Damien looked up as they came to the door. “Welcome. This room is almost done. I had them start here so I could get my books out of storage, especially because I’m sleeping over at your grandmother’s house. I swear, Mary Alice thinks we live in Victorian England.”
“Too much information.” Mia held her hands over her ears, then let them down. “Did you get the blueprints from the library?”
“This morning. Last night was a little hectic, with you swooning into my arms. Purely platonic, of course, but I’m glad I was there.” He stood from the chair where he’d been unpacking a box of books. “I have the prints over here on the table. Nathan is supposed to come over this afternoon to take a look. I’m not sure what the library wanted me to see, but I thought he might see it through his construction lens better than I could.”
Damien unrolled the many-paged blueprint. “This is the outside front view of the plans. Each floor should have its own sheet.”
“Can we see the first floor?” Mia glanced at Trent, who was staring at the pages. “Is something wrong?”
He shook his head. “No, but something’s off. These are different from the original prints.”
Damien looked at him. “Good eye. There’s a second wing that doesn’t show on the prints. The gym and main kitchen were added a few years later.”
Trent let the answer settle. “That must be it. Where’s the first floor?”
“Here it is.” Damien smoothed out the prints. He pointed to the left side. “This ends right where the living room ends now. Mia’s office is back here. The kitchen and gym addition is shaped like an L.”
Mia pointed to a spot on the page. A drawing. If she was right, it was where Carl had been staring. “What’s that?”
Damien squinted at the symbol, then at the legend on the side. “Weird. That’s where the original dumbwaiter was located. It went from the basement to the top floor and ran through what is now your potions lab. It was probably closed off and boarded up so the kids wouldn’t mess with it when the building was changed into the academy.”
“Wait? It wasn’t always a school?” Mia looked up at Damien.
He shook his head. “The building was supposed to be coven headquarters. It was changed to a school when new leadership was voted into office a few years after the building was finished. That was when Suzanne Parker was leading the coven. She was voted out and a whole new board came in. She never forgave the people who turned on her.”
“That wasn’t in her life book.” Mia glanced at Trent. “Damien? Were you two an item then?”
“Was she wearing my class ring?” He chuckled. “Kind of. We saw each other, but I know she was also seeing other people. She hated the thought of becomingattached. Of trusting someone. I wonder what changed her mind later. She seemed to trust someone a lot.”
“Carl said the building was filled with happy memories.” Mia didn’t know what he could sense when he was here.
“Carl Hagen? From Nationals? He was here?” Damien turned to stare at her. “When?”
“Just a few minutes ago. He came to talk to me about Suzanne Parker and my retesting. He said she went rogue. Why?”
Damien turned back to the blueprints. “Just a name from the past. Carl was one of the guys Suzanne was dating back then. He offered her the testing job after she was removed from coven leadership. That’s why she moved to Boston and when we broke up.”
When Finn came home, Mia was downstairs reading. Well, that’s what she told herself. Really, she was waiting to talk to Finn. Trent had left after lunch to check on his house and give Buddy some flying time in the forest. She figured he’d stop by the store and chat with his father as well. She expected him back for dinner.
Finn saw Mia and walked over. “Hey, I thought you’d be working at the Lodge today. Everything okay? James asked if you were all right.”
“Nothing a couple of days of rest won’t fix.” Mia closed the book. She’d finished a few minutes ago and had been thinking about the ending ever since. She putthe book on the table. “Hey, come sit down for a minute. I have a question.”
“If it’s about your offer to let me live here while I go to school, I say yes. James told me I have a scholarship to pay the tuition, and if I can stay here and pay you rent, I’ll be able to save most of my paychecks so when I get a job, I’ll have money to get set up.” Finn flopped into the chair next to Mia. Her hair was bright pink and braided today. She wore a Hello Kitty shirt and jeans.
“I’m glad you’ve decided to stay, but that’s not the question.” Mia leaned forward. “Finn, is today your birthday?”
Finn frowned, then looked at her phone. “November 16. It is my birthday. I’ve been so busy with work, I didn’t even know what day it was. Not that I’ve been a big one to celebrate anyway. My mom always forgot too. I guess it’s easier to forget because she didn’t actually give birth to me.”
Mia hated that Finn’s eyes went sad at the mention of her adopted mother. “Well, happy birthday. We’ll have a special dinner for you tomorrow. Sorry, we would have surprised you if we had more notice. If you want to invite anyone, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll just invite the society.”
Finn stood and stretched. “That would be fine. Like I said, it’s not a big deal.”
“Oh, someone sent you flowers. They were in a vase, so I put them in your room.” Mia stood and put the book on the shelf. Tomorrow, she’d start reading a new book. Something fun.
“Someone sent me flowers? For my birthday?” Finn shook her head. “No one who knows my birthday knows I live here.”
“Hmmm. Let’s go look at the card. Maybe you put the address on your job application? Maybe it’s from Abigail?” Mia had a bad feeling in her stomach.
