Page 79 of First Ritual

I already knew the antidote of choice. The liquid came in a tumbler and could be made by my cousin. Sifting through my tethers, I found the thin and bright purple tether that started to form with Rooke two days ago. This tether had no mystery. She was my cousin, and we got on well. Magical bond. Simple.

Unlike my other tether. I hadn’t missed that the original library date was meant to focus on my issues instead of this stupid thing with Wild either.

My desire for a gunpowder gimlet surged.

Following my Rooke tether, I arrived at a room west of the communal food area and knocked. How easy would life be if I could do that with my mysterious tether? That would depend on the tether being normal, however.

“Come in!”

After pushing open the door, I took in the space. Posters filled every inch of wall and ceiling. Human posters. The Greatest Showman. The Shawshank Redemption. She’d tie-dyed the bedspread and pillowcases and the rug covering the small amount of visible floor. The furniture was all different colors.

But somehow… “This is the most amazing room I’ve been in.”

Rooke flushed. “It’s loud.”

“I love it. End of story. So hey, fancy a drink or five?”

Her eyes gleamed. “I’ll make you the best drink ever.”

She was totally capable of that. I pursed my lips, glancing around again. “Have you seen any of these movies?”

“I wish. Have you?”

“Some. What draws you to human movie posters?”

She lifted a shoulder. “I can’t understand the reason movies exist. Like, why make up a fake story, and then get people to fake that storyline and record them faking it so you can watch the whole fake thing again and again? Why not live real stories as real people and just not record them other than in your memories? I feel that when I understand that, then I’ll understand humans.”

I smiled. “Humans find great fulfillment in art. Hard to understand unless you live amongst them for a time. You’ll need to watch a movie one day.”

“A whole movie would be hard to summon,” she mused.

Tell me about it. “We’ll work on it. I can give you some time amongst humans tonight though. There’s a bar not far from here. Heard of it?”

Her eyes rounded. “What? There is?”

“I’m feeling cooped up. Let’s get out of here for a few hours.”

She sat straighter. “Out of the coven?”

“Yeah, why not? It’s not against the rules.” By nature, magus were extremely content and happy amongst each other and in their coven space. They stuck close to their projects and what they knew. No one was being kept here. The barrier, for instance, didn’t stop the coming and going of coven members.

Rooke stood. Paced. Turned back to me. “You think we should?”

“I know we should. You’ll have to fix my drink after the bartender tries to make it, though. I need a good one.” A really good one.

Next was more pacing from Rooke over what to wear. Which resulted in a brief stop at my chambers. Me, still in my two-piece skirt set, and Rooke in a tight pink dress with capped sleeves—both with skyscraper height heels—walked out of the Buried Knolls.

“Hold on,” I said. Pulling magic through my apothecary affinity, I whispered it to our high heels. “No reason our shoes should be uncomfortable.”

She took an experimental step after. “They feel like clouds!”

I’d spelled them to work like sneakers—without losing the look. “Then the charm worked.” We crossed through the barrier, and I used my battle affinity to speed up our journey through the forest toward the dot on the map that was the only human presence in the area for miles.

I grinned as we arrived at The Buried Knoll Bar.

Super original name.

“Back again,” the bartender greeted me. “Not often we get return visitors.”

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