Page 68 of Livewire Witch

“Me too.” I hug them tight. “I missed you all a lot.”

The apartment isn’t really all that big, and it’s a chaotic mess of bodies and noise. There are eight of us all squished into one room and at least three separate conversations are happening all at once. All the while, a steady stream of coffee and tea is made, and the kettle keeps screaming in the background.

In other words, it’s family. My mismatched, chaotic family.

Damn, it’s good to see them all.

Hanna’s talking a mile a minute, a grinning pixie, as she tells me all about her latest fire-wielding demonstrations down by the riverside. No one’s bothered her for months, she says. While not too long ago, it was a weekly occurrence where she’d be disrupted and heckled.

A quick glance at Roscoe tells me this minor stroke of luck is his doing. The sheepish grin he gives me sends a wave of affection rolling through me.

The teenage twins park themselves on either side of me, while Mona talks rapidly every time Hanna stops to take a breath. Una just holds my hand silently.

Another wave of emotion goes through me, this time it’s guilt. I haven’t seen enough of them since getting caught up with the Nexus mages.

But I can’t say I regret any of the past few months. Even the awful parts, like ending up underground. Like Fabian forgetting me on a daily basis.

That would mean regretting the hazel-eyed mage currently grinning at something Ember is saying as he pours milk into a fresh cup of coffee, which he delivers to me without me even asking.

We’ve been there only half an hour or so when there’s a knock on the door and Seb appears. He’s clutching a bright pink bobble hat in his hands, which he thrusts into my hands with a grin. Holding it up in front of me, I can see it’s covered in a mix of feathers and little sequins that have been messily glued onto the material.

“I’ve been crafting,” he says proudly. “For you.”

I mean... it’s a hot pink monstrosity, but he made it for me.

Seb and I haven’t really spent much time together since we were stuck underground together. I immediately pull him intoa hug, which lasts all of two seconds before he wriggles like a puppy.

“How have you been?” I peer at him and am two seconds away from pinching his pale cheek and tutting, like I’m his mother or something. “You look tired.”

“I’m good.” He shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Bored, mostly. Trying to work out how I can fix things with Fab.”

“I’ve told you, bud, you don’t need to worry about it right now. The last thing we need on our plates is us trying to mess with Fabian’s brain.”

His shoulders slump. “I know you said that. I just feel bad for fucking things up so bad.”

I hold the hat up in front of me and peel off my jacket. It’s getting increasingly hot in here, what with all the body heat.

“Thanks, bud.” I beam at Seb. My attention is on the hat, so I don’t notice the ripple that goes across the room as I remove my jacket and reveal my neck.

“What the fuck is that?” Rook growls.

Ah shit. I’d forgotten about the barely healed wound on my neck from Simpson’s claws.

“Did someone... try to cut your throat?” Luna’s gentle voice cuts through the room, the horror clear in her tone. “And you didn’t tell us?”

“That would have been a handy thing for you to have used your Sight for,” Hanna says. “Might have been good for Silver to know someone was going to try to kill her.”

I inwardly groan. It’s not like I wasn’t going to tell them. I was just having an enjoyable time catching up with my family and not thinking about the million things that are currently piled on my shoulders. I clear my throat and spill out the gory details while everyone sits around in horrified silence.

“I’m all good, though, all in one piece.” I hold up my hands like I’m demonstrating I have all my fingers intact.

“But the vamps...”

“Yeah, things are not so good. Seems like there’s a group of them trying to take over the city.”

“More assholes wanting to wave their powers around,” Hanna mutters angrily. “So, what are we going to do, then? We gonna stalk this guy and stake him? Lock him in a room and set it on fire?”

Uh, what?

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