Page 30 of Bewitched By the Wicked Witch
I bit back a smile at the typical deflection. Even though the tea was already perfectly prepared and we had everything we needed, Gran had always sent me on similar errands when I was young and she needed a moment to collect her thoughts or speak privately with someone. Poor Paige had no idea she was being temporarily banished.
Once Paige had disappeared into the kitchen and wecould hear her rummaging around, Gran settled into her chair with her steaming cup of perfectly brewed tea warming her hands. She turned to Callum with renewed focus, her fingers tightening around her delicate teacup until her knuckles went white.
"The pureblood movement," she murmured, and a shadow passed over her lined face like clouds covering the sun. "I'd hoped that particular poison had been purged from our community long ago."
"But it wasn't, was it?" I asked quietly, already knowing the answer from the grim expression on her face. "Not completely."
Gran sighed heavily, the sound carrying the weight of decades of disappointment and struggle. She settled back in her favorite armchair, the one that had molded itself to her form over the years. "No, I suppose not. There would always be those who clung to the old hatreds, the backwards ideologies that divided our community. I did my best during my time as head of the town council; I tried to create a place where all magical beings could coexist safely. But then they recognized your magic, saw how much it resembled our ancestor's power, and they turned their fear and suspicion to you."
She paused, her eyes growing distant with painful memories. "Soon after that, they orchestrated my removal from the council, and Reid Bishop took my place."
"Wait," I said, leaning forward with confusion clear in my voice. "Didn't you step down voluntarily? That's what everyone said, that you wanted to retire and enjoy your golden years."
"That's certainly what they wanted everyone tobelieve, and I never bothered to correct the narrative," she explained with a gentle shrug of her shoulders. Her weathered hands, marked by years of spellcasting and hard-won wisdom, rested gracefully in her lap. "Sometimes it's better to leave on what appears to be a positive note rather than air the community's dirty laundry."
"But that's exactly what they're doing to Sage now, isn't it?" Callum leaned forward, his voice tight with frustration. "Creating their own narrative. Every person I've spoken to in town today has pointed the finger at her, calling her evil and dangerous. They're not interested in the truth, they just want someone to blame."
Gran's expression softened with understanding. "Yes, dear boy. History has a way of repeating itself in small towns like this one. Fear makes people desperate for simple answers, even when the truth is far more complicated.”
His troubled green eyes darted around our small circle before finally settling on mine, silently pleading for answers I wasn't sure I was ready to give. The pain in his expression cut through me like a blade.
"Do you believe them?" Gran asked, leaning forward slightly as her penetrating gaze fixed on Callum's face. It felt like she was searching for something deep within his soul, testing his true character.
Callum was quiet for a long moment, and I held my breath as he seemed to seriously consider the question. Part of me wondered with growing dread if he might actually think there was some merit to the town's accusations. But then he shook his head firmly, his jaw set with determination.
"No. The Sage I knew would never hurt innocent people, especially not children. I've heard enough stories about her childhood, about the cruelty she faced from people who couldn't understand or accept someone who was different from them."
"People change," I said flatly, tired of them discussing me as if I wasn't sitting right here in the room.
"Sounds like you're trying to martyr yourself, child," Gran warned, her tone sharp with disapproval.
"No, I was just making a point," I protested.
"A terrible one," Paige added helpfully as she returned from the kitchen, and I shot her a withering glare that she completely ignored.
"They're right," Callum said, his voice growing more confident. "From what I can see, you haven't tried to change this town's opinion of you. Instead, you came home after school and decided to become exactly what they'd always called you, in every way you could manage while still staying on the right side of the law."
He tilted his head, lifting one eyebrow as dirty blond strands fell across his forehead. "You embraced the role of the villain because it was easier than fighting their preconceptions."
His words hit uncomfortably close to home. It was true, I'd stopped trying to prove my innocence or goodness to people who had already made up their minds about me. When everyone expected wickedness, it became easier to give them what they wanted rather than exhaust myself trying to change hearts and minds that were already closed to me.
The anger and pain that had consumed me after losingCallum had made it simple to slip into the role they'd carved out for me. Being the town's evil witch meant I could keep people at arm's length, could protect myself from further heartbreak by never letting anyone close enough to hurt me again.
Now the person who had pushed me toward that dark path sat across from me, judging the choices I'd made in his absence.
"I can't do this," I said abruptly, rising from my chair with enough force to make it rock back on its legs.
"Wait." Callum's hand shot out to gently grasp my arm, and I went completely still.
I stared down at the point where his warm fingers made contact with my skin, then slowly raised my eyes to meet that penetrating green gaze that had always seen too much.
Even though we had an audience of the two people I loved most in the world, I didn't give a damn about maintaining appearances anymore. I let him see the truth in my eyes, that some of the black magic everyone feared wasn't just an act I put on for their benefit. That the pain and isolation had actually changed me, hardened parts of my heart that might never fully heal.
"I said I can't," I growled, and with a muttered curse under my breath, I let a small zap of magic snap through my skin. His hand jerked back from my arm as if he'd been stung.
I was vaguely aware of Gran and Paige quietly slipping out of the living room, recognizing that something intensely personal was about to unfold between Callum and me. Something that had been four years overdue andcouldn't be witnessed by others, no matter how much they cared about us.
"I made a mistake, Sage," Callum said, his voice rough with emotion. "The biggest mistake of my entire life, one that I've regretted every single day since. I thought..." He ran both hands through his hair, making it stand up in all directions as his emerald eyes turned wild and pleading. "I thought I was protecting you."
