Page 91 of Do You Even Hex, Bro?
"At the new moon," I confirm. "If I can figure out the right ritual."
"New moon's smart," she says, nodding approvingly. "Clean slate energy. But you'll need specific supplies for a siphon bond." She glances at Killian. "Stuff you're not going to find in Great Grandmummy's little magic cabinet."
His jaw tightens. "We can get whatever she needs."
"Oh really?" Sadie challenges. "You know where to find virgin-pressed lunar oil? Or blackroot crystals? Or properly consecrated silver binding thread?"
Killian's silence is answer enough.
"I thought so," she says smugly. "You're lucky I'm such a generous witch. I can help with the supplies."
"At what cost?" Killian asks immediately, suspicious.
"The joy of never being your magical on-call service again," Sadie says sweetly. "Once Regina's bonded to you, that's her job. No more 3 AM calls because Sean ‘accidentally’ hexed his own knot or whatever."
“That was one time!” Killian exclaims.
“Oh, it wasn’t,” Sadie counters. “But I'll save the pack tea for when you guys aren’t here.” She waggles her eyebrows at me. “Girl talk.”
The thought of "girl talk" with Sadie is weirdly appealing even if she is clearly a wildcard. Living with Kyle's coven meant most of my female relationships were heavily monitored and controlled. Kyle also enjoyed pitting us against each other, and everyone in the coven was a potential spy reporting back to him with any moment of vulnerability I made the mistake of having. Once upon a time, I actually thought Rebecca was my friend, before I realized every frustration I expressed to her ended up as pillow talk with Kyle.
Granted, Sadie doesn't seem to get along with Killian, but if he's the kind of guy who's going to pressure me out of talking to her alone because he has shit to hide, I need to know that, too.
"I'd appreciate your help with the supplies," I tell her. "And any insights you might have on the ritual itself, if you have time to look over it. I want to make sure I get this right."
Sadie scoffs. “You kidding? This shit is so weird, I might write my thesis on it.” She hesitates. “Assuming you don't all blow up or turn into frogs.”
Killian makes a growling noise of protest, but she ignores him.
"So you're really going through with it?" she asks, studying me with newfound interest. "Binding yourself to four alpha wolves? That's some serious magical commitment."
I feel heat rising to my cheeks under her scrutiny. "It's the best option for my situation."
"And we're her mates," Killian adds pointedly.
“Riiiight.” She draws out the word, clearly skeptical. "Damn, that spell was powerful. Should've charged more."
"See?" Killian says, an annoying note of triumph in his voice. "I told you it was meant to be."
"Don't get cocky," Sadie warns him. "Magical compatibility doesn't guarantee smooth sailing. You four are still idiots with the collective emotional intelligence of a peanut."
"Says the witch who accidentally summoned a plague of possessed squirrels during finals week," Killian retorts.
"That was deliberate," Sadie snaps back. “Our asshole professor deserved it after what he said about my thesis proposal. And it got me out of potions class, so win-win.”
I could listen to this shit forever. The bickering is somehow comforting. It reminds me of my dynamic with Cadence, before everything went upside-down. And it’s proof as much as Sadie clearly doesn’t like Killian, she isn’t guarded with him, either.
Sadie finally waves Killian off with a remark about alphaholes and turns back to me. “Let’s get back to business. I’ll make a list of what we need for the ritual. Some items will take a few days to source. The lunar oil needs to be fresh, and the binding thread has to be prepared underveryspecific conditions.”
"Perfect timing for the new moon, then," I muse.
"Exactly," she agrees. "But we might be cutting it a little close. And it's tricky as it is to do a ritual like this on a new moon, when your power as a siphon will be at its lowest point."
I blink, surprised. "You seem to know a lot about siphons."
"I wrote my undergraduate thesis on rare magical classifications," she explains with a shrug. "Siphons, conduits, nullifiers—the energy anomalies of the magical world. Fascinating shit, if you're into magical theory."
"I am, actually," I admit. "I was pursuing a graduate degree in Theoretical Magic before..."
