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I eyed him. “Faerie, huh?”
His smile turned puckish. “A Summer sprite. What about you? With the hair I’d say... ah... an Autumn faerie? Or maybe a fox shifter. You’ve got the features for either, anyway. Not the right ethnicity to be a kitsune, or I’d have guessed that too.”
“She’s a witch, Oleander,” Elly said under her breath. “From the Depraysie line. Mads told me this morning before sending me to wake her up and get her dressed.”
Oleander did a double take, his large, violet eyes widening in shock. He turned, giving me a startled once over before shaking his head once in denial.
“Not possible.”
“Possible,” I answered.
Oleander was still frowning. “If you’re a witch, what in the world are you doing down here?” Before I could respond, he continued, this time shaking his head. “Witches live in the dorms. Legacy staff work down here. That’s how it goes—how it’s always gone.”
“It’s possible,” I answered dryly. “Because I am a witch, and I am working down here until further notice.”
“Um… who did you royally piss off?” Oleander asked.
I laughed at that. “Let’s just say Vivian was kind enough to tell me that my scholarship had been revoked about ten minutes after I arrived.”
“What a bitch,” Oleander said as we approached a workstation piled high with potatoes. There had to have been at least a thousand of them scattered across the table. He plucked one from the pile and ran it under a nearby tap before handing it to Elly. “Though I guess that’s to be expected, given she’s a witch.” Then he looked at me. “No offense.”
“None taken. Trust me, I know what we’re like. Even we don’t like each other.”
“Don’t call Vivian names,” Elly said, mouth mashing into a reproving line. “We’ll be in trouble if she hears.”
Oleander rolled his eyes. “Do you really think that Vivian Grimsbane has nothing better to do than listen at keyholes of the kitchen, Elly? There are puppies to kick and babies to swindle of candy.”
I took the next potato from his hand without prompting, drying it on a towel before reaching for a potato peeler. Thankfully, I’d had some experience with peeling potatoes after so long in Haven Hollow. I actually made most of the meals at home because Wanda was such a dismal cook. Babysitting had prepped me for this too. Louisa Rutledge’s youngest, Zane, would only eat mashed potatoes when he was over. I knew the best way to skin a spud and had the peel off in under a minute.
Oleander raised an eyebrow. “You’re good at that.”
I shrugged. “I’ve had practice.”
“Sure,” Elly muttered bitterly. “Because a Depraysie witch would just love slumming it with the kitchen staff in her enormous manor at Crescent whatever it’s called.”
“It’s Crescent Circle,” I corrected her. “And that’s no longer my coven.”
“Well, I don’t know what you did to land yourself down here,” Elly continued, “but you’re not going to do yourself any favors by lying to us.”
“I’m not lying,” I insisted. “I’ve been living in Haven Hollow for a while, and I do slum it in the kitchen of my cousin’s duplex. If I let her cook, she’d probably start a house fire. She’s a culinary disaster. It’s safest for all of us if I do the meal prep. I can also make a mean cocktail if I have the right ingredients.”
“Ah, that explains it,” Oleander said, starting on a potato of his own. He tossed the peels into the trash bin at our feet when he was done. I did the same.
“Explains what?” I asked.
“Your... attitude, I guess. You’re not like most witches I’ve met. They tend to have their noses so high in the air, I can count their nose hairs. I guess living in a Hollow gave you the opportunity to mingle. It’s made you... mellower.”
“Yeah, Scapegrace witches aren’t like other witches,” I said with a weak laugh.
“That’s your new coven?” Elly asked as I nodded.
“What happened to your other one?” Oleander questioned.
I shrugged. “I was kicked out for asking too many probing questions. High Witch Celestine didn’t like people all up in her business. So, I went to live with my cousin, Wanda, who was ousted as well, for being a Blood Witch.”
“Is that a thing?” Oleander asked. “I thought they were just legends.”
“Nope, they’re a thing,” I answered and then remembered Wanda’s little faux secret. “But then she was turned, so she’s a vampire now, so you can guess how well that’s gone over with Crescent Circle. Vivian says it’s the reason they yanked my scholarship here. As if Wanda could help what happened to her. She didn’t ask for any of it.”
