Page 112 of Blood Enchanted

“I can explain.”

Grandmother’s shoulders lifted with tension before the unthinkable happened.

She spun with red glimmering in her eyes, and her arms wound around me, squeezing tightly. “Don’t you ever do anything like this to me again, Jade Elizabeth! Do you know what you put me and Liliane through these past few days? Or your sisters?”

I stood shocked as I inhaled her perfume, the expensive silk of her blouse soft against my heated cheeks. “I was trying to handle it myself. To prove that I wasn’t a failure.”

She pulled back with a sigh. “And I accused Ember of being the dramatic one in the family.” But as quickly as her show of emotion formed on her face, she smoothed her features into her mask of the High Priestess. “Tell me about the talismans and the vampires. Liliane and I will return to Slovenia to deal with the aftermath, but I want to hear your account of events.”

Her brashness somehow made it easier to relay the cluttered experiences of the last year, starting with my illicit foray into breaking cursed talismans with Alexei, to the final confrontation with Alistair and the Bled witches before Alexei struck the killing blow.

Grandmother listened without expression, though occasionally she would grip her fountain pen hard enough that I feared for her pristine cream suit.

“Can you blame me for acting irrationally?” I winced, collapsing onto the small couch and dropping my head into my hands from the weight of the inadequacy that haunted me. “You completely iced me out and made me feel like I had no place with the Coven or with my sisters. I nearly destroyed myself trying to prove you wrong, and for what?”

I lifted my head and focused my glittering gaze on her with accusation.

“I’ll never be the perfect granddaughter and High Priestess you are, Grandmother. I’ll never be able to leave my sisters behind or give up what my heart desires for some arbitrary sense of control over the Coven.”

Grandmother dropped her pen and stared up at the painting of my mother.

“After your mother died, it wasn’t just you who suddenly had an overwhelming weight of responsibility placed on your shoulders, Jade. I, too, had to protect you girls, not only from the grief that I feared would swallow you if you remained isolated away from the Coven, but also with ensuring you became the women your mother would have wanted.” She sucked in a breath before her face crumpled. “That burden has been a terrible one and a gift, though you girls may not see it that way. I only ever wanted what was best for you—what would make you into the strongest, most capable versions of yourself. Perhaps I went too far.”

“Perhaps?” I lifted a sardonic brow.

Grandmother swallowed. “Ididgo too far. I should have never said you were a failure. I’ve always seen so much of myself in you, Jade, but that isn’t your burden to bear. You’re stronger than I give you credit for.”

It was the closest she had ever come to an apology.

Somehow, I felt lighter for it, as if the dark cloud hovering over my vision had lifted, revealing the beautiful, sunny visage below.

“So, what now?” I asked.

She composed herself and sifted through her paperwork. “You will go home and rest. And after we have handled the dilemma in Slovenia, we will discuss you resuming your duties in the Coven as my High Priestess-in-training.”

I bit my lip harshly. “I never had the chance to dream of a life for myself beyond these walls. But Salem taught me there is still so much I have to learn. Not only about my spirit magick, but how to stand on my own feet.”

“What are you suggesting?”

I shrugged. “Maybe there’s a witch in our Coven who is better suited to the role of our leader, regardless of tradition. Maybe we can continue to learn and grow without the pressure of a title hanging over us. Maybe we can bring something new to the Coven.”

“Let me guess. You have a suggestion for your replacement.” Her lips twitched.

I nodded. “Tabitha Harlow, of course. She has always been my greatest competitor, but during this stint in Salem, she’s proven herself more than capable. Not only has she sought to rebuild our friendship, which I shattered, but she’s also worked tirelessly with Willa and the rest of the Coven to learn and make connections. It’s what you wanted from me when you sent me to Aunt Liliane, isn’t it?”

“Hm,” Grandmother murmured, looking thoughtful. I knew she wanted to push for more, but she finally angled her head. “I will consider it.”

A barely suppressed grin curled my lips.

As I walked out of her office, I paused my hands on the doors. Without turning around, I asked, “And what of the talismans? Will we continue to keep dark magick out of our lives out of fear?”

She was silent until I heard her drawer opening. I turned in time to see the glimmer of my grandfather’s ring—the talisman that started her trepidation with the powerful magick. Slanting another look at the portrait of my mother, she whispered, “Perhaps you’re right, Jade. It might be time to usher in something new.”

“I think I have some ideas,” I breathed, feeling a hopeful buzzing under my skin. “We can start with the Bled talismans.”

My steps felt lighter than ever as I left behind the estate. I felt ready to face my new life in the city, freed from my constraints as High Priestess-in-training and open to endless possibilities for my future.

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