I looked back and forth between the two of them, surprised and more than a little pleased by the emotions I saw sparking in their gazes. Annoyance. Desire. Heat. And something a little softer and more promising as well. I thought they might have a chance of making it together-forever. Bria was serious enough to keep Finn grounded, while my foster brother was carefree enough to get my sister to lighten up. Something that she needed now more than ever to help her get over the horrors of what Mab had done to her.
"I'm going to have to agree with Finn on this one," I said in a mild tone. "Especially since I've had to listen to him tell me how fantastic you are ever since Christmas."
Bria stared at my foster brother with a little more warmth. "You think that I'm fantastic? I'm not just another conquest to you?"
Finn's shoulders sagged, and he gave me a defeated look. "Geez, Gin. Talk about kicking a guy when he's down. Now you've gone and done it."
I arched an eyebrow. "What? I've let the world know that there really is a heart underneath that slick suit and shiny tie? We've all known that for a while now, Finn. No matter how much you try to hide it."
"Curses," Finn muttered. "Foiled again."
I leaned over and rumpled his walnut-colored locks. "As for me, the two of you have my blessing-and then some. So go, get out of here and have some fun-together. You've been cooped up in this house long enough, worrying about me."
Bria stared at me. "But what about before? That night at Fletcher's house? Finn and I being, um, distracted was what led to this whole mess. My getting captured by Gentry, your almost being killed by Mab. How can you just forget about that? You were so angry about it before."
I thought of what Fletcher had told me when I'd seen the old man in the Pork Pit. "You're right. I was angry before. But we all make mistakes, even the best of us. I like to think that it all evens out in the end."
Finn gave me a strange look. "That sounds like something that Dad would say."
I just smiled at him. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?"
Then I fixed them both with a hard stare. "Just don't ask me to take sides when the two of you go at each other. Okay?"
They nodded, then looked at each other. Finn waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, and Bria snorted. But she couldn't stop a grin from curving her lips. Two minutes later, they both made excuses to leave. I only hoped they managed to make it to Finn's apartment before their clothes came off.
At that point, Jo-Jo strolled back into the kitchen and announced that it was time for me to go back to bed-whether I wanted to or not.
"I didn't spend the better part of a month putting you back together again for you to wear yourself out the first day that you're up," the dwarf announced.
Owen was still busy with his phone call, so I let Jo-Jo help me back upstairs. The dwarf stayed with me, even going so far as to tuck me in herself-something she hadn't done since I was a girl. She smoothed the covers down and stepped back. Jo-Jo stared at me with her clear, almost colorless eyes, and a soft smile creased her middle-aged face.
"I'm proud of you, Gin," she said. "So very, very proud."
"Why? Because I finally killed Mab?"
Jo-Jo shook her head. "No, not because of that. I'm proud because you finally believed in yourself, Gin. Because you finally fully embraced your magic. The way that the purest, the strongest elementals always do in the end."
For once, Jo-Jo's words didn't make me shiver with unease. Instead, I sat there and thought about them. The dwarf was right-and wrong too. Yeah, I'd finally embraced my power, finally used it the way that it had always been intended to be used, finally dueled and defeated Mab with it. But it wasn't just my magic that had helped me win-it had been Fletcher too. The old man's training, all the years of his molding me into the Spider, shaping me into a weapon-that was what had ultimately let me kill Mab. My magic had just been the means to the end. Fletcher was the one who'd prepared me to face the Fire elemental all along.
I told Jo-Jo as much, and she smiled again.
"Fletcher might have given you the tools, darling, but you're the one who used them. Don't ever forget that."
Something in her tone made me look a little closer at her. "What do you mean, Jo-Jo? It's over now. Done. Finished. Mab is dead. And if she somehow manages to crawl out of her grave, I'll put her right back down in it again."
The dwarf stared at me. "But your life isn't over, Gin. You're not through being an elemental just because you killed Mab. You're still growing, as a person, as an elemental, which means that your magic will keep on getting stronger."
My mouth fell open, and I struggled to come up with the right words. I'd never given much thought to what would happen after I killed Mab-mainly because I hadn't figured that I'd be around afterward.
"You mean-you mean that I'll have even more magic in the future? Even more than I did in the courtyard?"
My voice fell to a whisper. I'd been so busy just being grateful I'd survived, that everyone I loved was in one piece, that I hadn't thought about the future-certainly not about my magic, what it might do, or what I might be able to do with it.
Jo-Jo nodded. "You will. You're a very special person, Gin, in more ways than one. Your magic is strong, but so are you with that iron will of yours. It's served you well, and it will continue to do so."
I just sat there, digesting her words.
She hesitated. "But I have to tell you that I still see darkness ahead for you, darling, some dark days, some tough times."
I shrugged. "I figured as much. Because now, I'm not only the Spider, but I'm the woman who killed Mab Monroe too. Every elemental who wants to prove herself will be looking to track me down and take me out. In a way, it'll be even worse than the bounty hunters. They only wanted to turn me in-they didn't particularly care if I was dead or not."
"Yes," Jo-Jo said. "I suppose that it will be worse. But it's not just elementals looking to prove themselves. There are a lot of bad people out there with a lot of bad powers. And, darling, you seem to attract that sort of trouble like honey does flies. But we both know that you'll be ready for them-no matter what. And that I'll be here to help you, every step of the way. Me and Sophia and all the others."
I reached over and squeezed the dwarf's hand. "You'd better believe it."
Chapter 32
I spent the next week recovering at Jo-Jo's. My friends all dropped by at one time or another to see how I was doing, and Owen spent more time at the dwarf's house than he did at his own. Finn was there too every single day, giving me updates about what was going on in the Ashland underworld.