26. Unicorn Magic

CLOVER

I finish pulling the last of Blobby into the small doll, letting out a sigh of relief. I open my eyes to see Kushim’s strong back in front of me. My eyes slide down to his waist, and I can see…the cavern through him.

That’s not right.

“Kushy?”

His shirt has hundreds of small holes and one giant one near the center of his chest. Blood has soaked his suit to the point where it looks like he has jumped in a river and it’s pooling on the cavern floors below. My eyes go wide.

“Kushim!” I scream in alarm.

He slowly turns his head to me. His face is pale. The crimson red of his irises has taken over his whole eye. Or is that blood dripping from his eyes? Oh goddess, no!

“Kushim! Demons can’t die can they, can they?” I demand and plead at the same time. I grab his face.

“Idiot. He needs to release the magic,” Aldrich says. “He can’t heal without his magic.”

“Let go of the magic. We won. It’s over.”

He doesn’t react. He just stands there as if he can see me but also isn’t seeing me.

“Please, you have to let go of the magic,” I beg.

A bunch of the dolls crumple to the ground, and even Aldrich falters. Bits and pieces of his doll’s body start falling off.

“Run,” Kushim croaks out, then he crumples.

I try to catch him, but both of us fall to the floor in a heap. Something snaps beneath me, and I don’t even care what it was. I can’t lose him.

“Kushy. Kushy, please.” Tears stream down my face, making it hard to see as I try to lift him. My legs don’t work like they should. I give up, cradling him to my chest. “Please, you can’t go. Please.”

Fitzy’s horse head moves in close to my face and looks like he wants to stab Kushim’s body with his horn. I try to push it out of the way.

“Don’t touch him!” I cry. I place my forehead against his.

It’s my fault. My plan was horrible. I caused this.

I lost him.

I’m so sorry.

Fitzy nudges me harder, and Aldrich’s slowly falling apart form grapples me.

“He is trying to help, Clover.”

His words register, and I stop fighting and start inhaling and exhaling shaky breaths. A bright glow illuminates the room, blinding me as Fitzy’s horn touches Kushim’s chest.

I place a palm to my chest as I watch Kushim’s body slowly mend itself back together. I hiccup out a breath. “Kushy?”

Kushim’s body jerks. and he suddenly sits upright, coughing out some blood and leaning over on one hand.

“Kushy!” I shout, grasping him in my arms and bawling. “You’re okay. Thank you, Fitzy. Thank you.”

I cry out as Fitzy huffs and nudges in between Kushim and me, making Kushim fall over onto his belly.

“Way to welcome someone back from”— Cough, cough— “death.” Cough! “Fuck you.”

Kushim shuts up instantly when I let out a pained cry as Fitzy’s nose bumps my leg. Hot molten lava burns up my leg from where he touched it. I look down. My leg is facing the wrong direction. That doesn’t seem good.

“I think I broke it,” I say, as if it isn’t obvious by my backward leg, but sometimes it’s good to point these things out.

“Shit, sweetness, how did this happen?” Kushim says as he scrambles to his knees, his hands hovering over my leg.

“I think it happened when I tried to catch you. Why do you weigh so much?” I ask, the edges of my vision growing dark.

He didn’t look that heavy. Maybe I should work out more so I can carry all my mates in cases of emergencies. Kushim laughs at my question.

“We will have to set it before he can heal it,” Aldrich says as he crouches behind me. He holds my waist with one squishy arm and wraps the other around to my face.

Kushim reaches out and gently holds my foot.

“Set it?” I ask.

Aldrich puts his doll hand in my mouth and says, “Bite this.”

“What?” I say through a muffled mouthful of Aldrich’s hand.

Kushim yanks and twists. I let out an unholy scream as hellfire dances up my leg. I might as well have been doused in acid as every nerve in my leg screams out in protest.

“I’m so sorry, sweetness,” Kushim says as he moves to my side, pulling me close to him.

I cry, and both he and Aldrich run their hands over me and kiss on me in an attempt to soothe me. Fitzy’s horn glows once more as it touches my leg, and an itchy sensation quickly replaces the pain. The sensation fades as Fitzroy pulls back and shimmers back into a man, free-balling and standing in his full glory before us.

“Get that out of my face,” Kushim grumbles as he looks down and pulls at his black silk shirt. “I told you I’d need a new suit,” he whispers, bumping my shoulder lightly with his own.

I can’t help the laughter that escapes me. “Too soon. Too soon. I mean, don’t scare me like that ever again, okay?”

“No promises, sweetness,” he says before breaking out into laughter with me.

Soon we are all laughing. It’s over, we did it. We trapped Blobby.

“Oh! Blobby!” I completely forgot about the blob monster.

At my words, all three of us whip around to look for the doll. It’s easy enough to find. Those that remain of my friends, including Mip, have trapped Blobby in a circle. Mip and Blobby are currently wrestling and rolling around on the floor.

I rush over and pick the Blobby doll up in one hand and Mip in the other.

“Hey, I had him!” Mip shouts, reaching for the little Blobblet. Blobby, however, simply looks up at me and tilts his head. It’s kinda cute.

Suddenly, Kushim’s deft fingers pluck Blobby from my grip and place him in a jar. Blobby plops down and looks at his feet. Kushim puts the jar in the center of the other dolls and steps back. I let Mip go, and he blinks on top of the jar and huffs.

“We were handling it just fine, thank you very much. You’re welcome, by the way.”

I smile. “You were doing great, and thank you, Mip. You’re the most spectacular bestie ever.”

“Damn right, I am,” he says, crossing his legs and shrugging as if he isn’t beaming with pride.

“I guess it’s time, then?” Aldrich says before walking to the portal.

“Yup, come join us.”

He takes a moment, steeling himself before he walks toward the portal. Is he nervous? He slowly steps into it, and as he does, the doll body I made for him crumbles to the ground. Several seconds pass, and when he doesn’t emerge, I begin to panic. Is he having second thoughts? Does he not really want me as his mate? Was I just a means of escape for him?

But I shouldn’t have worried, because as he walks out the other side of the portal, he stops and looks down at himself, then his gaze finds mine. His light green eyes are almost glowing in the dimly lit catacombs, and his smile is as bright as a warm summer day.

“I’m free,” he says as I move closer to him. “I’m free, and I’m still more handsome than your other mates. You are one lucky girl, Clover Calla.”

I laugh and throw my arms around my ridiculous, wonderful mate. “You are free, and you’re home.”