Page 9 of Magical Midlife Conclave

“Maybe out of bronze,” Indigo said. “It would catch the light correctly.”

“Yes, bronze is a good homage to flowers.” Edgar nodded. “Until then, we can make a shrine out of the people who are fooled into wandering into this clearing. You should set up a series of fake magical pitfalls that our friends the trespassers will avoid. They will magic through the weaker areas, thinking you are not perfect and they are much, much smarter, and they will sneak through here. This clearing. And then the flowers will kill them gruesomely, and we’ll make a shrine that Niamh can send into the spider web.”

Everyone stared at him like it was a plan fully formed. Maybe they were all too tired.

“Spider web?” Sebatian asked.

“Internet,” Nessa said. She put a hand on Sebastian’s arm. “You know how Edgar and I always seem to turn up at the right place and the right time?”

Sebastian ran his hand down his face. “Yes.”

“Right. Well, he has this incredible sixth sense when it comes to impending danger. After more studying, thanks to Ivy House’s resources and…”

Her cheeks colored red. She was probably thinking about Tristan. That happened a lot lately. The gargoyle-monster was doing what no one else had been able to do—break through her thick walls and work his way into her soft, scarred, squishy middle. She wasn’t making it easy on him, though. She was fighting it till the last.

Sebastian hoped Tristan didn’t give up before she finally relented. She was such a good person. She deserved someone to whisk her off her feet and take care of her in a way no one else ever had. She deserved to finally trust someone with her heart, her past, and especially her future. She needed a mate who would love her as completely as she was capable of loving in return.

“I love you,” he blurted. “You deserve the best.”

He’d meant that for Nessa…but forgot to pull his dazed eyes away from the vampire.

“Me?” A slow smile spread across Edgar’s thin face. His canines gleamed. “Well, that is very nice to hear. I did always think we were the best of friends. It’s nice to know that is true.”

Nessa paused with her mouth open.

“Oh, no,” Sebastian whispered.

“Yay!” Indigo clapped.

Nessa’s eyes glittered, her smile wicked. “Best friends, all around.”

“No, no.” Sebastian clutched his neck for unknown reasons. Or maybe very clear reasons, being that he’d just professed brotherly love to a vampire.

“I’m sure Edgar will want to chat about that later,” Nessa said, “but we have business to discuss.”

“Oh, no, that’s not⁠—”

“Yes. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Edgar nodded. “Even though this is the best of times.”

“As I was saying, thanks to studying,” Nessa thankfully went on, “I’ve learned that I can sense and map ley lines. I can feel and trace—and use—their energy. It’s part of my magic. And while Edgar doesn’t have the same type of magic, he does have an innate ability to tap into the energy currents around him. He’s always thought his premonitions of danger were intuition, and while part of that is true, realistically, he’s learned to clue in when he feels the danger in the energy currents. It’s a survival mechanism, I think. Something that helped him avoid the vampire-hunting parties.”

“They were tenacious,” Edgar said.

“He can sample the winds of time,” Indigo said.

“Kindaaa,” Nessa drawled with a crooked smile.

“He can read intent,” Sebastian surmised.

“Kinda.” Nessa shrugged. “That’s a fine way to think about it.”

“Yes, I have always been very…” Edgar blinked at him, one of his eyes closing before the other. He didn’t finish.

“And why do I need to think about this?” Sebastian asked.

“Because we are going to need you to follow his plan to the letter and put in the type of magic he asks for, in exactly the places he asks for it.” She pointed at her feet. “It’ll lead to this clearing, which will have an assortment of killer flowers.”

“Except Jessie said not to use those flowers in case they kill lost hikers,” Sebastian said.