It went off without a hitch. Everything was perfect. She liked the look of the town. It was small, but not far from Greenville, South Carolina, so she could go to the city if she wished. The cabin was cute and not too isolated.
Even the dragon showed up at just the right time. I left as Kat started unpacking. She hummed to herself quietly as I closed the door behind me. Flying home, I wiped away a few tears of my own. She hadn’t expected a fraction of the help, and there was more if she needed it. All in all, a perfect day.
Or it would’ve been if I hadn’t seen my soon to be in-laws as soon as I landed. I thanked the dragon and sent them on their way. They didn’t need to be here for the inevitable family squabble.
For once, they didn’t run over, yell, or start demanding wedding concessions. No, they let me walk all the way over without a word.
Elron pulled me close, his hand resting at my waist. “Is it done?”
“She’s settled. I don’t think it’s done.” Not with her former clan, and not for her. Those compulsions to hunt evil weren’t going away.
“They have something to say.” He focused on his parents. “And then Michelle has more work.”
“Sadly, true. Today’s errand took me away from the reports. The police need those.” I forced a slight smile. “But I have a few minutes for family.”
“We only need a moment.” Erwin gathered himself. “Thank you for saving Eve.”
Enor patted his arm. “We never thought, well, that she would run into danger like that. We could not get there in time. Thank you.”
“You will always have our thanks.” Erwin bowed his head. “We did not think you would risk yourself for Eve.”
“She’s family. Of course I would help her. I would do it again.” This was worse than the yelling and fighting. At least I knew what to do with them when they demanded handmade apple wine.
Enor held out a soft package wrapped in tightly woven linen. “We found spider silk, enough for your dress.”
Narzel.
“Thank you.” I forced the words through clenched teeth. “It will be a wonderful addition to the wedding.”
“It was not woven on the spring equinox, but it is silver spider’s silk.” Enor’s words tumbled out. “It should do nicely.”
“Mother,” Elron pitched his voice low. “As Michelle said, it is a wonderful addition to the wedding.”
Enor smoothed her tunic. “It was the least we could do.”
I had no idea what to say.
“Mother, Father, Michelle needs to get back to work. We’ll see you for dinner.” Elron waited long enough for them to agree before guiding me away.
I held on to the package of spider silk and tried not to think about how it felt to walk into a spider web.
Elron took me to his apartment. He took the spider silk and set it to the side. “I have snacks, and I would like the story if you have time.”
“Shouldn’t we look at that?” I motioned toward the silk.
He shrugged. “All silver spider’s silk looks the same. Spring Equinox or not.”
“I’ve never seen it.”
Elron untied the twine, and the linen fell open. Ice-silver cloth spilled out and slid toward the floor. Elron caught it, lifting a shimmering cloth nearly the same color as his hair.
It was beautiful. Too beautiful to dye to match the traditional colors of a witch dress. My fingers brushed across the cloth. Unlike spider webs, this was soft. It didn’t cling to the skin but slid freely. “I didn’t expect it to be soft.”
“Their silk is softer, but still strong. A knife would not easily cut this fabric.”
“We have to use it, but not for my dress. I’m not dying fabric that unique.”
Elron folded the silk and repackaged it. “Perhaps Dorthea will have a solution.”
“Hopefully.” When people talked about weddings, they didn’t put nearly enough emphasis on the stress.
Though most of our stress had to do with my position. If the clans didn’t matter, we could just get married, ceremony be damned.
“How is the hell cat?”
“Well enough.” I followed him into the kitchen. “She’s settling into her new home.”
Elron set out a tray with finger foods. “What can you tell me about her?”
“Not much.” I snagged an olive. “She swore me to secrecy about her old life, for good reason.”
His brows went up, but he didn’t comment as he poured our drinks.
“The night of the first murder was her first night as a hell cat.” I told him what I could while I snacked. It was better to talk about it now. Once I read up on her old life, it would be too tempting to tell him everything.
In turn, he told me last night had shaken his parents and Tricks. The latter unsure of her judgment, the former fearful of her safety out in the world. We agreed Tricks would grow into herself. None of us were our best at seventeen, no matter how much we thought we knew.
Enor and Erwin, well, it had been a long time since Elron was a child. They’d forgotten what it was like, and, from Elron’s account, had grown more insular. Hardly a recipe for wild success.
Twenty minutes later, I gave Elron a kiss and retreated to my paperwork. I finished the reports for the police and got most of Kat’s paperwork done. It lacked a photo, but she could take care of that.
With forty minutes left before dinner, I searched for Kat’s old clan and the accident. At first glance, it was simple enough. Explosion, magic gone wrong, death, and a clan reeling from the loss. But questions remained. Why did the spells go wrong that day? Why was the explosion so large? Had it really consumed all the remains of several people?
As promised, I cleared my search history, and told no one of Kat or her clan. But I did wonder. And next time I heard news from the Fyr clan, I’d read more than the headline.
After dinner, we moved to the parlor. Tricks sat next to me. When Elron and his parents began debating the relative merits of different mushrooms, she nudged me with her elbow.
I raised a brow.
Tricks checked on her parents, who were still arguing with Elron. “What did you think of the spider silk?”
“It’s beautiful.” And that was all I was going to say on that matter so close to my sharp-eared future in-laws.
She leaned over and cupped a hand around her mouth. “I think Elron should wear it.”
My brows went up. I swirled a word confusion spell around us. “Why?”
“It’s our culture.” Tricks’s head tipped to the side as she shrugged. “You should wear a witch dress and he should wear the fancy elven stuff. Represent who you are.”
“That’s a thought.” I let the magic fade before anyone got suspicious.
The rest of the evening was surprisingly pleasant. If I’d known it took a murderous vampire to get Enor and Erwin to behave, I would’ve asked Henry to scare them weeks ago.
Tricks’ words kept tumbling through my mind. Maybe we’d been going about some of these shared traditions wrong. Instead of trying to show everything as equal, we could blend portions of the event, but simplify the ceremony and dress. Elron’s parents wouldn’t like it, but that was a separate issue.
After dessert, chocolate for me and fruit for the elves, Elron and I headed back to our apartments. When we were well out of earshot, I bumped his shoulder.
“Yes?” He raised a single brow.
“Tricks had an idea.”
“Did she? Will my parents be running back to Alaska to escape her?”
“Doubt it.”
He opened the door to his apartment.
I followed him in. “It’s about the wedding.”
Elron leaned against the back of his sofa, ankles crossed. “I had an idea about that myself.”
“Oh?” This I had to hear.
“You first. You brought up the subject.” His eyes sparkled.
Mine narrowed. He seemed far too relaxed for a conversation about our wedding. “Okay. Tricks suggested you wear the spider silk. She said we should honor our individual heritage, not trying to blend everything.”
“She has a point.”
“I thought so,” I said. “We could keep the blended event but simplify the ceremony. Take out all but the common and important bits, keep it as simple as possible.”
“Agreed. That will simplify matters.” Elron pushed away from the sofa, took my hands in his, and went down on one knee.
“What are you doing?”
“Attempting romance,” he said dryly. “May I continue?”
I nodded.
He pressed a kiss next to my engagement ring. “Michelle, my love for you will always be tougher than dragon hide and as unrelenting as the ocean. However, it is not patient. I have no desire to spend a hundred or three hundred years proving our love to my parents. Will you run away with me? Marry me away from our friends and family, marry me so we can put these petty disputes behind us.”
“Yes!” I hurled myself at him, which ended up with both of us sprawled on the floor laughing. “Yes. I’ll marry you anywhere, especially if we leave the family behind.”
He cupped my face in his hands. “I’d hoped you would say that.”
I tugged his head down. “Give me a kiss and then tell me the plan. I know you have one.”
Elron pressed a quick, hard kiss to my lips. “You want to know the plan?”
“Yes!”
He kissed me again and then helped me to my feet. “Pack a bag. I’ll tell you on the way.”
“Tonight? Really? Like now?” I knew I was repeating myself, but my elf was so rarely impulsive.
Elron scooped me up and carried me to my apartment. “Yes.”
“Then I better hurry.” I darted to my bedroom and pulled out a suitcase. This time it felt right.
Magic, murders, mayhem, parents… Nothing would stop us.
Want to dive into another witch story? Check out the first book in my new series, Accidental Necromancer!