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“I hate the way the rest of the coven treats you,” I say, choosing my words carefully. “They act like you’re as useless as me.”
Aggie’s face tightens, and she balls her hands into fists.
I run back through my words, making sure I didn’t say anything insulting. Since the only one who should get offended at what I just said is me, I continue.
“You’re good enough to make custom spells at the apothecary. People pay a fortune for your services, but instead of taking advantage of your advanced talents, they make you stay and babysit me?”
“Yeah,” she growls.
“And they didn’t even bother to include you in the first spell they performed to close the rift.”
Aggie’s shoulders rise toward her ears. She dips her head and wraps her arms around her middle, looking like she wants to hide.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Actually, I ducked out.”
“Why?”
She mumbles something under her breath, making me lean against the bindings but I still can’t hear a word.
“What did you say?” I ask.
“I wanted to take back my broomstick,” she says.
My lips tighten. This nonsense again.
I shove away that thought. So much has happened these past few days that I’ve dismissed Aggie’s angst about the broomstick as frivolous. Now is probably the time to take it seriously.
“Look, I’m sorry I never got around to stealing your broomstick back.”
“It’s alright,” she mutters, her gaze fixed on the floor. “You had your hands full with the Boogie Man.”
Silence stretches out for several heartbeats. This is my opportunity to break free, but I need to word things carefully.
“Maybe I can make things up to you,” I say.
Aggie’s eyes narrow. “How?”
“I could steal it for you while she’s busy closing the rift.”
“A fat lot of good that would do,” she says, her voice bitter. “Grandma set up a dozen wards around it. Every time I try to get the broomstick back, her magic attacks.”
I bite down on my bottom lip. Aggie so close to letting me go. I just need to come up with a plausible reason.
“But Grandma’s ward repels magical beings, doesn’t it?” When she gives me a hesitant nod, I continue. “What about those who don’t have magic?”
“I’m listening…”
“How do you think dead Norbert managed to sneak into Grandma’s house? I crawled under the bed and burrowed into a protection sphere, but his hand slipped through—”
“Because he was dead and didn’t have any magic?”
My heart soars. I’m so glad she didn’t suggest that Norbert used his necromancy. “Exactly. Now, you were there when Grandma and Aunt Klara removed my power. I’m practically a human now. What if I bypassed Grandma’s wards and stole back your broomstick?”
Aggie flicks her wand, and the web of magic vanishes, along with the sheet covering my nudity.
She rolls her eyes. “Get dressed.”
