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“It must be important or you wouldn’t have showed up at this hour,” Ethel noted.
“I’ll just start at the beginning, I guess, since it’s my house. I had no idea there were rules about how many people I’m allowed to let live with me. No more than four unrelated persons are supposed to share a single-family residence.”
“Ah,” Ethel said.
“The crankypants next door reported us!” Outrage showed in every line of Sally’s body, from her clenched fists to her furrowed brow.
“Rotten luck!” Percy called.
Rowan nodded. “Tell me about it. I just started feeling at home, and I can’t get a deal like this anywhere else.”
Iris went on, “If I’d known, I would have looked into my options before, so that’s on me, but what’s done is done. Now, I have people to take care of, you know?”
Ethel sipped at her coffee. “I get it, but where do I come in?”
“I intend to try and get licensed as a rooming house, but I doubt the wiring is up to code, and I can’t afford to have the whole house physically rewired. Mira is a tech witch, but a spell to update all the house wiring is more than she can manage alone.
“She’s been looking to join your coven, so I wondered if the rest of you would be willing to help with the spell.” She took a deep breath. “I can pay, just not up front. It would have to be in installments. But…it would mean a lot to us if it was possible. If Violet Gables gets approved by the city, there won’t be any basis for Susan’s complaint.”
“If you need a deposit, I can take care of that,” Sally said.
Mira finally spoke. “This is awkward because I haven’t been voted in officially yet. We’re still getting to know each other, so I understand if—”
Smiling faintly, Ethel held up a hand. “Whoa, slow down. I didn’t say no. I didn’t say yes either.”
“Do it!” Percy shouted. “Do it! Do it!”
The curvy witch laughed. “Well, if Percy thinks so. But seriously, I need to talk to Clem and Danica first since this is their wheelhouse. They’d be doing most of the heavy lifting along with Mira. The rest of us would be lending our power to pull off a spellof that magnitude. I don’t think any of us have tried to cover a whole house.”
“Would it be easier in stages?” Iris asked. She didn’t want to be one ofthosepeople, asking for the impossible because she didn’t really understand how the magic worked.
Mira laced her hands together in her lap, and Rowan touched her shoulder lightly. “It…means a lot to me that you’d even consider it. I’m new here, after all.”
“But you’ll most likely be one of us,” Ethel predicted.
The other witch glanced up with a tremulous smile, one that touched Iris deeply, as she understood so well how it felt to crave belonging to that extent. “You think so?”
Ethel answered, “I do. I’ll text you with the particulars after I call for a coven meeting. We’re not due to meet again until next month, but we need to talk it over.”
“I appreciate being included,” Mira said softly.
“But…” Ethel fixed an acute stare on Iris, eyes narrowed. “Why don’t you askyourpeople for help?”
Honestly, Iris had no idea what the witch meant. “Excuse me?”
“That’s odd. Gladys mentioned you to me, and I just confirmed it myself. Why don’t you ask the fae? Is it because so few stay in the sunset lands?”
Iris’s heart started pounding so hard, she felt it in her ears. “I havenoidea what you’re talking about.”
Sally whispered, “Itoldyou, she’s been fighting with her family. Because of the mix-up at the hospital.”
“Holy shit,” Ethel breathed. “That changes everything. No pun intended.”
Iris wished the world would start making sense again. “Uh, what?”
“I think I get it,” Rowan said. “It explains everything. You’re a changeling, Iris.”
Eli put away the remnants from their meal, wishing there was more he could do.
