Page 57 of Board Games and Broomsticks

‘You two are so cute.’ Liora grinned, chin resting in her hands as she watched them watch each other. ‘I’m so glad you finally admitted your feelings to one another.’

They both flushed, and it was Nyssa’s turn to give Elowen’s hand a reassuring squeeze. ‘Thank you, Li, that isn’t awkward at all,’ Nyssa teased.

‘Ahhh, there’s nothing awkward about young love! Our bonds are what give us strength.’ Alaric began scooping another helping into everyone’s bowls without asking, oblivious to the amused look Nyssa, Liora and Elowen all shared. ‘In fact, whilst we’re on the topic, I … just want to tell you all how much you’ve come to mean to me. My sister is the only family I have, and her visits to Nighthaven are becoming more and more infrequent. But the times in-between are far less lonely with you lot around. So thank you for letting me be part of this little troupe,’ he said, pressing a hand earnestly to his chest. ‘And thank you, too, for allowing me to lead this ritual. It’s been too long since I’ve been challenged in such a way; makes an old druid feel young again.’

Tears burned the back of Nyssa’s eyes as an overwhelming surge of affection towards Alaric swept over her. ‘Thank you – all of you. For accepting me and supporting me, even when I didn’t deserve it. Nighthaven has become my home because of you, and tonight, I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure we never have to deal with Morven Delamorte again.’

‘Hear, hear!’ Liora grinned, raising her glass in a cheers.

Laughter echoed around the table, glasses clinking, and the rest of the meal passed by in a blur of comfortable chatter. It was only when the plates had been cleared away that the heavy sense of what was to come settled over the group once more, a feeling that, by the time they’d gathered up the ritual supplies and begun the walk to the forest spring, had become thick enough that Nyssa felt like she might choke on it.

It seemed to take forever and no time at all to reach the spring where Nyssa had met the selkie and felt her grandmother’s presence so vividly. It looked different this late at night. Smaller, somehow, and more confined. The tall trees felt like a slowly closing cage around them, the shadows they cast long and ominous, and the spring itself had taken on an unnatural shimmer as it reflected the light of the full moon. Its surface was so still that if Nyssa didn’t know it was water, she might have mistaken it for solid ice.

She remained silent as they prepared the ritual circle. After clearing the ground, Alaric moved in a wide circle, scoring the earth with his staff to make a shallow ring. Nyssa then placed candles at each cardinal point, before anointing them with a mixture of salt, ash, crushed sage, mugwort and nettle which she had prepared at her grandmother’s altar in the attic earlier that day. As she worked methodically, her mind recited the incantation she’d have to perform over and over again. She couldn’t afford any mistakes tonight, and Nyssa was sure the weight of that old need to succeed would have crushed her if it weren’t for the presence of her friends.

Alaric was practising his own incantation, muttering it under his breath like a song, while Elowen carefully unwrapped the cloth around the Orb of Guardianship with Nyx diligently standing watch at her side.

‘We’re almost ready to start.’ Liora appeared at her side, her chin buried into her bright green scarf. The bard seemed the most relaxed of them all as she balanced her lyre against a nearby rock and reached into her coat pocket. ‘Before we do, I want to give you something.’

In the moonlight, the necklace that Liora held up looked as if it was shimmering. A small triquetra hung from a delicate, silver chain, its surface engraved with the old magical runes for protection. It had been years since Nyssa had seen it, but her breath hitched as recognition flooded through her.

‘My grandma’s necklace.’

‘She gave it to me shortly before she died.’ Liora paused, looking down at the necklace with a fond expression on her face. ‘I never wore it. I think … I think I always knew I wasn’t meant to.’ She placed the necklace in Nyssa’s hand. Closed her fist around it. ‘You should have it.’

Nyssa blinked back tears. ‘Li, are you sure?’

‘More than sure.’ Liora’s smile was tinged with grief, and Nyssa pulled her into a tight hug, holding her as close as she possibly could without crushing the much smaller woman.

‘I love you.’ They’d never been words Nyssa had felt particularly comfortable saying, but right now, admitting it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

‘I love you, too.’ Liora pulled back from the hug, her own eyes shimmering. ‘Now put it on! I wanna see how it looks.’

Nyssa’s smile was wide enough to hurt. She was fumbling with the chain, her cold fingers making it far more difficult than she’d have liked, when Elowen appeared at her side and held out her hand.

‘Let me.’

Nyssa’s stomach flipped at the intimacy of Elowen’s voice. At the way Elowen’s fingers gently brushed the back of her knuckles as she took the necklace and moved to stand behind her. She swept aside Nyssa’s hair with featherlight fingers, her breath warm against Nyssa’s neck as she secured the chain in place.

‘There,’ Elowen said, moving back around to her front. ‘It looks beautiful on you.’

Nyssa flushed despite the cold December air, and if they had been anywhere else, she’d have pulled Elowen to her and kissed her senseless. But the moon was almost in position now, causing the hum of magic coming from the spring to reach a fever pitch.

‘This is a beautiful moment,’ Alaric interrupted, ‘but do you two think you can stop making moon-eyes at one another long enough for us to start the ritual?’

Liora smacked him lightly on the arm. ‘You’re the one who kicked off all of these emotional revelations back at your house!’

‘Yes, well,’ the druid huffed, ‘don’t make me regret it! Now, everyone take your places!’

One by one, they each got into position around the ritual circle: Alaric to the north, Elowen to the east, Liora to the west and, finally, Nyssa to the south. Nyssa flicked her wrist, lighting the candles effortlessly; the light of the small flames danced across the circle, catching on the orb which Elowen held firmly in her hands.

And at the centre of the circle, no longer contained in the enchanted birdcage, lay Familiars. They’d had to take it out of the protective cage for the purpose of the ritual, in case the magic around it interacted with their spell somehow, and without it, the unmistakable presence of Morven’s magic lingered heavily in the air around the game. Nyssa’s heart thudded, her stomach in knots as Alaric looked up as the moon finally reached its peak, ‘It’s time.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The last time Nyssa had performed a ritual anywhere near this magnitude, she’d lost everything.

It’s going to be different this time, she told herself, her voice weaving with Alaric’s as they began the first of three rounds of their incantation.