Page 9 of Zero Happily Ever Afters

“The Sisters of Fate,” Finn had explained, hazel eyes fluttering as he recounted mysteries even the text of this special edition didn’t hold. “Three goddesses in their own right.”

“Wait, they’re goddesses?” Milo had asked, picking food out of his braces. “I thought they were witches.”

“Well, of course.” Finn smirked. “Lore often answered the mysteries we’ve solved today with the more wonderous. They were witches—some of the most powerful, they say.”

I’d dozed off into a beautiful memory with a beautiful young man.

“Although, some historians believe the actual deities existed, and the witches merely adopted the persona to pose as figures of divine authority.”

“Christ, are you going to give an extra lesson after every single history class?” I scoffed, hiding behind a textbook and pretending not to listen, even if, in truth, I found Finn’s recaps far more entertaining than our history teacher’s droning.

“Aaaaaanyway, the Sisters of Fate,” Finn said, boastful in his lesson. “Or the Moirai actually have ties to more than simply Greek and Roman lore.”

“The Moriarty?” Milo asked, befuddled and unable to hide it on his face or in his thoughts.

“The Moirai,” I said.

“How they’re commonly referred.”

My younger self rolled his eyes at that. They weren’t more commonly known by that name. They weren’t even commonly known other than the occasional pop culture reference because someone somewhere revamped Greek Mythology for the thousandth time into a movie or book or game.

“Sooooo,” Finn said, stealing my attention. “They’ve found themselves in lots of different cultures, which begs the question of what these three knew, why they traveled the world, and how much of society were they pushing toward embracing our witch destiny.”

Our witch destiny. Ugh. Finn, along with every history buff, studied the gap where magic faded away. Gone from the world for centuries. No one knew why it happened. Not even branches like Finn’s could read the history on the centuries where magic died. His retrocognition required the touch of magic woven into the past to read its story.

All anyone really knew was that many beings for thousands of years were referred to as deities, as monsters, as mythical beasts, and we didn’t have clear-cut answers for all those mysteries. Hell, we didn’t even know why magic fizzled out for a damn near millennium.When magic had finally returned, when it graced society barely more than two centuries ago, everything changed again. We didn’t remain a world that painted pretty lore. Nations embraced the new reality, the new way of life, and many considered that our witch destiny had finally begun.

Our world was divided into two entities. The witches who possessed magic, born of this world, and the demons who tore through the planes of reality, desperate to feed upon our strength and devour everything. All the other mysteries could remain forgotten by time, except by curious souls such as Finn, who sought to unravel the truth of the forgotten past.

Echoed whispers called out, pulling me out of my dozed-off state. I didn’t want to surrender my dream, though. Not yet. Iwanted to finish this memory; I wanted to follow it to another, let it lead me down a path of cherished days at the academy with Finn and Milo.

The words stirred more loudly. I snapped my eyes open, feeling the dry air sting as even dim lights lashed out. I squinted, taking in a fuzzy image of my living room as suddenly, violently, my sight whirled through the evening sky of the city. Everything whipped by in a hazy blur, and the thoughts of a thousand nearby strangers clouded my head.

“Fuck,” I groaned.

My telepathy traveled the length of the city in search of Milo once again. Unwilling or unable to accept his absence, my magic searched for him like it had a will of its own. That made my heart skip a beat, a rhythmic terror, a fright that made my chest and throat burn.

“This is just the lack of a manifestation to deal with the bullshit I was too lazy to handle.” That was what this was. But a part of me feared a new manifestation had blossomed in the back of my mind, plotting and preparing. How could I be expected to master the intricacies of my branch when I couldn’t even trust my casting?

My vision barreled through the city until it reached the main building of Cerberus Guild. They’d begun construction on additional buildings neighboring their main headquarters, almost as if they sought to take the entire city block, which seemed absurd. Even their tenacious guild master couldn’t poach that many enchanters. But Campbell did have a way of wrangling every witch she wanted.

It didn’t take long for my magic to fly through the front entrance, up the stairwell, and onto the floor of Milo’s office. Of course, my magic went to Cerberus Guild, searching and hunting for any leads like a bloodhound in pursuit of the one man in the world who calmed my unstable mind.

With no leads on Milo, my telepathy faltered, and I began to slowly reel it back.

“Let me be as clear as possible,” Guild Master Campbell’s voice rang loud but not as loud as her thoughts on Milo.

Campbell stood at a podium in a sleek white suit, addressing her acolytes in a meeting. Her mention of Milo pulled my telepathy toward her, searching her mind for any faint trace.

Her surface thoughts were focused on the rearrangement of her acolytes, moving around hundreds of pieces simultaneously to where I couldn’t keep up or comprehend much of anything beating around her head. Well, one thing stood out. Campbell had pulled all the acolytes off the recent volunteering they’d done at Gemini Academy, where they worked with students, so they could prioritize their casework. I was already aware I wouldn’t have access to Milo’s acolytes this semester, which was fine. Their additional lessons did add some insight into helping my homeroom coven improve their skills, but I didn’t have as much energy to wedge in extra learning opportunities with industry pros. Especially since I had to balance getting my homeroom ready for internships while finally controlling my own branch.

“With Enchanter Evergreen’s absence, everyone will be stepping up.” Her thoughts on Milo became clearer as she spoke about him, helping my telepathy delve deeper into the busy buzz of her mind. “No guild is defined by one witch. No city relies on one witch. Make sure the city of Chicago sees that. Each of you is just as capable as Enchanter Evergreen. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t keep you here.”

She hadn’t seen him in days, not since being debriefed on potential difficulties while he was away. Nothing Milo considered threatening but enough for Campbell to assemble her acolytes, schedule meetings all week with her enchanters, and ensure that Chicago ran as smoothly as it did withEnchanter Evergreen on the scene. No. Even better in his absence.

That sparked a sour note in my thoughts. I buried the feeling and reminded myself—and hopefully my magic by extension—that Milo wasn’t here.

Campbell’s phone pinged. She checked it, catching sight of the name, and then stuffed her phone back into her pocket to continue her speech. Milo had messaged her well over an hour past when she instructed him to check in with her. Enchanter Evergreen’s official itinerary danced along Guild Master Campbell’s surface thoughts, and suddenly, everything disappeared.

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