Page 33 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

“We don’t have anything directly linking us to Astria for the spell, but I thought we could try using Hecate’s spellbook and see if it works since they might have come in contact with one another at one point in time.”

“Give me a minute.” The mirror darkened—Luciana’s form disappeared into the glass without saying goodbye.

“Where did she go?” Kara leaned over the mirror.

Lennox shrugged. “I don’t know. She severed the connection. But she said she’d be back.”

“I guess we wait,” I concluded.

“Do you think this will work?” Declan asked. Lennox and Kara shared a look.

“It’s worth a shot. There’s no guarantee any spell would work without a direct link to Astria or her journal, but it's worth a try.”

A breeze filtered through the room, ruffling the curtains to the balcony.

Like she was carried on the breeze, Luciana appeared before us.

Kara jumped, placing a hand on her heart as Declan drew his sword.

“Relax, Dec,” Nico said. “It’s Lucy.”

Lucy?I mouthed to Declan. He furrowed his brows before resheathing his sword.

“Surprise.” A slow smile spread across Luciana’s face.

I looked to Lennox, expecting to find her smiling at the appearance of her cousin, only to find her face etched with concern and anger.

“Don’t tell me?—”

“Shhh—Lennox.” Luciana raised a finger to her lips. “Remember, don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to. I’d say this trick is rather convenient, don’t you? It would havetaken weeks for me to get here, but with this”—She waved her arms dramatically.—“I’m at your door in the snap of your fingers.”

I looked between the cousins, trying to figure out what was going on between the pair.

“Wait,” I took a step closer to Luciana. When she was in the mirror her reflection had appeared smudged. But here standing before me she looked fully corporal. She wasn’t simply a reflection of Luciana she was— “You’re here. In the flesh. Not a reflection.”

Nico’s brows raised as he took a step towards Luciana and poked her on the arm. Luciana swatted him away.

“It is you,” Nico marveled.

“A fun little trick isn’t it, a spell of my own creation.”

“A dangerous trick,” Lennox crossed her arms over her chest. “Luce, we talked about this.”

Luce rolled her eyes. “We did, and I told you not to worry about it, Lennox. I’m here. It’s already done, let’s move on.”

“I for one am glad you’re here,” Nico added. Luciana gave him a sly grin.

“I’m sure you are, pup.”

“Thank you for coming,” Lennox added.

“You needed me, so I came.” Lennox smiled slightly before pulling her cousin in for a hug.

“I worry because I care,” she said into the witch’s hair.

“I know,” Luciana murmured. “Now,” Luciana let go of her cousin, “I believe we have a spell to do.”

17

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