Page 23 of Demon's Bane

“Really? Because if I had a handsome live-in demon, I know I’d be thinking about it.”

My interest is unwillingly peaked at the reminder she can see beneath his glamour. “So he is handsome, then? What does he actually look like?”

A flash of discomfort crosses Seren’s face. “I…probably shouldn’t tell you that.”

My brows knit together in confusion. “Why?”

“I shouldn’t have even outed him as a demon. I usually wouldn’t have said anything until I was sure you already knew or had some reason to believe he was a threat. Bad shit can happen when you reveal the identity of someone who’s trying to blend into their surroundings for whatever reason, you know? But I saw him sitting there and knew you were here alone with him, so I spoke without thinking.”

That makes a certain amount of sense.

I try to imagine for a moment what it must be like to have Seren’s seeker’s gifts. To so easily smash through defenses and see what other people try to keep hidden.

And to have to deal with all the potential pitfalls of that.

“Alright,” I relent, even as my prickling curiosity about Rhett stays lodged in the back of my mind. “That’s fair.”

It doesn’tfeelfair she can see him and I can’t, but it’s also probably not my place to push her any harder on it. I’m the one who asked him to keep his glamour on while he’s here, so it’s not like I have any right to keep thinking about what his wings wouldbe like, his horns. I’ve got no business wondering if the glamour looks anything like him, or it he’s just as striking, just as brutally handsome as the other two demons I’ve seen.

I don’t have too long to think about it, though, because the rest of the company starts to show up just a couple minutes later.

Our little coven away from the coven.

Belinda, a witch in her late fifties whose main talent is enchanting knitting needles and embroidery tools to stitch all on their own, is the first to arrive. I let her in with a cheerful greeting, and she’s followed shortly by a few others.

Nadine, who’s a decade older than I am and whose main talent lies in reading runes and tarot, though with more plain intuition than any true magick.

Veronica, who grew up in the coven around the same time me and Allie did, and who also left when her only manifested gift—kitchen witchery—didn’t meet the council’sstandards of excellence for continued education.

Marli, who’s become my right hand at Celestial Blends and never misses one of these gatherings. She’s just twenty-one and, maybe inspired by Seren’s rebellion, has distanced herself from the coven after the end of her education, despite her considerable gifts in botany and herbal magicks. When she showed up on my doorstep asking for a job, there was no chance in hell I was going to turn her away.

We’ve all found ourselves on the outs from the Crescent Coven in one way or another, and while this slice of community we’ve made for ourselves hasn’t fully replaced the deep bonds of the coven, it’s become something essential for all of us.

There are others who join us from time to time, some who live in Beech Bay and some who come from further away. It’s always an open invitation, and we’re occasionally joined by witches who still have close ties to the coven and just need somecommunion that doesn’t take place in the shadow of the coven hall.

Some part of me is sure Esme’s well-aware of what goes on here, but so far she’s kept her nose out of it. Besides, it’s her and the other coven leaders’ fault for making this kind of community necessary in the first place.

There’s nothing to prove here. No dues to pay. No witch at your back wondering if you’re about to steal her spot for some coven honor, waiting for you to fail so she can step over you to get where she wants to be. Nothing but tea and baked goods and the company of other witches looking for their place outside the coven.

Settled in and with a round of tea poured, Belinda pulls her latest embroidery project from her purse, an intricate, colorful tapestry depicting a vibrant autumn wood. Veronica tells us about the new woman she’s been seeing, a dental hygienist entirely removed from the world of the coven.

When the conversation turns to me, I catch Seren’s eye and give my head a small shake. I don’t want Esme and her bullshit to pollute this space. Not yet. If something changes that everyone else needs to know, I’ll bring it up then, but just for tonight I want to enjoy the peace and company and pretend the Crescent Coven doesn’t exist.

Instead, Marli and I tag-team a story about a new tea supplier we’re working with—a witch out of the Pacific Northwest who belongs to another coven.

Seren, always a little tight-lipped about what exactly she gets up to when she’s away from Beech Bay, doesn’t say much about her own life but always has a ready quip or joke to toss into the mix.

The conversation carries from there into more stories, more worries, more support and encouragement all around. Sittingback in my chair, I sip my tea and simply let myself enjoy it. My shop. My friends. A whole, full life I’ve made for myself.

Eventually, though, the looming shadow of the coven makes its way into the conversation.

“Did you guys hear what’s happening tomorrow night?” Marli asks. “Up at the Veil?”

Seren and I share a look. She shrugs, apparently as out of the loop as I am. The rest of the group is, too, and Marli leans in and lowers her voice, eyes sparkling with whatever gossip she’s about to share.

“They’re opening the portal. Taking volunteers to go into the demon realm and try to find demon mates. Like Allie did.”

My chest tightens painfully at the mention of my best friend. “Will Allie be there?”

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