Page 45 of Destiny of the Witch

He sighed again. ‘I didn’t mean for this evening to end this way.’ He gave me a rueful glance. ‘Things never seem to go the way I think they should with you.’ He stepped closer and kissed my forehead. ‘Sleep well, Am. Sweet dreams.’

He had said those words to me hundreds of times, and tears pooled in my eyes as he shut the door behind him. Damn Jeb for breaking the clearing. Damn Shaun for these sweet memories crowding my head.

I was lost in a sea of memories – and for once I didn’t have Bastion to cling to.

Chapter 38

I worked through the night, not daring to nap for even half an hour lest I fall into a deep sleep and miss the next stage in making the potion. By the time dawn broke, it was nearly complete. Exhausted, I put the lid on it and let the stasis runes do their job.

Then I tumbled onto the bed and was out like a light.

‘Amber,’ John’s voice called. For a moment I was confused as to why the heck he was calling me Amber rather than Coven Mother, but then it all came rushing back. He was Shaun, my father.

I sat up too fast and bumped heads with him with a loud crack. ‘Ouch! You have a hard head,’ I complained, rubbing my forehead.

‘So do you,’ he groused, rubbing his own head. ‘You were sleeping pretty heavily and I grew concerned.’

‘It took a long time to fall asleep after our discussion,’ I admitted. ‘It felt like I was awake the whole night.’

He grimaced. ‘I’m sorry for that. Come, I brought us breakfast.’

I swung my legs off the small bed and joined him at the table. He’d brought me a blueberry muffin and a cappuccino, while he had a cappuccino and a croissant. ‘Thanks,’ I managed to say. I didn’t tell him that I missed Oscar’s overnight oats and freshly squeezed orange juice.

‘This is nice,’ he said, as he slathered jam onto his pastry. ‘I’ve missed spending time with you properly as your father.’

I shoved some blueberry muffin into my mouth to stop myself saying something stupid, like fatherhood is about more than simply being a meal provider. It’s about showing up for all your child’s special moments. He’d done none of that, though admittedly that was because my mum had taken that choice from him.

Shaun persisted in makingsmall talk with me whilst I ate. I mumbled half-hearted responses until I felt like I could reasonably ask him to leave. ‘I need to get these finished,’ I said finally, gesturing to the cauldrons. ‘Maybe this evening we can talk about Mum and the harkan.’

He gave a tight smile. ‘A nice, light conversation for later, then,’ he said a shade sarcastically, but he stood up, tidied our breakfast tray and carried out our plates, leaving me alone with my potions.

I turned to my secret one first. Whilst that started to cool, I completed the familiars’ potions. I deliberately took my time; I wanted to finish right after nightfall so my escape attempt would stand a slightly better chance of success.

I got lunch and seven more check-ins with Madame X before everything was finished. The last time she came in, she was carrying fifteen vials of blood. She stayed this time and watched as I added the blood to the cauldrons and stirred them as they cooled. Silently, she helped me decant the potions into vials, marking them carefully with the name of each familiar. I tried to see the names but she pointedly shifted them around to hide what she’d written. She placed them into a large wooden crate, then turned to stare at me.

The tension between us grew, but I refused to break the silence first. She clearly had something on her mind; perhaps she suspected I knew who she was.

I was startled when she finally spoke. ‘I called Bastion,’ Beatrice Wraithborne said. ‘I confirmed your location.’

‘Why?’

Her cowl hid her features but I had no doubt she was scowling. ‘The witch who was posing as Felix on the Coven Council saw me as a rival for the leader’s affections. He sought to cause disruption once he was discovered, but he also took the opportunity to try and kill me with the potion bomb. You saved my life. I recognise and acknowledge the debt,’ she said begrudgingly. ‘I tried to assist you in Tristan’s kangaroo trial, but you would have got out of that anyway so the debt was not paid. Now we’re all square. The next time I see you, we’re back on opposite sides of the fence.’

‘And your position on the Council?’ I asked drily.

She shrugged. ‘I will tell the leader that you recognised me. It was always a risk.’

‘I did recognise you,’ I confirmed. ‘Right away.’

Beatrice pulled back the cowl so I could see her features. She fixed me with a stare. ‘You acknowledge and agree that thelife debt I owe you is settled? That calling Bastion with your location expunges the debt?’

‘I do. So mote it be.’

‘So mote it be.’ She resettled the cowl over her features, grabbed the crate and started towards the door. She paused before she walked out. ‘Be careful with that potion bomb. You could level the whole building. And don’t delay your escape attempt – I’ll be taking these vials to the leader right away.’ She stalked out and locked the door behind her.

Great. She hadn’t been as unobservant as I’d thought; this whole time, she’d known full well I was brewing a vat of volatile potion bomb.

Chapter 39

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