My father signed as one witness, and Ira the other.
The older women added a final signature and then the documents were all stamped. One set was handed to Clayton, another handed to me, while the other two were collected by the younger woman and placed back into the satchel. “These will be filed tomorrow, but the annulment is official as of this moment. Is there anything else?”
“There is one private matter that needs to be dealt with,” my father said. “If we could have use of this room for a few minutes longer, that would be appreciated.”
The older woman nodded. “I will wait for you in the foyer.”
My father waited until the two women had left and then said, “Remove the spell on Clayton, Belle.”
“Only if you leave the room,” I said.
His gaze cut to mine. The dark bruising that accompanied the broken nose I’d given him made the barely restrained anger stand out starkly. “That is hardly wise—”
“Your leash won’t break the minute you’re out the door, and he’s not stupid enough to try anything physical with Monty, Ashworth, and Aiden in the room.”
My father’s quick glance at his friend suggested he wasn’t entirely sure of that. Not now, at least.
“I can’t understand why—” He stopped. “You do not wish me to see your magic.”
What I didn’t want him to witness was the way Belle and I could combine our magic. Clayton had to be present, but he was too far gone down the revenge trail to even care.
“You’re already well aware of my strengths and weaknesses, Father. You spent sixteen years expressing your disappointment with them, remember?”
“It makes no matter where I’m standing. I will still feel the pulse of your magic.”
Yes, but he wouldn’t see the actual threads of it. Wouldn’t know just how deeply Belle’s and my magic had converged.
At least, I hoped he wouldn’t.
I smiled sweetly. “Maybe I just don’t want to be in the same room as you for longer than necessary.”
He raised an eyebrow, expression disbelieving, but he nevertheless gave a short, sharp nod and strode from the room.
Clayton didn’t say anything. He just watched us with eyes that burned with hate.
Dead. We were dead if he ever caught either of us unawares…
I met Belle’s gaze. Can you actually remember the spell you used that night?
It was done on the fly, but I think so. I’m still not sure it’s the wisest thing to do.
We have no choice, given it was part of the agreement. If we don’t go through with it, my father is just as likely to rip up the annulment papers and enforce the marriage. Or turn a blind eye to whatever Clayton does next.
If your instincts are right, the latter will happen anyway. She took a deep breath and then said, “If this is going to work, then Clayton—”
“That’s Mr. Marlowe to you, girl,” Clayton ground out. “You need some lessons in respect, and I’m more than happy—”
“Threatening the one person who can remove the erectile dysfunction spell isn’t the wisest of moves,” Monty said, voice deceptively mild given the anger he was radiating. “And if you harm one hair on her glorious head, I’ll—”
“What?” Clayton retorted. “We both know you’re in that backwater because you haven’t power enough for Canberra.”
“While that may be true enough,” Ashworth said before Monty could, “all either of us has to do is talk to the Black Lantern investigators. You’re already in enough trouble with them, Clayton. Don’t make it any worse for yourself.”
It was just as well expressions couldn’t kill, because otherwise both Monty and Ashworth would be dead right now.
“Just get on with it,” he growled. “I want this done and over with so I can move on to the next phase of my plans.”
“I hope that wasn’t a threat,” Aiden said. “Because if you meant anything else, I’ll arrest you now.”
“You hold no power here, Ranger.”
“I wouldn’t bet on that.”
“Enough, all of you.” Belle’s tone showed none of the uncertainty I could feel in her as she stepped up beside Monty. “Clayton, I can’t do anything with you glowering at me like that. Turn around.”
He continued to glower, but did at least obey. Belle took a deep breath—calming nerves more than centering energy, I knew—then added, “When I originally did this spell, he instinctively retaliated. That might happen again.”
“Monty and I will shield you, lass,” Ashworth said.
“And if all else fails, I’ll shoot him,” Aiden said. “It’s amazing how distracting a bullet in the knee can be.”
Clayton cast Aiden one of his glares even as he snapped, “Can we just get on with this? It’s late, and we’ve a long drive home.”
Monty briefly gripped Belle’s hand and then stepped back beside Ashworth. As the two of them raised a protection barrier, I silently said, How do you want to do this?
I don’t know. She crossed her arms and stared at Clayton for several seconds. The spell is so deeply ingrained I can barely even see it.
For the first time, I actually looked at the spell that had saved me and incapacitated him. It was set low near the base of his spine and had been thrust deep into his body, which was probably one reason why it had lasted as long as it had. Most spells sat on the skin rather than under it, and were therefore easy to examine and unpick. It was only those designed to kill that went internal—and few witches dared perform such spells, thanks to the threefold rule. Only a threat of grave harm could override that rule, and that’s undoubtedly why Belle had never suffered any blowback from her dysfunction spell.
The spell was a thick combination of both our magic and the wild, the latter still pulsing with power. It was no doubt a reason the spell had lasted so long—and also why my father had spent so long looking for me. It was proof that the daughter he’d long thought useless actually wasn’t.
I can see the wild
