Page 19 of The Witch’s Daughter

“Extra sparkle?” I asked.

“Yep.” Tisiphone sighed. “It would’ve been the perfect spell. One bite of cupcake and the world would sparkle everywhere you looked.”

“That would be…” Diabolical, my wolf grumbled. But I knew how sensitive Trish was about her magic, so I searched for a better word, “Entertaining.”

“Very.” She nodded as we eased into our familiar dance while the magic around us dulled to a soft background noise. “But I made sure Mom was intention-free in the kitchen this morning, so you can enjoy your cupcakes in peace.”

“Thank you.” I bit into the confection, trying not to make anything weirder between us, and hurried to chew as she stood there watching me. “It tastes good.” I licked a bit of frosting off my thumb. “But there’s no sparkle.” I winked.

Trish blushed as she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was all business. “I was serious in there about you not needing to go to this festival thing… If you didn’t want to, I mean. I know you’re a busy Alpha now. Please don’t let Kera make you feel guilty.”

I wanted to tell her that this had nothing to do with Alpha Kera. I didn’t care about the festival or the summons. I had ulterior, selfish motives for agreeing to go.

But I couldn’t say all that, so I shrugged. “We’ve got a few weeks until the harvest. Might as well take a vacation after all the work I put in this year.”

Tisiphone exhaled slowly. “If that’s the case, go enjoy yourself. But I don’t need you to protect me.”

Not again.

Like a punch to the gut, I remembered the day we stood graveside at Lisa’s burial. Tisiphone was all knees, elbows, and quick tongue back then.

Not that I was complaining. I liked her wit, and it wasn’t always sharp. She could be kind, especially to an abandoned wolf-witch alpha pup who had nowhere else to go.

When Lisa made me promise to protect Tisiphone as her dying wish, I didn’t hesitate to agree.

“I don’t need your protection,” Tisiphone had cried, tearing both me and my wolf apart. How many times had she echoed that sentiment over the years?

My wolf gave a soft whine.

I had to be careful with what I said. “I’m sure it’s not as big a deal as everyone thinks anyway.”

Trish nodded. “Right? How crazy would this Vincent warlock have to be to start something with all those powerful witches and warlocks around?”

“Absolutely insane,” I agreed, relaxing against the door frame again.

Tisiphone’s smile lit up the whole room as she lowered her voice, “Don’t tell anyone, but it might actually be nice to get out of here for a while.”

I couldn’t help but lean closer, drawn into the game of her conspiratorial whisper, “Only if you promise not to tell anyone that I’m also looking forward to the break.”

We stood there, sharing the same air and secret. A reminder of the silly children we were once upon a time before grief and responsibility and life got in the way. In moments like this, I could almost pretend that everything was exactly—

“There you are!” Megaera Cerberus, the female alpha shifter, burst into the room beside me. Her eyes swept between the two of us, hesitating for only a second, before she grabbed her sister by the arm. “Tell me you didn’t just volunteer us for war.”

“I did not!” Tisiphone smiled apologetically as she was pulled straight past me with Meg and Alec arguing a mile a minute, pausing only to say, “Happy birthday, again, Alpha. Guess I’ll see you soon,” before her sisters swept her away.

7

Trish

“I didn’t volunteer anyone for anything,” I growled for what must’ve been the hundredth time.

Meg and Alec were royally pissed that they’d been assigned to travel with me to Ossory border and camp out there while I….

I honestly still wasn’t sure what I’d signed up for. Alpha Kera said I was only there to observe and to keep a low profile. That I should stick close to the others from our region. And I shouldn’t try to do magic unless I had help.

Or don’t do any, to be on the safe side.

You’re just as bad as they are!