“That it has,” Roman replied, and I wondered if I was the only one who found it odd that Theodore referred to him as young. It begged the question, exactly how old was Theodore?
“We’ve come for Emilia and the girl,” Roman went on. “Release them and there will be no bloodshed.”
Theodore suddenly looked intrigued. “Is that a threat?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t like threats.”
“Few people do.”
“You know, I was once threatened by another sorcerer about your age,” Theodore recalled. “I cut out his heart for doing so. It was actually a lucky thing because I needed the heart for a spell I was casting.”
“Fresh hearts are a rare commodity,” Roman agreed blandly.
It was almost funny how they spoke in such benign tones, as if they were having a friendly chat over a cup of tea.
“This is outrageous,” Marcel exclaimed. “They have taken Michael’s hearing! Something needs to be done.”
“Hush now,” Theodore said, motioning him to quiet before returning his attention to Roman. “Why do you want them?”
“They are not yours to keep, and I have promised my kin that I would assist her in this matter.”
Now Theodore really looked intrigued. “Your kin?”
“Tegan,” Rita said out of nowhere. I’d started to think she’d lost the ability to talk since it’d been so long since I’d heard her voice. “His magic looks like Tegan’s.”
Roman smiled widely at her, so wide it was a little creepy. I couldn’t tell whether he wanted to kiss her or kill her—perhaps a mixture of the two.
“You are related to my dear little Treasure?” Theodore questioned with a disconcertingly cheerful expression. “Why, this is a cause to celebrate.”
“I’m afraid I won’t be doing that, Theodore,” Roman disagreed. “Now, return the girl’s blood to her body so that we can be done here. I will kill this warlock I am holding if you refuse.”
“Go ahead and kill him. I have no use for a deaf warlock,” Theodore said with startling casualness.
“Theodore!” Marcel cried. “Michael is our friend. We can’t let him die just like that.”
“Yeah,” I interjected. “Poor old Captain Hook here already lost his hand.” Almost everyone ignored my comment, which, might I add, was pretty funny.
“Would you prefer I gave up Emilia and the girl?” Theodore questioned sharply, and I saw the crazy coming out in his eyes.
Marcel fell silent.
Unexpectedly, Roman released his hold on Ridley, shoving him away. I was about to ask him what the hell he thought he was doing when he disappeared. Seconds later, he reappeared behind Rita. He took the chain of the swing she was perched on and wrapped it tight around her neck.
She squealed and began trying to cast a spell to get away from him, but Roman cast one quicker, and her hands fell limp. He leaned close enough to whisper in her ear, “Relax, little witch, there is no use trying to fight it. I am stronger.” His hand travelled down her body in a possessive manner as though to taunt Theodore, who suddenly jumped down off the monkey bars.
“Let her go,” he demanded.
“I will once you do as I have asked.”
Theodore didn’t make a move, and Roman tightened the chain around Rita’s neck, wrenching a gurgled cry from her. Theodore’s eyes went black as tar, the dark irises completely covering the whites.
“You will regret this,” he seethed, but Roman made no move to release Rita.
Theodore closed his eyes and moved his hand, shifting Rebecca’s blood back through the tubing on her arms and inside her body. The box she stood on stopped moving, and the awful music ceased. Once all of her blood had been returned to her, she opened her eyes and blinked.
Strangely enough, the first person she recognised was Ira. She jumped off the box and ran to him. He picked her up, holding her safely in his arms.
A chill ran down my spine when Theodore’s eyes landed on me. “You, release Emilia from her restraints.”
“That I can do,” I said, hurrying to the older woman. I pulled a Swiss army knife from my pocket and cut off the duct tape, which sizzled as though it had been infused with magic. Emilia exhaled in relief once she was free, and I led her across the garden to the others. She reached for Rebecca, but the little girl held tighter onto Ira, refusing to allow Emilia near her.
What happened next went down so fast that if I’d blinked, I’d have missed it. Roman loosened the chain from Rita’s neck and my head went foggy as he transported us back to Cristescu’s house. When I could see clearly again, I was standing on the street in front of Alora. She leaned against the gate, staring at me in wonder. I smiled at her so big my cheeks hurt.
“Well,” I said, jokingly. “Am I as handsome as you thought I’d be?”
She smirked. “Shut up.”
“What? It’s a legitimate question. You said you thought I was handsome, but I’m not sure how good of a judge a pair of hands are.”
She glanced up at me now, her expression serious. “You’re very handsome, Finn. My hands are a fine judge.”
I took a step toward her, closing the distance between us until there was none left. “And you are so fucking beautiful it’s hard to look at you sometimes,” I told her in a low voice, trailing my fingers along her jaw. She sucked in a shaky breath, unable to make eye contact.
“We should go inside,” she suggested. I glanced around and noticed that everyone had gone into the house already.
“Yeah, we should. But first, how are you feeling? Any weirdness from the magic?”
“No. I feel fine. All this light is a little hard to get used to though,” she said, wincing slightly. “But I’ll adapt.”
I wrapped my arm around her middle and led her inside. It appeared that Emilia had simply replaced one pair of restraints for another because Roman was in the process of magically biding her hands with rope, so she couldn’t cast any spells. Tegan knelt on the floor hugging Rebecca.
“I’ll never let anyone take you ever again,” she whispered in her ear. “I promise.”
Emilia studied her granddaughter closely before exclaiming in shock. “Oh, my God, please tell me it’s not true. You’re pregnant!”
Tegan turned to her in surprise. “How do you know?”
Emilia scoffed. “It’s plain as day to see.”
“Yeah, well, it’s none of your business.”
There was a touch of something desperate in Tegan’s voice, and Emilia’s eyes lit up.
“You need me to help you, don’t you? You need me to teach you how to survive the birth.”
“Shut up. I’ll come and talk to you later,” Tegan said, dismissing her as she led Rebecca upstairs to her room.
“Emilia,” Roman said once Tegan was gone. “She is your granddaughter. Why do you treat her so disdainfully? You should be cherishing her.”
“Don’t you dare talk down to me. She has been nothing but rude to me since the day we met. Somebody needs to put manners on the girl.”
“And that person is you, is it?” Roman questioned.
“Ha! I have far better things to be doing with my time.”