Baron Samedi stepped forward with his top hat in hand. "If I may add," he spoke up in his melodic Haitian patois. "Monsieur Cyprian hired me to resurrect ti fi with intentions exactly as she describes."

Mal cut eyes at him, but Brigit shoved the slender woman aside and descended the steps to the head council's level. "Not to mention, he wanted for us to kill the wee lassie when we begged off just now in the music room!" she fumed. All tea, all shade.

"And it's not only Aurie Edison," Tegan went on. "We have evidence spanning over fifty years for crimes ranging from carnal knowledge of a juvenile to sexual assault. Darcy Cyprian gave me the cold case files, personally. It's all there."

I leaned heavily on Mys for support while Mr. Distefano held up the jump drive and smirked at Darcy's attorney. "Do you have anything to say for your client, Ms. Ashivant?" the man asked.

Mal lifted a shoulder blithely. "I haven't seen the evidence, nor do I have personal knowledge of any of this. As far as I'm concerned, it's hearsay and defamation of character."

"I beg your pardon!" The head of the council stiffened. "Need I remind you the accusers are standing here talking about what happened in your music room?"

My gaze ping-ponged to Mal Ashivant.

"I'm sure Mr. Cyprian welcomes an investigation exonerating him of all wrongdoing." She crossed her arms, and I shuddered. She sounded like a woman who was used to winning.

"You understand the magnitude of the allegations against him?" Mr. Distefano pressed.

"I don't discuss allegations. I defend against prosecution. Let me know when you're ready."

"We will do that, Ms. Ashivant. Also, please inform your client that until this matter is resolved, he should refrain from submitting a Declaration of Candidacy."

At this, Mal seemed perturbed, but she said nothing else. She disappeared into the house, slamming the door behind her. Mr. Distefano glanced at the eleven other individual members of the Council of Overlay Affairs and their security personnel standing in the gusty rain. He twirled a finger in the air, signaling they should wrap it up and leave. "Waste of my damn time," someone muttered.

A straggling council member stepped forward. A wide umbrella shielded her elegantly coiffed hair and face from the storm. "Detective Tegan Stoney?" She looked up.

"Yes?" Tegan greeted her.

"I'm Farida Ravani. Thank you for your loyalty to my son," she replied in a clipped British accent. I lifted a brow in surprise. Zyr's mother could easily pass for someone half her age. Tegan gawked as she shook hands with her. "I've heard such great things about you, Detective."

"I wish I could say the same, Mrs. Ravani, but Zyr has always been secretive about his family."

"I'm sure, in these trying times, there was only so much he could say. But I know you're the reason his position was reinstated, and the internal investigation dropped on the human side," said Mrs. Ravani. "I also know I owe you a debt of gratitude for getting me released from house arrest."

"I wasn't sure Cyprian would keep his word," Tegan demurred. "Especially after he found out I handed over a Soul he couldn't resurrect."

"Well, it doesn't matter what that rat says to the Council now, no one will believe him. Thanks to each of you." Mrs. Ravani's grateful smile encompassed every one of us. "Please give this to Zyr for me when you have the chance." She pushed something into Tegan's hands and hurried to a black Mercedes to join the rest of the vehicles parading from the grounds.

I glanced around for Zyr, and a subtle voice whispered primal thoughts in my head. I knew it was her. The red wolf. My life would never be the same, not just because I was a shapeshifter now. I kneaded my leg as phantom limb pains bothered me. Seeing this, Mys wrapped me in a tighter embrace. Haley dropped a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze, and I braved a smile.

Darcy had called me special, but no amount of magic had been able to save my leg. A part of me cried out for what was lost. Mostly, I relished being alive. It was like waking up from a sad dream and realizing the worst of it wasn't real.

I wasn't dead. Mys wasn't rotting in a pine forest somewhere. Zyr wasn't languishing in some Overlay prison. We had actually succeeded, and Darcy Cyprian would pay. Even if our berserk attack on the vampire hadn't killed him, his political aspirations were done in Overlay City.

Tegan faced Mys. "And I owe you an apology," she sighed.

"Eh, you redeemed yourself when you delivered the evidence." Mys shrugged it off.

"I tried to do what I thought was right. It took me a minute to figure out the best thing for Zy .is you. The both of you." Tegan smiled tiredly as she stared in the distance. "I guess there's no point in calling for backup."

"Not unless they're ready to deal with whatever that is in the house." Mys chuckled and hiked a thumb back at the mansion.

"Our resident witch can take on those lawyers," I teased.

"What about you, coven sister?" Haley quipped. "Don't you realize what happened? YOU are the reason your Soul traveled to Overlay City because YOU are also a powerful witch, exactly as Darcy suspected."

I blinked in amusement until Wallace confirmed it with a nod, but before I could get more answers, a car pulled around from the side of the house for Baron Samedi and Mama Brigit. The top-hatted voodoo loa smiled and waved goodbye to me.

"Thanks for everything," I called after them.

"You know how to find us if you need us," he winked. They drove away in their Lincoln Towne Car like regular people with slightly eccentric fashion sense. I wondered if I would ever see them again. I knew I wouldn't scoff at vodoun anymore. Some things were real, whether one believed or not. Like the fact that I might be a witch.

Lightning cracked, thunder rumbled, and Haley yelped. Kittie Cad hopped in the Nissan, shouting, "Get in, y'all! That's our cue to go."

"Wait, where's Zyr?" I asked.

"Here." Wallace guided the big black wolf that I knew to be my lover to the car. Tegan held up the red giftbox Mrs. Ravani had asked her to deliver. She looked around, confused, since she didn't know he was a werewolf, but it dawned on me why he hadn't yet shifted to man-shape. My heart slammed in my chest.

"He's gone," Mys said with difficulty. Haley caught me before I fell, weak with grief, and Mys opened the backdoor of the Nissan to help me inside. "He went feral. We're lucky the Council didn't realize it, or they would've taken him."

"This...is Zyr?" Tegan asked in shock.

Nodding, I beckoned for the wolf, and the Guardian brought him forward. The gift box fell from Tegan's numb fingers, spilling open to reveal a thick gold chain. My sobs arrested in my chest. The chain was similar to the ornate collar worn around Loulou's neck. A vague memory of Darcy boasting about controlling her shifts whispered in my mind.

"Give it to me, quickly, Tegan!" I sniffed. My trembling fingers fumbled with the clasp of the chain until Mys took it and did what had to be done. It went around the black wolf's neck, and...

There he was. Zyr Ravani was back.

Mys gasped. A fresh wave of tears crested my eyelids. Zyr surged into my arms, and the Empath clung to us, too. The rest of our friends stared, dumbfounded.

"How did you know?" Haley asked in awe.

I wordlessly shook my head because I hadn't known for sure. I had gone with my gut and taken a chance. Everything that had occurred in Overlay City had transformed me. In some ways, I felt broken. I averted my gaze from the empty space where my leg used to be and peered at the shadowy plantation behind us. In other ways, I was stronger than ever.

I was still in the dark about our destiny, but there was one thing certain: I couldn't go back to being the girl who played it safe, the girl with unfinished business. I was a witch, and I would fight for Mys and Zyr, no matter what it took. None of us would stop until Darcy Cyprian was put away for good. Funny, it had taken losing everything to learn to live my best life. But I had no doubt, this was it.

FIN

###

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