Page 36 of The Accidental Witch

A village you needed magic to get into? Stahp. Just stahp.

But is it really crazier than anything else you’ve experienced, Robbie?

Point for the tiny voice inside her head.

When she finally spoke, Robbie patted his hand. “Then I’ll just have to get stronger, won’t I? And if we can’t find it with this locator spell, or even if I do and they still turn us away because I hijacked some magic by mistake, we’ll thumb our noses at them and make ourowncoven. How about that?”

His smile was warm and genuine. “I like you, Robbie Tisdale. Your optimism in the face of adversity is kinda crazy cool.”

Robbie decided to change the subject for the obvious pain it brought Greer and the warm, fuzzy feelings his words gave her.But also because she didn’t want to sound desperate. Even if she desperately wanted to belong somewhere—to something.

Patting his hand again, she said, “Tell me about Gwinnifer and why she tried to steal your powers. I don’t understand.”

“She tried to take them because I was becoming more powerful than her, and I didn’t have to steal the essence of others to do so. It was my birthright.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I had magic that was unstoppable, magic that could realign the universe, and she wanted it—was willing to kill me so she could absorb it.”

Robbie was too afraid to ask what “realign the universe” with his magic meant.

Exhaling softly, she squeezed Greer’s hand tighter. “Ah. So now, you have no powers at all? Nothing?”

“No. Not anymore.”

What would it be like to wake up from an insidious act to find out your whole life had changed, that a piece of you was gone forever?

She held up her left hand with a small smile. “Want mine? I mean, if you think about it, these powers kind of belong to you, right? You should have inherited this, not me.”

He tipped his head back and laughed, revealing his strong bronzed throat. “While that’s a view of this mess I hadn’t given thought to, it doesn’t work like that. If only it did. But why would you want to give up all the fun you’ve been having levitating Nina?”

Robbie snickered before she became serious again. “Is there no chance you can get them back? Like ever?”

“No. Gwinnifer took them with her when she left this earth, and we all know how she ended up. We saw it with our own eyes.”

Losing his magic was one thing, but she couldn’t even imagine waking up from a coma to find not only was your mother gone, but your grandmother had killed her and tried to kill you. “Was that part of the reason you wanted to dig her up? Because if I have her magic and you didn’t think that was possible, why couldn’t yours be floating around somewhere, too?”

His eyes glittered under the nightstand lamp when he shook his head, his broad chest lifting as he inhaled. “I don’t know if my magic is floating around and no. Never even occurred to me, and I hope you believe that. I wanted to be sure she was dead so she wouldn’t come looking for you.”

Her throat tightened. “That’s pretty selfless, Greer.”

“If I’m honest, not entirely. Some of it was self-preservation. If she wasn’t in that grave, for sure she’d come looking forme, too, to finish the job. I can only imagine how outraged she was when she was caught in the act, and because Gwinnifer’s a grade-A narcissist, she’d blamemefor it. I’m pretty sure she thought I was responsible for her expungement, too.”

“And that all went down while you were in a coma? Her trial and conviction?”

“While I recuperated. It was all such a blur, I don’t remember a lot of the time I spent in the hospital, but I wish they’d given me two minutes with her before they escorted her out of this world,” he growled, his jaw tight.

Trying to lighten the mood, she asked, “So, I’m guessing there weren’t a whole lot of cookies and milk to be had at Gwinnifer’s, huh?”

He grinned. “There were never any cookies and milk at Gwinnifer’s. My mother, her name was Aradia, didn’t take me to see her often throughout my childhood, for obvious reasons. As I got older, heard all the rumors about her misdeeds, I stayed away of my own volition, even though her legendary hijinksfollowed me wherever I went. Until the day she got her hands on me, and then…”

Seeing how the retelling of his grandmother’s crimes played out in his painful expressions, Robbie decided to divert the conversation entirely. If he wanted to talk about it further, Greer could make that decision.

“Tell me about your mother, Aradia, is it? She sounds like a fierce warrior.” She’d fought to the bitter end for her son. She must have been amazing.

His face instantly softened and brightened. “She was. She was beautiful and smart and really funny. She made a mother of a meatloaf, and she made everything she touched magical. I often wonder how she came from such a horrible woman.”

“What about your dad?” she asked softly.

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