Page 12 of Tricky Magic
“As above, so below! As within, so without!” Jadis bellowed with a dramatic shake of her arms.
Everyone responded at once, “As above, so below! As within, so without!”
With the final ringing of voices, the sea calmed again, and the band started. Witches embraced each other and went their separate ways, ready to celebrate, some directly to dancing, others to the parlors or smaller music rooms. Ellea turned to her nana and raised an eyebrow.
“Who did you have to pay for the sea and fire, Nana?” Ellea asked.
“A good witch never tells.” Her nana smirked. “Go have fun, and try to not ruffle any feathers. Well, don’t try too hard.” She finished with a kiss on her cheek.
Felix kissed her other cheek before they headed into the house, probably to welcome the witches coming of age. The elders of the night needed to make their rounds to make sure everyone was doing their part or to lend a hand to those who were lost.
Ellea knelt down to say goodbye to her familiar, as they had their own ways of celebrating. Around them, a lot of familiars were saying goodbye to the witches they’d helped since they were young.
Are you sure you’re okay?Billy asked.I can stay if you want.
She took so much from Billy already; she didn’t want to take this. “No, I am okay. Go have fun and creep out some mortals. I will see you later.”
She took a deep breath and pulled away from her familiar. Billy looked at her one last time and gave her a nod.
Ellea stood and looked for her boys. Isaac was nowhere to be found and Ellea found herself not at all concerned. Aiden and Luke were standing by the huge bonfire, and she couldn’t help but smile as she headed their way. Aiden reached for her first, grabbing her by the waist. He spun her, placing a hand at her back. He dipped her, and his lips hovered above her. He gave her a wicked smile that had her feeling breathless, and the quick kiss made her feel tingly. Her anxiety was easy to forget with these two around her. They straightened, and Luke came at her from behind, snaking his arms around both of them and kissing her on the shoulder.
“Are you ready to dance, gorgeous?” Luke asked, swaying with the music.
“Should we find Isaac?” Aiden asked.
Ellea winced. In the back of her mind, she wished it was just the three of them.
One day I won’t have to keep up appearances.
“Let’s find the youngest in line to be on the council and get the night started,” she said with mock boredom.
Leaving the light of the bonfire behind, the three of them made their way toward the ballroom, looking for their fourth. They stopped in front of a set of doors that led back into the manor, and Ellea saw witches breaking off to head to their own celebrations for the night. She looked over the crowd for the tall blond and was abruptly knocked off balance.
“Watch it, you insolent little witch.” It was Isadora, and her nasally voice grated on Ellea’s skin. Isadora flipped her long, straight, black hair and glared at Ellea. She was your basic-looking witch with long legs, a small waist, and a face that showed evidence of one too many spells done to it.
“You watch it,” Ellea said, stopping herself from rubbing at the sting the witch had left on her arm when she’d rammed into her.
“Looks like Isaac’s got some sense to ditch you,” Isadora said.
One simple thought and this witch would be screaming on the floor.
Luke reached for her, kissing her cheek and whispering in her ear.
“She’s jealous, leave it.”
Ellea knew the witch was jealous of her powers, of where her family stood.
“She’s probably still mad about the little incident when you were sixteen,” Aiden added in her other ear, chuckling.
Isadora glared at their secret exchange, and Ellea was about to leave when she glimpsed blond hair and a strong jawline coming through the further door of the long room. Isaac turned as he stepped onto the lawn and headed right for them with a smug smile on his face. Isadora perked up and flipped her hair again right as he passed her. He didn’t even notice. Ellea couldn’t help but smirk.
“There you are, kitten.” Her smirk quickly disappeared. She should have nipped that nickname in the ass before it got this far. He kissed her soundly, making a show of their exchange, and didn’t release her until Isadora was stomping away.
Ellea looked back at Isaac. “Ready to dance?”
“Hel yes,” all three of them replied at once.
5
