“It’s human,” Edith said, “which you are. Witch or not.” She eyed her. “And you’re not allowed to sink into a mope while there are Volnoye sniffing around town. Distract yourself. Show me what you’ve been hiding.”
Dani blinked. “What?”
“Layla dropped in,” Edith said, “mentioned something about you nearly turning her bookshop into a bonfire when you lit a hearth. Don’t think you can sit on that and not let me poke it.”
Despite herself, Dani felt a quick flicker of pride. Of excitement. “It’s…not exactly under control,” she warned.
“Since when has that stopped you?” Edith said dryly. She pushed back her chair and stood. “Come on. Before Lavinia gets back and tells us to be sensible.”
They moved to the middle of the room, away from the curtains and the shelves. The wards in Thistlehouse thrummed low and reassuringly around them, containing, steady.
“All right,” Edith said, “show me.”
Dani took a breath.
Normally, she’d have reached for a candle. A match. Something small to focus on.
She didn’t need it now.
The bond with Arthur buzzed at the edge of her awareness, a distant static. She pushed it down, focused on the deeper well that had opened in her since the ceremony,the thick, molten current that sat somewhere behind her breastbone, too big for the channels she’d been trying to carve for the sort of careful, modest spells her coven wanted her to focus on.
She lifted her hand, palm up.
“Okay,” she muttered to herself, “behave.”
Heat rose, quick as a blush. Her skin prickled. A tiny flame blinked into existence above her palm, then another, then another, little points of light hanging in the air like fireflies.
Edith’s eyes widened.
“You couldn’t do that before,” she said.
“No,” Dani said through her teeth. The flames wanted to spread, to grow, to leap to every shadow in the room. She held them, breathing slow, counting.
One, two, three, four.
She flicked her fingers.
The fireflies spun up, arcing over their heads in a loose spiral, leaving faint trails of light. The air warmed, the smell of smoke barely there.
Edith turned slowly, tracking them. “You show Lavinia yet?”
“Not like this,” Dani said. Sweat beaded along her hairline, “I’m not sure how much I can control it.”
“Your control’s better than you think,” Edith said. She reached up, hand passing through one of the tiny flames. It licked her skin and left no mark. “This is…remarkable. And you’re not channeling anything at all? No hidden candles or matches tucked away?”
Dani shook her head, unable to contain her grin, “Yeah, well, mating a shifter god’s favorite wolf apparently comes with perks.”
She clapped once.
The fireflies winked out.
The room cooled again. Dani exhaled, knees wobbling just a little.
Edith whistled under her breath. “Lavinia is going to have an aneurysm,” she said, faintly delighted, “in a good way. Mostly.”
“Please don’t say aneurysm,” Dani said, “I’m trying very hard not to panic.”
Edith stepped closer, hands light on Dani’s elbows, steadying. “Hey,” she said, “you’ve got this. You always do. We’ll work on it. You and me.”
