Marissa took the stones and the outstretched vial Morgana handed her. As soon as the stone was held in her hand, Marissa's appearance morphed. Her hair lengthened and turned a honey blonde. The shape of her face lengthened and changed. Her eyes darkened and her lips turned from full to rosebud. The color of her skin turned golden. I blinked in surprise.
"Holy shit," Lucas said. "That's incredible."
Morgana smirked at him and I knew for a fact Lucas was never going to be one of her favorites. Not even one of her least favorites. To her, he was something lower. Her lack of forgiveness hurt my heart, but all I could do was hope she eventually got to know him. The fact we were standing here showed he was made of the sterner stuff.
Marissa waved goodbye to the witches and took the baby back from me. "I'm going to miss you terribly."
"We can Facetime!" I offered.
"I have no idea if I have internet out here, but we can try. At minimum we can talk on the phone."
Clint's form morphed into a cute, blonde little boy. He was still a baby but he looked completely different. I reached over to grasp her upper arms in my hands. "You're going to be safe here."
Her eyes glittered with unshed tears. "We will figure this out. Thank you."
I pulled her into an embrace and stepped away before I embarrassed myself. Lucas and Marissa faced each other.
"You kept his promise, Lucas. That's all he ever wanted. Thank you for everything you've done for me and for your generosity."
He shrugged, an uncomfortable expression on his face. "You meant everything to him. It was the least I could do." Lucas looked out to the acres of land stretching through her property. "Sikes wanted land like this. I hope his child appreciates it as much as he would have."
Marissa looked down at the baby. "I'll make sure of it." She stepped into his embrace, squeezed him once, and brushed a soft kiss over his cheek. When she stepped away, tears rolled down her eyes.
She stepped up onto the porch and took the suitcase one of the witches rolled up to her. "You have a furniture delivery scheduled for next Tuesday," the woman said. "Courtesy of the Comey sisters."
Marissa whispered her thanks, waved at all of us and took her baby inside to her brand new home.
All of us let out a collective sigh and slowly turned to load up in the van again.
"A vehicle," Lucas murmured whenever the door had shut behind him. "She needs one."
"She'll have one," Morgana said. "I have a friend who will drop one off to her in a few days. It's an older model, but it runs like a dream."
Lucas gave her a considering stare, as did I. Morgana had a story. An epic one. Whoever the person was who'd harmed her had molded her into something terrifying, yet surprisingly gentle. I hoped if Colin got involved with her, he would nurture that rather than make it worse.
The trip home this time went surprisingly better as most of it was spent in contemplative silence.
When we made it home,Lucas asked Morgana to drop us both at my house.
"Round two?" I whispered, though when I heard the witches snicker, I knew I hadn't been that quiet.
Lucas chuckled. "How about a nap first?"
"A vampire boyfriend who wants a nap? You are the antithesis of every fiction book I've ever read. You should be ashamed."
Lucas stretched, his shirt pulling up to expose the bottom of his abs. My mouth went dry and I noticed two of the witches shamelessly ogling him. "Am I now?"
"Partially," I grumbled.
The van pulled into the driveway and we got out. I thanked the sisters again, though Lucas was more contemplative, possibly gauging the unfriendly atmosphere concerning him.
I unlocked my door and immediately slid out of my shoes. "That was the longest day ever," I groaned as I padded over to collapse on the couch.
"I'm starving," Lucas said, but he made no move to the kitchen. He slumped into my reading chair and sighed.
I had to snicker. "Who knew a road trip would knock a vampire out?"
Lucas snorted. "A hostile road trip more like it. I kept wondering if all of those witches were armed with stakes." He frowned. "Or if they were getting their fireball spells ready to hit me in the back."
