Page 49 of Battling Bright
He laughed.“I know there is much more to discuss, but would you consider coming to the next meeting and sitting there as my counsel or enforcer?”
“I could.You have to do one thing for me, though.”
“What?”
“Publicly acknowledge me as your niece so that when I call you uncle, it doesn’t sound like I am taunting you with unconfirmed information.I know I have been DNA tested from here until the end of time.”
He frowned.“They all know.”
“You never say it.Even at the last meeting, you threatened to throw out my entire family.You are my family, bonehead.”She attacked her milkshake again.
“Why aren’t you angry?”
“I am.Furious.But I know everyone reacts differently to different stimuli.I know that Dad dumped the leadership on you, but I didn’t know it upset you that much.You could have left, but you stayed.”
“You could have left, but you stayed.”He sipped from his milkshake.
She elbowed him.“Family resemblance.”
He laughed.“Family resemblance.This is an excellent milkshake.”
“This was my job when I was at college, before I needed to help Mom and Dad with their new shop.”
“You didn’t finish your magical degree.”
“Nope.But I did get some college degrees for marketing and my job in PR.”
“Do you want to continue your degree?”
“At this time?Nope.I found a cheat that works well for what I need.”
“What?”
“Cantrips.”
He paused.“They are small, weak spells.”
She lifted her previous milkshake cup and whispered.It went inside out and formed a butterfly made of bright red and chocolate edges.She exhaled, and it flapped over to the garbage can and reformed into a cup.
“That’s my recycling cantrip.They are really easy to make.Very purpose-built.”
He blinked.“You turned a cup into a butterfly, and it took itself to the garbage and became a cup again.”
“Yup.”
“Just like that.”
“Yeah.I have been doing that since I was a kid, but Mom told me they were rude around people without magic.So, I just did them at home.”
“They never told me.”
“You were looking for northern magic.I didn’t have it then.Just like Amy, the wave had to call it for me.It called a lot.”
He exhaled.“Yeah, I wasn’t aware of that.”
“If I have kids and you are as rude to them as you were to me, I will fucking deck you.”
He looked at her with regret on his face.“Understandable.”
