Page 10 of Secrets of the Forgotten Heir

Maddie’s situation was stickier than mine. Both Yanni and her mum were shifters, but Maddie’s dad was amerperson. Despite being only a quarter witch from her grandfather, she’d somehow ended up with a witch’s alchemical powers but the covens didn’t really consider her to be one of their own. They tolerated her because of Yanni, but they’d probably rather have had me join them than her, and that was saying something.

Unfortunately, the six covens were linked to every person in the village. Some had grandchildren who are half-werewolf or daughters-in-law who were sirens – but they’d all got a connection to the magical community.

‘If the covens find out the Flame’s gone out, there’ll be panic. Riots,’ I said quietly. The village took bad news poorly.

‘I know. Who’d have thought it would have been a good thing for you and me to be ostracised?’ Maddie gave a strained smile. We were lucky that the wards still seemed to be in working order – but that begged the question where on earth was the Flame if it was still doing its job? Because it sure as hell wasn’t in the grate.

Maddie blew out a long breath. ‘I think one of us needs to be here at all times to keep out intruders, to stop them from finding out the truth.’

The property had extensive wards at the best of times, but they ran on the Eternal Flame’s energy and if it wasn’t here we could well be sitting ducks. A lock would keepmost people out, but we couldn’t afford for anyone to find out about its absence until we had a plan to get it back. Right now we had sweet FA. ‘I agree,’ I said without hesitation.

‘Great.’ She checked her watch and grimaced. ‘I need to be at the fayre in twenty minutes, at least for the first couple of hours.’

‘So I’m on the first shift?’

Guilt washed over her again. ‘I’m sorry to do this to you, Bea. I’ll be back as soon as I can but, like I said, I know there are some mermaids waiting, and some shifter parents, too.’

‘Shifter parents?’ My eyebrows raised. ‘Why do they want your help?’

‘It’s a long story,’ she said. ‘They’re only small jobs, but every little helps, doesn’t it?’

We were fifteen when Maddie had realised she had the rare ability to harness the power of the Eternal Flame to create wards; Dad had surmised that had happened because she’d spent her life around it. Her problem had been transporting power from the Flame to the person who needed it.

It was the rebellious teenagers in us that came up with the idea of magical tattoos. Maddie learned that she could use the Flame to create ink then tattoo the ward onto someone’s skin; as long as it was visible, the magic worked.Over time the tattoos faded and needed to be re-inked if someone wanted to keep them; that was a great marketing tool because she always had repeat business.

‘You go,’ I said firmly. ‘Eva and I are—’ I stopped mid-sentence as a thought struck me. ‘Maddie, have you been making all your wards without the Eternal Flame?’ My heart clenched. ‘You haven’t been...? You haven’t been doing…?’ I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence.

As she stared at me, I knew she could tell exactly what I was thinking. Offering the most watery of smiles, she shook her head. ‘Don’t worry. No sorcery has taken place within these walls. I swear it.’

I exhaled in relief though I didn’t entirely relax. ‘So whathaveyou been doing?’ I asked.

‘I’ve been giving the magic a bit more in return,’ she said vaguely.

I frowned. ‘What does that mean?’

‘It means that I would never abuse magic and you should know that!’ Her voice was sharp.

This time, the guilt I felt was solely my own. ‘You’re right. I’m sorry.’ I reached out to touch her arm. ‘I’m sorry.’

The tension eased from her frame. Given the rush she’d been in only a minute before, I assumed she was about to leave but she moved closer and wrapped her armsaround me. It was the first time we’d hugged since I’d left Witchlight Cove a decade ago.

Tears pricked behind my eyes and I wasn’t sure if they were happy or sad ones. All I knew was that I was never letting us go this long without seeing each other again.

We pulled apart. ‘I’ll stay in touch if I need anything,’ she said briskly, surreptitiously dashing tears from her cheeks. ‘The ward on the house should hold for a little while longer.’ She smiled. ‘I guess you should reacquaint yourself with the house.’

She looked down at Eva and her smile widened. My dog had already made herself very much at home: she’d climbed on the sofa, rolled around on the flowery fabric and now she was stretched out. A thin sheen of yellow fur was already coating the cushions. If the Eternal Flame ever did come back, it would probably have a layer of dog hair on it, too.

‘Maddie,’ I called as she reached the door. ‘Bring back a pasty for me and Eva, will you?’

She winked. ‘I’ll see what I can do. You want anything else?’

I glanced at the cold, empty fireplace and exhaled slowly. ‘Yeah. Bring back a bloody miracle while you’re at it.’

Chapter Seven

Eva was dozing on the sofa, legs splayed in a most undignified fashion. If there had been a competition for ‘least elegant nap position,’ she would have taken gold. ‘I need you,’ I murmured to her. Her eyes snapped open and she tapped her tail once before she rose to her feet, stretched and came to stand next to me.

Her warm brown eyes looked into the heart of me and I stroked her head. ‘Thank you.’

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