Page 80 of Witch You Weren't Here

‘If it’s not working, does that mean … every time the protective magic is invoked it’s draining him? While he’s ill? The wedding—’

‘No. Well, it would have, of course. But Harry’s activating all the runes and spells in the village, and here when needed, directly at the moment. So that they don’t need to seek the anchor for energy, if something happens. Manually bypassing it, as it were.’

Kay thought of all the instances where magic had been used in front of non-magical guests that day. It was no wonder Harry looked so tired. ‘That’s … a lot. Too much. He should have said. We shouldn’t have come here.’ Which was exactly why he didn’t say, she realised about a half a second after she said it. He knew she’d object.

Becca sighed. ‘I’m sorry, Kay, I know it’s your brother’s wedding, but I agree. It’s not sustainable. It’s like a game of whack-a-mole, but instead of the anchor just responding when the mole pops up, Harry’s literally hitting every single hole all the time to try to shield his dad.’

‘Can’t someone help him? Spread the load?’

‘It’s rune magic. There aren’t a lot of witches who can do that and … there are other complications.’ Becca took another swig of whatever alcohol it was she was subjecting herself to. ‘The problem is, Harry’s got this idea in his head about why the transfer isn’t working. He’s convinced it comes down to this particular rune, which is unique to the tattoo. It’s about inheritance, but Nanny and Granddad Ashworth – or whatever witches they had working on this with them – adapted it. So, it’s not based on blood, like usual, which is nice. I mean, they were probably thinking of the fact that mortality rates were so high, but from a modern-day perspective, it’s nice to know that the Ashworth family doesn’t actually have to produce blood heirs. One day someone might not want, or be able, to have kids.’

‘True. So how does it recognise the heir, then? If not based on blood or simply whoever the tattoo is on?’

‘It’s this ambiguous symbol, which we think means something like a trusted family member. And Harry has convinced himself that the problem is, he isn’t a trusted family member.’

Kay pulled her knees up under the cool chiffon of her dress, hugging them to her chest. ‘Why would he think his dad doesn’t trust him? Surely Mr Ashworth wouldn’t have bothered to expend the energy going through the ritual if he felt that way. Wouldn’t he have just said who he did trust?’

‘I’ve tried to say this to Harry. But he feels guilty about moving so far away, against their wishes. There’s no denying his parents were disappointed that he left. But then Uncle Adrian got sick and Harry came home and …’ she shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter what we say to him, he’s sure that’s the reason. Even his dad has tried to reassure him, as much as he can when he can’t speak. But, instead, Harry’s running himself ragged, expending all this energy to protect the village and shield his father.’

‘Have you tried it on another family member?’

‘Not yet.’ Becca shifted and looked up at the ceiling. ‘Harry says he doesn’t want to put the burden on anyone else. He’s desperate to prove himself, I think. If he’s still not become the anchor when … it’s time … I’ll get the tattoo as well, but I dread to think how that will affect him. I mean, maybe it won’t work and it’ll prove the point that something else is going wrong with the magic, but what if it does work, for some other reason we have no knowledge of, and Harry takes that as confirmation his dad thought he wasn’t worthy? It’s hard enough losing a parent without that on top.’

The crackle of the fire was conspicuous as they went quiet. Kay played with one of the pleats in the skirt of her dress, smoothing it out and refolding it as she tried to wrestle the ache in her chest into submission. ‘Why did you decide to tell me all this?’

Becca put the glass down and pulled out the chair behind the desk. When she sat down, the lights picked out the red in her hair, showing it had a touch of auburn within the brown.

‘Kay, he went to Prague because his magic called him there. The pull was so strong, he couldn’t not go. He found you there. Then this room let you in, when we put wards on it. Maybe you have some magic that can fix this or figure something new out that we haven’t thought of?’

She shook her head. ‘I wish I could, but I don’t have any healing magic … I don’t know much at all about runes. I like history, so maybe I could help with that, but I wouldn’t think Harry needed to get me from Prague so urgently to help you do research. I’m really not a powerful or knowledgeable witch at all.’

‘Well, Harry disagrees.’

‘He thinks that’s why he needed to find me? To help with this?’

‘No. Or at least, if he does, he hasn’t mentioned it to me. It’s just the way he talks about you. He thinks you’re brilliant.’

Kay took a shaky breath. Becca might have just been flattering her ego, but to what end? It truly wasn’t like she could do anything to help. She hated the way Harry seemed to have this capacity to think the worst about himself. She wished she could magic away his guilt. Her heart cracked at the thought that Harry might live the rest of his life never truly believing that his dad forgave him or thought him worthy. She would do anything …

Her stomach tumbled slowly, like the huge wheel at a mill, churning the water up and over.

She could do something. She could use her gift. It should have occurred to her immediately, but she’d spent so long thinking of it as useless, as a curse, it had taken her until now to realise it …

‘The only thing I might be able to do, is tell him how his dad truly feels for him.’

‘You think he would listen to you?’ Becca’s eyebrows pinched together. ‘He trusts your opinion that much?’

‘It wouldn’t be opinion. It’s fact. That’s what my gift does. When I take these off,’ Kay touched the edge of her glasses, ‘I can see the emotional make-up of the bonds between people.’

Becca’s eyes widened. ‘That sounds like it might be it then.’

‘Maybe.’ Kay scrunched her toes. A pain burned beneath her breastbone. The giddy minute she’d experienced earlier when she thought he might have come to Prague to help her was over, wasn’t it? This made a whole lot more sense.

She didn’t doubt there was attraction between them. She didn’t even suspect Harry of using her. She knew better than that now. But the romantic, childish idea that he’d been somehow fated to find her just wasn’t true. His magic was just desperate to stop him from beating himself up constantly. To help his family. She couldn’t begrudge it, but she could feel like an idiot for hoping. ‘That’s literally it, though, I can’t do anything about Mr Ashworth’s illness or the anchor tattoo working.’

‘No.’ The sadness was clear in Becca’s brown eyes. ‘But it might give Harry some peace before his dad leaves us. I don’t think it’s going to be long.’

Kay hugged herself, a shiver going through her even though the fire was warm and steady beside her. She didn’t want to think badly of a man who was obviously critically ill, but what she’d seen and heard of Mr Ashworth didn’t leave her feeling confident he loved his son unconditionally. ‘What if Harry’s not wrong?’ she asked quietly. ‘What if I look at their bond and see that his dad doesn’t trust him? That won’t bring him any kind of peace, will it?’

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