Page 59 of Bewitched By the Voodoo King
All those nights begging the heavens for a spark, a flicker—anything.
All the shame. The silence.
The aching loneliness of watching everyone else rise while I stayed still. The pity glances and the sneers.
It wasn’t my fault.
It had never been my fault.
My knees buckled, and I dropped into the chair like my bones had crumbled. I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth, willing myself not to fall apart again.
I’d cried enough.
I’d been lied to enough.
Did my parents even know? Was it worth it to ask them?
With a frustrated growl, I yanked the book back up into my lap and focused on the words again, except there were none. That was where it ended. So how did I get my power back?
My shadows writhedaround my ankles as I flipped through the pages of a grimoire. I’d never been very studious growing up. I breezed through school and my magical teachings just fine, but I didn’t care to read much else or really try outside of what was required of me.
Guilt swam in my stomach and forced me to look for answers that I wouldn’t have cared to find before.
A null.
I’d never heard of one before, not in all of my years of school or being a diplomat for my father. Maybe it was because no one wanted anyone to know if one was born of their coven, withfears others would find them weak, or maybe it was because they didn’t exist.
My magic and the spirits whispered around me, but I couldn’t make out their words. They overlapped in a frantic hurry.
A knock on my door pulled me from my thoughts, and the spirits stopped their whispering. Louis opened the door without need for approval. Usually it would have bothered me, but now that things were on the rocks with Maple… it didn’t matter. He would be simply walking in on me, moping for who knew how long.
“Why aren’t you getting ready for the full moon?” Louis crossed his arms over his chest and eyed me with a funny expression.
I closed the book with more force than necessary. “I’m not exactly in the mood for rituals and revelry.”
Louis raised a brow. “You’re the Voodoo King. Mood isn’t a factor.”
I scowled but said nothing.
He stepped further into the room, letting the door shut behind him with a softclick. “So you’re really going to sulk while your coven prepares for the biggest magical convergence of the year?”
“She lied to me.” I’d brought him up to date on everything when he found me at breakfast sulking instead of enjoying a lazy morning in bed with Maple.
“Shehidsomething from you,” he corrected. “There’s a difference.
And let’s not pretend you haven’t been keeping secrets of your own.”
I ran a hand down my face and exhaled hard through my nose. “She’s a null, Louis. Do you know what that means?”
Louis tilted his head. “Doyou?”
I paused. “It means she has no magic. She doesn’t belong in a coven—especially not in ours, where magic is tied to survival.”
Louis scoffed. “That’s the dumbest shit I’ve heard all week.”
My eyes narrowed. “That’s rich coming from you. You didn’t think she could even have the power to save the coven. You didn’t even want her here!”
He ignored me and rolled his eyes. “Do you think your mother would’ve let her stay if she didn’t seesomethingin her?”
