21

A few months went by, and everything felt normal. Pietro tried to cook something a couple more times, but I stopped him before anything could catch on fire. Soon, however, Pietro began to suspect that something was wrong.

We were eating dinner one night, and he decided to bring up a very...upsetting matter.

"Do you remember where my wedding ring is? I've been looking everywhere for it."

I felt my heart stop for a second but didn't show it. Instead, I took a sip of my vodka and tried to stop my heart from beating out of my chest. This wasn't something I planned to hear from him. I needed to think of a lie. And fast.

"I'm sorry, Pietro. I haven't seen it."

He nodded before taking a bite of his food. I thought the worst was over, but I was, unfortunately, wrong.

"While we're on the topic of missing things, I haven't seen any photo albums or pictures of any kind here. Why is that?"

The last sentence sounded accusatory. This made my heart rate speed up again. I smiled before getting up and going to our bedroom. I made sure to lock the door before panicking. I didn't plan this either. Things were just supposed to be normal. He wasn't supposed to ask questions. Only go along with the lie.

Something needed to be done. I had to figure out to either conjure things or merely make him believe that whatever he wanted was real instead of in his head. Both sounded bad, but it's not the first time I tricked him, and it probably won't be the last.

---

"Irina? What are you doing in there?"

I heard Pietro's voice from the other side of the door. Now, it's time to decide. Will I fess up, or will I create another illusion for him to live in? The second one is the obvious choice, of course. But is it the smartest?

Probably not, but I'm going to do it anyway.

I opened the door and let Pietro in. He walked around the room, looking to see why I came here. Once he saw everything was normal, he turned around to look at me. I grabbed his head and pushed my psychic energy into him.

"Never question a woman of bad intentions. You'll never make it out alive."

With that, we fell to the floor. He went unconscious, but I kept my hands on his head. There would be no mistakes this time. Not if I can help it.

"I call all my power back to me. I am a magical entity—ancient knowledge, from long times past. Return to me, lightning-fast. Harming none, so it be."

I repeated the phrase over and over until I felt like I had done everything right. Then, I put Pietro on the bed and joined him in sleep. I had done a lot of work. Now, it was time to rest.

---

I awoke with Pietro having his arms around me. He was still fast asleep. I searched his mind and found that everything I did worked. With that, I slowly got up and went through the house. I changed things around and put everything dangerous away. I needed him to be safe and not think that something is wrong.

All I had to do was wait for him to get up. This had better work. Or else, everything would have been for nothing.

Pietro came into the living room not much longer. He smiled and sat next to me. I put on some music, and we danced together. It felt so lovely. Just the two of us. Not a care in the world.

I wished this moment would never end.