THIRTY-FOUR (RUBY POV)

The rain lashes the windows and the garden looks blurry through the water drops, the fairies have sought refuge under the tree leaves and my dogs sleep happily on the soft carpet. Terra insisted on lighting the fire and the flames dance creating shadows on the walls. Iselen is lying on the couch with her head on my lap, watching the fire while I stroke her hair, the werewolf is sitting on the other end of the couch, reading a book with her tattooed hand leaned casually on the vampire's knees that are on her lap too. It's a very quiet evening and minutes tick by slowly while I yawn, sleepy.

The party the witches and necromancers held for me last night was a great surprise, lot of friends from the forest came to celebrate my return and also other magical creatures that helped us to protect the Wind Rose from the demons. We all danced around the pool of the winter garden, ate and drank and had great fun. Too much fun, maybe, because we woke up with a hangover today, we had coffee and something light for breakfast and came to the living room to take a nap and relax while Lea, Zara, Alfonso and his friends used their magical knowledge to clean the mess after the party. Luckily, they work faster than humans and they're watching a movie and eating popcorn in another living room right now.

I tilt my head slightly to take a look at my dogs, I think I've heard someone snuffling, something that Ru tends to do before she starts snoring loudly, but my pet is watching Charlie with curiosity while he munches on a treat. I hear a puff echoing across the room again and look down, Iselen's eyes are closed and she breathes softly... I think she's fallen asleep. Terra lets out a giggle next to me and winks at me while I smile too. I don't want to disturb her so I brush a lock of silky hair away from her cheek very carefully and the vampire opens her eyes suddenly, blinking bewildered for a second, before turning her head to look at me.

"Would you marry me?" she whispers and I can't help opening my mouth wide in shock. I can't believe she's just asked me something like that, unexpectedly. "You know: a dress, flowers, a ring, a banquet... Humans still do those things, don't they, Terra?"

"Yes, I think so, some of them, yes, I guess," the wolf answers, stuttering. "But maybe it's too soon to..."

"Would you marry me?" Iselen raises her head from my lap to look at Terra who's speechless due to the shock and she just shrugs and nods.

"If that's what you want... Well, I don't wear jewels, usually, only on important occasions because it's not comfortable to take them off every time I need to shapeshift. I guess I can wear a simple ring every day."

"What do you say, Ruby Rose? Would you marry us?" Iselen smiles and the werewolf stares at me intently, she's even holding back her breath.

I close my eyes for a minute to make a decision without the vampire charm and Terra's gorgeous blue eyes mesmerizing me and affecting my judgement. The truth is that my life has been crazy these past months, the entire world seems to be upside down, I've found out that not everything is as it seems, magic is real and I'm a stronger person than I thought, but there's one thing I know for sure: I love these women, I'd give my life for them and they'd do the same for me. In fact, they went to hell to rescue me, risking their own souls. They won't abandon me when problems arise, they won't give up and will be with me forever. I smile amused before opening my eyes and nod, staring at Iselen.

"I get the impression that you're just looking for a reason to hold another big party. Of course, yes, I'll marry you. You know I adore you, bloodsucker." I lean forward to kiss her gently and the vampire heaves a sigh, happily. "I didn't know you were such a traditional woman... Are you going to visit Terra's father in the forest and ask him for the hand of his daughter in front of the entire pack?"

"No, I won't, Terra is a modern and independent woman, she doesn't need her father's approval... although I guess we'll have to invite the pack to the party. There're some rings in the safe, do you want to check them? If you don't like those, we can buy a jewel for you in LA or get a special design based on your preferences." Iselen sits down on the couch, excited, she always looks full of energy when she has new plans. The door opens abruptly, startling us, even Charlie drops his treat and barks scared. Maeve looks at us quietly for a second and smirks mischievously.

"I got her," she whispers and my heart races.

"Eloise? Where is she?" I ask getting up, anxiously.

"In Amsterdam, which makes sense if she married a wealthy businessman since it's a city that tries to draw companies offering fiscal incentives," the druid walks into the living room followed by Raven and she flops down on an armchair near the fireplace. "There's a big community of white witches in the Netherlands and it was easy to find her: an Aussie sorceress married to a wealthy businessman, there're not many like her in the country and, besides, Eloise has been very busy and they've been watching her for a while."

"What do you mean?" Terra puts her book on a side table and gets up to grab some drinks from the small fridge inside a cabinet.

"She's married three times, getting a divorce from the previous husband only after finding a new and wealthier suitor. My friend Sanne has moved to the city recently and asked some witches what they think about our target: they believe she's been very lucky with her partners and it's not a coincidence, they thought some kind of spell was involved in her success but none of them imagined that she'd gone that far and sold baby souls. They admit that most of them don't like her but never sensed something weird, no negative magical energy around her, at least not a powerful bad vibe that could've grabbed the attention of the most experienced witches."

"She's a smart bitch," Iselen answers taking the soda can that Terra is giving her. "Maybe, she sold Ruby's soul to be able to get into that world full of rich businessmen, gaining a better social status that granted her access to fancy restaurants and clubs, she made new powerful friends, and she caught her next husbands helped by simple love potions taking advantage of the fact that they trusted her."

"But we can't be sure and she could hurt babies in the future when these tricks don't work anymore," I reply and the vampire nods. "We have to stop her."

"Okay, but remember what you've promised us: we won't make a move without thinking twice, let's draw up a plan carefully," Terra frowns, holding her soda can and looking at me with a clear but quiet warning in her blue eyes. "Maeve, call your friend and make sure you note down all the information she can give you: where Eloise lives, who her current husband is, who her friends are, what she does every day, where she goes when she leaves her house... Someone should watch her discreetly, we don't want her to notice anything weird because she could vanish again."

"No problem, Sanne is a good witch and respected in the community, Eloise is no match for her," the druid winks at us, amused.

"I'll call some members of my clan, those idiots love the Old World and live scattered all around Europe, I bet one of them lives in Amsterdam or has a house there." We all look at Iselen shocked and she sighs wearily. "Yes, you know I can't stand them, but they're useful sometimes and we'll draw less attention in a private house that's adapted to the needs of vampires than sleeping in a hotel full of humans."

"You're right," Terra admits, nodding. "Ru can take us there in a few minutes so we won't need plane tickets, fortunately, but we'll need some protective charms in case the bitch tries to curse us."

"The pendants Mirabelle gave you to fight against demons should be charged with enough magical energy, I'll check them and will ask Sanne to add a couple of spells, just in case," Maeve answers before looking at me, worried. "What will happen later, Ruby? What do you want from Eliose exactly?"

"I don't know, to be honest," I admit flopping down on the couch. "An apology for lying to my mum would be nice, a confession of her horrible crimes... And if she's still hurting other humans to reach her goals, I want her to stop and be punished. Only I don't know how to do that yet..."

"I think it's reasonable, babe," Iselen sits down next to me, rubbing my back while I lean my head on her shoulder. "I'll kick that bitch's butt and we'll be back in the Wind Rose soon to get married..."

"To get... what?" Maeve and Raven stare at us in shock while Terra chuckles, shaking her head.

"You'll never learn what subtlety is, bloodsucker."

*****

"This is the city centre, ten minutes away from the Royal Palace or the Red Light District... There's hardly any traffic in this area so noise and bad smell won't be a problem," the blond vampire gestures dramatically inviting us to get in while his three friends stare at us with a mix of surprise and bewilderment. The four members of Iselen's clan that live in Amsterdam are used to see Terra, I guess, or at least they know that their Queen lives in the Wind Rose with a werewolf, but it must be a shock for them to learn that a tattooed human is her new mate and she comes with a guardian angel that smiles nonstop looking around with curiosity.

"I have to turn into a dog again," Ru whispers in my ear. "I'm not allowed to stay in my real form for a long time."

"Of course," Iselen turns her head, winking at us. "One of these lovely vampires will get you out for a walk down the street along the canal, there're some trees where you can do your business." The two guys and the woman seem more confused than ever before but they pretend to nod excitedly when their Queen glares at them with a quiet warning in her eyes. "Your house is beautiful, Johan, thank you for letting us stay here tonight."

"It's an honour for me, my lady," the blond vampire who was watching my dog totally floored seems to wake up from a trance and blinks, smiling. "It's a bit small but that's normal here: the brick façade, windows overlooking the canal and all that. I've renovated it recently, the kitchen is brand new and there's a small back patio. I'm pretty sure your... pet... will enjoy it." I smile and nod gratefully, I can almost see the vampire sighing relieved inside his mind before showing the way to the bedrooms to Iselen.

"Members of the clans share a telepathic channel with their leaders," Terra whispers in my ear while we follow both vampires. "They don't need to speak out loud to communicate and this is why we didn't hear it but I suspect that Iselen has threatened with ripping their heads off if they're disrespectful to us."

"Yes, that's so like her," I admit smiling amused. "It's amazing that the four of them are ready to help us and lend us such a wonderful house despite their Queen ignores them most of the time."

"This is how the blood bond works, I guess. Werewolves feel also compelled to help a member of the pack if they're in trouble even if we don't like that person."

"Good, this is really good..." Iselen whispers in front of us, checking that the blue velvet curtains are thick enough to block the sunlight while she's sleeping in the morning. "Thank you for everything, Johan, will only stay for two or three days."

"It's a pleasure for me, my lady," the vampire smiles. "If there's something else I can do to help..."

"Do you know where this place is?" Terra shows him my phone screen and the blond guy nods immediately.

"Of course, very close, in fact. About 5 minutes walking."

"Great because we agreed on meeting Sanne there and we don't want to be late. The sooner we get this done, the better." Iselen walks downstairs moving fast and we all follow her. "Don't worry about your dog, Ruby, my vampires will take good care of her."

"You can't wait to kick the wicked witch's ass, can you?" The werewolf chuckles and the vampire stops in the middle of the street to put her sunglasses on, it's getting dark but the sun still shines a little.

"The sooner we get rid of Eloise, the sooner we can go back home. We have lot of stuff to do, babe, and I don't want to waste more time."

"What stuff?" Terra frowns, puzzled.

"We have a wedding to plan, I want to redecorate some rooms in the Wind Rose to suit Ruby's taste so she feels at home, we have to visit Wayne and ask him to forge some legal documents for us to be able to visit LA often, in case a police officer thinks we look suspicious or something, I want to sign a legal contract with Raven..."

"A what?" I ask confused.

"Well, she can't go back with her family and it's obvious she's going to become a long-term resident in our refuge. I was thinking that, maybe, we could hire her and Maeve too as, I don't know, managers. They'll be in charge of everything while we're visiting Australia with Ruby or in LA and I think it's the right time to make it official, it'll be a real job, with a contract, salary, vacation and all that."

"That's a... great idea," Terra opens her eyes surprised. "Wow, I'm socked, bloodsucker. When did you become such a wise businesswoman?"

"What? I remind you that I've been managing the Wind Rose successfully for centuries..." Iselen crosses her arms over her chest, outraged.

"Yes, with my help, I had to fix all the problems every time you screwed up, foul-mouthed and shameless vampire..."

"Peace!" I whisper raising my hand to order them to shut up. "You both did a great job and got the respect and admiration of all magical creatures. This is a good idea, Iselen, Raven and Maeve will help you to manage the refuge and Terra, I hope you can help me to give a little baroque touch to the rooms we'll redecorate together. It'd also be great if you find a way to stop Georgina every time she tries to get into our bathroom without a previous warning... And now, let's go to find Sanne."

"Yes, madam," both women answer immediately and I can't help smiling. I'm going to spend my life playing the role of a mediator between them before their arguments escalate but I don't care because it seems to me that I'm good at this job. Five minutes later, we walk into a coffee shop that has a front door garden patio full of wooden chairs and tables surrounded by lush green plants.

"Those croissants smell heavenly," the vampire whispers while something grabs my attention out of the corner of my eye. A young girl with caramel-coloured skin and curly hair dyed in a magenta shade waves her hand from the table that's closer to the garden door.

"Sanne?"

"Yes, hello, Ruby Rose. I recognized you because I saw your pics on fashion magazines. Sit down, please, this place is famous for the coffee and the carrot and apple cakes, there's also vegan chocolate bundt cake."

"Let's try a little bit of everything," Iselen smiles excitedly and the waitress comes to take our order less than a minute later, drawn by the vampire charm. "Where did you meet Maeve?" she asks after we get our sweet treats and hot drinks.

"I met her in Ireland, I spent a summer there studying English. It's been years since the last time we saw each other but we keep in touch... It's my fault, I'm afraid, I don't stay for a long time in a city and my friends don't have time to plan a trip to visit me."

"You moved to Amsterdam four months ago, right?" I ask before biting my delicious chocolate cake.

"Yes, my mom is Polish, my dad from Kenya, they met in Cape Town, where I was born, we also lived in Mexico and Canada... I'm used to be nomad. But I really like this city and I'll stay longer, maybe, because there's a big community of white witches, they're open-minded and welcome foreign sisters warmly."

"Did they welcome Eloise too?" Iselen asks while holding her mug with both hands, taking small sips.

"No, they did not, they don't like her and, in addition to this, she behaves like an antisocial witch. She never goes to meetings or the solstice ceremonies... In fact, she lives pretending to be a human high society woman: she goes shopping, holds parties to raise money for charities and has tea with the wives of other businessmen."

"Do you think she's given up her powers?" Terra asks with curiosity and Sanne laughs, shaking her head.

"I think she's very smart... I'm pretty sure she's still practicing magic but she must keep a secret den somewhere where her negative energy is restrained and it's difficult for white witches to feel it. If she dared to sell the soul of a baby to get whatever she wanted... she crossed a line and there's no coming back from that point."

"I agree with you," I nod sighing. "But I don't know how I'm going to get close to her and force to confess her crimes."

"I can help with the first problem," the girl with magenta hair winks at me. "I'm working as a chef for a catering company and it was hired to serve food at a very special party, a gala held at the art museum for big shots of this country... even the King and Queen were invited. And Eloise and her husband too. I'm sure I could help you to sneak in dressed as waiters with my company uniform..."

"It won't be necessary, I can use my vampire charm to get in," Iselen smirks mischievously. "My lovely ladies, it's time to wear fancy dresses and dazzling jewels, I bet the members of my clan can help us with that."

"I hope Eloise won't try to do anything stupid in front of all those humans," I answer concerned.