Luc let herself breathe for several minutes but her heartbeat didn’t quiet, not with Marie sitting on the roof just behind her. There was also the fact that they were sitting on the roof a good twenty feet or more off the ground, but that didn’t fluster Luc as much as Marie’s presence.

  She cast a glance at the girl, a smile beaming on her face from amid a splatter of green blood across her cheeks. Her leotard was ruined, and yet she’d never looked happier, sitting beside Luc on the roof and casually swinging her feet.

  Luc looked away with a sharp breath, crawling away from her. She heard Marie shift behind her the moment she started to move, shifting herself closer to the contraption she’d made.

  It looked a bit like a weather vane, if a weather vane was pink and sparkly and pulsing with waves of magic.

  “Be careful,” Marie warned, feathers shuffling as she lifted off the roof and flew around in front of Luc.

  Luc kept her head down. “I’m fine.”

  She pressed her hand into the side of the weather vane, pressing intent into the piece of magical tech. Intent and magic combined ran most of her creations, and the wand responded the same, listening as she pushed her will into it. The pulses of magic faded, becoming something invisible. Her skin tingled the moment one went out, but that was the only sign her machine still worked.

  The last thing she did was open it up to the magic around it, ensuring it would run without needing a direct source. Considering how much magic there was on the property, it should work just fine, simply turning the intent of the space inside out.

  That should keep Tobias safe too, Luc thought as she sat back and dusted off her hands. At the very least, it should keep the magic away from him while he was here. If it shifted positions to get at him…

  They’d cross that bridge when they reached it.

  “Did you turn it off?” Marie asked, nose scrunching as she looked at the device.

  “No,” Luc said, a bit distracted by the adorable expression. Marie had been attractive before, in the same way some models and bodybuilders were. Attractive in an untouchable, almost inhuman way.

  Seeing her covered in spider bits and sweat shouldn’t have been attractive, but Luc found herself unable to stop staring.

  “Uh, I’m ready to get down now,” she stuttered out, warmth spreading across her cheeks at Marie’s raised eyebrows. She hadn’t been subtle at all; there was no way Marie hadn’t noticed her blatant stare.

  An infuriating smirk slid onto Marie’s face as she held out a hand. “As you wish, milady.”

  Luc cringed back, refusing to hand over her hand. “Actually, I think I’ll climb down by myself.”

  “Wait, no,” Marie said, dropping her smirk with a little giggle. “Just let me help you. I know you hate having help, but deal with it, just this once. What am I supposed to do if you break your legs? I’d be so bored. Plus, you promised to go with me tomorrow.”

  “I said I’d think about it,” Luc said, crossing her arms over her chest. That was a mistake, because she nearly lost her balance a second later as a burst of wind slammed into her.

  Marie embraced the opportunity and swept forward, grabbing Luc and carefully lowering her to the ground.

  Luc’s feet touched the ground and she pulled away from the girl, letting out a little huff. “Thank you.”

  Marie grinned, smug. “You’re welcome. So, about tomorrow…”

  “You just don’t quit, do you?” Luc asked with a slight laugh. “I told you I’m going to be here tomorrow. And you’re also going to be here. We’re going to be here at the same time.”

  “That’s different.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “You know the difference,” Marie grumbled, then lifted her head haughtily. “If you don’t want to, you can just say so.”

  “I didn’t say that,” Luc said before booking it toward the house. She wasn’t running away from the conversation, that would be ridiculous. But there was movement at the farmhouse, and she needed to inspect it to make sure the shield had properly gotten rid of all the magical spiders.

  She sprinted toward the house, ready to fight a spider that had somehow managed to escape, and pulled up short as she came face to face with Tobias’ mother.

  The woman gasped, pressing a hand to her chest and lowering the heavy cast iron skillet she was carrying down to her side. “It’s just you!” she breathed out. “Did you get rid of the spiders?”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Luc said before jerking her head back. “Though I had a lot of help.”

  Marie reached them a moment later. Mama Barnes was clearly shocked at her appearance, blinking at her before giving the girl a thankful nod.

  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it,” she said. “Those spiders came out of nowhere when Ben and I were trying to set up and we just couldn’t do a thing against them.”

  “That’s what we’re here for,” Marie said with a polite smile.

  Mama Barnes looked at her again, eyes narrowing slightly. “I’m sorry, dear. I know you were here the other day but I don’t believe I caught your name.”

  “It’s Limit,” Marie said, and then after a beat added: “Marie.”

  “Nice to meet you, Marie. Are you quite all right?”

  Marie was a sight, with blood staining her clothes and skin, not to mention her wings. Luckily, those weren’t organic.

  “Oh, I’m quite fine,” Marie said after a quick glance down at herself. “It takes a lot more than that to hurt me.”

  “That’s good,” Mama Barnes said. “Thank you again for saving the farm.”

  “It’s what I promised Tobias I’d do,” Luc said. She winced as her phone started ringing again against her side. Her mother really was blowing up her phone about being late, but she couldn’t exactly take off now without seeming rude. Plus, she needed to let Tobias know that she’d managed to set up a shield over the farm. “Have you heard from him?”

  “No,” Mama Barnes said. “Do I need to be worried? He said he was going with Maisey over to the commission building.”

  “Yeah, that’s where we left them,” Luc said, doing what she could to wave away the woman’s fears. She was still pale, shaken after everything that had happened, and Luc was only making it worse.

  “Actually, I think that’s them,” Marie said, pointing. “And they’re driving my car. How are they driving my car?”

  She rushed over, and Luc politely excused herself from the conversation to do the same. They reached the pink convertible as Mason stepped out of the driver’s seat, not an ounce of regret or apology on his face.

  “How are you driving my car?” Marie demanded, voice thundering.

  Mason shrugged. “You abandoned us there. So I hot wired it.”

  Luc’s eyebrows shot up, along with her appraisal of the boy. Marie, on the other hand, looked outraged.

  “You hotwired my car?”

  “Don’t worry,” Luc said, laying a hand on the taller girl’s shoulder. “I’ll fix it.”

  Tobias climbed out of the back seat, entering late into the chaos. “It is a bit concerning that you know how to do that. Where did you learn how to hotwire a car? Better yet, why do you know?”

  “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to,” Mason said with a shake of his head.

  “You’d think I’d know, but I’m also in the dark,” Maisey remarked. She spoke casually, only a huge smile on her face betraying her actual feelings. The moment all eyes landed on her, she burst. “Guess who passed the test? Now we can all do magical girl work together!”

  Everyone cheered, and Marie rushed over to crush the girl in a disgusting hug. Luc stayed back but still managed to get drawn into the celebrations, an arm looped around her shoulders, their infectious energy setting in.

  “Ugh,” Maisey said in disgust as their cheers and congratulations subsided. She held out the front of her shirt with her fingertips, staring down at the gore Marie had gotten on her. “What the fuck is this?”

  “Oh, the farm was over run with giant spiders and we had to clean them up,” Marie said casually. “But, Luc managed to put up a shield so you won’t have to deal with magic anymore!”

  “Way to steal my thunder,” Luc muttered.

  Tobias twisted around, loosening his grip on her shoulders, eyes wide. “Is that true? You actually did it?”

  “I did,” Luc said. “Though I couldn’t have without Marie’s help.”

  “Really?” Maisey took in the information with wide eyes. “Character growth!”

  Luc frowned. “Character growth?” The hell was that supposed to mean?

  Marie bumped against Luc’s hip, shooting her a smile that set Luc’s heart to fluttering. Goddamn traitor of a pulmonary system. “We make a great team.”

  Luc shuffled awkwardly away from the girl, fighting the impulse to run. Even being at work might be better than all this attention, despite knowing her mother would tear into her the moment she set foot in that restaurant. “Marie did most of the work.”

  “Not true,” Marie said. “I’d be ruined if you hadn’t been able to put together that shield. You really saved the day.” Her eyes sparked, the exact moment an idea came to her mind visible. “We should take the grade two test! If we can deal with this, we can deal with anything.”

  “We?” Luc asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Marie opened her mouth to say more when Maisey started to pout. “I just passed the first test! You can’t just go and leave me alone like that. That’s not what friends do.”

  Luc rolled her eyes, tongue sharp, eyes locked on Marie. “I don’t know that I have room in my heart for another rival.”

  “What about a friend?” Maisey asked even as Marie stared into Luc’s eyes, their gazes locked on each other. “I mean, I know it’s not as marketable, but we’d make a good team. Plus, I’d be so lonely.”

  “You can always convince Tobias to become a mage,” Luc said, turning to her and breaking away from Marie. “Magic seems to love him.”

  “Hey, you just saved me from magic and now you want to throw me to it?” Tobias protested.

  “Magic probably isn’t going to leave you alone just because I stopped it from reaching the farm,” Luc said. “I don’t know of a way to shield you personally, I’m sorry.”

  He let out a sigh. “It’s all right. Maybe when I’m ready I’ll go for it. Just not right now. Until then, I have this beautiful warrior to protect me.”

  He pulled Maisey close, planting a kiss on her lips through a grin.

  “Oh, who wants cake?” Maisey asked when he pulled back, looking around at the others. “Mama Barnes made a cake for me to celebrate my success.”

  “I’d love cake,” Marie said, and turned her piercing gaze on Luc, waiting for her response.

  “I have to get to work, actually,” Luc said, dropping her gaze and extricating herself from the group.

  “But—”

  “I’m already late for work,” Luc said apologetically. “But I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She met the girl’s gaze and Marie beamed back. “See you tomorrow.”