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“Sounds great,” I called out.
With a wave to Genevieve, I left behind the witchy shop, wondering just how much I still didn’t understand about the talismans. Though Grandmother abhorred dark magick and forbid the witches in our Coven from exploring it, I sensed the Salem witches perceived it differently.
After securing a box of fudge, we unloaded the casting ingredients onto the kitchen island. Liliane got to work on her concoction brewing on the stove, the smell of burning cedar, sage and milk thistle growing thick in the air as I plated some squares of fudge.
The minutes passed in companionable silence, the routine movements of the task settling any lingering nerves of practicing my spirit magick without the help of the amulet.
“You know, if you ever tire of New Orleans, we would be happy to have you stay here, Jade,” Liliane said as she leaned down to sniff her brew. “With your sisters now women grown and on their own journeys, it could be good for you to live somewhere new and have a fresh start.”
I couldn’t deny the temptation—to be free from Grandmother’s oppressive expectations, to explore my magick in ways I never thought possible. But leaving my sisters was not an option. To remain in our Coven, I would have to comply with Grandmother’s terms of becoming High Priestess, thus stripping me of my freedom to choose my destiny.
My throat bobbed. “Thank you for the offer, Aunt Liliane. I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Hm,” Liliane murmured noncommittally, sensing the unspoken trepidation in my voice.She pulled two mugs from the cabinet, pouring steaming tea in before sliding one across the counter.“Here, drink. It’ll soothe your nerves.”
I lifted it to my nose, inhaling the soothing aroma of rose and ginger, and took a sip.
She watched me drink, pulling out her well-used tarot deck. “Do you mind if I give you a reading before we start?”
I shook my head while studying the hand-painted images that looked both alluring and disturbing, with an iridescent glimmer that shone through the cards like jewels. “You have a beautiful deck.”
“I painted them myself before imbuing them with magick to better funnel the energy from the Goddess. Over the years, I’ve thought of selling them but find myself unwilling to share this with any outside the Coven.”Liliane smiled softly, focused on her task.
As I drank, she shuffled the cards, the sound lulling me into a calm reverie.
“I’ve been thinking about our summers together,” Liliane muttered, shaking her head wistfully. “I’ve been thinking about a lot of things lately. You know, Rebecca and I weren’t always estranged from each other. At one time, we were as close as you and your sisters.”
“What happened?” I asked, my curiosity kindling.
“I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but your grandfather was a foul piece of steaming shit.”
A choked laugh bubbled at my throat, and Liliane flashed an impish grin.
“Hector was a curious warlock. He could be at once fun and charming and in the next breath an indignant tyrant whom you wanted to slip belladonna into his evening nightcap.”
My stomach soured as I set my mug on the counter, hot liquid sloshing off the rim.
“After Rebecca met Hector, she changed.” Liliane leaned back in her chair, her black gauzy dress shifting as she crossed her legs under the table. “It started out small—a missed dinner plan, muttered untruths to defend his actions when I knew better. But as she grew more obsessed with him, the larger the chasm between us grew.”
Liliane shook her head sadly, the pain lingering in the deep lines of her face. “After they married, he sequestered her away to New Orleans to take over the Coven. Whatever happened in that house, it altered her forever.”
I tried to imagine Grandmother as a young girl, in love and ready to take on the world. But instead of finding a partner who valued her strength, she was forced to play the role Grandfather had wanted. It must have been a heavy burden. And a lonely one.
Unbidden, my mind conjured an image of my potential future with Alexei. Though the vampire was violent and rash, I couldn’t ever imagine him wielding his might over me. This past year, he showed me exactly how much he respected and cared for my feelings. How much he believed in my strength and power. That somehow meant everything to me.
Face flushed, I gulped my forgotten tea as she laid out the cards. “Why tell me this?”
“Just be careful, Jade,” she warned. “My sister is a powerful witch, but she ices out people when they creep too close to her heart. We haven’t spoken in person in nearly two decades because I finally told her my truth—beggedher to leave Hector. Whatever role she may have plopped onto your shoulders, I don’t want that life for you.”
A dagger lodged in my throat. It was far too late for her worries.
Her face brightened as she spread out the deck. “Let’s begin, shall we?”
Struggling to wrangle my emotions back into the armored vault inside my heart, I could sense her magick in the air. It was an opalescent shimmer that settled over my skin like invisible fingers, stretching and pulling what hid beneath.
Flipping over the first card, she smiled. “Temperance. You crave balance, a way to find meaning in your life outside of the expectations put upon you.”
Obvious enough—and typical of most of the readings Isla had done for me on our kitchen table. My nails curled together under the counter as she set down the next card, whistling low.
