The Dutiful Witch (The Ward Witches) (12 page)

“
No problem. I'll see you guys tomorrow.” She saluted cockily and left.

As soon as the door closed, Seb gave her a long kiss. “I don't know if I've told you, but I really like the new look you and Skylar put together for you. You somehow manage to look both sexy and professional.”

“
Thanks. I'm really going to miss you while I'm gone. It seems like I've known you forever, but it's only been a few weeks. Plus it's still new enough that I want to savor every bit of it.”

“
I know exactly how you feel. But hey, we've got the rest of our lives, right?”

“
We do. Though I'll admit that at first I was worried you'd get tired of me and leave.”

“
At first?”

“
Yes. Now though, I know you'll be stuck with me even if you do get tired of me. I'm going to be as hard to get rid of as a bad cold.”

He barked out a laugh. “You don't even need to worry like that. I don't think I could get tired of you if I wanted to. You're in my system, but you're wonderful for me, and not at all like a bad cold.”

“
Thanks.”

“
So since you're leaving the day after tomorrow, I wanted to take you out to dinner tonight. We're going to go to a nice steakhouse that Skylar recommended.”

“
Sounds great. So I should dress nice?”

“
Indeed. The reservation's for seven, so we have a little bit of time before we go.”

“
What do you propose that we do?”

“
I want to play Monopoly.”

“
Wait, what?” She had expected sex or a movie or something, and a board game surprised her.

“
When we first started talking about getting together, you mentioned that you liked playing Monopoly. I'm a fan, and I want to see if I can beat you.”

“
I'm pretty ruthless.”

“
So am I. I actually couldn't find my old board game, so I had to go out over lunch and get another copy.”

“
I see you were determined.”

“
Indeed. So what do you say?”

“
What can I say to a proposition like that? Just that you'd better watch out for your bank account.”

“
You assume you'll win.”

“
And you assume you'll win.”

“
Then let's go play.”

An hour later, Seb called a pause to the game. “We've got to get dressed for dinner or we'll miss our reservation.”

“
Ah, you're right. We'll have to pick up where we left off when we get back. And don't think about moving my hotels. I know where I put them.”

He laughed. If everything went right, he wouldn't be playing Monopoly when they got back. He planned a fancy evening because tonight he was going to tell Fiona that he loved her. Seb had been trying to find a way to say it for days, and besides that time when she was asleep, he hadn't managed it. He wanted to do it right and make it memorable, so he was going to go all the way towards making it an unforgettable night.

Especially since she'd be leaving soon. It was only for a few days, but he wished the trip could be postponed a few months. Yet at the same time, he knew that for both of them, duty was very important. They were the Duke and the Duchess, and they'd both do what needed to be done. Melanie was adamant that this needed to be done, so it would happen.

He got finished faster than she did and waited nervously in the living room. He was more anxious about this night than he had ever been about dating, even back in high school.

When she came out, she looked fabulous. She was in a floor-length black dress with pink trim that reminded him of the corset he had removed with his magic. He felt himself coming to life below his pants, but that would have to wait. They had a reservation to keep after all, and he couldn't be going for sex all the time. He was supposed to be a responsible adult and the leader of the National Coven after all. Hah!

Seb took her elbow and walked out to the parking lot and the Mustang waiting for them there. They didn't talk much on the way to the restaurant, which was fine with him. After all, he wanted to say his piece with the proper pomp and circumstance it needed.

After looking over the menu, he asked “Would you like to order for me, dear?”

She laughed. “No, I think I'll let you manage this one yourself. That way you can't blame me if it's not great.”

“
Ah, it'll be great. Remember, Skylar recommended this place.”

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She did.”

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And it was her name that got us this reservation on short notice.”

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I'm sure she would be pleased that you used her.”

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She would be.”

They ordered, and Seb took both her hands in his. “I brought you here for a special reason.”

“
I thought something like that was going on. What's on your mind?”

“
I know we've only been together for a short time, but it hasn't taken me long to realize what's going on in my heart.” He felt her suspense both through her fluttering pulse under his fingers and the feelings he was reading from her through his air magic. He didn't even have to be looking for it because she was advertizing it pretty openly. “I've realized that I'm in love with you. Hopelessly in love with you, to be honest. Our magic brought us together, and I fought it at first. I fought it hard. But we are right for each other, and I know that now. You've made me so happy, and I really wanted to show you how much, which is why I brought you here to tell you how much I love you.”

“
Oh Seb! I love you too! I've been worried about telling you in case you didn't feel the same. I didn't want to push my luck or push you too hard.”

“
I'm glad to hear it. And I got you something.”

“
Another present?” Fiona asked with a smile. “You're going to spoil me.”

“
That's fine by me. I already gave you a ring, so I thought I'd go with a necklace.” Seb pulled out the necklace he had carefully selected. “This emerald will hang right over the heart that I love so much. I want you to wear it to Washington. If I can't be there, this will be with you in my place.”

“
You're so sweet. I'll wear it proudly.” She took off the necklace she had been wearing and put on his. “It doesn't quite match the pink and black, but at this point I really don't care.”

“
It looks good on you.”

They talked about other things over their food. On the way home, Seb felt much more confident than he had before their dinner. Things were going beautifully, even better than he had expected when he thought about his future wife before he met Fiona. She was it for him, and it felt great to know that he was it for her.

When they got back, he was right in his prediction that the Monopoly game would be forgotten. Instead, they curled up in front of the television, just holding each other in that way where no words were even needed.

The next morning, Fiona greeted Skylar with a hug. She chose that deliberately so that she could be in skin contact with Skylar so she could use her water magic without the other woman necessarily knowing she did. When Fiona pulled back, her smile was even bigger.

“
Let me be the first to congratulate you,” she said.

Skylar didn't pretend to misunderstand. “It worked? I'm pregnant?”

“
Yes. It worked, and you're pregnant.”

Of all the things Fiona had expected, tears was not one of them. Skylar was crying and laughing at the same time. “Thank you so much, Fiona!”

“
I'll make some of the potion I gave Melanie when I get back from D.C. You should try to start getting magical infusions from Justin or Dymphna sooner than that.”

“
Sure. Oh god, I have to call Leo! He'll be so happy!”

“
I'll give you your privacy. You can use the office. Justin has a presentation on Coven Protection for me and Seb that he's going to do in about thirty minutes. I'll go check in with Seb until then.”

“
Sounds good.”

Seb apparently had heard the noise they were making and came in through the adjoining door before Fiona had gotten to it. “I heard excitement from over here, and I have a feeling it's not about Justin's presentation.”

Skylar laughed. “No. I'm pregnant!”

“
Congratulations. You'll make a great mom.”

“
Thanks.”

“
I was going to let her use the office to call Leo. Let's go in your office, shall we?”

“
Sure.”

After they closed the door, they could hear Skylar's excitement on the phone to Leo through the door.

“
You did a good thing for her.”

“
Yes, I did. It made me think about children for us too.”

Fiona tried to read his expression, but couldn't figure it out. His aura was mixed too, which didn't help her any.

“
You know I want children. But I still think we should wait a while longer. We've got plenty of time to build a family. Though I will say that I'm anxious to see what our children would look like,” he said, trailing a finger down her cheek. “I'd hope they're as beautiful as their mother.” He kissed her slowly.

“
Thanks. And you're right, we have plenty of time.”

“
Man, Leo's going to be over the moon. He's been wanting this just as bad as Skylar has.”

“
Then that's great for both of them. But speaking of your brothers, should we talk about Coven Protection before we go in to see Justin?”

“
Oh, likely. Did the information I sent over make sense to you?”

“
I think I have a pretty good grasp of the basics of what they do. Then I visited the ops room and talked with Tim and Casey about it, and that helped me understand too.”

“
Good. Casey may seem young, but she's an expert on computer security. Since she came on board, we haven't had any crucial problems with our network or computers. Tim's more of an all-rounder, and he's dangerous with his fire magic. He was Skylar's tutor when she first came here too.”

“
That's good to know. So do you have any idea what Justin wanted to talk about in specific?”

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No. He's being pretty tight-lipped about it. But I have a feeling it's something big.”

“
Brother's intuition?”

“
Something like that. I've been working on using my magic more, like you suggested. I've been able to feel him in his office, working hard on something. It seems to be tied up in protecting Rose and Jasmine as well, so it's a serious topic for him. Coven Protection has always been important to him, but especially since Melanie's abduction and the twins' birth, it's been more crucial in his mind. I like that they're keeping him sharp and looking for the next way to improve safety here.

“
I know he's worried about the Dark Order, but I've also seen signs that he's worried about protestors. We've had some, off and on based on what's been in the news. We've been lucky to not have too many for too long, but the more our actions come to light in the news, the more likely we'll see people outside the Coven House. I hope he's got something to talk about on both of those fronts.”

“
I guess we'll have to wait and see.”

“
It's actually about time we head over there, so we won't have to wait for long.”

When they got to the ops room, Justin had cleared the digital whiteboard and was standing in front of it with his marker. “Hello.”

“
Are we late?” Fiona asked, confused.

“
With Justin, you're always late,” Seb said, pulling out a chair for her. Fiona found that extremely gallant.

“
So far, we've been working with common technology to protect ourselves. We have cameras and computers. What we need is to think with spells. Tim and Christine came up with an idea for a spell that we can use to protect the premises from blood magic. Christine, why don't you tell them about it?”

“
I was looking at some of the work Fiona did with sigils on the internet. I think that we can put those sigils in bricks, place them around the Coven House, and prevent any blood witches from coming in. This one,” she held out an image, “Was what I wanted to use, if Fiona thinks it will work. We had trouble before when Kelsey, who we all thought was one of us, had really switched sides. This sigil brick should make it painful for a blood witch to pass the barrier.”

Fiona took the drawing and examined it carefully. “This is good. Do you have experience with these?”

“
Some. My grandmother was an earth witch like me and taught me most of what I know about my own earth powers. This sigil is a mix between a traditional protection one she used and some of the ones against blood witches that you had.”