Page 33 of Enspelled

Maybe I’m supposed to feel hurt that he walked out on me as well as Mom, but I don’t. When the only time you see someone is when they’re on their way to work, or during breakfast when they’re too busy scanning the newspaper to talk, it’s hard to feel like you’re missing out on much when they walk out of your life.

I hadn’t expected my daily routine of school and magic lessons to change all that much since, more often than not, Dad would be at work, often working late, and Mom would be busy with coven meetings.

But as if Dad leaving had suddenly made Mom realize she was wasting her life away, everything changed. Suddenly all she cared about was that I work harder on spell craft and practice, practice, practice.

My magic seemed to grow each year, and with it, her ambition. While she might not have been gifted with enough magical ability to be called on during every coven meeting, her daughter had a real chance of being the next leader.

At least, that’s what she’d repeat when she’d make me stay up late practicing spells at the dining table. Whatever I wanted went out the window, and everything became about attracting Layla’s attention.

“What about Layla?” I ask around a mouthful of buttery eggs.

Mom glances over her shoulder, a frown creasing her brow. “Sera, what have I told you about eating with your mouth full?”

“Don’t do it. But where’s Layla, if Vera is calling the meeting?”

“Probably meeting with Georgia Calla,” she says distractedly as she rinses off a bowl and stacks it on the counter.

I pause with a fork of hash browns halfway to my mouth. “Georgia Calla? I thought she was in a New York coven now.”

Dread creeps over me, because if Mom is this certain about Georgia’s return to Madden Grove, it can only be because someone saw her. And the timing of her arrival doesn’t bode well for Briar with everything else happening in town.

Finished washing the dishes, Mom reaches for a towel to dry her hands. “Well, with Diana’s death, I imagine Georgia will—”

My fork clatters against the plate, startling me. “What?”

The dark glare she points at the mess I must have made of the table would ordinarily make me rush to clean it up, but all my focus is on the explosive information she just dumped in my lap.

“Sera, you’ve just—”

“Mom, what do you mean Diana’s death?”

Huffing in annoyance, she snatches up a cloth from beside her and crosses over to me, because leaving a mess for even a minute is a minute too long for her. “I thought you’d heard. Diana died yesterday. The elementals were in a tizzy about it, and then when Georgia returned, no doubt to take over the coven so it can—”

I shove my chair back from the table and leap to my feet. “I need the bathroom.”

“But, Sera, you just—”

She’s still speaking, but I’m no longer listening as I sprint up the stairs, my heart thumping hard against my chest. Everyone believed Briar was responsible for the explosion that killed Diana’s daughters in Calla’s Cauldron. And now Diana is dead, after she was no doubt going after Briar?

There’s only one reason Georgia would be back in town.

I fling the bedroom door open and burst in, slamming the door shut behind me.

Bodie gazes at me calmly from the bed. There’s no sign that he’s intending to leave anytime soon.

Why am I not surprised?

“I’m guessing this Georgia person is a threat, huh?” he asks as if he’s talking about the weather.

He heard.

He’s a wolf, Sera. He’d have heard everything.

I head for my dresser on the wall beside my bedroom door. “You have to call Briar now.”

“To warn her about…?”

I yank the top drawer open. My eyes pick through the jumble of bagged herbs and folded papers before they settle on a white cotton drawstring bag near the top. “Diana Calla’s sister, Georgia, is probably on her way right this second to kill her.”

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