Chapter 42

42

ROMAN

T hree down. Eight Across. Clue: To produce a desired or intended result.

"Efficacy," I said, writing the other word in. "Bingo!"

"Congratulations," Darcy said from his cage, nibbling on some roasted corn.

"Thanks." I put the pencil down to take a sip of my chamomile tea.

"Well done, my beautiful witch," Xavier contributed, entering the living room of my Soho flat.

The fact we were able to sit here blew my mind, as did the security presence downstairs. But nothing triggered the flood of awe like the real heart beating in my chest.

I was the lucky one. Queen Margarite's heart failed her, dying a few hours after collapsing in the corridor under the destroyed palace.

I wished her spirit a peaceful afterlife with her son and husband. Because, you know, I had to wish her well under this weight of grief on my back.

So much guilt, so many dreams filled with the trauma of what'd gone down. They woke me up in cold sweats, tears often flowing free over seeing my grandma or killing my bestie and my boyfriend.

This would take a while to move past. Baby steps, talking through it with my people.

Again, I was a lucky guy.

After my transplant surgery, I woke up here in my own bed. Thanks to Jaz, the surgery was a breeze. He'd taken one of Xavier's hearts and put it in my chest, his warlock power slowing my body and the device down to suit his work.

The heart-shaped device melted into black goo an hour later, apparently.

Xavier took a seat on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn, his stunning peepers on the Angelina Jolie movie playing on the TV— Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life . He seemed to be enjoying it.

I took another sip of my tea, beyond thankful to him for his gift. It beat hard and strong, with no demonic side effects yet. And he'd made a full recovery within less than a day.

Go, Xavier!

"I'll be a little slower from now on," he'd said. "But nothing much has changed."

Lucky really wasn't the word for it.

Jaz disappeared before Queen Piper and an elite medical team arrived at the doctor's office. He'd placed the call, then left before I could thank him.

Piper had some people out there to find him.

Her Majesty's help didn't stop there, even with the grief of losing her mum. She offered us round the clock security the day I left hospital, seeing as I wanted to go home to my flat. People remembered my name after Margarite shared it to shame me. Having that protective wall of muscles and magic in place helped me carry on living here.

But would it be forever? And what came next for work, for all the other life things? I mean, I'd be happy to stay in this bubble with tea, crosswords, and my guys. Unfortunately, life wasn't as easy-breezy as that.

What a shame.

A lot of things happened over the course of the following weeks. Like Margarite's funeral, the cooling down of tensions between humans and demons. Not completely, but the entire world remembered what'd gone down, every single one of us sharing collective trauma. It started to steer the course for peace in a more progressive direction. Phillipe helped a lot, spearheading a new campaign for progress. One I actually believed would succeed this time, especially if we wanted to learn from the lessons of what could be.

The demons for peace let it be known they wanted a change from monarchy now. They weren't sure yet what they wanted, but a strong-willed group quickly rose up to hunt down Tanith, her silver people, and any war mongering demons from shitting on things.

On the seventh week of my recovery, I was back to my normal self. I healed from the transplant surgery much quicker than expected, the demon heart speeding up the healing process.

Awesome. But I still had some distance to go with my mental health. Xavier and Darcy smoothed out the bumps in the road, though.

Queen Piper came to visit the same day I was given the all clear. Darcy fawned over her, a true monarchist at heart.

"Your Majesty brings so much joy into our lives by gracing us with her presence," he crooned from my lap.

Where was the sick bowl?

After he stopped kissing up to her, which she didn't really enjoy, she settled down with a cup of coffee on my sofa beside Xavier. She looked so much like her mum.

"I'm pleased you're doing well," she said before taking a hearty gulp. "Ah. You make good coffee."

"Thanks to your medical team and Jaz," I answered, lifting my cup in a toast.

"To Jaz and my team," she said.

I sipped my drink. "Any word on Jaz?"

"Nothing yet."

"He's a tenacious man," Darcy said.

"Oh, buddy," I answered, stroking his fur.

"It doesn't matter. We had our time. It didn't work out. There'd only be more pain if we tried getting back together." He looked up at me with glimmers of sadness in his tiny eyes. "Sometimes, things are just not meant to be."

"Like an icy, demonic theocracy," Xavier contributed.

I shuddered thinking of what could have been, how the world came so close to another ice age with a demonic twist.

Piper changed the subject. "Now you're better, I have a proposition for you."

Please don't put me back on the payroll. "Fire away."

She took a dramatic pause, wriggling her eyebrows. "A holiday. With me. In Greece All expenses paid. I think we all deserve a break after everything we've been through."

I went to protest the nice suggestion, Darcy foreseeing it. "We'd love to, My Queen. If you would permit me to join you." He twitched his whiskers at me, proud of the deflect.

I understood the code to shut the fuck up.

Fine. I'd go to Greece. "Sounds amazing. Thanks so much."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Xavier added.

"Good. We'll have a blast. A very relaxed blast. We leave in a week. I will send you the details later."

We spent the rest of her visit analyzing world events and talking about her new friendship with King Basile of France.

By the end of it, I took the longest nap in my life.

I woke up in the early hours to a room full of moonlight.

Xavier slept peacefully beside me, his muscular upper body painted with lunar streaks. Perfection. Absolute perfection.

A lock of his platinum blond hair fell across his face. I brushed it aside, enjoying the aesthetics of him.

"God, you're so beautiful."

I snuggled closer to him, throwing an arm around his body. His heat wrapped me up in an extra duvet, my love for him doing the same.

My demon. My incredible, wonderful demon I got to face the future with.

Whatever guilt I carried, I fully embraced this gift, this lucky twist. I wouldn't waste a minute of this second chance.

After a while of listening to the rain and staring at Xavier, nature called. I got up to pee, then came out of the bathroom to see Darcy up, sitting at the top of his cage, staring at the living room window.

He never did that.

I went to him, wrapping my arms around myself. "What's the matter?"

He turned his little head to face me. "Thinking. Are you okay?"

"I am now my bladder's empty." I sat in my chair, letting off a big yawn. "What are you thinking about?"

"My life. How long I have left."

That smacked the sleep out of me. He'd got to be human again, only for it to be snatched away.

"Come here." I patted my lap.

He scurried down. "You should go back to bed."

"Not a chance." I stroked his head with my index finger.

I thought about his lifespan a lot myself, constantly willing him to live a longer life, not the shortness of a rat's one.

"I'm here," I added. "For talking. For sitting like this. Whatever you need."

He licked my hand. "You're sweet."

"I know."

His ratty laugh was nothing short of adorable.

We sat for a while, listening to the rain, all cozy on the armchair.

He eventually broke the silence. "I thought I'd made peace with my condition. But then that happened and…" He sighed, nuzzling my hand. "I'm so confused."

This hurt my new heart. "We'll find a way to make it right."

"There isn't one. You know that."

"I know we haven't found a solution. It doesn't mean all hope is lost. Look at what we went through. Look at me."

He gave me another lick. "My strong bestie."

"And my strong bestie." Cue several fusses of that cute little head to chase the sorrow away. "I don't want to lose you. Ever. I will find a way to make you human again. Permanently."

It took him a good five minutes to answer. "I love you for that. But at least my not being human is a less expensive mouth to feed."

I cocked a brow at him. "Oh, my dear little buddy. Don't ever think you're not expensive."

He squeaked with laughter. "Touché."

The laughter gave way to more sadness. "Darcy…"

"You don't have to say anything else. I'm a lucky rat. I have love." He twitched his adorable whiskers. "And so do you."

I picked him up and showered him in kisses. He complained, but bollocks to him. I'd make his fur soggy with that love he just spoke about.

"Help me!" he squeaked, laughing.

I stayed up with him until sunrise, trying not to think about a life without him.