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She’s my mentor.
That position, the leader of the coven, is supposed to be mine.
There are a million reasons she doesn’t trust me with much responsibility, and all of them are my own. My fault. My history. But I worked hard to get rid of the shadow following me, and Jewel trusts me to be a leader now. Doesn’t she?
I haven’t made a mistake in nearly a decade. This is my first time being late in a year. She can’t be that upset at me.
“Jewel?” I say, doubt creeping into my voice. “I didn’t realize—”
“As I said, I’m glad the two of you have met.” She gives a firm nod. “I’ll be mentoring you both.”
Though Aurora has yet to agree to the position, something awakens deep within her round eyes.
Damn it.
“Yes,” Aurora says, smiling wickedly. “I think I’d like that.”
When Jewel hugs her, Aurora looks over her shoulder.
Right at me.
And she winks.
My head is still spinning when I finally join the gathering. I know every witch here—except for the new ones. Apparently, Aurora didn’t come to town alone. Three witches who look suspiciously like her have arrived as well.
Aurora mingles with the others, not so much as looking my way, and I approach Val, pressing a hand to his shoulder. He is, of course, surrounded by his usual friends, and his expression shifts when he spots me.
Among Val’s witch friends is a younger witch named Ryan. We both sort of took on a mentorship role with Ryan, though in different ways. Val supports him socially, while he and I have similar magic.
“You look like you’re about to be sick.” Val smirks. “Need a potion? I don’t have one, but I can ask around.”
Some potion witch he is.
“No… no, I just need a moment.” I shake my head and turn my attention to Ryan. A change of subject. That’s what I need. “How’s your senior year going?”
Ryan blows out a breath. “It’s… going.”
“And what do you have planned after graduation?” I ask, keeping my voice even.
Ryan’s young enough that his lifeline—the magical line that shows how long he has to live—still grows brightly. There’s more to him, too, another line connecting him to the Underworld, thanks to his hedge magic.
“I’m… not really sure. Mom says I can take a gap year, so I don’t have to figure out college just yet.”
“And you know you can come here if you need an internship opportunity.” I gesture vaguely. “Right?”
He smiles at me. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind. I wouldn’t mind working at the parks with you.”
“Let me know—”
“Enough small talk.” Val clamps a hand on my shoulder and leads me to where Auggie is, off on her own as she tends to be; that’s something we have in common, though in different ways. Auggie is timid, always has been, and I have reasons to keep to myself.
She appears to perk up when we approach. “I was wondering where you were. Working late?”
“Something like that,” I mutter. “Have you met the new family?”
“Not yet, but it seems like Farrah is meeting one of them right now.” Val looks over my shoulder. “She’s talking to the new girl—who’s smoking hot, I might add.”
Aurora. He’s talking about Aurora.
