Page 4 of Heart of a Witch
My stomach dipped. I hated admitting I’d failed, again. “I was closer this time.”
She leaned forward, then grabbed my free hand, squeezing it softly. “You do too much for us. You’re killing yourself.”
“I don’t do enough,” I said as heaviness drowned my heart. “You know Mother can’t do much anymore.”
“Stop blaming yourself. I can’t bear it.” She scorned me as if she could read my mind and every dark, hate-filled thought in it. “Every single time you see her, you’re tortured.” She shot me a watery smile. “You didn’t know any better. You were a child.”
“I shouldn’t have opened my mouth about us,” I snapped, then inhaled deeply, calming my inner demons. As much as my mother and sister wanted to relieve me of the burden I’d caused, they couldn’t.
She squeezed my fingers again. “Forgive yourself.”
“I’ve never been one for forgiveness. Even for myself,” I said. I couldn’t even think it, because I was the one responsible for our mother’s deteriorating health. She’d used the worst kind of magic to cloak us, to make my friend lose her mind, so that what we were wouldn’t be revealed. I had been seven, and my friend eight. I’d trusted her and told her I was a witch. It was the single biggest mistake of my life. She’d threatened to tell her overtly religious parents, and if my mother hadn’t stepped in, I was certain we’d have all found ourselves attached to the gallows.
My sister’s eyes widened, reflecting my worried expression in her green irises. “If it takes your mind off things, the winter season is upon us. Noelle is in three months, and you know how much mother likes to prepare.”
A small smile tugged my lips upward at the corners. She wasn’t the only one who liked to prepare. Noelle meant more customers at our family shop, and as it was our only income, we needed them, but this year would be a little different. “Speaking of Noelle, there will be no spelling of the luck charms this year. Just leave them as a human would make them. We can’t risk anything with the hunter here. We have no idea how long he plans to stay. If he makes a connection between our cousin and us, we’re done for.” I sighed with relief that we could hide under our father’s name: Amberwood. It was a respected—and more importantly human—name that went back generations.
She swallowed thickly, then shuffled from one foot to the other. Her white lace-up shoes reached her ankles, complementing the peach dress that stopped at her knees. She’d always worn light colors, quite the contrast to me. “Right, yes. I’ll be careful. On that note”—she looked down at her feet—”there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“What?”
She scratched the back of her neck, tugging on one of the curls that had escaped her knotted bun. “You know how I’ve been wanting to open my own line of perfumes.”
I frowned. “We’ve gone over this several times. As I’ve said before, we can do it in the future at the shop. We just need to plan for it. Learn to be patient, Ember.”
She pressed her lips together. “We will never be able to afford to do it.”
I bit the inside of my lip. I would have to crunch the numbers, and it could take a couple of years, but if we cut back on—
“I’ve taken a job at The Black Card,” she announced, interrupting my thoughts.
My eyes widened, my stomach lurching as I took in her words. “Have you lost your mind?” I pressed my fingers against my forehead. “That’s a black magic club.” I lowered my voice to a whisper, though it was unlikely anyone would hear us. Rarely did anyone come up to the house from the shop, situated a stone’s throw away from the house, but it had happened a few times over the years. “That is thefirstplace Damian will look, and any other witch hunter for that matter.”
“Humans go there too.” She placed a hand on her bony hip, her expression swirling with attitude. I missed the days when I was fourteen and she was twelve and she’d follow me around everywhere, always taking my advice. Now, she was nineteen and her own woman, which meant making her own mistakes. For the most part, I let her, but not when they were life or death.
“I’ll find a way to get you out of working there. I’ll explain to the owners.”
“No!” She was seething. “Cas was right. He said you’d react this way, but I said you’d be supportive.”
“I’m only looking out for you. I understand at your age—”
“Oh, stop.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re only two years older than me.”
“Yes, and you can tell.”
The muscle in her jaw feathered. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I wouldn’t be stupid enough to make myself a target while a hunter is around. We are meant to hide what we are. Even the humans know something isn’t right with that club.”
“I’m not an idiot. I know how to protect myself.” She shook her head. “I’m finally doing something with my life. I’m branching out. I thought you’d understand, so thanks a lot.”
“I can’t support it when it’s your life in danger, Ember.”
“But it ismylife, Tori.”
“Not for you to throw away.”
“The truth behind the club has remained hidden for years,” she said. “No hunter is going to find out it’s run by witches now. The Blackwoods are good at covering up after themselves. The humans think it’s just a bar, and they even drink there. Besides, they pay really well, and we need the money. I can help our family and get the materials I need to make my perfumes.”
