Bella/MC/Gabe

“This needs to end, Gabriel.”

“It is not as if I have control over the weather.”

Outside, the ocean waves sprayed upwards in a perfect arc before freezing midair. Snow carried down from the skies a bitterness that the Night Market had not seen for some time, and the shell strewn beaches were a slab of ice that spectral crabs were now skittering across. 

I looked out the window with a worried expression, breathing deeply as I tried to recall any sort of spell or ritual that would perhaps let the land warm up. The lights were frozen orbs, however, shivering with the lack of heat and creating a snow storm throughout the market. As of right now, I didn’t know what to do.

We had been in Reese’s cabin when the storm hit. The man was away on business and had asked us to come and ‘check on things’. What we were checking on, none of us really knew, but Belladonna insisted that we do as Reese asked and for the first time, I watched as Gabriel dragged his feet like a petulant child. His relationship with Reese was rocky on the best of days, and he was still actively avoiding the small seaside hut.

“What do the seers say?” Bella was asking. She was pacing the room, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. Meanwhile, Gabriel was crouched near the fireplace, trying unsuccessfully to get wet wood to light.

“There were no portents. No scheduled snow drops. I’m far more bound to believe this is an attack.”

“I’ll kill whoever did it,” Belladonna was muttering.

It was at this point that I realized how this day was going to go. I gave Gabriel less than an hour before he claimed he needed to get out there and patrol, and if it got any colder in the room, Belladonna was going to become unbearable. Turning to the two of them, I looked around the cabin to see what we had to work with. Reese didn’t keep a good stock of food, but he did keep an ample amount of liquor. There was also a ridiculous amount of blankets piled on every soft surface.

“Gabriel,” I called. “Why don’t you gather the bedding, and I’ll start the fire.”

“I have the fire,” he said. Another flame sizzled out.

“Clearly,” Bella scoffed.

I came over, laying a hand on his. “I got this.” Then, dipping my voice lower. “We need to get Bella warm. She’s turning blue.” Her veins were stark against her pale skin, running like spider webs up her arms. Gabriel frowned at the sight of them.

Without a word, he went to go gather quilts, pulling even more out of a closet down the hall that practically spilled forth with fabric upon opening. I turned to the fire, rubbing my hands together and blowing between my palms. A small spark burned my skin and I let out a yelp before tossing the flame into the hearth. Instead of fizzling out on the wet wood, it began to smoke and slowly, the crackle of a fire appeared.

Gabriel stepped back in the room, eyeing the flames. “How did you do that?”

“Dear heart is just better than you, it appears,” Belladonna sang. She had seen what had happened, but was now in one of her moods. Plus, Gabriel had refused to let her try and start the fire earlier, and she was clearly still feeling salty about that.

Gabriel came over to me to inspect the fire, nodding at it approvingly. I had to fight the urge from laughing at the stoic look on his face, despite the fact that he was wrapped in a patchwork quilt with a tiny square on the side that said ‘I love you’ grandma. 

“You used magic,” he said.

“Of course not,” I replied innocently.

“It is unsanctioned.”

“In my market. My body,” I laughed. “I don’t think it counts.”

“It does. You must follow the rules just as everyone else in this – Bells! Get out of the whisky cabinet.”

Belladonna had used our discussion as an excuse to walk away from us, climb up on the kitchen counter and begin raiding the cupboard. “Reese would want this for me,” she called over her shoulder.

Gabriel looked at me with a small begging twist of his lips. The kind that said I needed to stop her because she was clearly never going to listen to a word he had to say. That, and if she fell, she was going to take it out on us. Vulnerability and Belladonna did not make for good companions.

“Bella, honey,” I called out. “Drinking is not going to make you warmer. Just making you think you are warmer. Come snuggle under the blankets with us in front of the fire. Together, we can make sure that Gabriel doesn’t leave.”

“That’s not what–”

Belladonna hopped down from the counter, a bottle in hand, walking over to the couch. She snatched up a blanket, sinking down into the couch cushions and burying herself in the folds. We could hear her open the bottle from beneath her quilt, taking a swig.

“Come on, Gabriel,” I said. “Let’s help her get warm.” For all our sakes, was the hidden words that I tried to convey through a look.

It took some maneuvering but soon, the three of us were snuggled on the sofa, Belladonna wrapped in several blankets. Gabriel made to put an arm around her and try and warm her, but she shot him a look that said she would clearly gut him if he even tried to touch her. Instead, she made a point to snuggle up to me, before pushing me back against Gabriel chest. The fire crackled and the three of us sat in silence, aside from the occasional slosh of alcohol as Belladonna continued to drink.

“Feeling better?” I asked Bella, running my fingers through her hair. She always got a bit much when she couldn’t get warm.

“I suppose,” she said. There was less bite in her tone this time around. 

It was at her words that Gabriel began to shift behind me. Simultaneously, Bella and I pushed him back down. “I need to get going,” he told the two of us. “It is my duty to make sure the market is safe and take care of my men.”

“Your duty,” Bella said, “is to us.”

I didn’t disagree even in the slightest, but I had a bit of a different tactic when it came to Gabriel. “The sea is frozen. The path up towards the man road is iced over. Until the Velvet Guard comes here and melts us out, there is nowhere for you to go.”

“I have to at least try.”

I stared up at him from where I was practically lying in his lap. “I would feel a lot better if you were here with us,” I said. “I can’t stand the thought of you trying to go out there and getting hurt.”

Right on cue, Bella’s arm reached around me, coming to curl herself a little closer to him as well. “Dear heart is right. Besides, if you get hurt, do you really want to divert your men to helping you. Or, what if we get hurt here? Manpower that could go to others would be sent to the shore and that isn’t what anyone needs.” Between the two of us, we had him affectively trapped and he knew it.

“This is coercion,” he said.

“Of the best kind.” I pillowed my head on his chest, willing his body to calm beneath us. Inch by inch, I felt him relax until he let out a soft breath. 

“In an hour, I am checking conditions,” he said firmly.

Bella and I traded looks. It was highly doubtful in an hour anything would change. Sometimes giving him the illusion of control was best. “Of course,” I responded.

Bella nodded. ‘You can check all you want. But if dear heart and I are not satisfied, I will tie you to the bed.”

“Fun,” I chirped.

The two of us held in our laughter at the sheer frustration on Gabriel’s face. Outside, the winds roars, the ice continued to spread, and the world became colder. But here, on the dilapidated little couch, it couldn’t be more warm.