“I’m sorry,” I say softly. “No child deserves to experience that kind of rejection. It’s cruel.”
Tiana’s lip curls. “It’s manufactured.”
My gaze lifts.
“I know my father,” she says. “He put a spell on my mother to get her to fall in love with him, he knew she was different. He shouldn’t have pursued her.”
“Then why did he?”
“Eric loves to play the long game.” Tiana stops pacing and faces me dead on. “He saw a reward in making children with my mother. He helped birth a new Blackwood coven. And he knows he’ll always have a connection to Aaron.”
I exhale hard. I think about the forest, how Eric looked at Aaron with that careful attention that didn’t feel like love.
“How can I help him?” I ask.
“Distract him,” she says. “I’ll go to the Witching Glen tonight and figure this out myself.”
I push off the desk and shake my head. “No. Not alone. I’ll come with you.”
Tiana throws her hands up. “Hell no. I know my brother. He’s crazy. If anything happens to you, I’m the one he’s coming for.”
I smile at her. “You’re my sister now,” I tell her. “I have to protect you too.”
Tiana rolls her eyes so hard her whole head moves. “You’re clearly hardheaded.”
“Tiana.” I hold her gaze. “Why don’t you like me? Did I do something wrong?”
She snorts, sharp and dismissive. “My mom doesn’t like you. If she don’t like you, I don’t like you. End of story.”
My tail starts to sway behind me, slow and agitated, the tassel flicking back and forth. Angie is the key. If I can work things out with her, the sisters will follow. I sigh. That’s a problem for another day.
“Tonight, then,” I say. “I can tell Aaron that we’re?—“
My ears snap forward. My tail goes rigid, the tassel frozen mid-swing. A shift in the air and scent I can’t live without. Coffee beans and sandalwood.
I look toward the door.
Tiana gives me a strange look, then groans when she turns around.
Aaron’s leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, his dark eyes locked on Tiana.
“What about tonight?” he asks. His voice is low and even, but I can smell the fury underneath it. “And tell me what?”
I back up as he pushes off the doorframe and walks into the classroom, still fixed on his sister.
“This isn’t the Witches and Warlocks Wing,” he snaps. “Why are you here, messing with my mate?”
Tiana lowers her hands to her sides and blue-gold light flickers at her fingertips, casual, almost lazy. “Just a sisterly chat.”
“Hmmm.” Aaron keeps walking until he’s close enough to touch her, and then he stops. He lifts a finger and puts it right in her face. “You stay the fuck away from my mate.”
“Aaron, enough!” I snap.
Tiana laughs. “What’s wrong, big brother?” She tilts her head and the smirk that crosses her face is dangerous. “Forget it. You’ve always had a problem with sharing. You like to gatekeep until it serves you. Then you share. You’ve always been that way.”
Her smirk sharpens. “Just like Eric.”
Aaron’s jaw locks, and the blue-gold sparks at Tiana’s fingertips brighten, ready.
