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"Why do you think your mother moved us from Europe to Australia?"
"I always thought it was because she didn't trust the family anymore, and she wanted to get away from the war that was brewing."
"Both are true, but it's only part of the story. Your mother fell in love with a sorcerer when we were living with your Greek cousins. She didn't know it, but one of the women in the other families, Elena, was also in love with him. She wanted Sophia out of the way, so she planted letters amongst the man's things to make out he was going to kill you and steal your miracles," Athanasius explained.
"What? How did I not know about this?" Mara asked, dazed. She knew Sophia was having problems and infighting with others in the traveling families. It wasn't anything new, though, and she certainly didn't realize that Sophia was in love.
"Sophia was a private woman, and she didn't expect to fall for a sorcerer. You can understand, given your family's history, that she wanted to keep it a secret." Athanasius's eyes glowed. "When she found the papers and the plans, she didn't break up with the sorcerer like Elena had planned. Sophia summoned her big miracle and used it to kill him."
Mara was going to be sick. "But, why? Why not try and talk to him?"
"You have to understand, little one. Your mother loved you more than anything in the world. She was beyond reasoning with. She destroyed the sorcerer, and when she found out what Elena had done, she slit her throat. We left that night to escape any repercussions because Sophia no longer trusted them anywhere near you. She died of heartache, and she refused to let you try and cure it because…because she felt like she deserved it."
Mara's mind was suddenly filled with Sophia's last days of pain, of her shouting abuse and crying out for spirits who wouldn't answer her until all that was left of her was crow feathers.
Athanasius bumped his head against her. "She never wanted you near sorcerers because she saw in her cards that you would make her mistake and fall for one."
"Did she see if I died because of Augustus?" Mara asked, dreading the answer.
"No. She only saw that you were in love with him and would follow a hard path because of it."
"You know, grandfather, all of that would've been helpful to know when he first turned up," Mara said, anger lacing every word.
"I made a promise to Sophia not to. And I'm only breaking it because I don't want you making her mistakes…" he called, but she wasn't listening.
Mara strode through the store, glared at Anea on her way past, and blew out all of her candles. She clawed at the heavy gown, beads bouncing to the floor as she tore herself free from it. She climbed into the clawfoot tub and turned on the hot water.
Mara covered her face with her hands and wept, so she never noticed the single crow feather that fell from her back and blew away.
Twenty
"The honorof a sorcerer must be above reproach. If it ever comes into question, it is their duty to defend it, whatever the cost." — Sorcery in the Age of Reason.
By the third day after the blood moon, Augustus was ready to tear Melbourne apart, looking for Mara.
After she had left the Blood Moon Bar so abruptly, Augustus had waited an hour for her to return before deciding to go home. Unfortunately, a blood moon brought out all sorts of crazy, so he'd been dragged into solving more than one quarrel on his way home, including stopping a kidnapping by the fae in Fitzroy Gardens.
It was precisely why he never went out for long on a blood moon. Kissing Mara had been worth the drama. It was only frustrating him because he had wanted to keep on kissing her and felt robbed of the opportunity.
Augustus had sent messages that night, making sure she was okay and that she had gotten home safely. He had messaged her again the following day. There had been no reply.
On the second day, he had decided that she was embarrassed about kissing him and regretted it so intensely that she was hiding out.
Now on the third day, Augustus's patience was well and truly gone, and he was determined to find the store. He didn't care if he had to beg or plead. He needed to see Mara and find out what had happened.
Underneath his frustration was a sharp spike of worry. What if the miracle had escaped her and she had died? That thought was unfathomable, but he wasn't going to sleep again until he saw that she was okay.
Augustus roamed the streets all day, trying to find the teashop. He had always felt the hooks and call of the place, even when he wasn't looking for it. He had spotted the red door in the corner of his eye three times, and each time, it had disappeared on him.
Something was going on, and he didn't know if it was the unpredictable magic of Melbourne or Mara herself that was keeping him away.
But why would she want to keep you away?
She had agreed to go home with him, or at least implied she was interested in the idea, before she had run from the bar.
The sun was almost gone, and a storm was brewing when the red door appeared again on Little Lonsdale Street. Augustus lost his temper and threw his magic out at it as it started to fade on him.
The door shuddered violently, fighting against his grip. Augustus spat out a binding spell to hold it in place and tie it to the street. He ran up the steps, and the teashop stopped trying to escape him.
