“Mmmm, I’m lost in your eyes,” he said.
Mia took off her necklace and slid off the ring. She held it tightly as she got on her knees. She looked up at him. “Theodore Martin, would you take me as your wife, to have and to hold regardless of feathers, bitchy days, and interference from all of our friends and enemies?”
“Yes, Mia.”
She stood up and took his hand, turning it over first, and traced the lifeline of his hand, promising, “I, Mia Cooper Martin, promise my love, my soul, and my body as long as we both shall live –and if you play your cards right - into eternity.” She slid the ring back on his finger.
Ted scooped her up in his arms. He carried her into the house and up the stairs. He gently set her down on the bed. He raised his finger and ran to look in on Brian who was sleeping with a wide smile on his face. It was as if he knew that his parents had found each other again. Ted placed a kiss upon his head. “Sleep in, little dude,” he said.
Mia undressed and waited for her husband to return. She pushed away all other thoughts and concentrated on the moment.
Ted walked into the room and looked down at her. Mia looked up at him and smiled shyly. He never saw her so vulnerable before. Ted couldn’t help but be overcome with emotion. He discarded his clothes and slid under the sheets with her. She clung to him, and he held her. “Mia, I’m not going anywhere.”
“I was so afraid,” she admitted. “I can fight dragons, demons and devils without fear, but the thought of losing you is something I cannot bear.”
“Why me, Mia? Why have you given me your heart? There are so many more worthy beings that would treasure you.”
“You are the most valuable person I have ever met. You have given me courage, humor and shared your intelligence. You convinced me that you were the man for me. You’ve saved me, and put me in danger, but above all, I know you love me. You show me this every day. I pray I will be enough for you, Ted.”
“Mia, you may be too much for me. Remember I’m human. Speaking of, those were a mighty set of wings you were sporting earlier. They weren’t…”
“Crow’s wings? No they weren’t, were they?”
“How?”
“I suspect that I’ll never turn into a bird. The best you’re going to get is…”
“An angel,” Ted completed. “Show me.”
Mia slid out of bed and turned her back on Ted. He watched as she caressed her wrist and the tattoos appeared.
“Oh my god, that is so amazing,” he said, getting up and running his hand along her back.
“There’s more. Stand back,” Mia said as she tapped her wrists together.
Ted stood there as wings pushed out of her skin and, feather by feather, formed the most glorious set of wings to ever grace a being. “They glow, like…”
“Sariel’s, yes, but, Ted, they are mine, and mine alone.”
“But how?”
“Does it matter?”
Ted turned her around and lifted her chin. He kissed her. “No, Mia, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’re happy.”
Mia extended her wings and brought them around them both. She pulled Ted close to her. “Love me, Ted, love me forever.”
“I love you, Mia. You too are my world.”
Mia released her wings and left the warrior behind as she climbed into bed with Ted and enjoyed that she was a woman, that she was Ted’s woman.
Cid smiled as he put on the noise-cancelling headphones. He reached down and patted Maggie’s head. “Mommy and Daddy are back together.”
Murphy moved through the trees to the far edges of the forest. When he broke through to the glen, he looked up and watched the stars for a while, putting thoughts of Mia behind him. Ted was back, and he would watch over Mia now. She was no longer the wounded waif he had fallen in love with. She had become a woman, a warrior, a mother, and a wife. He understood his place in her life finally. He would always treasure what she had shared with him, but he would look elsewhere to share his heart.
Chapter Fifteen
Orion’s patience was wearing thin. It was a simple request. He wanted to visit the Dark Vault, a place where the most sensitive documents and artifacts were kept. He had been there before, and it wasn’t as if he needed a guide.
Over and over, he answered the same question. “Why do you need to access the vault?”
“Because I have come in contact with a witch tree. One that has been raised on the blood and bone of children.”
“There aren’t any,” the last guardian said.
“This was not a figment of my imagination. I have proof.”
“Let’s see you proof,” the guardian demanded.
Orion handed him the flash drive on which Ted had uploaded footage of the tree in action. He also handed the guardian a lead-lined box in which the blunted tree spike had been contained after it was extracted from Mia’s body.
“I will examine your proof and be right back.”
That was hours ago. Orion thought the gargoyle had simply taken a coffee break. Truly, Starbucks had opened a store in the midst of the gargoyle territory of Rome, and the stone beasts flocked there in droves. Not that he blamed them. They had so little they could legally enjoy. Stripping the raw flesh off of mammals had been banned. “Give them their coffee,” he thought.
Several other beings had walked past him on the way into the meeting room. One had walked back out and looked at him before going back in.
Finally, the guardian came out and handed Orion the flash drive and the lead-lined box. “You may enter. Afterwards, we would like a moment of your time.”
“I may
