upload

“I know it wasn’t a dream,” Drake told me in a raspy whisper. “And I know you know it, too.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said with a shrug, then flipped my hair and went to wipe down the tables.

All the while I was panicking on the inside. How could he remember? And what would that mean for everyone going forward?

29

I returned home to two very happy cats and one very unhappy ghost. Merlin and Luna sat waiting for me on the kitchen table with huge matching grins spread between their whiskers while Virginia’s nearly invisible form swooped around the house muttering muted curses.

“How’s the new roommate settling in?” I asked the cats as Virginia swept toward me and then phased through me. Physically, I felt nothing, but it still felt like a violation.

I shuddered and yelled at her not to do that again.

“Or what?” the ghost asked so silently I had to strain to hear.

“Well, you are already grounded,” I said with a laugh. “Give me time, though, I’ll think of something.”

Both cats laughed with me as Virginia disappeared into another part of the house.

“She hates it, and we love it,” Merlin answered with bright eyes.

Luna seemed less amused despite her earlier laughter.“I still feel somewhat responsible for this all.”

“You can’t control the evil within someone else,” I said, running my fingers over her smooth white fur. “And besides, now your children will know much more about ghosts than you ever did. That’s a good thing, right?”

“I suppose,” she said with a sigh and leaned into my touch.

“Never mind about that.” Merlin stood and arched his back in a deep stretch. “We have a surprise for you.”

I raised one eyebrow.“Oh?”

“Right this way, if you’ll please.”

Both cats hopped off the table and trotted down the hall to my bedroom. They stopped before entering, though.

“Look up,” Merlin said with wide, eager eyes.

I looked up and saw nothing—or at least nothing that wasn’t supposed to be there. And the sight of that plain, boring white ceiling made my heart leap with joy.

“You fixed it!” I cried, stooping down to pet both cats in thanks. “How? I thought you needed to go to Nocturna to find someone?”

“As much as I’d like to take credit, it was all Luna,” Merlin announced with pride. “Tell her, Luna.”

The she-cat looked embarrassed by her good deed.“Well, you know how we’ve been going to my garden so much lately?”

“I do.”

“I figured if there were other garden witches nearby, they would have similarly well-stocked gardens.” She paused, and Merlin picked up where his partner left off.

“We spent all day teleporting to various neighborhoods around the state until at last we found what we were looking for two towns over. A place called Beech Grove. There we met a magical human of all things! The garden was his, but he introduced us to a cat he knew named Mr. Fluffikins.”

“And Mr. Fluffikins came with us and fixed the roof with just a swish of his tail. Can you believe it?” Luna cried. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this Fluffikins had left quite the impression on her.

Merlin didn’t seem the least bit jealous, though, and I admired how secure their relationship had become after its rough start.

“I can’t believe you went through all that for me. Thank you.”

“Well, it was Merlin’s fault, but now he knows better than to summon lightning indoors. Right, dear?” Luna glared at him.

Merlin’s head drooped toward his chest. “Yes, dear.”

“I appreciate you making it up to me, thank you.” I gave them each another pat on the head before rising back to my feet.

“Oh, that’s not him making it up to you,” Luna said in a stern voice, directed more at Merlin than at me. “That’s just setting things right. Merlin has another surprise for you as part of his apology, though.”

Merlin took a deep breath.“I thought a lot about our talk the other day, and how important it is to you that Luna and I embrace human customs while living in the human world…” His words drifted off, leaving me confused. What was he getting at?

Luna nudged him with the side of her paw.“Well, go ahead. No need to dilly-dally.”

The Maine Coon raised his head and regarded me with glowing green eyes.“And as such, Luna and I have decided to get married. Officially. Before the kittens come.”

I clapped my hands together in excitement.“You guys, that’s great! I’m so happy for—”

“And you will plan it for us,” Luna gushed. “Isn’t that wonderful?”

My smile faltered for a moment.“Uh, you guys don’t have to do all this on my account.” Especially if you expect me to do all the work, I added silently. I’d never planned a human wedding before, let alone a cat wedding. Where did one even begin?

“Think nothing of it, dear. We want to do this for you,” Luna assured me. She really had no idea.

“Thanks,” I said, trying so hard to keep some form of a smile plastered on my face. “When is the happy day?”

“This weekend!” they both cried in unison.

Oh, boy.

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