Wicked Wish (The Royals: Warlock Court Book 2)

by Megan Montero

It was crazy to think the last time I was in this cave I was terrified. Now I was looking forward to it. Even as I passed statue after statue of her victims. A stag stood frozen on its hind legs. Its antlers were so huge they spanned nearly the whole ceiling of the tunnel like cave. I moved around it then stepped over a man frozen as he fell back on one hand while he held the other out pleading. I was going to have to ask Medusa about that one. “Hellooooooo.”

  “EEEkkkkk, I can’t believe you’re here!” Medusa’s voice carried on an echo to me.

  “I told you I would come over.” I stepped out into a large room onto black and white checkered tiles. The transition from hard packed dirt to tile was surprisingly smooth. Black gothic columns rose up from the floor toward the ceiling. They arched up like a church. At one end was a circular stained-glass window with a large snake depicted in. At the other end was a statue of a cyclops. Its head nearly brushed the top of the ceiling. I pointed to the statue. “You really have to get rid of that creepy thing.”

  Medusa skipped out from her den at the back of the cave and ran toward me. This time I braced for impact. When she was three feet away, she leapt and threw her arms around my shoulders. I staggered back but didn’t go down like I did the last time we met. She was smaller than me, standing at only a few inches over five feet. Her features were delicate and elf-like, with a small pert nose, pink rosy cheeks, and full bow-shaped lips. Her eyes were huge and hypnotic. She had the body of a complete bombshell, which was why I suspected most of these men died smiling. Her flowing black and purple snakes placed little kisses all over my cheeks and this time I wasn’t shy about batting them away. “Your snakes are tonguing my face.”

  Medusa swatted them to the sides. “Down, boys, down.”

  Once they fell down to her elbows in submission, she clapped her hands together. “Oh my God, you’re here!”

  “I am. I needed some serious girl time.” I took a step back. “What are you wearing?”

  She held her arms out and the sweatshirt blanket thing covered her from neck to knee. It was huge and swallowed her body completely. Her little legs popped out of the bottom and were clad in black leggings. Thick fur lined boots covered her feet up to her knees. “It’s called a blanket sweatshirt.”

  “You look like that big purple cartoon dinosaur.” I giggled then a chill ran up my spine. “But I get it.”

  “Oh come over by the fire.” She grabbed my hand and her fingers were ice cubes. She tugged me across the gallery down two steps. In front of us was a huge flat screen TV with a cushy purple crushed velvet sectional sprawled in front of it. Under the TV was a fireplace complete with a roaring fire. To the left of that up against the wall was a four-poster king-sized bed with a bedspread that matched the couch. To my right was a full chef’s kitchen with stainless steel appliances, marble countertops, and shaker cabinets.

  I walked down and stood in front of the fire, letting the heat seep into me. “I can’t believe how cold it is in here.”

  “It’s a cave in the mountains with twenty-foot ceilings. This isn’t even bad. Wait till you get to the shit months like February and March. I mean February is so bad they take days off it to make it go faster. Where’s the pizza?”

  “What kind do you want?”

  “Pepperoni. Wait no, cheese. No, veggie.” She bit her bottom lip. “I have no idea.”

  “I got you covered.” I held my hands out in front of me and smoke covered my palms as I pictured my favorite pizza in the city. Three boxes appeared and I dropped them onto the countertop.

  “Now that’s cool.” She opened the top box and steam wafted up toward her. She sucked in a deep breath. “It’s been so long since I had good pizza.”

  “Well, next time call for delivery.” I pointed to myself.

  She grabbed the box and walked over to the couch and plopped down. No plates, no napkins necessary. Reasons why we are friends. She pulled her feet under her and shoved a bite into her mouth. “So do tell, what’s the deal? How’s Beckett? Things progressing with you guys?”

  “Ugh.” I leaned back on the couch. “It’s so complicated.”

  “Well, uncomplicate it for me.” The flickering fire light cast shadows over her skin.

  This was why I was here, why I needed her. I had no one else to turn to and above all else Medusa was my friend. “Okay, first I ascend, right? And nearly freaking die from it . . .”

  “Yeah, Gregor almost died too.” She waved me on. “Keep going.”

  “My great-great-great-grandfather? He almost died during his ascension too?” For some reason I found that comforting. Like maybe I wasn’t the only Lockwood who suffered from their powers.

  “Yeah, but we’ll talk about it later. I want to hear more about sexy Beckett.” Her eyes flashed. “That boy is fine!”

  “Right, okay. So then I’m dying and he’s there day and night taking care of me.” I lowered my voice. “I even took a bath in front of him.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Oh my God!” She dropped her pizza on the couch and clapped her hands together. “How was it? Super amazing? Did it hurt? Was he all aggressive or sweet and gent—”

  “Okay, stop.” I waved my hand back and forth. “No, nothing happened.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Lameeeee.”

  “No, it was kind of . . . sweet. He was a perfect gentleman.”

  “I hate it when they do that.” She grabbed her pizza off the couch, blew on it, then took another bite.

  “Oh, come on, it was actually pretty great.”

  “Aww you totally love him.”

  I shook my head. “Okay, no, stop.”

  “I’m sorry, but come on, you two are fire.” She finished off her slice then grabbed another. “Oh, yeah. Coke, please.”

  I held my hand out, summoned one, then gave it to her. “Do you want me to keep going? Or not?”

  She popped the top and took a sip. “Yeah, but like, is there a hot part and are we getting to it?”

  I hesitated. “Yes and yes.”

  Her smile broadened and she waved me on.

  “Okay, first he kissed me twice, then he’s all we’re just friends. Then I almost die, and he takes care of me for days. Then the warlock council shows up and he turns back into bossy Beckett. Then when I think I can’t take any more, he arranges this whole awesome sleepover with the witch queens. And right after that shoves me back into classes, where this horrible bitch doses him with a love potion and he chooses me as the object of his obsession. The guy has so many mood swings I’m getting whiplash from the roller coaster he has me on. Then we spent this incredible night together, which he doesn’t remember and turns back into a bigger jerk than before. To top it all off, I can’t call my bestie Tilly and it’s slowly killing me inside.”

  Medusa froze with a new slice of pizza in front of her open mouth. “Wow, that’s a lot.”

  “Tell me about it.” I let my head fall back on the couch. “And when he was under that potion I was only suspended, lucky I wasn’t expelled for good . But still this horrible council guy was there along with the headmaster and they said it was good this was just a spell because anything between the heir lines was strictly forbidden.”

  Medusa wrinkled her nose. “What do you guys care? You’re trying to take over them anyways.”

  “That was my thought too at first, but then I realized something. If we are going to take over the council, then we’re also going to need the support of the warlock world, which means we have to respect their laws.”

  She waved that away. “At least until you can change them yourself.”

  “Do you think?”

  I didn’t want to sound hopeful, but I knew I did. There was a part of me that deeply wanted Beckett, more than I’d like to admit to Medusa or myself. I felt connected to him in a way I couldn’t explain or fathom, being close to him was both agony and bliss.

  Medusa nodded. “First you gotta breathe. These kinds of things can’t be forced. If it’s meant to be, it will be. In the meantime
we can drive him crazy, just for fun.”

  “I don’t even have to try at that, I just do it. He wants me to control my magic all the time and I literally just got it. And not all of it, mind you.” I walked over and grabbed the box of cheese pizza and brought it with me to the couch.

  “Here, give me your phone.” She motioned for me to hand it over. I pulled it from my pocket and gave it to her.

  “Wait, what are you doing on my phone?”

  “I’m setting up a catfish profile for Beckett. It works wonders on Athena. I mean, she is royally pissed and I think it’s perfect to drive him insane too.” She scrolled up and up an up. “Do you have a picture of him in your phone?”

  “No.” I grabbed my phone and pulled it out of her hand. “You’re so bad.”

  “Oh come on.” She pointed to her snake hair. “Athena deserves this and so much more. You should see the hate messages she gets on Facebook and I’m a hundred percent sure her Snapchat is full of random”—she coughed and gestured toward her hips with a wink—“snake pics, all thanks to me. We can send snake pics to Beckett too.”

  “Somehow I don’t think that will help.” I slid my phone back into my pocket. “Now maybe you can help me with some magic?” Because the Beckett situation is hopeless.

  My grimoire dropped into my hands and I laid it out between the pizza boxes. Medusa reached for it and opened the book. She thumbed through the pages. “Ohhhhh let’s make him sound like a frog every time he opens his mouth, or how about random weight gain? That would piss me off so much.”

  My jaw dropped. “How can you see my book? No one can see it.”

  “Same way you can look me in the eye and not turn to stone.” She shrugged. “Gregor’s magic.”

  She held the book close to her chest and a wistful smile played on her lips and her voice softened. “We were friends. He was the only friend I had until you.”

  I glanced around the cave and sighed. She was so lonely here, yet she sat here listing to me talk out my problems. I wanted to do something for her, something she needed. “What is something that you want?”

  She snorted. “I’d love to be warm.”

  I flipped through the pages and found a spell all the way at the back, one I knew would be hard to do, but I wanted to try. I jumped to my feet and rubbed my hands together. I called upon my magic and let it rise up inside me..

  “Four corners of the Earth I call you near,

  See my mind then make it here.

  By strength in soil, mind, and heart,

  Feel tides awash and fires restart.

  I seek to move this place of mine,

  Through the abyss thy space entwine.”

  Smoke flooded from my hands, covering the floor like a tidal wave. The cave rumbled and shook, rocks fell from above our heads, and dust rained down. Medusa jumped to her feet and moved to my side. “What did you do?”

  “I’m not sure.” More power and suddenly my stomach shot to my toes.

  A huge crack fractured the floor and Medusa screamed. “Dude, I didn’t want you to break my house.” She pulled out her phone. “I’m going to put it on YouTube if you do.”

  I batted it away. “You can’t . . . magic . . . remember.”

  “Right, good point.” The floor dropped out from beneath us and we threw our arms around each other. The hair blew back from my face and her snakes looked cartoon like as they too flew straight up..

  “I am seriously regretting those five slices I just ate.” She squeezed her eyes shut.

  The floor rose up beneath us and I braced for impact. At the last second I spotted the bed and used my powers to summon it right beneath us. We landed in a heap and the wood frame split under the drop.

  When I looked up, the entire cave was covered in dust. Some of her statues had broken. I glanced at the cyclops. Nope, still there. Medusa sucked in a deep breath. “What happened?”

  “Why don’t you take a peek outside and look?” I smirked. I didn’t know if it worked, but if it did, magic was freaking awesome.

  Medusa planted her feet and shook her head. “I can’t go out there. W-what if I hurt someone?”

  Rays of sunshine crept in through the entrance of the cave. Medusa’s eyes widened and she sucked in a deep breath through her nose. “Is that the ocean? I haven’t seen the ocean in years.”

  A warm breeze swept in through the opening and she let go of my hand. “No, Astrid, take me back. I don’t want this.”

  “Come on. I just used my powers to move you to Magen’s Bay. Closer to your sister.” I wanted her to be happy, to be warm, but most of all to be free.

  “Just hold on a sec.” I held my hand out. If I could summon pizza and Coke, these should be a breeze. I pictured reflective aviator glasses. The glass was a one-way mirror that only Medusa could see out of, yet no one could see into them. I gave them silver blinders on each side, so her peripheral vision wouldn’t accidentally catch someone. I handed them over to her.

  She held them up, examining them. “Are you serious?”

  “Oh and this too.” I handed her a long piece of purple cloth. “That way you can wrap up the boys and no one will see them. Oh and I made it so once it’s on, it’ll stay in place. We wouldn’t want any accidents, would we?”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Astrid, I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t say anything. Just go have fun and say hi to your sister for me.” I took a small step back and leaned up against the wall.

  She pulled her sweater blanket from over her head and threw on the ground at her feet, then kicked off her boots. A wide smile spread across her lips. “No one has ever done something like this for me . . . you gave me freedom.”

  Chapter 26

  Astrid

  The blue portal exploded open in front of me. Wind whipped through it and the magic swirled as he prowled through the tunnel. His hair whipped around and his face was a mask of anger. His brows were drawn low over his eyes, and his lips were pressed into a hard line. The muscle in jaw ticked and he didn’t utter a single word. He stopped just inside of the portal and reached his hand through. He crooked his finger at me then turned and walked back.

  Nervous butterflies filled my stomach. Crap, crap, crap. I stepped into the portal after him and was dragged into a tornado. I thought I knew how violent it could get . . . I didn’t. My body whipped from side to side. I twisted like a corkscrew and I was sure my stomach just fell out of my butt. My face smacked into something fuzzy yet hard underneath. Did I stop moving?

  I placed my hands down and shoved myself up to a stand. My stomach was definitely not in my body anymore, otherwise I would have hurled. Nope, nope, there it is. I swallowed, trying not to lose all the pizza I’d eaten with Medusa. I hadn’t thought about it before I stepped into the portal, but it was the most turbulent of all the portals I’d ever been in. Which made me believe two things: One, his portal’s level of comfort was based on his mood or two, he liked making them turbulent . . . just to torture me. I turned for my bed on shaky legs and plopped down. Odin tiptoed across the bed and made himself comfortable on my lap.

  Beckett paced back and forth. Step, step, step, turn and repeat. Odin looked up at me with that one eye of his, then subtly nodded toward Beckett almost asking, “How did you break it?”

  I shrugged and turned my attention back to Beck. “Beckett, I—”

  He held his index finger up, cutting me off. When he opened his mouth to speak, he just shook his head and turned to pace. Then finally he stopped with his hands on his hips. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” His voice was low and menacing.

  “She’s my friend.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Astrid.” He threw his hands up. “What you did was—”

  “Was what? She’s been trapped there for centuries, freezing in the winter. Lonely, with no friends and not a person to talk to.” I placed Odin on the bed next to me and rose to my feet to face him. “You’d go crazy like that.”

  “At this point I real
ly don’t think I would.” He stopped right in front of me, so close I could smell his clean, fresh scent. Heat radiated off his body. His eyes flashed with anger as he looked down his prefect nose at me. “The seclusion might be nice.”

  Ouch.

  I was seriously reconsidering Medusa’s offer to fill his inbox with inappropriate pictures from strangers. “She was going stir-crazy.”

  “Medusa is crazy!” He pointed to his head. “You think she’s got all her marbles in place? I can assure you a monster does not!”

  “She’s not a monster!” Anger flared in my chest. “I’m sorry, but so not sorry!”

  “Clearly not!” He towered over me, with his face red with anger. “But did you think for one second what it would mean to move an entire cave halfway around the world?” His body quaked from head to toe. “The exposure alone.”

  “What do you mean exposure?” My voice raised with anger.

  “You think magic gives you the right to do anything you want, and it doesn’t.” He held his hands out in front of him like he wanted to strangle something.

  Adrenaline flooded my veins. “You can’t just leave her there. It’s not right.”

  “I didn’t say it was right. But you can’t expose magic like that. There are consequences. And your biggest problem is you don’t think about them. It’s always what you want to do and nothing else matters.”

  I took a step toward him. “This wasn’t about me! It was about her and the freedom she deserves.”

  The tension between us was palpable, sizzling in the air around us. It brushed over my skin like a scorching touch. He growled low in the back of his throat and tugged on his hair then threw his arms out wide.

  “You need to learn that there are bigger things to be afraid of than just the council. If you expose magic, then this could all be gone like that.” He snapped his fingers to emphasize the point.

  “She’s not exposed. She’s in the forest surrounding the Bay, and the glasses I gave her will keep her safe.”

  “Astrid! Those glasses could get knocked off. What about all the innocent people around her? What about the developers who want to build those mansions? Did you think of any of that? What if they walk into that cave while she’s just relaxing? Don’t tell me you didn’t see all those statues she collects.” We were so close his breath fanned across my face. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to kiss him or kill him. “You need to stop being so impulsive, otherwise we are going to be in more trouble than we can handle.”