Page 122 of The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Spite & Spellwork

“My mother.” It was a guilty admission. If she was going to interrupt their waiting period with melancholy and mental distraction, it should have been for the case. At least then it would have been something that concerned them both. “Sorry, I think that’s just gonna weigh on me for a bit.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” said Avery. There was a noticeable pause, or perhaps it was simply because they were weaving around people trying to pass them to get down to the tube station as they emerged from it. “Would you like to talk about it?”

They had talked about it for hours, until Saga had cried herself to sleep on the couch. She didn’t have anything new to say. Not to Avery, anyway. “I don’t know how helpful that would be at this point, to be honest.”

They crossed the street toward the Apple Market, and Saga heard her name called. She turned in one direction, then the other, and saw Darcy and Phillip walking toward them, Darcy bouncing excitedly as she waved.

“Peregrine was right,” said Darcy, beaming. “You’re a lot easier to spot with that hair.”

“Hi Saga, good to see you,” said Phillip. Where his girlfriend was chic and timeless, Phillip always looked to Saga like the sort of man who would have repaired penny-farthings41 in the 1800s. This was largely due to his handlebar mustache but was not helped by his love of tweed trousers and suspenders. Saga had always liked his face. It was kind and oval but with the sort of rosy cheeks you could imagine being quite Santa-like as he got older.

Darcy nudged her, looking at Avery who was standing awkwardly off to the side. “Are you going to introduce us?”

“Oh.” Saga gestured for Avery to step closer. “Sorry, this is Avery Hemlock. Avery, this is my dear friend Darcy Chua and her boyfriend, Phillip Seaver. Darcy works in fashion, Phillip is in real estate, and Avery is…in law enforcement.”

“Were you not sure for a minute?” Darcy laughed.

“Uh,” Saga flustered with a laugh. “No, it’s…wording. I almost said she was in crime, and that is not right.”

“That would rather give the opposite impression of what side of the law you were on.” Phillip laughed and offered his hand, which Avery shook.

“What are you two up to?” asked Darcy excitedly. Her eyes had that look. The look that said the moment Saga told her anything, Peregrine and Magdalena would be informed not long after.

“We’re actually on our way to…” Saga looked to the changeling for help, but Avery only smiled at her.

“You know, I actually have to make a call, would you three excuse me?” Avery winked.

“Are you sure?” Saga asked.

“Absolutely.” Avery flashed a grin. “Take your time, catch up.” She produced her phone in a fluid motion and stepped away toward a quieter corner of the market.

“So how did we never hear about Avery?” Darcy asked.

“Because it isn’t anything,” Saga dismissed.

“She completely blew off this absolutely gorgeous woman at brunch a week ago,” Darcy explained to Phillip. “Couldn’t figure out why ’til now.”

“Are we interrupting a date?” Phillip asked.

“No,” Saga said too quickly. “No.” It didn’t sound any more convincing slower or repeated. “We are just getting a bite to eat, which brings up a good point. What are you two doing out?”

Darcy fondly tugged on Phillip’s jacket lapel. “He asked for the afternoon off for a day date. Vivienne almost never has us work on Mondays, so it was quite perfect. We’re hitting the antique mall, dinner at Flat Iron, and then we’re catching a show.”

“Excited we ran into you still, though,” Phillip told Saga.

“How did the thing with Hugh go?” Darcy asked, dropping her voice conspiratorially.

“Oh, yes, Darcy told me he showed up at your work for a ‘talk.’” It was hard to take Phillip’s disapproval of her ex-fiancé seriously with that mustache. Then again, it was hard to take much of anything Phillip said seriously with that mustache.

“It…went?” Saga shrugged, feeling frustrated. “Which reminds me, when can I get that suit back to you?”

“I can pick it up this week when you’ve got time,” said Darcy dismissively. “What do you mean ‘it went’? You looked fantastic! If looks could kill, they would have carted you off for mass homicide—what happened?”

Saga sighed. “I happened. He did that thing where he doesn’t actually apologize, but you feel better because he does the stupid puppy-dog eyes, and I never liked fighting with him anyway, so I just… I was a bit of a doormat, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, Saga…”

She shook her head. “It’s fine. I’m not really the ‘give them a piece of my mind’ kind of person anyway.”