My One and Only (Bewitched and Bewildered #10)(26)

"Sebastian, please leave it be. It will be fine for tonight," Prince Magnus pleaded as Sebastian fretted over the prince's ill-fitting clothing.

Sebastian sighed dramatically. "I never even noticed you grew!"

"Uncle!" Beth exclaimed and launched herself at the prince.

A warm smile transformed his face as he easily caught his niece and comforted her. "Shush now Bethy, I am well." He took a step back and flexed his arm grinning. "Stronger than ever." When he flexed his other arm they all heard fabric tear and Sebastian looked faint. "I-I-I..."

Magnus just shrugged off his dinner jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his button down shirt. "Much better." He winked at Meryn. "Maybe I should try sweat pants later," he said in a teasing voice. Serenity thought it was adorable the way he said sweatpants as two different words.

Beth kept wiping at her eyes. "Are you sure you should be up?"

The prince nodded. "Sebastian has been pouring blood down my throat all afternoon. I am ready for some real food."

Serenity watched as Meryn inched over to Sebastian and pulled on his sleeve. She pointed to Vivi and the squire gasped. "Of course."

Sebastian walked over to his charge. "Magnus, there is someone here I would like you to meet." He motioned for Vivi to step forward.

Prince Magnus frowned. "I have already met Vivi, Sebastian. I was not sick that long."

Sebastian gave him a flat look before continuing. "As I was saying. Magnus I would like you to meet Vivian Mercy, Mercia DuCoeur's daughter and your godsdaughter," Sebastian crowed.

The prince's mouth dropped open. Shyly Vivi held up a small cloth pony. "You have no idea how wonderful it is to see you again...Maggie," she whispered.

The prince of the vampires wept openly as he pulled her into his arms. "I thought we had lost you! I had warriors searching for you for years," he said choking on the words. Beth and Meryn kept passing a tissue between the two of them as they watched Vivi and the prince.

"Hal kept me safe," Vivi said using her cloth pony to wipe away her tears.

Prince Magnus stared at the little stuffy. "You still have her?"

Hal sniffled and wiped his nose on a towel. "It's one of her most prized possessions."

Meryn shook her head and popped over to Magnus. "Let's keep the introductions coming." She pointed to Warrick. "Warrick Fortier the newest Founding Family head of Noctem Falls. We totally arrested DeLaFontaine and dissolved his house."

Prince Magnus' eyes bugged out slightly. "You what?"

Meryn continued. "We arrested Jervasius too, for being an absolute jerk." She motioned for Pip to step forward. He inched closer looking a bit scared. Meryn dragged him next to her. "This is Pip Maverick, DeLaFontaine was his sperm donor, but I've adopted him."

The prince looked around the room a bit wild-eyed. "What? How long was I sick again?" he demanded.

Beth winced. "That was a very 'tear the band-aid off' type of update for someone who has been ill."

Adriel stepped forward. "Gavriel, Vivian and I have publicly claimed our heritage and have reopened the Ambrosios and DuCoeur residences here on Level One. I made room for the Eta Unit to move into the Ambrosios quarters given how much our mates are involved in the operations down here."

Eva grinned and stepped beside her mate. "Pavil Desrosiers is the Ambrosios squire. We stole him from the Régis family after we found out that Jervasius forced Bree to be his mate despite being actually mated to Pavil. Pavil runs the house, but Bree runs our schedule."

Warrick and Avery moved closer. "I am trying to get my uncle removed as head of the DuBois family. There is too much bad blood between him and the people of Level Five to keep him in a position of leadership."

Pip nodded. "He is mean and helps the other mean men take people away when they are bad," he added.

Ellie leaned closer to Prince Magnus. "DeLaFontaine also ordered the jerk tunnel escort to kill Vivi," she contributed.

Vivi scowled. "He almost killed my baby," she looked up at Etain who wrapped himself around her. "But Etain and the other fae helped save her." She smiled at her athair. "I'm pregnant by the way."

Serenity walked over and placed a hand on the prince's shoulder. She lowered his heart rate and calmed him down. "There, there Prince Magnus, it's all good news," she said soothingly.

He turned to face her and smiled. "I remember your magic. You chased away the darkness, so I could wake up." He covered her hand with his own. "Thank you for the help. I do not think I could have freed myself without your assistance." He looked around the room until his eyes landed on Micah. "She is yours I assume?"

Micah walked over to stand next to his mate. "Actually, I am hers," he said, before kissing her temple.

Prince Magnus chuckled. "I always knew you were smart Micah." He turned to her. "Please call me Magnus, especially considering we will be neighbors."

She smiled. "I'd like to introduce my two best friends." She looked to the edges of the room and motioned for them to come forward. Laelia dropped a small curtsy and Radclyffe bowed.

"These are Laelia and Radclyffe, two of the best healers in Storm Keep," she said, smiling encouragingly at her friends.