Ruby Fever (Hidden Legacy, #6)(104)

“Oh you had a bad day?” She pointed behind her at the Compound. “I live here. Look at my house. Now look at me. Turn yourself around, get into your car, and drive back to wherever you came from, and maybe I will let you walk away.”

Mihail glanced at Konstantin.

His brother shrugged. “Those are your orders, not mine. I did my job.”

The muscles on Mihail’s jaw bulged. He raised his hand, very deliberately put it on Arabella’s shoulder, and shoved her out of the way. Arabella took half a step, caught herself and shoved him, knocking him two steps back.

Mihail inhaled like an enraged bull. He swung at her. Somehow she dodged and slammed her shoulder into him. The prince flew back, landed hard, and rolled to his feet. Something hot and feral flared in his eyes.

“No, Misha, no,” Konstantin warned, putting every drop of big-brother authority he could muster into his voice. “Not here.”

Mihail’s face trembled.

“She’s a civilian. Misha!”

Mihail’s body tore. An enormous monster spilled out, shaggy, ursine, with massive horns crowning his head. It just kept going and going, expanding, huge, enormous, enraged.

My House has a long affinity with bears. You might say we’re practically family. Oh no.

Konstantin swore.

Arabella laughed.

The colossal bear creature opened his maw and roared.

Arabella’s body erupted, and the Beast of Cologne surged out and roared back.

Konstantin gaped, his mouth slack.

They were the same size. Arabella was a little taller, but Mihail was thicker and heavier.

I turned to Konstantin.

He raised his hands. “My brother. The Bear of Kamchatka.”

I looked at Alessandro. “Did you know?”

He nodded. “I didn’t think he’d show up.”

Monster Arabella took a running start and slammed into the Russian Bear. The ground shook. They rolled down the hill, ripping, biting, clawing.

Linus got up and walked over to us. His hair was smoking a little bit and his skin was very flushed.

“Well,” he said. “That’s something you don’t see every day.”

“I know we were going to wait,” Alessandro said, watching my sister trying to stomp on the bear. “Let’s not do that. Let’s get married.”

“Right now? It’s been a long day.”

“Not today. But soon. Will you marry me?”

“I already told you I would.”

“Do I get to walk you down the aisle?” Linus asked.

“I haven’t decided yet. I’m still mad at you and Benjiro Heart is very nice to me.”

Alessandro laughed. I wrapped my arm around his waist, and he put his good arm around me.

Everything was going to be all right.





Epilogue




I lay on the grass and stared at the sky. It was very blue. The grass was itchy, and I was naked, but I didn’t have enough energy to get up, so I just lay there trying to catch my breath.

The Russian prince panted next to me, also naked.

We had brawled for the better part of an hour. Maybe longer. I wasn’t sure how long, but Catalina and Alessandro got tired of waiting and went inside. I was pretty sure the other Russians had also gone inside, too.

We should have stopped before both of us ran out of magic. I had never fought that hard for that long before. Apparently when I ran out of anger, I reverted to my human shape. Good to know for the future.

It was starting to get really warm. If I didn’t get a move on, I would get sunburned on my boobs. Most of me was tan, but my natural skin color was somewhere between mozzarella and snowflake.

I groaned and forced myself to sit up.

The prince was looking at me. I could either demurely clutch my chest to cover up or look back. I decided to look back.

Okay, so they built them really well in Russia. Like, really well.

“You didn’t win,” I told him.

He just kept staring like I had grown a second head. All things considered, a second head would have been less shocking. He must have thought he was the only giant in the world. Ha!

“You’re lying next to a fire ant hill,” I told him. “Roll left when you get up.”

I climbed to my feet, a little unsteady, but upright, brushed the dirt off my naked butt, and started toward the wall. Knowing my sister, she would have left a robe or a blanket out for me.

Our home was smoking, and there was a big crack in the wall, which would be expensive to fix. Later on the so-called authorities would show up and want things explained but none of that was my problem. I had done my part. Arkan was dead, my sister and Alessandro would get married, Grandpa Linus was officially part of the family, and nobody I cared about died in the final battle.

Now we just had to fix the gaping hole in our wall. Money didn’t grow on trees, but it did crawl somewhere in our office, and I had two hundred and fifty thousand reasons to find it. Jadwiga and I had a date.

It promised to be another beautiful day.





A Happy Goodbye




The autumn night was warm, the heat of the day a distant memory. Fairy lights shone in glowing strands all over the main patio, and in their soft light, Bern and Runa danced to slow music. Runa’s long shimmering dress floated like a white cloud around Bernard, dressed in black. Her red hair fell on her shoulders in beautiful waves. It was magic. I don’t think the two of them even knew that the three hundred of us were here, seated on the periphery of the dance floor at small tables.