Page 102 of Vengefully Matched

“I’ll walk you home and then head back to mine.” Priscilla stroked her hair again, and Agatha didn’t hide the way she leaned into it, the feeling of those long, dexterous fingers against her scalp.

“What if I want you to stay?” she whispered. Forever, she thought, but that part could wait—or it should wait, anyway. Just because she’d taken her own space didn’t mean she didn’t want Priscilla to sometimes be in that space too.

Priscilla kissed her forehead. “If you want me to, I’ll stay for as long as you like. Forever.”

“Let me just pack up.”

Agatha gathered her things and switched off the light with a slip of her fingers. Priscilla snapped, and the chairs all pushed in neatly, the main office area of the Council tidy and precise.

They walked out, hands intertwined, and headed toward Agatha’s apartment building.

In the sky, the sun set prettily into orange and pink, and Agatha had a feeling like her entire life had been building to this moment, if she could only be open enough to really see it for what it was, to appreciate every second and soak it up, turn it over in her mind and know that whatever came next, whatever happened, Priscilla would be there.

She could trust Priscilla, she realized. For all the pranking and animosity, they had turned something contentious into something kind, and something fake into something real. She wanted nothing more than to be grateful for every second of it, even if one day one of them died, or the planet spiraled into the sun, or some other twist of fate wrenched them apart. Any future suffering was worth the beauty of the way they loved each other right here, right now.

“I want to take an evening to think about what it means that all of this pretending has turned into something real,” Agatha said softly.

Priscilla bumped her shoulder, not dropping her hand. “Anything you want. And I, uh, have a question for you too.”

“Anything,” Agatha echoed.

“You can say no, but I wanted to know if you’d be willing to be my date for Az and Vickie’s wedding. I’ve been reluctant to ask because, well, obviously weddings historically have been so shitty for both of us. I’m the best woman, so it’s a big ask; I have a lot of responsibility. And I know you’re already on the guest list, and that you’ve already RSVPed, just you. I wasn’t stalking you, I swear. I was helping Az with seating charts.”

“It would be an honor to be stalked by you,” said Agatha, grinning. “Besides, it’s not stalking if you want the person to be checking up on what you’re up to. Then it’s just cute.”

Priscilla laughed. “Is that a yes?”

“It’s an I’d love to.” They kissed again, once, just a soft peck outside the main entrance to Agatha’s building, and even in that tiny moment, there lived more affection and romance than Agatha had dared to dream of before.

CHAPTER 35 Priscilla

The two weeks leading up to her brother’s wedding should have filled her with dread. She’d worried, before, that her own past would make her unable to wholly celebrate Azrael’s future. After all, the last time she’d arranged such a thing, it had ended in literal flames and agony.

But Azrael and Vickie were different, the kind of destined to be together that made her believe in love. Among other things, that is, because Prissy was starting to feel that maybe she could be different too. Maybe Agatha was different. The past did define her somewhat, as it did every person, but she got to choose the future. She could choose to work, to be better, and more mature, and more honest this time around.

Some time ago, her brother’s fiancée had asked her if she’d ever set a soul seal upon her heart, and do the magic spell that bound two creatures together stronger than human wedding vows might do. It had been when she was with Evelyn. And though she had loved Evie, she now knew what it was to love someone so completely that she wanted their souls to be intertwined eternally one day.

She’d said no back then. But it turned out no hadn’t been never. It had just been inconceivable because she hadn’t found the right person to help her conceptualize how beautiful forever could be.

So instead of panicking, she’d spent the weeks arranging flowers and arguing with Uncle Larry about the appropriateness of Jell-O shots at a formal event. She’d seen Agatha every day, either at work or at her place, or sometimes at Hart Manor. And when the day finally came, she and Agatha drove together, with Vickie, to the historic Vermont home that she and Az would be married in, outside, in front of a crowd of their closest friends and family.

Amelie and Maximillian Starnberger had declined their invitation, which Priscilla personally thought was for the best. She doubted Vickie wanted those assholes there, but she understood why she might ask them, anyway. A wedding was a perfect occasion to believe that someone, somewhere, could forgive, if they needed to. Just maybe not Victoria’s snotty parents.

She carried Vickie’s dress, a simple, long-sleeved lace thing, up the stairs, holding it in front of her to avoid mishap or the need for magic, which would certainly cause problems. This was a mundane venue, and though she thought she had spotted at least one shifter on the catering staff, and she knew for a fact that the events manager was a Harpy, there was a significant need to avoid magic.

Which is actually how Vickie and Az requested it to be. They had done the magic, set the soul seal, and were eternally bound. This ceremony and reception were about celebrating and commemorating that, about making it public to everyone, mundane and magical alike.

It was the beginning of a beautiful partnership.

“I can’t believe we are actually doing this,” said Vickie, and Prissy smiled.

“I mean, you’ve actually done a much more serious ceremony already.” She was about to mention the soul seal but remembered herself in time.

Agatha shot her a look over the wedding coordinator’s head, which was silly, because, again, Harpy. But maybe prudence was a good idea given the rest of the staff was mostly nonmagical.

“It’s just really exciting.” Vickie ran a finger along the banister at the top of the stairs. “And this place is so beautiful.”

“You’re going to make a beautiful bride,” said Agatha.