Page 57 of Cursing My Cheating Husband

I flinched at the bluntness of her interruption. Was this the old Astrea reasserting herself? A favorite move of hers had always been to ask you to share your feelings, then cut you off after two words. “What do you mean?”

“I felt you channel that magic. And then I saw your beast of burden collapse. Tell me what you just cast.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” I said. “Just a heaviness spell.”

“A heaviness spell,” Astrea said slowly.

“On the luggage. I’ve been adding 10 pounds to it every few minutes since we got here.”

We looked back to Maddox, still a distance away. His sweat-drenched T-shirt clung to his torso like a second skin, outlining every ridge of muscle beneath. His chest heaved with each breath, and his face had gone red with exertion.

A slow smile spread across my mother’s face, equal parts awe and amusement.

“And how did you do it?” she asked.

I blinked at her, confused by the question. “I just reversed a lightness spell.”

“Reversed it, just like that?”

“Yeah, just like that. It’s the same spell you taught me when I was little, just flipped. It’s as basic as it gets.”

Astrea’s eyes went wide. “Oh my gods, child! What do I have to do to get through to you?”

“Get through to me on what?” I asked, flustered.

“Calliope, that’s not the way most witches channel their magic.” She gestured expansively out at the crowd on the convention floor. “I doubt there’s one other witch here who knows how to take a spell and just reverse it. Most witches have to figure out anything new from scratch, not just flipping something they already know inside out!”

I shifted my weight, uncomfortable with her intensity. “It can’t be that rare. Maybe it’s just not talked about because⁠—”

“And there you go again, minimizing your skill and talent. Calliope, you have incredible magical instincts and a gift for adaptation on the fly.” She clasped my hands. “Embrace your power fully, and someday every witch in this room will be begging you for a job. Take your time, but just know at the end of this, you will find your purpose, and it will be incredible. I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

Warmth spread in my chest. My confidence had been building these last few weeks, but clearly it still had further to go.

“Okay, you’re right, mother.” I took a deep breath. “It’s a hard habit to break. But I’m going to stop doubting myself.”

Astrea beamed at me as we stepped out of the alcove to rejoin the job fair.

As we did so, I noticed something that had escaped my attention before. Now that we were at the periphery of the convention floor, I could see more security witches stationed around than I would have expected. They were discreet and dressed casually, but I could tell their purpose from their positioning and the way their eyes scanned the crowd.

“What’s with the security?” I asked.

Astrea waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, it’s nothing. The stupid militia is just making noises again.”

That worried me. I had always been concerned that someday the anti-witch militia that had been lurking out among the pines would start causing real trouble in Nightshade Cove.

“You think they’re a threat?”

“Oh gods, no. Those stupid goons can barely tie their own shoes. The security is just an abundance of caution. Nothing to worry about, dear.”

She said it so casually, with such ease.

But I knew my mother well enough to recognize when she was hiding something. Just as she could see through my attempts at false confidence earlier, I could see through her lies.

The security wasn’t here out of an abundance of caution.

My mother was worried about something.

CHAPTER 24