Chapter 27

T wo weeks later

Trixie

"Are you sure you're ready?" Dom rested a reassuring hand on my back. "You don't have to return to your apartment at all. I can hire movers to pack your things. You can stay with me in the penthouse. Forever, if you want."

I leaned against Dom. He'd spent the last two weeks helping me back to health, along with the constant array of nursing staff who were lovely but a little overbearing, in his penthouse. It'd taken me two days to convince the staff he'd hired that I was perfectly able to use the bathroom without assistance.

"I feel okay," I said, meaning it. "I do need to be back here."

The black fennel magic Belinda had administered in that warehouse basement had taken a lot out of me, but it had saved my life. I was getting my strength back slowly but surely, and I was finally feeling a few standard deviations away from normal again.

We stood outside of my apartment on the seventh floor, a place I hadn't stepped foot since Levian and Sebastian had ransacked it. I had no clue what sort of shape it'd be in. Emmy had been living here, but honestly, she'd been spending so much time sleeping on the couch in the penthouse to keep me company that I couldn't imagine she'd had much time to put our things back in order .

I opened the door on the seventh floor, let myself in, and found Emmy sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of steaming coffee in hand. She looked up and smiled brightly at me.

"I made coffee! Dom said you'd be back today." Emmy waved her hand at a mug. "Welcome home. You know, temporarily."

I blinked. My apartment was just as I'd left it, except better.

At first glance, I wondered if I'd made up the home invasion. My plants were all in their proper places looking healthier than ever. Then, I started to isolate some of the details that informed me indeed, I hadn't imagined anything.

Some of my plants had been potted into new homes, probably because their old pots had been broken. Books had been placed back on their proper shelves, but some of the covers looked too new and too shiny to be the same copies I'd had before. Picture frames had been replaced with nicer versions, lamps were all bright and unbroken, and there wasn't a shard of stray glass on the floor.

"You did all this?" I said to Emmy. "You should've waited—"

"I didn't lift a finger," Emmy corrected. "This man here handled everything." She nodded at Dom with a new fondness. "He even had the Society of Magical Sciences come in and replace all of my lab equipment with the best in the industry."

"My plants?" I turned to Dom.

"I had a few gardeners from Le Jardín pop over and work their magic," Dom muttered. "Just so you didn't have to worry about it."

"It's too much. It's perfect."

Dom cleared his throat. "On that note, about the sale of the building..."

"Dom—"

"Wait." He took a breath. "I've put it on pause for now. Extenuating circumstances."

"You didn't have to do that," I said quietly. "I know how much it means to you to unload this place. It's fine, really."

"It's not fine. I know how much this place means to you."

I turned to Dom. "I wasn't lying when I said I needed to come back here, to see my apartment." I gestured around to the place I'd held onto forever. A place infused with the only positive memories I possessed from my past. "But not for the reasons you probably think."

Dom watched me carefully.

"I wanted to come back here to be sure that I was ready to let it go. And I am," I told him. "Yes, there are remnants of my mother here that I cherish. But I'm tired of living in the past, of being afraid, of staying in my rut. I'm ready to start new. Start fresh. Take the good memories of my mother with me but make even more memories for myself. For us."

"Are you sure? Because I can get out of the sale if you want."

"I'm sure," I told Dom. "I'm really, really sure."

Dominic looked at me in a way that told me he was studying me for any sign that I was lying. Fibbing to make him feel better. Apparently he saw what he wanted because he nodded.

"We'll find a new place then," he said, his voice sounding a bit rocky. "A fresh start. "

I turned back to my apartment, feeling at peace with my decision. I'd had two weeks to think about it, and I was ready—wholly and completely.

During the two weeks I'd spent recovering, the rest of the world had kept turning. Sebastian was still in a magically induced coma while the Society of Magical Sciences studied the effects of what drinking blood drenched in heartbreak magic did to a vampire's body. I suspected it would be a while before he came to, and then, he'd be facing a long, long time in high security paranormal prison.

Levian, too, was facing big charges. His trial was due to start in a couple of months, and in the meantime, he would be incarcerated at the Magical Institute for Dastardly Criminals.

The elections had been postponed for obvious reasons. Merci had called an emergency redrawing of names from The Fates, but it had backfired when the cauldron had spit out the same three names, minus one: Dominic Kent, Lucas Paul the Third, and Trixie Gardens.

Reluctantly, Merci had rescheduled the elections for two weeks out. Which meant people were voting right now, and we'd hear the news of who won tonight.

Technically, Dom and I were still in violation of CCCC Clause 873—the rule about not dating other candidates—so Lucas Paul the Third was really the only option. Which was just fine with me.

Emmy had gotten into all the schools she'd applied for, which came as a surprise to nobody but her. I hadn't broached the subject with her about which one she'd choose. I could only handle so much change in such a short span of time, and I didn't want to think about the possibility of her moving away from me just yet.

"It's time for the viewing party," Emmy announced. "They'll be announcing the results for the wildcard seat in a few minutes."

While Emmy flicked on the TV, I gathered a couple glasses of wine. Dom and I snuggled up on our sofa that I realized was much fluffier than it had been before, and I was pretty sure Dom had instructed for it to be reupholstered while I'd been recovering.

Emmy sat on the armchair near us as the election results started to roll in. All three of us had mostly been ignoring election day. It was why I'd picked today of all days to come back to my apartment. After over a month of weirdness, I was ready for normalcy again.

When Lucas was announced as the winner tonight, I'd finally be ready to return to my old life. Or rather, my new life. The campaign would be behind us. Dom's brother was destined to spend a long time in jail. My apartment was secure, and Levian was in prison.

Which meant all sorts of things. I could now spend some time gently exploring my magic with lessons from Belinda. I could get a new job where I didn't have to cart around half-transformed werewolves in the middle of the night. Dom and I could go out on a real date and bask in what was happening between us just because . For no reason except that we loved each other.

"Shh!" Emmy instructed. "Here's Merci."

As Merci came onto the stage, her expression was impossible to read. She had an envelope in her hands as she stood behind a podium. Lucas was in attendance of course, along with a live audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the votes have been counted and verified," Merci said. "The newest member of The Circle to take the wildcard seat is..."

Everyone in The Hollow was holding their breath.

"The Witch, Trixie Gardens."

There was dead silence. In our apartment, and across the TV, and probably across all of New York. We waited to hear what Merci had to say next. Lucas looked mostly confused and not all that upset from his seat on the stage.

"I know this question will come up," Merci continued, looking unhappily at her hands. "How can Ms. Gardens have won the election when she's in direct violation of the CCCC Clause 873?" Merci unhappily cleared her throat. "There is an exception to that rule. If the candidate has enough write-in votes to be elected, they can still take a seat with The Circle. Clause 873 is overruled in that instance."

"So I can go now?" Lucas piped up on stage. "Congratulations to Trixie. She deserved it. Heck, even I voted for her."

Lucas swept off the stage and scurried down to the audience. He seemed genuinely relieved to be out of the public eye. While I felt genuinely horrified to be in it.

"What in the world?" I asked. "That's impossible. My name wasn't even on the ballot."

"Exactly." Emmy's eyes shone as she looked at me. "You won because everybody chose to vote for you regardless. Trixie—do you realize what this means? You're a member of The Circle."

"But— "

"There's no going back now." Emmy leapt up. "I'm going to grab the bubbly. About time we get someone in power who isn't a greedy jerk."

Emmy disappeared to the kitchen, and I turned shakily to Dom. "I think I need a minute. Breath of fresh air. Wait here for me, please?"

Dom gave a nod and squeezed my leg reassuringly.

I headed for the small balcony off my bedroom. I took a deep breath, gripped the railing, and looked out over the city that I was now supposed to help guide via a political career I'd never asked for.

My phone rang, and I saw Grandma Betty's number. I silenced it. I'd call her back later, once I knew what I was going to say. I had to see if I could turn the job down, if there was a loophole that would let me out of serving in The Circle. I wasn't cut out for it.

"Mind if I join you?"

Dom's voice was soft, gentle. The sun was starting to set, and I hadn't realized I'd been lingering on the deck for the better part of half an hour, my mind spiraling as I'd eventually silenced my phone because of all the messages and calls coming through to congratulate me on my appointment as wildcard.

"Yeah, of course," I said, gesturing for him to join me. "Sorry. I got lost in thought."

"Easy to do," Dom said. "What's on your mind?"

"I never asked for this."

"I know, but before you start spiraling and looking for loopholes to get out of serving on The Circle—"

"Too late for that," I muttered bitterly .

Dom barked a laugh. "I figured. Hear me out."

"Okay." I took a deep breath. "I'll do my best."

"From a practical standpoint, maybe accepting this new role could be a good thing." Dom's voice was low, soothing, like he was suggesting we try a new restaurant for lunch, not a life-changing appointment. "The time commitment to being a member of The Circle is less per month than your job as a taxi driver."

"Sure."

"They only meet twice a month regularly. They have emergency meetings when needed, of course," Dom said. "In between that time, there's work to be done, but from what I understand you get to choose a lot of where you put your focus."

"I'm following you. Painfully."

"The pay isn't half bad. You make peanuts as a cab driver," he said. "This would afford you a salary that would allow you to live more comfortably. You could get a new car..." Dom looked sideways at me. "You wouldn't have to be out in the middle of the night delivering hooligans to their destinations."

"Hooligans," I repeated. "You forget, I was your driver. You hooligan."

"You could positively impact change. You'd get the opportunity to explore your magic in a new way with great resources at your fingertips," he said. "You could choose to fight corruption, or get more funding for people like Emmy who are researching important stuff. Not to mention, you'd get a lifetime access pass to Le Jardín. You could visit anytime you wanted, help out behind the scenes, probably study with the gardeners."

"In theory, it all sounds nice. But it's still a political role in the public eye."

"Yes and no. You're not wrong, but really, once this all settles down, it's just a job. How much did you care about what The Circle was doing when it wasn't election season?"

"Zero percent," I admitted.

"Right. And most people feel that way, so it's not like you'll be doing interviews daily. It'll just become a normal way of life for you. A job where you can effect big change in the magical world."

"You make it sound like rainbows and puppies."

"I'm sure it's not all good, but neither is your job as a cab driver. You wanted something bigger, Trixie. This is big."

"I'm a nobody, though," I said. "I'm not put together and polished. I'm just starting to get comfortable with my magic. I'm not anyone special. I'm just me, Trixie Gardens, a girl who likes plants and coffee."

Dom took his hands in mine. "You are enough on your own. That's the beauty of this. You weren't elected because of your magic. You were elected because you're you —flaws and all."

"I don't know, Dom. It's a big responsibility."

"People are rooting for you because you deserve it." Dom's eyes sparkled in a serious way that had me staring into them, unable to pull my gaze away. "For all the same reasons I love you."

"Oh, Dom. "

"I've never loved you for your magic. I've never loved you for your career. I've never loved you for any reason except that you're you, Trixie."

"I'm a mess."

"A beautiful, wonderful, exciting, interesting mess with a big heart." Dom raised my hands to his lips, planted a kiss there. "You're exactly what I need, and you could be just what The Circle needs too. I'm saying you should consider it. If you decide you don't want the appointment, I'll have a team of lawyerly sharks find you a loophole out. But maybe, just maybe, this could help you...and the rest of us."

"That means a lot."

"Trixie Gardens, I love you." Dominic pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I knew from the moment you shot a cork at my eye that there was no other woman in the world for me."