered heart is to invite him so he may bless their union and find closure to this melancholy chapter.”

 

We knew through spying on our parents’ conversation that the king of Hell had a thing for Jada’s mom. My father had once told me that immortal beings didn’t have crushes, they either had fleeting affairs or the kind of unwavering devotion that a short-lived person’s mind couldn’t comprehend. I assumed that he was speaking from firsthand experience. He wouldn’t admit it, but he himself had loved Miriam from afar for a long time.

 

“How are we supposed to get our parents to invite him?”

 

“Make it clear to your parents that inviting my king is better than any unwelcome surprises.” The demon’s robes slithered into coils of shadows, rising, turning twisting, until they were obscured completely by a pillar of writhing shadows. The pillar disappeared completely as did the demon.

 

Jada rubbed her forehead. “Shit. Mami’s going to freaking flip when she finds out Lucifer wants an invitation.”

 

I exhaled through my mouth. “This is some ploy to get her back. He’ll pull some trick where he sets up all three of them against each other. When dad realizes what Lucifer has done.… He won’t lose his shit. He’ll calmly challenge the King of Hell to the death and end up starting a war.”   

 

Jada looked at me with wide, luminescent eyes. She licked her lips. “My mother will kill Lucifer before she’d let that happen. We should just let it go. He can’t do anything without an invitation.”

 

That would be easier. However, Occam’s Razor could cut us from the back. “No. They need to be prepared.”

 

With a sigh and a frown, Jada replied, “You’re right. We better get this over with.”

 

 

***

 

I chest tightened as I drove up the winding private road up a hill. Evergreens littered the vast hillside property, accompanied by ferns, brush, and deciduous trees heavy with leaves and heavier still with moss, the verdant greens of the flora a sharp contrast to the gunmetal gray sky snaking in between. Besides indigenous wildlife, the forests of the multi-acre estate were stocked with deer, elk, and moose for the shifters to hunt. Normally, she'd have to listen out for game or shifters running the wood. The pack would not be hunting right now. They were saving the game for a post wedding hunt.

 

The pack house sat atop the hill. A sprawling stone building that her dad kept building onto like the famed Winchester mansion of San Jose. Instead of making additions to trap ghosts, he added on to accommodate the growing pack, the witches, and a few fae.

At the top of the hill, there's a circular driveway, a dairy barn, stables for horses, and greenhouses for growing vegetables year-round. They cluster to one side of the property that's optimal for sun. 

 

Inside, the house buzzed with activity. Shifters, witches, and fae crowded the halls, passing back and forth with wedding- related tasks. The wedding was in three weeks, but there were going to be almost a thousand guests. It wasn't just a celebration, but a strategic move on their parents' part. They wanted to bring a little peace and joy to supernaturals during a time that was uncertain. 

 

Their sensitive sense of smell scenting the sulfur, a few shifters gave them curious glances. When I was a teenager, the stink would get me sent straight to my dad. Now, it was all part of the job of being an I.S.E.A. agent.

 

Rhiannon, a fae witch of indeterminate age, exited one of the rooms from the main corridor of the bottom floor. She had curly brown hair, a face that turned heads, and an infectious laugh. The wild spark in her dark eyes was at full gleam. Rhiannon was a beautiful witch, but today, in a lilac gown, she appeared radiant. She motioned to someone still inside the room. "Come on. We need to see if you can walk in those dang things."

 

A fae with shimmering white scales instead of skin, and hair of the same color as the scales emerged. Niamh blinked black eyes with no sclerae and their gills on their neck gaped and closed as if they were breathing hard. The most shocking thing to Roxanne about the fae's appearance was a lilac silk gown with a split down the leg, revealing stiletto heels. Normally, Niamh wore nothing, their naked body androgynous as a doll. Unlike their usual stealthy grace, the fae walked as unsteadily as a newborn calf.

 

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. It was a needed relief to the building tension of the news Jada and I bore for our parents.

 

"You said no one would see me," Niamh hissed in their sibilant voice, awkwardly scurrying back into the room.

 

"Sorry! I must've forgotten a word in the Don't Look Here," The rock witch called after the embarrassed fae. She spun and jabbed a finger. "You two are late for your fitting."

 

I exchanged glances with Jada. It would be impossible to speak to their parents one on one. I shrugged, "We were sent on a mission."

 

"Well, get in there. The bridal posse needs the fitting today for final adjustments." 

 

"In a minute, Auntie Rhi. We've got something to report to our parents."

 

A monster wearing hot pink cat eyeglasses and a matching pink kaftan with little blue flamingos squeezed through the door. The top half of her body had the appearance of a frail woman in her seventies or eighties. The bottom half was rotund and enormous. Eight spider legs clicked on the hardwood floor instead of feet.

 

Arachne cocked her head to the side and sniffed the air like a shifter catching a curious scent. She wrinkled her nose and made a shooing motion. "Go on, report away." Fanning her hand in front of her face, she added, "And then take a shower and change into something else. You stink of Hell." 

 

Rhiannon blanched but didn’t comment. She’d had her own dealings with demons that had led her to us.

 

“Any ideas where our parents might be?” Jada asked.

 

Both Arachne and Rhiannon shook their heads. 

 

That was the trouble with living in a massive house filled with people on a property one could get lost on. No one ever knew where anyone was.

 

I had tried texting my dad that we needed to talk earlier, but it was still on “delivered”, which was normal. Gabriel might have gone into one of his offices and got busy in meetings. Since he became a politician, he rarely checked his text messages. I would call him, which he would answer, but telling him first wouldn’t work. Finding Phyr or Miriam would work best. They were better at giving my dad bad news than I ever was.

 

There were several more stops with similar interactions as the first before they found one of their parents. Phyr was in the library in the private living suite built just for the three of them. No one else in the house, except me and Jada, could enter the suite without invitation. Although they went public with the nature of their relationship, they liked to keep their privacy as much as possible.

 

Phyr looked up, his amber eyes curious. The rest of his burnished bronze face had no expression. By burnished bronze, I didn’t mean brown. His skin had the appearance of living metal. Full high fae of the Unseelie courts had lacking an emotive face in common. Judging from what I heard, not showing how they felt saved them from cruelties that I couldn’t ever dream of—and I’d know cruelty. The fae rose, bowed his horned head and flourished like a courtier.

 

That was for Jada. Although she was his adoptive daughter, she ranked higher in the complicated Unseelie hierarchy than he did. 

 

Jada inclined her head and said in high fae, “You may set your gaze upon me, Prince Phyr. I seek your council.”

 

 

I shifted uncomfortably. Packs had protocols and customs too, and I knew they were practicing so Jada could fit in her grandfather’s court, but this felt too much like the few times I’d encountered My angelic grandfather, The Herald. All angels were aloof, even with their closest kin.

 

The cold veneer faded, giving way to a warm grin. Phyr gestured to a love seat covered in the same pattern as his chair.  Everyone took their respective seats. 

 

A tray and tea set appeared on the table next to Phyr. He poured a cup for Jada first and then me. If we tried to speak about our problem before this ritual, he wouldn’t answer. It was part of Jada’s training in how to behave among fae. The Unseelie took offense very easily. If you even had a drop of fae blood, you were fae and needed the proper manners. Since Oberon, their High King, was Jada’s grandfather, and she was raised outside of faerie, she would receive more scrutiny. 

 

After everyone took a sip, Phyr asked, “Tell me, how can I help with what I assume is a demon issue?”

 

I let Jada relay their encounter, adding a few crucial details here and there.

 

The fae went still as a bronze statue and remained that way for what seemed like an eternity after we stopped speaking. I wished I had a window to the machinations going on in the planeswalker’s head during that agonizing silence. Not only a fae court navigator, but a former military leader, his strategy was unmatched.

 

Finally, Phry spoke, “There is only one way to address this. You shall invite Lucifer and not tell your parents.”

 

My teacup clattered against the saucer. I set the delicate porcelain down and rubbed my palms on my thighs. I was already in the kennel with my father for something I’d recently pulled.

 

Jada stuttered. “I-I don’t think I should do this without—"

 

Phyr waved dismissively. “Peace brokering is delicate business. Lines of communication opened after the sea monster and the jailbreak incidents between your father and grandfather. You opened them further by inviting your grandfather to our engagement barbecue.”  

 

“That was diplomatic. The angels are learning they may become obsolete, if they don’t change policy.”

 

The Olympians were feuding, and they were getting all the publicity. Angels worried that their ascended god would lose attention, and more importantly they would lose their powerbase. Grandfather had to play nice to get back in and had asked me to invite him to the engagement. He’d also made me promise not to tell that it was his idea. That promise was binding.

 

Jada groaned. “That’s why Lucifer perceived his lack of invitation as a slight. It has nothing to do with his personal feelings for Mami. The angels were invited, and he wasn’t.”

 

Their stepfather rewarded her with a fanged smile. “Perceptive.”

 

I rubbed my temples. “So how do we invite them him and keep everything peaceful?”

 

Phyr could tell them. I could see in his eyes; he had a plan. However, unlike our other parents, the fae wanted them to come up with a solution on our own. 

 

How could they keep Lucifer and Gabriel, enemies for eons, from going at each other’s throats?

 

After a long, pondering silence, Jada came up with an idea. “What if we give all guests a charmed bracelet to wear?” Anyone who breaks the peace in any way is transported to their realm.”

 

“Brilliant,” Phyr replied. 

 

***

 

 

Jada filed a report in an email to Director Tan of I.S.E.A. We didn’t include the politics to our boss since she might put more experienced agents on the case. We agreed that those agents would have no familial connections and would botch it and our parents’ wedding. So, we concluded our report with a note that Lucifer only wanted a wedding invite. Tan emailed back that this was a family matter, but to keep her posted.

 

It took all the covenless witches, the Gonzalez family, the Baba Yaga coven, and Hecate seven days to create the bracelets. 

 

On Phyr’s recommendation, we didn’t give our parents the details of who was coming. We did inform Rhiannon and other important council members. We’d deal with parental fallout later.

 

First, using Jada’s planeswalking ability, we went to Heaven. My grandfather lived in a palace on a floating island. Clouds hovered all around the luscious green gardens. Gabriel, the Herald, sat at an outdoor table on a veranda, pouring over a scroll. He possessed a face sculptors would exchange their souls to carve. His eyes were not a single color, but many. His wings were fluffy and snowy white with red and gold fringe like mine. That was the only way we resembled each other. If our presence surprised the angel, he didn’t show it.

 

I did not bow. Only God deserved obeisance.

 

His face lit with a smile that likely made my grandmother’s panties drop on the spot. Gross thought, but likely the truth. That smile didn’t give me even the slightest bit of warm fuzzies for the angel. He didn’t love my grandmother and had stolen my father from her after she gave birth, he wanted my mother’s head, he’d sent assassins to kill my pack, my stepparents, and my friends, and he’d let the anocracy leaders torture my father, so he’d have to forgive me for not feeling an ounce of love for him.

 

“Greetings Herald,” I said in the angelic tongue. “I bear a gift. It is bewitched but not harmful.”

 

His brow furrowed slightly. “A bewitched gift? Why?”

 

“All guests of my father’s wedding must wear one or will not be admitted. The charm will force anyone who breaks peace back to their realm. Once activated and the spell is complete, the charm will become dormant and harmless.”

 

His lips thinned. “I will not be pleased if I see a single guest without it.”

 

He’d be more displeased about the other guest who’d be wearing one, but I wasn’t going to even think about Lucifer right now.

 

To my surprise, he took the box containing the charm. “I accept.”

 

 

If I ever thought Heaven was ostentatious, and it was, Hell had it beat. Especially Gehenna. Too bad it stank. The stench was overwhelming at first, but I got used to it fairly quickly.  Funny that. On Earth, it just kept smelling awful. Lucifer’s palace itself too was expansive to take any of it in but the colossal golden doors. Demon guards took us into a large vestibule. Marble floors and mural art walls greeted them inside. 

 

I expected to be led to a throne room akin to that of a great king in a movie. However, the demons escorted us to a room with a sunken area covered in cushions.  Silks draped walls with more art. The decadent luxury reminded me of depictions of a sultan’s quarters in Islamic palaces. 

 

The demons gestured for us to sit on the cushions, an offer to which we only stared, and left us alone. 

 

Jada drawled out the word “Okay” under her breath, but not softly enough to escape my sensitive shifter ears.   

 

There we stood. 

 

And stood. 

 

And stood.

 

“I think we’re getting snubbed,” I finally said. 

 

Jada shrugged. “Oberon makes me wait for what feels like hours sometimes. Kings are busy.”

 

Shadows slithered and curled along the floor, coalescing into a pool on the sunken floor of cushions. Lucifer’s form appeared slowly from his sandaled toes to his robed figure, to his flawless face, midnight hair, and ebony wings. He had eyes like Niamh, but his contained the depths of a universe within. His magic was a palpable thing, almost a separate entity than his corporeal form. Standing in his presence felt like skimming the rim of a black hole.

 

As if unimpressed, I examined my nails—a tactic I’d learned very young, now a habit.

 

Would the charm bracelet be enough? Echoed in my head. I swallowed the thought and all thoughts, throwing up titanium shields against his telepathy. Phyr had taught me well

 

Jada did a fae thing I saw her do to Oberon. It was a royal greeting a royal of almost equivalent rank.

 

Damn. That was ballsy.

 

Lucifer didn’t seem offended. He inclined his head, acknowledging the gesture. “Why are you here, young ones?”

 

We exchanged a glance. Was he really pretending he didn’t know? Ancient beings playing obtuse annoyed me.

 

I used my Herald voice, “We come with glad tidings. The Archangel of the Pacific Northwest, the Alpha of the Seattle Pack, the head of the Supernatural Council of the Americas Gabriel Crowfoot shall wed the heir to the Unseelie High court, Princess Tatiana, the Covenless daughter of Gracia, late Witch Elder of the Archivist Coven, and Prince Phyr of the Unseelie Spring Court. You are invited as an honored guest of your kin Gabriel.”   

 

Yup. Not Jada’s mom, jerk.

 

His dark gaze swept over me as I spoke, sending frissons skittering down my spine.

 

“Under which gods’ eyes do they seek blessing for these nuptials, pretty little nephil?” 

 

Pretty little nephil? Ew. He was my great uncle, sort of.

 

Jada answered the question. “None. This is a celebration of their vows to each other.”

 

Lucifer scoffed. “Vows with no accountability are meaningless.”

 

Jada argued, “My mother and father are Tuatha De Danann. Their word is binding, as is a vow made to them.”

 

“Your father is a god,” Lucifer corrected. “The prince is a guardian. Never forget that.”

 

Rage like I’d never seen broiled in Jada’s eyes.

 

I took the attention off Jada by asking a direct question, “Do you accept the invitation?”

 

He made them wait in more uncomfortable silence, but we were used to that from old beings.

 

Just when I was going to tell Jada that we should leave, he finally said, “I accept.”

 

Jada produced the charm bracelet. I said, “Wear this as proof of invitation and accepting that you will hold your peace during the wedding, or you won’t be admitted.”

 

The bracelet lifted from Jada’s palm, hovering over to Lucifer as if riding a zephyr. The king of Hell examined the bracelet, muttered, “bewitched” and “clever” in the angelic language and then in English said to them with a flick of his wrist, “You may leave.”

 

***

The day of the wedding came, and I couldn’t relax. My grandfather and great uncle had been enemies for six thousand years or more. Each would have destroyed the Earth if others hadn’t intervened. What would breaking a charm and ruining a wedding to duke it out in person be to them? Nothing.

No. I had to believe Hecate and the witches’ combined magic was greater than theirs.  

When it came time for the bridesmaids to march down the aisle, my gaze swept the chairs on my father’s side to find Lucifer and grandfather sitting bored as anyone who didn’t want to attend but did so for appearances should look. Relief washed through me.

I let my gaze wander the guests. Maybe there’d be some cute supe girl I could dance with at the reception. Pantheons of gods, fae, witches, shifters, and every type of supernatural or once mythical sentient being sat among the guests. They all had the bracelets. We’d decided my grandfather and Lucifer weren’t the only ones who should be leashed.

Among the Valkyries, a chestnut-haired beauty met my gaze and held it. My mouth went dry. My pulse quickened.

The world stood still.

My inner wolf, however, thrashed within.

There were legends of wolves knowing their mate, their twin flame, upon sight, but we’d long dismissed it. The practice of mate-bonding wasn’t even a lifetime commitment. The bond could be broken. I knew because my father had broken his with my mother.

However, there was another thing that stopped me in my tracks. There was something different about this Valkyrie from the others. Something like when Jada shifted into an animal that felt off. Like she wasn’t supposed to be in that form.

“Roxy?”

Jada’s voice broke the spell. Shit. People were staring at me. I returned my gaze to the Valkyrie to mouth I’d see her later, but she was gone.

 

For Roxy’s continued story as an I.S.E.A. agent and the mysterious Valkyrie in attendance,, Wings and Fangs will release in October 31, 2025! 

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This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to people dead or living is pure coincidence.