Page 52 of Cherish

“There’s grounded and then there’s grounded,” she tells me with a roll of her big blue eyes. “Besides, it’s not like they can actually keep me prisoner if I don’t want them to.”

There’s an edge to her voice—one that I choose to ignore as I wrap my arms around her in a huge hug. Obviously, Macy is still pissed about Uncle Finn lying to her, letting her believe her mother had run off and left herby choice—and honestly, I don’t blame her.

To have your child believe their mom ran away and abandoned them, rather than tell them she was in prison… I still grapple with understanding that decision. But to also welcome the person holding her captive at your home numerous times throughout those years? That’s a slap in the face that I know is going to take Macy a while to get over.

I’m still hurt that my parents never filled me in on the whole gargoyle thing. If they’d kept a secret likethisfrom me? I don’t know what I’d do.

Macy lets me hug her for a breath. Then she’s stepping back, putting some distance between us. Flint and Eden move to hug her as well, but she just gives them an awkward wave as she takes another step away.

It stops them dead in their tracks, has them looking back and forth between Macy and me. Only Hudson seems to know what to do, holding a casual fist up to her. For a second, an impish smile reminiscent of the old Macy flits across her black cherry–colored lips. But it’s gone as quickly as it came.

Then she’s reaching out and bumping her fist against his before saying, “So are we just going to stand around here waiting to get dragged into the daily tea ritual, or is there some kind of plan?”

“I’m pretty sureyouare our plan,” I answer.

“You know sneaking the head of one Court into another Court could be considered an act of war, right?” she asks.

“The witches should get so lucky,” Hudson tells her with a roll of his eyes. “Grace declaring war on them would finally put them on the map.”

Macy snorts—the closest thing to a laugh that I’ve heard from her in quite a while. “True. The Gargoyle Army could make quite a stand here.”

“To be clear,” I interject in my most queenlike tone, “the Gargoyle Army isnottaking a stand here. And I am most definitelynotdeclaring war on anyone.”

Been there, done that, and if I can avoid it with the hunters, I don’t ever plan to repeat it.

“Chill out, New Girl,” Flint tells me with a grin. “No one thinks you’re girding your loins for battle.”

“Really?” Heather curls her lip. “That’s the description you want to go with?”

“I was just saying—”

“Not to interrupt a totally meaningless conversation,” Jaxon talks over them. “But I don’t know how much longer Mekhi is going to be able to sleep.”

“We’ll get to it,” Macy assures him, sweeping her hair back from her face. “I’ve just got one question. Who are you here to see?”

“Not Linden and Imogen.” I blurt out the king’s and queen’s names, because the more I thought about it, the more convinced I’ve become that there’s no way they’re going to be of any help. “How about Viola?”

Based on my previous experience here, Imogen’s sister seems the most likely witch in the place to actually be helpful. But that’s if we can find her without attracting too much attention—or raising too many alarms.

I say as much to Macy, who shoots me a grin that’s way more wicked than I’m used to from her.

“I think that can be arranged.” She waves a hand, and a giant, spinning portal appears right in front of her. “Last one in has to eat an entire jar of eye of newt.”

The last thing I hear as I step through the portal is Heather asking, “Eye of newt? Is that actually a thing?”

I start to tell her that Macy is just joking, but before I can get out more than a “don’t worry,” the portal has me.

31

Give ’Em

Spell(s)

Unlike the portals that come from the seeds we’ve been using, this one doesn’t hurt. It just feels like Macy’s portals always do—like I’m being stretched and compressed at the same time.

A few seconds of discomfort, even fewer seconds of feeling like I’m going to implode, and we’re done.

The moment I feel normal again, I open my eyes. The first thing I see is an ornately carved archway in shades of gold and cream, followed by wallpaper in the same colors.

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