Page 24 of Cursing My Cheating Husband

“So you’re a regular here?” I asked.

“Not as much as I’d like to be,” Brie responded.

“But they all know you.”

“That’s from work. This is my new project. We’re trying to develop a strategy to get the human world to recognize the legal rights of familiars.”

Brie then launched into the most fascinating account of her work at our coven’s law firm. As she spoke, it slowly dawned on me: now that Nightshade Cove was so big, working at the coven’s firm meant Brie was among the most prominent witch attorneys in the world.

“Now that humans know familiars exist, we need to make sure they’re accorded the full rights of people when they travel, and not treated like animals. The human world has no legal status for fully intelligent, self-aware beings in animal bodies, and we need them to create one. And I’m sure you can imagine the incidents we’ve had with attempted trafficking. You have no idea how many humans will pay any price for their own talking cat.”

“Oh gods, I never thought about that.”

“I’d love nothing more than to put tracker charms on all of them so we never had to worry, but… you know how strong-minded familiars can be. That idea gets a lot of resistance. Too much surveillance. And maybe they have a point.”

“I’m just so impressed by you, Brie. This project could affect the lives of familiars for… forever!” The scale of it was still hitting me.

Brie looked pleased. “Well, someone special has come into my life who helped inspire it.”

My eyebrows arched. “I didn’t know you were seeing someone.”

“Oh, I’m not. I’m working fourteen-hour days, so there’s no time for romance. But I finally met my familiar! His name is Brady.” Brie was beaming. She took out her phone and pulled up a selfie of her cuddling with an adorably round black cat. “He’s been essential in helping organize the familiars. We’ve been working on this together.”

“That must feel amazing,” I said. “To have that connection.”

“It does.”

I kept my smile in place. When I’d chosen life with Maddox, getting my own familiar was one of the things I’d known I was giving up. Familiars only came to witches who had embraced their power and found their magical purpose. Maybe I could still do that now, but I was so far behind. I might have missed my window.

Brie was fighting for civil rights that would shape the lives of familiars for generations. Nina had revolutionized sex work. And what had I accomplished during that same time? I’d spent years learning all the tiny likes and dislikes of a serial cheater, so I could be the perfect housewife to a man who was treating me like dirt. I had no direction, no purpose, and no achievements worth mentioning.

“Hey,” Brie said softly. “Where’d you go?”

I set down my fork. “I’m just thinking about how much you and Nina have accomplished, and how I wasted so much time. And it’s not like I have my mother’s lifespan to play around with.” As High Priestess, my mother would live centuries more beyond the centuries she’d already lived, but the rest of us regular witches had to take advantage of our ninety-ish years of life.

“Stop that,” Brie said forcefully. “Life is not a straight line, and you can’t do everything at once. You just need time. Time to get over Maddox, and time to figure out what you want.”

“But I don’t even know how to start.”

“Yes, you do. You have started. You’re getting divorced, you’re reconnecting with your magic, and you’re figuring out what comes next. That’s all huge. Give yourself some credit.”

I managed a faint smile and was relieved to have something else to focus on when the second course appeared on our table. Tracy arrived to explain this was Phoenix-charred Swordfish, as it levitated off the plate and became briefly engulfed in flames to finish the cook.

“It looks incredible.” I couldn’t wait to dig in.

But Tracy wasn’t done. “Also, Callie, we have received a message for you from the High Priestess.”

My heart immediately started racing at the mention of my mother.

I had been so hopeful I could get in and out of Nightshade Cove before Astrea knew I was there. How could I have been so naive? She’d probably known I’d arrived from the very moment I teleported onto Main Street.

Tracy continued. “The High Priestess welcomes you back home and requests your presence tomorrow at noon in her office at the Obsidian Spire.”

I murmured thanks to Tracy, and she flew off.

“I should have known there was no avoiding Astrea,” I said with resignation.

“Well, it was worth a shot.”