Pluto’s POV
“Pluto, you need to get to the store. Now!” Diz’s voice sounded in my head.
I glared at the dragon shifter smirking across from me. “Pluto, Juni can’t hold them off for much longer,” Flora called to me.
“What’s got you so distracted, dear sister in law?” Andr’s brother asked.
“I have to go,” I linked my mates. “I think I’ve figured out why Magni is here.”
“Do you need back up?” Andr asked aloud.
I looked at him with a smile, giving him a peck on the cheek, “Silly dragon, invading a caster’s sanctum is like raiding a dragon’s horde,” I looked over at Magni, my smile widening to a grin, “Deadly.”
I disappeared before I could see Magni’s reaction. “Where is the fucking portal?!” A male voice shouted from the stairway. He screamed, “Get this fucking mutt off of me you little bitch!”
I released the breath I didn’t know I had been holding in as I heard Juni giggle. “Diz, is that anyway to treat a customer?”
“Stupid bitch! Where’s the fucking portal?” A second voice sounded from the middle of the store.
“Let me-” Juni screamed out as a slap rang out through the store.
I turned to the underworld portal, searching the basement for any sign of the intruders. Satisfied, I headed upstairs, “Hello. I’m the owner of this apothecary, what can I help you guys with?”
“Grab her!” The man Diz was attacking shouted.
“You really don’t have to shout,” I glanced up at the man, “The store isn’t that big.”
Two more men came from behind and grabbed my arms. “Where’s the portal?”
I laughed, “Which one?”
The man on the stairs charged to me, “You know which portal you fucking bitch. Where is it?”
“Actually I don’t. We have several portals here,” he punched me across the face, causing me to laugh. “You guys really fucked up coming here.”
He grabbed my throat, “Is that so? Listen to me, you whore, tell me where the portal is or I’ll start with your sister. Do you think she likes fucking multiple men like you do?”
My hands closed to fists. Plants from all over the store sprung to life, wrapping around each man but focusing on the man holding Juni. Still holding my throat, the man in front of me started to laugh as his fire burned through the plants. I began chanting, ingredients flying off the shelves around us. The man holding Juni fell to the floor coughing, the smell of blood and fire filled the air. The hand around my throat squeezed tighter, but I didn’t stop chanting.
As the hands holding me in place fell away, I focused everything on the man in front of me whose hand was squeezing tighter and tighter around my throat. “You’re going to fucking die.”
I closed my eyes and continued chanting until it was just my mouth moving. A bright white light flashed in front of my eyes and suddenly I was in a bright open field. A figure stood on top of the hill in front of me. I raced over to her, “Goddess.” I fell to my knees before her with my head bowed.
“Rise my daughter,” she pulled me to my feet and into her arms.
“Why am I here, Goddess?” I asked, backing away from her.
She smiled down at me and caressed my cheek, “You’re not dead or dying, my sweet Pluto, if that’s what you’re asking.” She motioned me to a bench that materialized as she waved her hand. “How is Juni developing?”
“Very well, although,” I paused. “Her special ability is becoming more pronounced by the day. Patrick gave me the broad strokes of what Councilman Fields is doing to the seers they take. I’m terrified they’ll find out what she is and I won’t be able to protect her.”
“Don’t worry. If she is taken from Rosegrove, her abilities will disappear. It’s Rosegrove that has accelerated her ability. She’s going to start developing her spells soon too. There’s a spell you can put into a charm or tattoo for her that acts kind of like the spells Opal and Nathan can cast, but this is more specific.” She pressed her hand to my forehead, transferring the spell.
“It wipes the memory of her spell casting abilities from anyone that sees her practice that could mean her harm?” I was stunned, “How is this possible? I mean I get it you’re the goddess, but this, this is crazy.”
She laughed, “I have another for you, Juni, your mates, and her mates.” I closed my eyes as another spell washed over me, “This one keeps anyone from harming those that know the truth.”
“Thank you Goddess,” I said, bowing my head.
She put a finger under my chin to lift my head, “From now on, call me Anera. You and Juni both.”
“Anera, can I ask you a question?”
“Not now. Now you need to get back because you’re worrying your mates and sweet Juni,” she pressed her smiling lips to my forehead.
“Pluto Kore Blackwood, I swear to the goddess if you’re dead, I’ll resurrect you and kill you myself,” Juni shouted, smacking me in the face.
“Juni chill out. She’s going to be fine,” Vincent said.
“Fuck off, Bitchop. This is all your boss’s fault, so why don’t you both just get the fuck out of our store?”
“Juni, calm down,” Patrick sounded beside me. “Her heart rate is speeding up, meaning she’s coming out of stasis.”
My eyes opened just as Juni’s hand started to come down on my face, “Don’t slap my mate again,” Andr growled out, catching her arm.
“Fuck you, you dragon bastard. If it weren’t for you and your fucked up family, my sister wouldn’t be laying here like this,” my heart broke a little as her voice cracked.
“Juni,” my raspy voice was the only sign of the attack. “It’s not Andr’s fault.”
She swung around and pounced on me, her hands balled into fists as she rained down blows. “Andr, if you touch her again, I’ll throw you out myself,” Patrick said, barring my dragon from pulling my sister off of me again.
I easily caught her fists and held her tightly to me. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”
“I thought I lost you too,” her voice breaking into sobs as her body shook. “I can’t lose you too, Toot Toot.”
I pulled back slightly just to look at her, “Open your eyes, Jupiter. Open them. Look at me.” She shook her head, “Jupiter Nix Blackwood you will open your fucking eyes right now. I am okay. The goddess, Anera, gave us a gift while I was in stasis. I’m okay. Look at me.”
“Two gifts really, right my sweet daughter?” Anera said, bending down to stroke Juni’s hair. “Juni, open your eyes. Your sister isn’t leaving you any time soon. There will be hard times ahead, but you and Pluto will be together for many centuries to come, my sweet girl.”
Juni finally opened her eyes, looking first at Anera and bowing her head, “Goddess.”
Anera smiled at her but looked over at me, “You didn’t tell her?”
I rolled my eyes, “When exactly would I have had the time, Anera? She was panicking and then you showed up.”
“Pluto! Show some respect,” Juni’s voice dropped to a whisper, “She’s the goddess.”
Anera laughed, “You’re very sweet, Juni, but I asked Pluto to call me Anera and for her to tell you to call me that as well.”
Juni looked at me in surprise and turned back to Anera, “But wh-why?”
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind Juni’s ear, “Because, you sweet girl-”
“Sweet girl my ass,” Andr whispered under his breath.
Anera and I laughed, “She’s got fire, but she’s still sweet,” Anera said to my surly mate before turning back to Juni. “The Blackwood’s are mine. Each of you comes directly from me. You are more than goddess blessed. You are all descendants of me.”
“Wait, so Pluto and Juni are what? Demigods?” Vincent asked.
“Not quite,” Mom said. “Unlike the Bishop’s, who are goddess blessed, Anera gives a small piece of herself to each Blackwood.”
I sat up still cradling Juni in my arms, “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Unable to keep the accusatory tone out of my voice.
Anera smiled at me, “It wasn’t hers to tell.” The tingling of bells at the door sounded through the shop as wind curled around us, causing Anera to look up and chuckle lightly, “My love is calling. Good job today my sweet girls.”
With a kiss to each of our foreheads, Anera disappeared. “What did you do to these people, little mate?” Andr asked, looking around at the dragons I killed.
I shrugged, “I killed their dragons.”
Everyone looked at me in stunned silence, “What do you mean?” Vincent asked.
“I used a pest control spell.”
“A pest-” Vincent glared at me, “What the fuck do you mean a pest control spell? That’s not possible.”
“It is. You need to get more creative with your spell crafting.”
“More creative? How is it possible?”
I smiled, “They hurt my plants.”
“That’s not how casting works.”
My brows furrowed as I looked up at my surly mate, “And what the fuck would you know about casting, Andr?” He growled at me low, “Don’t fucking growl at me. Just because you’re besties with a caster doesn’t mean you know everything.”
“She’s right, Andr,” a new voice sounded from the door of the shop.
“Ah the golden boy Bitchop graces our presence,” Juni quipped from where she was still curled in my lap.
“Doing a bang up job raising your little sister I see, Pluto.” Two furious growls bounced through the store.
I handed Juni off to Patrick and rose to my feet, “Listen here, you shit head.” I poked him in the chest with my finger as I pulled the plants from around the store to us.
“Come now dear, sister in law, you expended a lot of magic earlier killing the pests. You must be approaching burn out. You should be more careful,” he taunted.
I smirked, “Want to test it?”
“Pluto,” Vincent started, “Maybe you shou-”
“I’m fine, Vincent,” I linked him. “I would have to expend a lot more energy to even start approaching burn out.”
“You should listen to my brother, sis.”
I laughed and continued to call the plants. As they wrapped themselves around Nathan, he began to struggle, “Careful, dear brother in law, you don’t want to be the fifth victim of my pest spell do you?”
He immediately stopped struggling. I felt his power push against mine, but my plants remained unmoved. As he pushed harder, I allowed my magic to fall back a little to give him the illusion that my magic was waning. He took advantage immediately with a smirk, launching a nearby chair at me. My eyes went wide in feign shock before turning incorporeal.
“How the fu-“ Nathan started but was quickly cut off as my plants wrapped around him fully.
“Juni, now!” I shouted, glancing over at my little sister, who was still in Patrick’s lap, as her brow was beginning to bead with sweat from the effort of holding the overly large bucket of paint she conjured. As soon as it was over Nathan, she removed the bucket, causing the paint to splash all over him and the floor.
My plants began retreating, transferring the paint from their leaves and vines onto Nathan as they did. Juni jumped up and ran over to me. High fiving me, “Did you see that Toot Toot?!”
“Hell yeah I did, little Juni!” I gave her a tight hug, “That’s the longest you managed to hold onto a conjuration! I’m so proud of you.”
Her body went stiff, a sign she was about to have a vision. I held her as I called my magic to stop time, another spell I could do without casting the spell and without ingredients, knowledge I kept from even my mates. Holding onto Juni allowed me to keep her out of the time stop which in turn allowed the vision to come with everyone surrounding us none the wiser.
“The one with five mates will suffer deceit. She mustn’t let it break her. If she does, all will be lost,” Juni said in a monotone voice before her body went limp in my arms.
I let out a sigh of relief, knowing I couldn’t hold time for much longer because, as Nathan had pointed out, I had expended a lot of magic today. Closing my mouth, my brow furrowed as the metallic taste of blood spread across my tongue. “What-“ I started just before everything turned to black.
Andr’s POV
Magic rippled off of my skin, “What the fuck was that?” I asked, looking from Vincent to Nathan, but they both seemed as confused as I was.
“Pluto?” Patrick’s frantic voice drew our attention to where our mate laid on the floor once again deathly still. Her heartbeat was faint, unlike before when she was in stasis. “Juni?” Patrick shook the small girl who, unlike Pluto, groaned softly, but didn’t open her eyes.
“Nathan, we have to help stabilize her,” Vincent’s voice cracked as he looked down at our mate. We both went to her, I sat near her head, pulling her into my lap while Vincent placed a hand on her forehead while the other grasped her hand.
“It’s burn out brother,” Nathan replied grimly. “Only her kin can help her. If you two were marked and bonded, things might be different, but even then her body still has a higher chance of rejecting your magic because it doesn’t match or surpass her innate power.”
“There has to be something,” I said. “What about Juni?”
Patrick growled, “In case you didn’t notice Andr, she’s in rough shape too. Pluto would never ask that of her little sister.”
I growled back at him, “What do you suggest then, Patrick? Since you know so fucking much, what’s your solution?”
His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t take the bait, “Adrastea, is there anything we can do? Is Nathan correct in saying neither of them can stabilize her?”
She shook her head, “He’s correct, the transfer of power would rebound. There is help on the way.”
“What kind of-” My question was cut off as a loud popping sound reverberated through the shop.
“Adrastea, what the fuck happened?” A woman, the exact copy of the woman standing beside her, exclaimed.
“I have a few guesses but none of which I’d discuss in mixed company,” Adrastea responded vaguely, glancing around at all of us.
My dragon let out a low growl as the man, who came with the identical women, pulled Pluto into his lap. “Pesky dragon,” one of the women said before she blew sand into my face.
I coughed, unable to take a full breath in, “Eukelade, you can’t just walk up to someone and cut them off from their inner beast.” I heard someone admonish her, but they sounded like they were underwater.
“He’ll be fine, but we can’t have a dragon losing control while we work. It’s distracting,” her voice began sounding closer and less water logged. “Besides, Amalthea will reverse it once we’re done,” she said with a cackle. “Are you going to be a problem, shapeshifter?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
Patrick held his hands up, “I think with my head first, beast second, usually. I would really rather not get cursed.”
She grunted, “Stay out of the way and you will stay cursefree.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Patrick’s POV
Despite what I told Eukelade, my beast was fighting to get out to the point I almost asked for the curse. He could feel the difference in the store. Pluto had infused her magic throughout every square inch of the building and with her in the first stages of burnout, the store magic was draining quickly. This was the only place on the continent he ever truly settled in my chest with lazy contentment, making this agitation even harder to deal with than normal. My knuckles were no doubt white from how tightly I was squeezing my fists, “
I checked Juni’s vitals again. Diz trotted over, sticking his nose to her arm, “She should wake up soon. You should take her to her room so she doesn’t see Pluto.”
I nodded at him, “Good call. Are you okay to stay with her or do you need to be downstairs?”
“I’ll stay with her and link you when she wakes up so you can tell her what’s going on.”
I gave him a scratch behind the ear, “Thanks, Diz.” I let everyone know where I was taking Juni and what Diz and I discussed.
“Thank you, Patrick,” Adrastea said quietly as we walked past.
I nodded, “That one’s my favorite,” I heard one of Pluto’s aunts say once I disappeared.
“Hey!” Vincent started only to be cut off by a yelp.
“Shut it, Bitchop. You’ve got a long way to go if you want to even be considered worthy of my sister,” the man, her brother, said.
“Shapeshifter get back down here,” one of the twins demanded. “Having her mates around will help.”
I pulled the blanket over Juni’s sleeping form and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before heading back downstairs. “Patrick, stand there,” Adrastea instructed.
I nodded and took my place at Pluto’s head as her brother and aunts began their ritual to save her. They linked hands above her unconscious body and started chanting. Adrastea directed Vincent, Andr, and I to light each of our candles as they continued chanting. I watched with bated breath as their magic converged into Pluto.
She took a small breath in, but didn’t stir. “Why isn’t she waking up?” Andr demanded.
“Patience, Andr,” Adrastea chided.
“I swear to the goddess dragons are the worst to have for a mate,” Eukelade cursed under her breath.
“Truly, sister, but he’s to be our nephew so go easy on him,” her sister responded.
“How long until she wakes up?” I asked.
All three of them turned to me. Eukelade shrugged, “She used all of her magic. It will likely be a few days and several more transfers of magic before her body rights itself.”
I let out a breath, “Is there any way to speed it up?”
“I take it back,” Eukelade whispered to Amalthea, “I don’t actually like any of her mates. Not even this one.”
“I’m only asking because Juni should be waking up very soon, and if she sees Pluto like this, she’s going to have a severe panic attack,” I explained, “You guys didn’t see her while Pluto was in a stasis just an hour ago. She completely lost it. If she sees her like this, it’ll break her.”
“You aren’t wrong, Patrick,” Anera said as she materialized next to Pluto. “What happened?”
I shook my head, “We don’t know. One minute Juni was dumping paint on Nathan and the next they’re both passed out and Pluto is dying.”
She hummed, “I think I know what happened, but it’s her choice to tell you in time.”
“Juni’s close to waking up,” I said, listening upstairs to her heartbeat.
Anera nodded, “It’s forbidden for me to give her all of the magic she needs to wake up right now,” she glanced around at Pluto’s family, “But there are loopholes we can exploit.”
“Whatever it is, we’ll do it,” Pluto’s brother said with finality.
“Of course you will, darling Deimos,” she responded with a pat to his cheek. “Let’s do the same spell you just did. Mates get back into place.”
“Isn’t burnout a risk for them?” Vincent asked, causing Nathan to hit his arm.
Nathan cleared his throat and bowed his head, “Please, forgive him, goddess. He’s an idiot that-”
Anera laughed, “Nathan Bishop, thank you, but it’s unnecessary.” She turned to Vincent, “Normally, yes, however, the loophole we’re exploiting will protect them.”
“You won’t be exploiting anything, daughter,” a new voice sounded from across the room.
“The hell I won’t,” Anera responded. Three men materialized around the new man, “I’ll deal with you after I clean up the mess you created. Take him out, Pluto will be pissed if we damage her store.”
One of the men said something in a language I didn’t understand, causing Anera to blow out a laugh that didn’t quite sound happy. “Patrick, we’re ready,” Adrastea said, guiding me back to my place, “Come.” I nodded and took my place once again at Pluto’s head.
Anera’s POV
“The hell I won’t,” I responded to my father, Terdall. “Loves, I need you to hold my father and his attention until I get Pluto restored.” My three loves surrounded my father, grabbing him. “I’ll deal with you after I clean up the mess you created. Take him out, Pluto will be pissed if we damage her store.”
“My love, are you actually concerned with this little store or that this little mortal could hurt you if something happened?” Temnas asked in Ikean, the language of the gods.
I blew out an exasperated laugh, but didn’t respond. “Patrick, we’re ready,” Adrastea said, guiding him to his place at Pluto’s head.
I cannot believe that fucking bastard did this again. It was bad enough he woke her ability up thirty years early without consulting me, but now he pushed Pluto to this point for what, I didn’t know but I intended to find out once I cleaned up his mess.
“How much time do we have until Juni is fully awake?” Amalthea asked Patrick.
He listened intently to her heart and breathing, “Five, maybe ten minutes.”
“She won’t be lucid when she first wakes up, so we have roughly fifteen to twenty minutes,” Callisto said from where she was watching us all in the front left corner of the store.
“Plenty of time,” I said, “Let’s get started.”
I easily funneled my power into Deimos, Amalthea, and Eukelade, who in turn fed it into Pluto’s unconscious body. “We can’t keep your father occupied much longer, my love,” Temnas’s voice entered my head.
“That’s fine,” I linked back, “We’re done. Pluto should be waking up any second, just in time for Juni to wake up.”
“Thank you, goddess,” Deimos said, stopping in front of me with his head bowed. “Truly. Toot would give her thanks too if she were awake right now.”
I shook my head with a smile, “No thanks necessary, my sweet Mozy. I have to run,” I gave him a pat on his cheek, “Your mother and grandmother know what happened and can explain it to you and your aunts without anyone else around until Pluto is ready,” I whispered to Deimos. “I have to go. Family stuff. Tell Pluto she needs to use the spells I gave her first thing tomorrow.”
He nodded, “Understood. Thank you, goddess.”
I teleported outside the store and took a deep, steadying breath as I let my heart open to find my loves. I felt the familiar tug leading me to the edge of town. “What the actual fuck was that, father?” I shouted as soon as I materialized in front of him.
“You know exactly what that was,” he said, shoving Uros off of him.
“You cannot-” I started.
“I can and I will. She needs to be prepared for the future she has to face,” he cut me off, glaring at me. “Your precious Pluto needs to be prepared for what’s coming for her too.”
“Now who’s breaking the rules?” Emus pushed back.
“Anera,” he answered, “Giving vague looks at what’s to come is still well within acceptable.”
“You cannot keep doing this,” I said, glaring at him. “It isn’t fair to either of them.”
“It’s not about what’s fair. It’s about them being ready,” he countered. “Next time you will not interfere.”
I smirked, “There isn’t going to be a next time. Stop trying to break Juni. She’s a child, not a weapon for you to wield.”
“But she is a weapon. We’ve both seen to that, dear daughter,” he rebuffed before he vanished.
“He is such a bastard sometimes,” Temnas stated.
“That’s the understatement of the millennium, hot shot,” Emus responded, throwing a flirty smirk at him.
“Seriously, Emus, keep it in your pants for ten fucking minutes,” Uros grunted, slapping Emus on the back of the head.
“I’ve kept it in my pants for at least an hour, beef cake,” Emus shot back, “I think that earns me a reward, don’t you?”
“Keep it up and you’re getting a punishment when we get back,” Temnas warned with a growl.
Emus grinned, walking over to Temnas before whispering, “Promise?”
Temnas growled but didn’t respond to him, “What else do we need to do here, darling?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know. We can’t keep him in check. All we can do is clean up his attempts before they become messes.”
“And if we don’t catch them in time?” Uros asked.
“Then he gets what he wants, and I have to try to put two broken girls who don’t know all that’s to come for them back together without causing a major incident,” I whispered, hanging my head as tears welled in my eyes.
“Sunflower,” Uros began, pulling me into his arms as he ran his hands up and down my back. “It’s going to be okay. You’ve given Pluto the spells needed to protect them from discovery. She’s powerful, she’ll bounce back from this, and will silence anyone that poses a threat to Juni.”
I nodded and pulled my head out of their chest, looking over their shoulder where Temnas and Emus were. “Where-”
“Temnas took that idiot home,” he responded before I could finish my question. “If I had to guess, he’s already started on Emus’s punishment.”
I laughed despite myself and my mood. “Should we stay just a little longer so that Emus can be extra needy when we get home?”
He smiled and wiped the tears that had escaped from my face, “We can do whatever you want, Sunflower.”
I curled back into him, “Take me home, my love. Let’s go check on our men.”
Adrastea’s POV
“Everyone, except family, out,” I commanded.
“Tech-” Vincent started.
“Unless you all want to be cursed,” Eukelade said, “Do as my sister says and leave. We will send word when you may return. Pluto could still benefit from her mates being close to her.”
Andr raised a hand, “What about me? Can Amalthea reverse this before I leave?”
“Maybe tomorrow,” Eukelade answered before Amalthea could move, “We’re quite drained from saving Pluto.”
“Wha-” Andr started.
“Eukie, stop being mean to the dragon,” Amalthea laughed. She patted Andr’s cheek before slicing it with a clay knife which caused him to wince. “We still have plenty of power, dear. Don’t mind Eukie. She doesn’t like anyone.”
“That’s not true, Thea,” I said, “Eukie likes Patrick.”
Amalthea cackled as she continued reversing the curse, “How right you are, sister. Some might even say she actually loves him considering she actually said she liked him.”
Eukelade grunted, “Outside of you assholes, I unfortunately have to call family, I don’t love anyone.” She turned to Patrick, “Sorry to burst your bubble.”
Patrick laughed, “I think I’ll recover.”
Amalthea looked over at Patrick with a smile, “Love a man that lands on his feet after such a travesty.”
“Could you guys please stop distracting her?” Andr said, “I’d really love to not make this permanent.”
“This is why you’ll never have Eukelade’s love, Andr,” Vincent joked, “You couldn’t land on your feet if you lost your dragon.”
Amalthea and I laughed, “So true, baby Bitchop, so true.”
“You’re favored by Temnas himself, dumbass,” Eukelade said, “You’re being dramatic.”
I watched as Amalthea finished and Andr regained access to his dragon. He turned to Eukelade, “Don’t ever cut me off from my human again, caster.”
“Keep up the attitude, dragon, and I’ll do more than just block you.”
He growled at her, but was stopped by Patrick as he took a step toward her. “Come on, Andr. Let’s get out of here so they can talk and we can come back to be with Pluto.” Andr turned his gaze and irritation onto Patrick, “Come on. Let’s go blow off some steam.”
His eyes lit up at that and they were able to get him out without a fight. “What the fuck happened, Mom?” Mozy all but shouted at me.
I looked down at Pluto, who was stirring from where she laid on the floor. “Let’s let Pluto wake up. I have a theory of what happened, but it would be better if she confirmed it.”
Pluto groaned, “Toot? Where are you?” Juni shouted from upstairs.
“Juni,” I said quietly, looking at Mozy.
“I’ve got her,” he said as he began walking upstairs.
“Mom?” Pluto groaned again.
“I’m here,” I said, leaning down to touch her cheek, “You’re going to be okay. You need to open your eyes though.” She shook her head, “yes. Pluto, open your eyes.”
Eukelade walked over to her. Crouching next to her, Eukelade gently slapped her cheek, “Wake the hell up. We didn’t nearly burn out to save you just for you to be a baby about waking up.”
“Liar,” Pluto said with a sigh, causing Eukelade to laugh.
Eukelade gave her a rare smile, “You caught me.”
Pluto sat up with her eyes still closed, she dropped her head into her hands, “No one is allowed to lie again. Even a small lie. Unless you’re looking to torture me or make me puke, which is a form of torture.”
“See, Juni,” Mozy said from the top of the stairs, “She’s well enough to complain. She’s fine.”
Juni ran down the stairs and jumped on Pluto’s back, where she still sat hunched over, “Be careful, Juni,” Amalthea started, “She’s not in the best shape right now.” Juni reluctantly got off of Pluto’s back just for Pluto to grab her and pull her in lap.
“What happened, Juni?” Mom asked from where she was still observing everyone at the front of the store.
Juni shook her head, looking around, “It’s just family, love. You don’t have to worry about being overheard,” Eukelade reassured her.
“I don’t know exactly what happened to Pluto, but I had a vision.”
“Wait,” Mozy stopped her. “What do you mean you had a vision?”
“I’m a seer,” Juni said.
“No. That’s not possible,” Mozy said, cutting off her explanation.
“It’s not impossible, Moz,” Pluto started, “She had her first vision the night Mom died.”
“Have you reported her to the Council?” Amalthea asked.
Both of them shook their heads, “At first it was just because I wanted her to have a childhood, but then she had a vision a few months ago in front of Vincent and Patrick. Vincent wanted to report her-“
“Of course he did,” Eukelade said with a scowl.
“But Patrick told us what happens to seers when they go to the council,” Juni finished.
“Seers haven’t been heard from in decades after they report to the Council. Well, I guess they are heard from for a couple of weeks, but after that, poof,” Pluto explained, cutting off any questions.
“Patrick had Toot and I erase his, Vincent, and Guillaume’s memory of me getting the vision.”
“Who the fuck is Guillaume?” Mozy demanded.
“He will be one of Juni’s mates when she comes of age,” I explained, “That’s what the vision was. Juni will have multiple mates too, although the vision didn’t say how many.”
“She’s too young for mates,” Mozy growled out, glaring at me.
I put my hands up, “Hey, don’t glare at me. I didn’t decide.”
“Okay so then what happened today?” Amalthea asked.
Pluto began explaining the events that led up to Juni’s vision. “I didn’t have any time to put the spells Anera gave me into charms or tattoos for anyone before Juni’s vision, so I did the only thing I could do.”
“You stopped time for the duration of her vision, didn’t you?” I whispered, unable to believe the tremendous sacrifice my second child was willing to make to protect her baby sister.
Pluto shrugged, “I couldn’t let anyone know, especially with Nathan here.”
“Next time just let them see and I’ll curse them all so they can’t say anything unless they want to fall over dead,” Eukelade said nonchalantly.
“There won’t be a next time, Aunt Eukie,” Pluto explained, “Anera’s spells will keep this from happening again. They’ll protect not just Juni, but also anyone who knows about Juni.”
Pluto’s POV
I clung to Juni with everything I had as we spoke, “You shouldn’t have done that, Toot. We would’ve figured it out.” Juni whispered, “We could’ve taken elder Bitchop out and just erased your mates’ memories.”
“I know, but I panicked,” I said softly into her hair.
“What was your vision?” Amalthea asked.
Juni shivered but didn’t respond, “‘The one with five mates will suffer deceit. She mustn’t let it break her. If she does, all will be lost,’” I quoted. “I’m not sure who she was talking about though.”
“You,” Juni said so quietly I barely heard her. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes, “It was about you. I didn’t see who betrays you, but I did see a flash of you and you,” her voice broke. I rubbed her back, attempting to soothe her, “you, you-“
I shushed her, “We don’t have to go into it, Juni. It’s too painful and it’s been a long day for everyone.”
“The goddess said you need to use those spells she gave you first thing tomorrow,” Mozy said.
I nodded, “My magic is filling faster than expected.”
“Anera gave you some of hers through us,” Mozy explained.
I nodded again through a big yawn, “Where are my boys?” I asked, looking around the store.
“Eukie may or may not have cursed your dragon so we could work on you,” Amalthea started, “And Patrick and baby Bitchop took him out to blow off steam after I reversed it so he didn’t lose access to his dragon forever.”
“Bloody hot headed dumbass,” I whispered under my breath.
“You can say that again,” Patrick’s voice sounded from the doorway where he stood, slightly singed.
“Tricky,” I held out a hand for him.
“I’m not touching you right now,” I glared at him, “I’ll be completely healed in a few more minutes.”
“Then it’ll take nothing to heal you right now,” I huffed at him.
He shook his head, “Not happening, little mate.”
I looked behind him as Vincent and Andr walked through the door, “Vincent, fix him,” I shouted, pointing at Patrick.
“Toot, he’s fine. I already gave him a slight boost in healing,” he responded. “Andr on the other hand,” he paused, no doubt for dramatic effect, “had to be healed, a lot.”
“Tricky,” I admonished.
“It was actually,” Patrick started.
“My fault,” Nathan said, sheepishly from behind Andr.
I hummed, “It would be.” I looked at Vincent, “Heal them both, completely, now.”
He shook his head, “I’ll have to kiss them to fully heal them.”
“Go for it, you liar,” I said, glaring at him for putting a bad taste in my mouth despite the fact he wasn’t here for the no lying conversation.
“Fine, I won’t kiss them,” Vincent said, rolling his eyes.
“For fuck’s sake, stop lying. I’m too tired to keep detecting them, but I can’t turn it off. On top of being tired though, my mouth tastes like shit now, so thanks for adding to that,” I grumbled.
“Wait,” he looked stunned, “That’s what you’re glaring at me about?”
“Goddess, I swear Opal adopted you,” Mozy whispered.
“How far exactly can we go with this?” I asked, casting a glance over at Magni, who was bound in iron.
Andr shrugged, “You need answers. I’ll deal with the fallout later.”
“You’re basically declaring war on his clan if you let her do this,” Leif whispered to him.
“He could be connected to the people who killed her mother,” Andr responded, causing my heart to warm in my chest. I saw the moment he felt the love blossoming in my chest through our bond. He gave me a soft smile, something he reserved only for me.
“The council will back Pluto on this,” Nathan said. “If he is connected to the group that killed Adrastea, we need to know.” He turned to me, “just don’t kill him or maim him too badly.”
“Won’t the council want to conduct their own investigation? Isn’t this a conflict of interest?” Leif argued.
Nathan shook his head, “I mean technically? Yes, but in this case, Mother is happy to allow Pluto to do with him what she pleases aside from the parameters we’ve already set. Rosegrove is Blackwood territory. The council doesn’t have much of a say without consent from the Blackwood coven leader, which is Pluto.”
Leif stared at him in shock before turning to me with new found respect in his eyes, “They just want to keep me in their good graces because they know one day I’ll be so powerful there won’t be enough nullers on the continent to stop me if they piss me off.”
“Is she actually that powerful?” Leif whispered to Vincent, who solemnly nodded in response. “Temnas help Andr if he ever fucks up.”
I cackled, “Smart man.” I began mixing ingredients for my speciality spell.
Nathan and Vincent took a deep breath in, assessing the spell. “Truth spell?”
I shrugged, “I don’t want to leave anything to chance. Sure I’ll taste it if he lies to us, but I’d rather not throw up if he lies.”
Vincent took another deep breath in, “Plus he’ll be in a significant amount of pain if he lies.”
“If I have to suffer through lies, so does everyone else that drinks this.”
He shook his head, “This doesn’t feel like that.” He smirked, “It feels like revenge. When did you make this?”
He placed his finger under my chin and tilted my head up so I was looking him in the eyes, “The week following your illicit affair with Talia.”
He hummed, “I knew it felt targeted.”
“Yeah well I was hurt badly. My mentor wanted me to channel that energy, so I did and now I have a very helpful spell that saves me the trouble of a terrible taste in my mouth.”
“I’m curious,” Nathan started, “Did you or your sister perform the spells to bring your mother and grandmother forward?”
I glared at him, “You’re fishing for information Bitchop.”
He chuckled and held his hands up in mock surrender, “You got me, Toot. Can you blame a guy for trying?”
“I definitely could. Especially someone who addresses me so casually,” I huffed. “To answer your question though, Juni and I both performed the spell. While my school may be enchantment, I also have an affinity for necromancy and the natural. I do have a familiar from the fae after all.”
“About that,” Nathan started, “Are you registered with a cat-sith as your familiar? I feel like I would’ve remembered seeing that.”
Plants burst from the ground where Nathan stood and enveloped him completely. “I would be careful the amount of questions I asked, dear brother in law,” I said in a slightly mocking tone. “Those can get you killed.”
“Pluto,” Vincent said, gently rubbing my back, “Darling. Can you please not kill my brother?”
My plants slowly began creeping up Vincent’s legs too at his request, “Why shouldn’t I, Vincent? He’s asking a lot of questions he would be better off not knowing the answer to.”
“My dear, sweet daughter in law, can you please let him go?” Opal’s voice sounded at my back as she wrapped me in a hug.
“You wasted your one free entry on him?” I asked as I hugged her back.
She laughed, “What mother wouldn’t?”
“A smart one,” I muttered under my breath, causing Andr to choke back a laugh. “Seriously Opal, are you sure he’s worth it? You could just have another successor. You’re still young.”
“I could always make you my successor. Since you’re to be mated to my Vincent, you could have a rightful cl-” I didn’t let her finish her sentence before I fully released Nathan from my vines, causing her to burst out laughing. “You don’t want to lead the council?”
“You don’t want me on the council, much less leading it. I’d end up killing most of the other members.”
“I forgot how violent you are,” Opal started, “I remember Adrastea coming to-”
“Nope. We don’t need to get into that. We should get started on the interrogation,” I cut her off, causing her to laugh again.
“Are you going to answer my question, Pluto?” Nathan pushed.
“Nathan, darling, you need to learn when to stop asking questions. I can only do so much to quell her bloodlust,” Opal said, causing me to cackle.
“And you’re only able to do that much because of the respect I have for you. If he keeps pushing though.”
He put his hands up again, “Fine. I’ll just assume everything is above board and stop asking questions.”
Opal patted his cheek, “Smart boy.”
“‘Smart boy,’ my ass,” I muttered. I took in a deep breath to calm my spirit before reciting the incantation above the mixed ingredients. “Okay, Magni, time to drink up.”
He growled but couldn’t speak past the gag in his mouth. “What if he spits it back out?” Leif asked.
“He couldn’t even if he tried. Gumtree root keeps the spell from being denied, unless by a stronger caster’s spell as is the case with every spell and counter to the spell.”
“What about just keeping silent?” Andr asked.
“There’s a sliver of balmony which when combined with bat’s head root and benzoin, makes it so the person under the spell feels the overwhelming urge to answer.” I pulled the gag down and out of the way, “Andr, hold his mouth open for me.” Magni struggled against Andr’s hold, but Andr was finally able to get a good grip on his head. “Bottoms up, Magie.”
Gurgling and gagging, Magnie finally choked down the entire spell, “Fucking bitch.”
Andr and Leif growled but didn’t speak. “What did you send those men to my shop for?”
Author: Kailan Counahan 