Ariana had no idea what an adult theme park was, but was glad she hadn’t lost out on the chance to own her beloved house again. They walked quickly through as much of the place as they could without becoming completely filthy. The estate agent asked at least four more times if Ariana was certain and each time she laughingly assured her she was.
She declined the ride back into town. “Some people are meeting me here,” she explained. “I’ll ride back in with them.”
The agent opened her mouth to ask if she was sure yet again, then closed it with a smile. “This isn’t usually our protocol, but there’s nothing in there you can make worse, and certainly nothing to steal.” She handed Ariana the front door key. “But don’t let anyone get hurt or it’s on my head. Stay out of the attic and cellar.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind,” Ariana said excitedly. She’d expected to get to show off the grounds but now she could reveal the inside as well. “I won’t go anywhere near the attic or cellar, don’t worry.”
They agreed on a time for Ariana to go to the agent’s office the next day to get started on the papers and then she zoomed away.
“Probably cackling the whole way back into London about how foolhardy I am,” Ariana mused. She wandered around outside the old house, not letting any cracks or crooked bricks ruin her good mood. The garden was in as woeful a state as the building, but she knew from experience that there was nothing broken that couldn’t be fixed.
When she ended up back at the front again, she waved to see her guests had arrived. Cousin Dexter parked his car and Aunt Serena and Uncle Kostya spilled out, looking as harried as they always did after an automobile ride. Emma, Christian, and Grayson unwedged themselves from the small backseat.
Before Ariana could ask, Uncle Kostya called out. “Your mum should be just behind us with Nathan and Dahlia and your father. How she can drive on these streets in one of these contraptions is beyond me.”
“Not to mention her driver’s licence is at least thirty years expired,” Cousin Dexter said, giving her a quick hug. They’d all been together just that morning but after hearing about everything they’d been through, he liked keeping them in his sights.
Before anyone could worry too much, another car pulled up, jerking to a halt a bit too close behind Dexter’s. He sucked in a breath and waved his hands.
Her father got out, looking pale and clutching a hand to his heart as if the ride over could have possibly been the most frightening thing he had ever been through. During the month of her recuperation and in light of their family’s new policy of full disclosure, he’d told her some truly hair raising tales of when he used to use the portal.
His face turned grim when he realized where they were. Her mother didn’t look overly pleased, either. The boys took off like the wild things they were, running towards the back garden in search of whatever it was they thought they were going to find.
“What’s all this?” Uncle Kostya asked, seeming to sense her parents’ apprehension.
“This is the house I used to own when I had my coven,” she said. It still made her slightly ashamed to speak about it so openly, but for the most part her family didn’t judge her too harshly. “It’s really lovely. Please, everyone. Come inside and look around.”
Her mother rushed to her side and took her arm. “Do you still own this place?” she whispered.
“Almost,” Ariana whispered back. “Please, Mum and Da, keep an open mind.”
She and Cousin Dexter got the front door open with another round of unpleasant scraping noises and squeaking. She held out her arm in a sweeping motion, urging them to go in.
“It looks like it has good bones,” Uncle Kostya said, tapping the walls as he made his way down the hall.
The others followed, looking around as if at any minute something might fall on their heads. Which Ariana allowed it might. Aunt Serena commented on how beautiful the floors would be if they were restored and admired the stately high ceilings and the moldings which were in surprisingly good shape.
“But this is where—” her father started, unable to contain himself when everyone else was being so positive. “How can you possibly like this place?”
“Nothing bad actually happened to me here,” she said. “Well, the one thing, when Milo tried to … but anyway, I love this place. I don’t have a single bad feeling toward it and neither should you.”
He grumbled but said no more, raising a brow at her mother. “Bad things happened to me here,” she said quietly. She looked around until she located the side stairs and made a beeline up them.
“Is that safe to go up the stairs?” Emma asked, patting her slightly rounding belly. She had been obsessed with safety ever since finding out she was pregnant and mostly told people to ignore her, but now she had a point.
“I think so,” Ariana said. “Go have a look at the gardens, what there is of them. I’ll get Mum.”
Up the creaky but solid stairs, Ariana finally found her mother in a spacious room she remembered using as her own. Before she could tell her this, her mother turned to her, hugging her arms to her sides.
“This is where Nick locked me in and threatened to kill you if I didn’t go along with his plan.”
“This was my room,” Ariana said.
She nodded and choked back a sob. “I didn’t know at the time he’d already poisoned you and you were already—”
“Wait, Mum,” Ariana interrupted. They all had so much to confess and reveal that she must have forgotten an important detail. “I never died, didn’t I ever tell you that? When Owen and
