Page 1 of With This Witch
CHAPTERONE
Petra
With each step, the sound of crumbling, crunching leaves soothes her soul. The fallen leaves and crispness in the air are always her favorite part of fall. She’s always loved the earthiness of autumn. The smell of decay comforts her as plants and trees ready themselves for the long, cold winter. Her magic thrums under her skin, responding to the nature surrounding, pulling energy from the earth as she crosses the busy street and enters her preferred pub—the Bittersweet Acorn, where her best friend Daisy Hale works.
“Hey Petra, what can I get you?”
Moving her attention from the crowd, Petra looks up at Lachlan Grace, hot man, bar owner, and demon extraordinaire. “How about an amaretto sour?”
“Coming right up,” Lachlan responds, turning to grab the amaretto from the shelf. His light brown hair is up in a bun, keeping it off his broad, muscular shoulders and out of his face as he works. His six-foot-six frame gives him a larger-than-life presence behind the bar, and the command of shadows as his demon ability and a mysterious history don’t hurt either. Her eyes follow the corded muscles of his arm as he scoops ice for her drink. When he bends over, getting a rag from the bottom shelf, she affords herself a second to glance at his ridiculously formed derriere.
I wonder if that booty is from squats or blessed by the demon lords.She quickly moves her eyes to the shelved bottles before he can catch her staring.
Yelling over the live music, Petra asks, “Have you seen Daisy yet tonight? She said she was working, but”—she glanced at her phone—“it’s 10:23, and she hasn’t manifested yet.”
Finishing off the drink with the cherry, Lachlan hands it to Petra, and she catches his knowing smile; yeah, he definitely caught her checking him out. “She’s working the private party section tonight, but she should be around shortly.”
Petra thanks Lachlan before turning around to join the crowd in front of the band. Daisy had started working at the Bittersweet Acorn two years ago, which was when they both first met Lachlan. Upon hiring Daisy, he immediately became like their older brother, protecting his little sisters when needed.
Petra Rose has lived in Leeside her entire life. Her family was one of the town’s founding families, and she often feels the pressure that her name carries. Her mother died when Petra was young, and her father abandoned her many years ago, so it’s been up to her to keep the family name worthy under the tutelage of her Gammy, Gladys. It’s not an easy task and not always one she wants.
Being a Rose has meant her life has been mapped out since the day she was born. As the oldest of the founding families, and thanks to the tradition of magic being connected to bloodlines, the Roses have the privilege of the Premier Witch role passing through their family for generations, always going to the oldest child, whether they want it or not. When her father fucked off, abdicating his eventual responsibility as the next Premier Witch and effectively abandoning his family when she was still a child, she became the next in line. As she grew and started to understand what this meant for her future, the expectations started to weigh on her. On more than one occasion, her destiny as Premier Witch caused conflict between her and Gammy, including a multi-night attempted disappearance on Petra’s part wherein Gammy had to use a locator spell to find and drag her moody teenage ass home.
Despite the privilege of being a Rose, sometimes she wonders what it would be like not to be one and live more freely; unfortunately, she will never know. At thirty-two, Petra knows her becoming Premier Witch is inevitable one day, though hopefully it won’t be for a long time. Gammy took on the role younger than usual at only twenty-eight after her own mother passed unexpectedly when a curse backfired. But Gammy is different. That woman is strong, powerful, and determined. She’s been the Premier Witch for nearly fifty years, and Petra hopes Gammy won’t be going anywhere soon.
Leeside is where developing witches come to learn more about the history of magic. The local university is a hot spot for magical learning, for humans and supernaturals alike. As Gammy once told her, it is thanks to the council and their governance that supernatural beings are even allowed to attend Leeside University. Apparently, it was one of her first mandates on council that determined a future with humans and supernatural beings co-mingling and living peacefully together. A few years later, the council ruled in favor of inter-species marriage, opening the door for other established communities and their governing bodies to do the same. It’s been through these hard-fought battles that the council—well, some of them—have been able to move the community forward.
Petra finally spots Daisy near the private party room door as the band starts a cover of “I Put a Spell on You.” She starts singing along as she makes her way over to Daisy.
“Hey!” Daisy exclaims as Petra approaches.
“What’s the holdup? You don’t usually spend so long in the party room.”
“Oh, they were just chatty tonight. Bachelor party and boys trying to prove to each other they still have the moves. Typical.” Daisy rolls her eyes.
“So, you had twelve guys hitting on you and being inappropriate? Do you need me to go in and give them a piece of my spark?” Petra asks, holding her hand up and allowing the collected energy to dance across her fingers like a miniature lightning storm.
“I’ve got it handled. I may have used a spell to make them believe it is last call. At this point, Lach can call them cabs, and they can get out of here.” Daisy motions for them to head back toward the bar. “You’re still good with your drink?”
“Yep, I think two is my limit tonight. The little tykes wouldn’t appreciate a hungover Miss P tomorrow. I’m going to watch the band for a bit. I’ll stop by before I head out.”
“Make good choices!” Daisy calls as Petra walks back into the crowd around the stage.
* * *
Working the closing shift at Bright Mornings Childcare means she can take time to get up and ready in the morning. It also means there’s time to stop by her favorite coffee shop along the way.
She parks on the street a block away from Taster’s Delight, a local vampire-run coffee shop and roaster in Leeside. No one is sure how long the establishment has been around; the vampire owners had always altered their appearances every couple of decades and claimed a change in ownership to avoid suspicion from the human residents, back when humans and supernaturals didn’t nicely coexist in Leeside. Even now the humans don’t seem to like certain aspects, like immortality, to be obvious, which means many of the beings with prolonged lifespans, like vampires and faeries, in Leeside do what they can to minimize its impact or visibility.
Taster’s Delight has the perfect espresso, creamy and light but full of flavor, and Petra’s mouth starts to water at the smell of the roasted beans as she walks toward it. Placing an order for a macchiato for herself and a latte for her co-educator, she moves to the side, waiting for them to be prepared. As she waits, she looks around the store, noticing the new drinkware available and the mix of patrons, both human and not, sharing tables and laughing together on this crisp, sunny morning. She thanks the barista as she collects her order and winks at Briryn, who is a friend and the gnome council representative, working away on a laptop as she leaves.
The door opens, just as she’s about to step through it. Losing her balance, she stumbles out the door. The coffees go flying, and she is caught by a set of strong hands. Very strong hands that have a firm grip on her hips. On a deep inhale in her now-flustered state, she recognizes a familiar bergamot scent even as spilled coffee soaks both of them.
“You alright there?”
She huffs, pulling out of his hold. “Yes, Lachlan. I’m fine. Just covered in coffee now. Don’t you look before opening doors?” she snaps, frustrated. She isn’t typically one to react so quickly, but she was looking forward to that coffee, and now she won’t have time to get another one and head back home to change before being needed at work.
“Good morning to you too, witchling,” he says with a grin.
