Ayana liked Robert’s plan in general, but she claimed that she cannot authorize it herself. Her bosses at MAGE will take their time to decide whether they will share any secret information with civilians or not, she warned.

'Sure, why not wasting time, it's not about the fucking Armageddon, after all,' murmured Jenna sarcastically for that.

But as it turned out, they actually had time to wait. After they told Luther about the developments the next day, he assured them that the fae won't just kick the door down tomorrow: it could be months, even a year or more before they decide to do something. Immortal beings had nothing but time.

'That's good to know,' nodded Robert. It was only him and Jenna today, the others all had things to do. 'Do you know what we could use that time for?'

The pub was empty again, which was so convenient that Jenna wondered, not the first time, if Luther had a say in that. He could make people forget where the place was, after all, back in the day when they were protecting good old Mr George.

'Please, don't even start it,' sighed Luther tiredly, looking at Robert. 'We have been through this so many times. You know I can't.'

'Let me get this straight, then,' said Robert, with smouldering anger in his voice, which was alarming. 'Your people decided to take away real magic from us, but accidentally forgot someone who is now dangerous for the whole country, if not the whole world. She has power beyond our understanding because your people took away our knowledge, yet we are supposed to stop her somehow before she shares it. While we are trying to fix what your people screwed up before they are coming back and killing everyone because they screwed it up, and we cannot have any extra help or power, because it is against your people's rules. Can't you see how unfair this is?'

Luther looked at him with his stone-like, expressionless face. Jenna didn't like the direction things were going at all.

'Doesn't matter if I can see it or not, young Montgomery,' he said patiently. 'My hands are tied. I am not even allowed to use magic in front of humans, only in dire need or to protect myself and the pub.'

Robert narrowed his eyelids as if he was thinking about something.

'Speaking of tied hands,' said Jenna, seeing an opportunity to put an end to the testosterone-filled fight. 'Let's go home, I have some ideas…'

'In a minute,' said Robert in a distant voice. 'I've got to teach this bastard a lesson before,' he winked at Jenna and she saw Luther's lips flicker. The girl knew that something was going on, but she couldn't figure out what. The amount of whiskey she already had probably wasn't working in her favour. It was a long day.

'Now listen to me, you ancient, egoistic, condescending arse!' Robert said with his voice raised. 'I've had it with your stupid rules and excuses,' he stomped his cane down and the ground trembled. Jenna grabbed her whiskey to protect it from spilling; it was kind of a natural instinct.

'Robert, what the fuck are you doing?' she asked.

'Stay out of it, girl!' said Luther. He was taller, darker and his voice roared like a rumble of thunder all of a sudden. His dark presence made the very light fade away in the pub, leaving them in shadows.

'Don't talk to her like this!' snapped Robert. He tried to stomp his cane again, but Luther said a strange word, and the cane started to thicken. It also grew roots that tore up the boards of the parquet. In a few seconds, the cane became a young tree. Robert yanked his hand away as if it was hot.

'Get out!' shouted Luther and the door opened up behind Robert. 'Out!'

An irresistible power grabbed Jenna and threw her backwards. She landed on Robert who was laying on the footpath already, being the first one thrown out. The door shut close behind them with a loud bang.

'Shit,' she groaned and climbed on her feet. 'I dropped my whiskey... What is so funny?' she asked then because Robert was grinning as he got up and dusted himself off. 'Also, are you out of your fucking mind, man? He could have killed us!'

Robert shook his head still grinning, then kissed her forehead.

'I love you, but you really need to start paying attention… He just taught us another Word without breaking his own rules… What?'

Jenna stared at him with her eyes wide open, heart pounding. She felt like her legs just rooted themselves into the concrete ground the same way the little tree did in the pub.

'What did you just say?' she asked quietly. Yesterday morning, when Remy made her realise that she loved this man, felt like a thousand years ago because of all the new horrors that came into their lives since then. She didn't even have time to stop and think about it, let alone talk to Robert.

'That you need to pay att…'

'Before that, you moron!' she burst out. She could see on his face the exact moment he worked out what was going on.

'Oh,' he said.

'Say it again,' demanded Jenna.

'Listen, I…'

'Say it again!'

'Okay, okay. Not that it was a secret or something. I love you, Jenna,' he said with a little shrug, trying to sound casual. 'I know it's probably very early to say something like this, and you don't have to…'

Jenna didn't let him finish his sentence. She didn't even glance around if there was someone with them in the narrow backstreet, just grabbed Robert's trench coat, pulled him down and kissed him. Then she stayed in his tight hug, looked up into his eyes and took a deep breath.

'Iloveyoutoo,' she spluttered, then one more time, forcing herself to talk slower: 'I love you. Wow, this feels fucking weird...' Robert didn't answer, only smiled at her. 'Erm… Now what?' she asked.

'I don't know,' said the man, still smiling like an idiot. 'Uncharted territory, even for me. Might be because I have spent too much time with you, but my response would be to going home and having sex until we pass out…'

'Sounds like a plan,' grinned Jenna, and that was exactly what they did.

They stayed home and spent a part of the next day figuring out the new Name they learned. It was the name of the Rune of Change, one of the hardest. Most sorcerers never even got the hang of it properly, and that was only the Rune, not the Name, which was much more powerful and complicated.

Naturally, Robert mastered it in half an hour, while Jenna struggled for hours just to make the slightest change of the colour of Robert's yellow gym hoodie.

'Do you think it's possible that someone just cannot speak the Old Talk, like, properly?' she asked, staring at the hoodie. It was still yellow, but maybe a tad less bright than before.

'I never managed to learn German properly,' shrugged Robert. 'But I am fluent in French, Latin and I get by in Spanish. So I'd say it's a possibility.'

'Why on Earth would you learn Latin?' frowned Jenna.

'I needed extra credit in college and Latin sounded more interesting than business analysis,' he answered. 'However, as a teacher, I'd say your problem is your imagination, not your ability to pronounce one word.'

He said the word in question and Jenna's shirt became transparent.

'Now that will only steer away my imagination from magic,' she said, looking down on her own breasts. 'Also, I sincerely hope that you didn't do that with your students as a teacher…'

Robert laughed.

'Right, my bad. Let's solve this problem real quick,' he said and then concentrated for a second.

The transparent shirt started to smother from its edges. It burnt into nothing slowly, without any smoke or the embers even touching Jenna's bare skin. She felt nothing but some fondling warmness, then the shirt was gone. 'See? Whatever the Rune or Name you are using is, your only real limitation is your imagination.'

'That was very impressive,' Jenna said, still looking down on herself. 'Now the fact that you were able to do it while staring at my boobs is a little offending. I think I'm gonna need you to prove to me that you still find me attractive.'

Robert laughed, took her hand and proved to her that he found her very, very attractive. Twice. The phrase "I love you" that they just explored for themselves yesterday came up several times.

For the evening they were invited to Benjamin's big loft. The program was to watch Claire's Duel match on Benjamin's huge flatscreen TV then celebrate her triumph. The game started at 8, but Jenna and Robert arrived around seven. They weren't the first ones: Teodore and Ayana were already there.

'Beer in the fridge, Jenna would find my whiskey even if I'd hide it and pizza is on the way. Take a seat,' said Benjamin, gesturing towards the U-shaped, large couch in the middle of the room. Jenna stepped on the boy's foot as she went by and sent him a sweet smile.

She liked Benjamin's flat and could imagine herself in something similar one day. Exposed brick walls, support beams that could hold boxing bags, large windows… It would be good for Robert, too, those windows were letting in a lot of natural light, good for painting…

She frowned, shook her head and went into the corner that looked like the kitchen. She did find the whiskey in a matter of seconds and poured herself a generous helping. She was just planning a future with someone, for God's sake! She tossed off the drink and poured another.

'You okay?' asked Teodore from behind her. She turned.

'Yeah, sure, why not? I should ask the same….' she lowered her voice even though she switched for Italian and beckoned towards Ayana. 'I hear you are tapping that…' they didn't get the chance to talk alone for a while.

'Classy as always,' shook his head Teodore, but he was smiling. 'I know it's strange and that it doesn't have a future. But she is a remarkable woman. I think I could say I finally understand your "just having fun" principle.'

'Yeah, okay, but she has demons in her body,' objected Jenna. 'What if you catch them?'

Teodore took a deep breath and grabbed the whiskey-bottle from Jenna before she could have a third drink.

'That's not how it works, Jenna,' he said patiently. 'Besides, I'm not the one who should worry about the person I share a bed with,' he blinked towards Robert who was sitting on the couch, talking to the surprisingly responsive Ayana.

'What do you mean?' asked Jenna sharply.

'People are talking, Jenna. Word on the street is a Montgomery and a Carano having a passionate affair... Your father is angry at me because I told him whoever you are sleeping with is only your business. He is more concerned now than he was when you told him that you were bisexual…'

'Typical…' murmured Jenna. 'He is only worried about his campaign.'

'Even so, you know very well that it is actually crucial for the city. This shitshow needs your father, Jenna,' pointed out Teodore.

'So what?' she asked aggressively. 'What do you say, huh? I need to break up with him so Dad could have a better chance to become Mayor next year?'

Teodore shook his head with a sad smile Jenna never saw before. While she was busy falling in love and learning how to act kinda like a normal human being, Teodore grew up all of a sudden, without her noticing it. The angry kid ready to curse Robert back in the Commissioner's office a few months ago was gone. Instead, there was this calm, serious, smart young man.

'I've never seen you happier, Jenna,' he said. 'If I have to choose between your happiness and the future of the city, you know that my vote is yours. But your father might think otherwise. All I ask is, try to be more careful, okay?'

The woman didn't know what to say. She felt her throat scratching so she just hugged Teodore, and not even only for stealing back the whiskey. Although, she did that too.

Not long after that Martin arrived with Remy, arguing as always, now about whether Duel or football was the more popular game.

‘Duel, all the way,’ said Robert when Martin dragged him into the conversation. ‘It has got magic. Everything’s better with magic. In fact, the state of California hosts a “soccer” championship, as they call it, which encourages the usage of magic. It is quite spectacular, although it needs much stricter rules: a goalkeeper last year had all the bones broken in his lower arm because the striker changed the ball into stone…'

'Yeah, but those American guys are kinda soft, aren't they?' shrugged Martin. 'They even play rugby with those silly helmets on…'

'Like every normal person would do,' pointed out Remy.

'Sometimes you're so French,' shook his head Martin.

'You say that as if it was something bad…' answered Remy in an offended voice.

Jenna lost her interest in their newest fight.

Rose was the last one to walk in, and when she did Jenna forgot her eyes on her. During the week she spent with Agent Blake she gained some much-needed weight, but the more apparent change was in her attitude: she wore a low-cut white tank top and a yellow skirt which ended around her knees. It was a pleasing change after the baggy, black clothes she used to wear in the past weeks. Her smile returned, too.

'I see Agent Blake knows what to do with a girl… Just as I suspected,' said Jenna, looking all over Rose.

'Your jealousy is flattering,' she said with a grin, grabbing a beer out of the fridge. She cut a glimpse over the couch and all the men staring at her pretended to do something else at once. 'But it's not about that… Well, not entirely. I just… With The Priest captured and all, I feel like maybe things can get back to normal after all, you know?'

'Yeah, hold that thought. So you say the week-long sex tour with the most beautiful man I've ever seen has nothing to do with your sudden optimism?'

'Again, your jealousy feels good. But hey, you were young once, you must remember how it is.'

'You are like two years younger than me,' rolled her eyes Jenna, then, just out of tradition, she added: 'Bitch.'

Rose laughed.

'And will you two meet again or something?' asked Jenna. They both leaned to the kitchen counter and Rose clinked her bottle to Jenna's glass.

'Hard to tell,' sighed Rose. 'I mean, I wouldn't mind, he is a good guy and all, but his job literally is to travel to dangerous places and risk his life.'

'So he is tough and brave, that's kinda sexy,' shrugged Jenna.

'Yeah, at first,' nodded Rose. 'But my father was a copper for 30 years. I went to sleep every night hoping that he will be still alive in the morning when his shift was over. It's not a great feeling,' she shivered, then smiled. 'So, anything new? What did I miss?'

'Robert didn't tell you?'

He had picked Rose up from the airport in the early morning. Jenna, who wasn't a morning person mostly slept through that, only climbing out of bed when Robert was back again.

'He said he wanted to ask you first,' Rose replied.

Jenna sighed.

'I guess we are gonna need your help anyway, so… Yeah. In a nutshell, it turned out the Goddess teaches Old Talk to fanatics and if she will do it for a long enough time, the fae will come back and kill us all, so we kinda need to find her and put her back into her statue, ASAP.'

Rose sighed, too.

'So just the usual,' she said.

'Kinda,' nodded Jenna.

The two women were drinking in a friendly silence for a few minutes.

'Guys, it's on!' said Benjamin, waving to them.

Jenna went to the couch and sat down next to Robert. She made a quick headcount and realised that everyone around knew about them, more or less. She was sure that even if Benjamin or Martin didn't know it just yet, they won't run to Don Carano or the lord. So she snuggled up to Robert's side who hugged her shoulder. Nobody said anything, not even Teodore.

It was probably the shortest Duel game Jenna had ever seen. When the opponents draw their three random Runes, Claire has got the Movement, Fire and Mirror as opposed to Light, Earth and Mind. The voice of the bell that marked the start of the first round was still echoing in their ears when Claire's opponent was already out of the ring. A mere hour later she was with them, eating pizza and getting congratulations.

Around eleven, the party went quiet. Benjamin passed out, Rose was talking to Teodore, Martin argued with Remy over something new, while Robert and Claire hooked up Claire's Nintendo on Benjamin's huge TV and were playing something.

Ayana poked Jenna's shoulder as she was looking at his man, throwing turtle-shells left and right like a kid.

'I just got a text from Marcus,' Ayana said. Instead of beer, she was drinking tea. 'The Priest arrived, the cell and spells are holding, everything is alright.'

'Great,' said Jenna. 'Is Marcus coming back then?'

'He is, with the list you were asking for. He will fly now, so we could start as soon as tomorrow morning. Shall we tell them?'

Jenna looked over all of her very, very unlikely friends, having fun and bonding, and she shook her head.

'We will tell them tomorrow.'

Ayana nodded, gave Jenna a rare smile and went to sit beside Teodore.