Page 91 of Rewitched

“Yes, Bron! I did say that! But how could you possibly think that that was enough to kill him?”

“Well…” Bronwyn hesitated for the first time. “Let’s say I didn’t actually mean to…Maybe I got carried away. Perhaps I do regret it, at least a little. But what’s done is done.” She waved off her sister’s reaction.

“He was our brother! He was a good man!” Morena wiped her nose with the end of her sleeve, coughing away a sob. She was throwing clothes into a bag, haphazardly scooping items out of wooden drawers, stuffing them inside.

Little Bronwyn rolled her eyes, swinging her legs off the end of the bed. “Everyone is always on about good and bad. Nobody is either. Everybody is a mix of both.”

“He deserved to be—”

“He didn’t deserve anything!” Bronwyn interrupted, shouting now. “He was a useless, arrogant warlock. He didn’t deserve to be important or powerful. My magic could run rings around his, and I’m half his age. It’s not fair. Just because—”

“You’re insane!”

“Just because he was the oldest boy. It’s nonsense. When I’m in charge, I’ll—”

“You will never be in charge! Not now! Don’t you see? We have to leave. We have to run away and never, ever come back. If we stay, they’ll separate us and we’ll never see each other again.”

The little girl faltered. “What do you mean?”

“Bron, what realm are you in? You’re not even supposed to have your magic for another four years. And now this? You’re an anomaly, and Selcouth does not like anomalies. They’ll have us all thrown into the dungeon for not telling them that your magic came in early.”

“So where are we going?” For the first time, the little girl’s confidence faltered.

“Away. I don’t know, but away,” Morena said matter-of-factly. She composed herself as she closed up the bag.

“Arty? And Vina? They can come with us.”

“You are living in a dream world, sister. I’ve already fractured Vina’s and Art’s memories, and I spoke a forced truth into the earth. They’ll blame him for Sav, but he’s a boy and he already has his powers, so he’ll be taken in by the coven and he’ll be fine. They’ll probably call it an accident. He’ll probably take over leadership once he comes of age.” Her voice wavered as though she were trying to convince herself of this.

“But that’s not fair!” Bronwyn cried. “He’s half the wicche that I am! Mother and Father always said I’m exceptional. He’s an idiot. He won’t even be able to hide properly while they’re looking for him.”

Morena furiously grabbed her sister by the collar. “Do you want us to stay together or not?”

Bronwyn blinked in surprise but nodded hesitantly.

“Then forget the coven. Forget Selcouth. Forget Mother and Vina and Arty. It’s just us now. We have to start again.”

30

Starlight and Silver

“WE HAVE TO get to Hecate House. Immediately. Can you transfer us?” Belle was already halfway down the stairs, grabbing her jacket from the banister and yanking it onto her arms.

“Will you slow down for just one minute? Belle, for the love of…” Rune came careering behind her, grabbing her shoulder to spin her around.

“Are you kidding me? Did you just witness the same thing that I did?” She pulled her hair out from underneath her collar with one hand, struggled to keep her balance as she shoved on a shoe with the other.

“I saw it. But we can’t just tear in, all powers blazing, and accuse the heads of the coven of—”

“Take your pick, Rune.” She shook him off. “Of committing and covering up the murder of their own brother? Of blaming the whole awful thing on their other, entirely innocent brother? Of inflicting forbidden hexes on their third sister, my own grandmother, to change memories, to change the whole trajectory of the magic system? Am I missing anything? How about building the legacy of a coven on a selfish, vicious lie, and an obsession with tradition, all for their own gain?”

Rune placed a hand on each of her shoulders gently, grounding her. “Just think about what you’re saying, for one second. You’re talking about something that’s about to shake the wicche world in Selcouth and beyond.”

Belle’s temper flared. “I don’t care about them. Right now, all I care about is my family and Arty. You saw how broken he was, watching that play out. He’s lived his whole life alone, plagued by guilt because of Morena’s choices and Bronwyn’s actions. And those two hags have somehow ended up on top after leaving a trail of nothing but brokenness behind them.”

“Belle, please. Think about this. Think about your mentorship, the grimoire challenges, you still have…”

“I couldn’t care less. I never want to see that book again. The whole of Selcouth is standing on the shoulders of two witches who will stop at absolutely nothing to snatch more power and cover their tracks.”