“Scar!” I exclaim. “You’re filthy!”
The puppy runs around the kitchen, tail wagging, and Freya lets me know that Scarlet enjoyed rolling on a dead raccoon and then pranced through muddy puddles.
“If I take your collar off, will you still be dirty?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.
“Probably,” Lucas says. “And ten times the size she is now.”
“Ugh. Well…stay here, Scar. I’ll give you a bath after breakfast.”
“I’ll do it,” Lucas offers and gives my tits one more squeeze. “Finish eating.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I don’t mind.”
I tip my head back to kiss him. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
Eliza loudly gags and goes into the living room, turning on the TV. I want to enjoy breakfast and revel in the fact Lucas is okay. He’s back to himself again and we successfully transferred the curse.
But I can’t. Because all we did was buy ourselves time, and once the necromancers find out their spell didn’t work, I’m afraid they’ll come back harder and hit us with something even worse.Chapter 17“This came through your fireplace.” Eliza holds out an envelope, looking at it skeptically. “Didn’t you already get your acceptance letter to Hogwarts?”
“Hah. It didn’t quite happen like that.” I turn from the kitchen counter and take the letter from her, stomach tightening. It’s nearing five in the evening, and Lucas and I spent the last few hours gloriously doing nothing as we lazily laid on the couch watching TV. I flip the letter over and see the Grand Coven’s emblem stamped into the wax seal. I stare at the pentagram for a few seconds and then open the letter.
“What is it?” Eliza asks as I read over the letter. I hold up my hand and quickly skim through the rest.
“I’ve been summoned to the Covenstead to have my petition reviewed.” I look over the letter again. It reads like a form letter, with hardly any detail being given away now.
“When?”
“In a hour.”
“They don’t give you much time, do they?”
I fold the letter back up and set it on the kitchen island. I was in the process of chopping up vegetables to make stir fry for dinner tonight.
“I think they do that on purpose. It’s not impossible to leave the coven, but they do try to make it as hard as they can.” I pick up the knife and grab another carrot, concentrating on cutting perfectly even pieces, not on what might go down tonight.
Eliza leans against the counter, watching me prepare the food. I’ve been barred from entering the Covenstead. Someone will be there waiting to let me in, and I’m sure I’ll be escorted like an excommunicated witch to the Gathering Hall where I’ll be questioned.
I add the carrots to the wok and then step back, spinning my wedding ring around my finger. I don’t know why I’m so startled by this. I knew it was coming, but with the way my paperwork kept getting shuffled to the back of the to-do list, I guess I kind of assumed I’d have more time to pretend like everything was okay.
“They’re not going to burn you at the stake or anything, are they?” Eliza asks, trying to sound uninterested.
“You’re worried, aren’t you?” I smile and look at her. She does a good job avoiding my eyes.
“Maybe a little. You’re handy to have around in case Lucas gets cursed again. Plus, the smell of burnt human flesh is repulsive.”
“You wouldn’t smell it,” I assure her, though it brings little comfort. “It would happen inside the Covenstead.”
She shakes her head. “Right, and that whole hidden magical dimension is another thing I shouldn’t overthink.”
“Yep. Accept that it just is and life is so much simpler.”
“My afterlife was simpler before I met you,” she huffs, flicking her eyes to mine. Then she smiles. “But I’ll admit, it’s been a hell of a lot more interesting. Things were…were a little dull the last twenty years or so.”
I nod and turn back to my vegetables, remembering overhearing a conversation between Eliza and Lucas months ago, before Lucas and I were officially a couple.
She said Lucas hadn’t seemed like himself for decades. And Lucas said I made him feel for the first time in centuries.
I can’t imagine living that long. The thought alone is hard to fathom, let alone thinking about living that long and not going insane.
“Dull moments are few and far between with me.” I carefully cut up green onions. “Though I’m due for a good break here pretty soon. Statistically speaking, that is.”
“I hope you’re right. I already had to cancel a nail appointment last night. Thank god they were able to reschedule for tonight.”
“You’re leaving?” There’s more disappointment in my voice than even I anticipated. Eliza is sarcastic, pessimistic, complains about everything, and makes no effort to play nice with my friends…yet I kind of like having her around.