Page 59 of Uncharmed

Vivienne’s eyes glittered, but for only a fraction of a second. ‘Lucky guess,’ she said, followed by a neat shrug.

‘We heard mention of her at the first symposium, after you’d accepted the position,’ Romily explained quickly on Vivienne’s behalf. ‘You can’t expect a young witch to cause a minor disaster at school and for it not to make headline news at the club, Annie.’

‘But it’s nobody’s business. Perhaps the coven’s at a push, but . . .’

‘The Sorciety make it their business to always know the unfolding of magic. You know that.’

Annie felt chastised, silly. She had always known that. ‘Right. Of course.’

‘Was her magic as extraordinary as they’re all saying it was?’ Harmony asked hungrily, her voice rasping a little. Annie let the moment hold in the air for a second. The small pause was all it took to realize that the three girls were, for once, hanging off her every word. Something wasn’t right.

‘Did you only come here to ask about Maeve?’ she asked unsurely.

Romily laughed. ‘No offence, babe, but we don’t actually care all that much about the coven’s latest charity case. We just wanted to hear all about the amazing things you’ve been doing and congratulate you on your achievements. We’re your best friends, remember?’ she added, with a smile that made Annie soften.

‘We don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to,’ Harmony said.

‘Indeed. I might suffocate myself with one of these cheese scones if we don’t talk about something more interesting soon. And you know how I am with dairy,’ Vivienne drawled.

Annie reeled herself back in. She was overreacting. Exhausted. The protective streak that she’d developed towards Maeve was running away with her, even when the girl was a million miles away. She was not hers to look after any more. Annie suspected that abandoning the spell was starting to make her instincts go a little haywire. It was almost doing the entire opposite of everything that it used to do. To test her, to spite her, to try to lead her back towards one more night’s brew.

‘What have I missed? Oh, pardon me there, shuffle up, will you, pal?’ Ruby said, squeezing herself in beside Vivienne in the bay window and earning a look of pure loathing in return. ‘Annie, I’m so excited to hear all about your time away. I just got chatting to your colleagues, they’re so great! And did you make these? They’re changing my life,’ she asked, brandishing a maple pecan cupcake topped with crunchy, salty pretzel pieces.

‘When you’ve quite finished walloping yourself across the table,’ Vivienne drawled to Ruby, her mouth pinched.

‘We were just about to tell Annie the big news,’ Romily said, a little kinder, but with a sharpness to her eyes.

‘Oh, fun! Sorry, Viv, my bad. You’ll be there, Annie, right? I know you’re not a gal who’d miss an excuse to get dolled up,’ Ruby grinned.

‘Sorry,’ Annie shook her head, slightly baffled. ‘Be where?’

‘The Samhain Ball!’ Harmony squealed.

‘Oh,’ Annie said, taken aback. With everything that had happened, she’d entirely forgotten about one of the biggest All Hallows events in the Sorciety calendar to welcome in the beginning of winter. ‘I’m not sure I’m invited.’

‘Annie, don’t be so modest. Of course you’re invited. Mummy specifically asked me whether you’d be there,’ Romily said. ‘You didn’t hear it from me, but I may or may not have heard rumour that your Crescent status is part of the celebrations.’

Harmony gave a squeal and squeezed Annie’s hand. Even Vivienne seemed pleased by the news. Ruby gave a sort of upturned frown, contemplating the revelation for herself.

Annie was so taken aback, she couldn’t quite find the words. An invitation to a Sorciety ball, the biggest of the year, specifically from Glory Whitlock, the Supreme Herald. And, finally, the fully fledged membership she had always longed for. She had finally done enough to please them. She was finally good enough.

‘You must come,’ Romily went on with the same uncharacteristically encouraging, keen tone. ‘It’ll be fun. I mean it won’t be all that fun. But Mummy has vowed for opulence above all else this year, with no expense spared, so at least the Tempest will be in all of its finery and we can wear some killer dresses.’

‘We’ll look better than everyone – and that’s always enjoyable,’ chimed Harmony.

‘The drinks should be flowing, if nothing else,’ Vivienne added.

‘Yeah, c’mon, Annie. You have to come along,’ Ruby said, dusting cupcake crumbs from her fingers without realizing that they were tumbling into Harmony’s handbag. ‘I have some wicked dance moves that need to be seen to be believed.’

Annie smiled, touched again by the way that they really did seem to have missed her. Coming back to her old life had felt like a rip in the universe, uncomfortable and jagged. But this had to be proof that she had made the right choice. It was all falling into place as it was supposed to. She had to stop questioning it.

‘I’d love to go.’

They never included her as actively as this, not properly since her father had made his mistakes. Over the years, even with the spell to appease her feelings, it was always her, tugging at the ends of Romily’s cloak, bargaining and promising her way into their plans in exchange for whatever she could give them. But here she was, going to the Samhain Ball with her best friends. Just like old times. The prospect brought the same hallowed thrill that she’d felt at fifteen. Old habits did die hard. Her heart reacted in the exact same way, like a trained animal responding to a call.

She would have to make sure that she was as perfect as she could be.

Chapter Twenty-Three