That brought a smile to my lips. For, if there was one thing this entire adventure had taught me, it was I didn’t need to see the future anymore.
It was time to create it.
Epilogue
So, it was over, ha? These whirlwind last couple of weeks of magic, danger, and seeing the future had finally come to a stop.
I was sitting at the kitchen table while, unsurprisingly, Max was cooking. I had no idea what he was conjuring up, but from the exact tantalizing scents wafting through the room, I could guess it was something exquisite.
Bridgette and Sarah sat across the table from me. Don’t ask me how it was possible, but both of them were pretty much back to normal. Though I could still see a few layers of bandages underneath Bridgette’s tight T-shirt, there was a smile on her face, and she was moving around with the exact same pluck and determination she usually had. She shifted back, locked her hands on the edge of the table, and grinned at me. “You will go down in legend, you know,” she commented as she crossed her arms and didn’t seem to be perturbed when her elbows pushed hard into her torso.
I snorted. “It’ll be a pretty boring legend.” Though I tried to keep a straight face, I couldn’t, and smiled between my words.
“You stripped a sorcerer king of his powers, sent him back to the past where he belonged, and successfully split a man’s soul into two beings,” Sarah said seriously. “You don’t do your achievements justice, Chi.”
I blushed.
I also surreptitiously turned over my shoulder and caught sight of Max as he continued to bustle behind us.
I was still coming to terms with what I’d managed to do. But no matter how incredible Bridgette and Sarah thought I’d been, I couldn’t deny how Max had helped. Without his assistance, I wouldn’t be here today. If he hadn’t continually fought Shadow McCain’s control over his body, I would have succumbed to the curse and never had the opportunity to break it.
Sarah and Bridgette continued to chat amongst themselves. Hot topics included how the hell we were going to fix the damage to the municipal tip, and what exactly the other magical races would think of the huge display of power during our fight. Though a frown pressed across Sarah’s face, it wasn’t severe, and it was clear the witches would find a way to cover this up.
Me? I paid attention to their conversation with half an ear as I locked the rest of my attention on Max, on the way he moved, on his presence.
It still couldn’t sink in. That, not only was he back, but he was finally free. No more shadows flitting across his eyes, no more leaving photos of murder victims around the bathtub on the off chance it would activate my precognitive abilities.
Nope. He was just Max.
Just my Max.
I played with that term, letting it roll between my lips.
We hadn’t had a chance to discuss things since the fight. With one thing and another, we’d just been too busy.
Suffice to say, I was looking forward to the chance of getting him on his own. For more than a chat, if you know what I mean.
… That’s if he was still interested. Because, honestly, he was a different man now, and I couldn’t stop forgetting that. Aspects of Max’s personality had been dictated by McCain’s continuous presence. It would take Max a while to fall on his feet, and I should give him the option to do just that.
“Hey, Chi, are you paying attention to me?” Bridgette leaned forward and waved a hand in front of my face.
I jolted backward, blinking hard at the interruption.
A very specific kind of smile spread across Bridgette’s lips as she turned over her shoulder to see where I’d been staring at.
“What do you think you’ll do next?” she asked.
I swore the question came out of nowhere. Swore it hit me like a slice from McCain’s sword.
… What would I do next?
Crap, I’d put exactly no thought toward figuring that out. But now, as I sat here and considered that possibility, I realized one thing. I was free. No more curse, no more contrived excuses to use my powers. More than that, I owned this beautiful house and would never want for money again.
Oh, and I still had subtle precognitive abilities that could be used for good.
Before the curse, if I’d asked Max what I should do, his answer would have been strong and forthright. Use your abilities for others. Use your power to spy into the future to help others navigate the best path forward.
To do otherwise would be to shirk my responsibility, to shroud myself in guilt.
I brought a hand up, rested the wrist against the side of the table, and started picking at some of the scars along my hands.
I was bruised and battered, to say the least. Though the medi-witches on hand after the fight had done a good job of fixing my more severe injuries, I’d be black and blue for a few weeks.
Sarah and Bridgette didn’t push and sat there in silence as they waited for my reply.
Max had stopped pottering around in the kitchen. The unmistakable sound of him expertly whisking batter had cut out.
It seemed everybody was waiting for me to make my decision. Yet no one was pressuring me.
… Heck, what could I do?
Drag the kitchen table out onto the pavement and offer fortunes? Dig up a crystal ball from somewhere, put a brightly colored scarf on my head, and call myself Madam Veritas again?
No. That world was over for me.
This world? Full of magic and witches and false fairies?
It was just opening up.
