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“Look, Mia.” He drops his big hands at his sides. “We all know Jason’s fond of ya. Very fond, if you catch my drift. And then this Ophelia appeared and he… kinda lost himself. Ya know?”
“I know.”
“If you can help him… I mean, you’re a witch, too. It’s like she’s got him under a spell.”
And not only him, I think, remembering Miss Worthy’s face.
“We’d do anything to help, all of us,” Elijah concludes.
And there you go. My boys think that their buddies don’t care for them but their buddies all came out and offered to help.
I wish I could tell them. I hope one day soon to be able to.
“I’ll keep it in mind,” I say, “and I am trying to help him. If you overhear anything that could prove useful, between him and Ophelia or Ophelia and anyone else, let me know.”
“Will do, Mistress Apollinari,” he says, turning to go, and I gape after him until I remember that it’s a common title for a witch.
Mistress. Nobody so far has addressed me as such. I almost laugh out loud.
Then Vanessa approaches me. “Mia. I was looking for you and then I felt this tug on my magic. That was you, wasn’t it?”
“Your element is fire, therefore consider yourself called,” I mutter. “Though Az came before you. Hadn’t meant to call you in particular, as you might have guessed.”
“I know. We have to talk.”
“What about? You made your position abundantly clear, and I’m busy right now, so…”
“You were right,” she says.
I stare at her. “Of course I was,” I eventually say, channeling my inner Sindri. “What about?”
“Ophelia. She’s preparing a big ritual, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The Wind ritual was just the opening act. The rituals follow one another into a crescendo. The harmony—”
“Look, I don’t get the music references, okay? Speak plainly. Why are you here?”
She sighs. “Mia, the final ritual she’s planning… The conduits aren’t meant to survive that.”
The ground seems to give way beneath my feet. “Are you serious?”
“Deadly.”
“Holy crap. Holy frigging crap. I thought we had time, but… She’s planning on killing my boys?”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
Fear mingles with fury. “How dare she? Tell me you’re against it, Van, against murder.”
“I want them punished,” she says. “Not executed. Especially since I’m not sure anymore what she’s after. If what you said is true…”
“It’s what it looks like, Van. And to be honest, I’m not sure the boys deserve your ire.”
“They committed crimes!”
“Not sure about that, like I said. I’ll tell you all about it, but first… are you on my side now? Or still undecided?”
She kicks at a pebble. “I’m not on hers, anyway.”
“That’s… good enough, I guess.”
