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“It was actually over in a couple of hours, which is quick in the scheme of things according to Rocco. Apparently they do all like waffling on.”

“So, you’re at the station?”

“No. We got a report of a fire over Joyces Creek way as I was heading back, and we ended up having to block some roads while the brigade dealt with it.”

“Was it deliberately lit?”

“Uncertain at this stage, although there was some evidence people had been camping at the reservoir there, so it could simply have been a campfire that hadn’t been put out properly. Anyways, I’m ringing to see if you’re hankering for something particular for dinner.”

“Aside from you, you mean?”

He laughed. “We both know which hunger has priority these days, and it isn’t the sexual one, even if it’s a close second.”

That was a truth I couldn’t deny. I considered my options for a moment then said, “A burger with the lot, sans beetroot. And chips, with chicken salt of course.”

“Of course.” His voice was dry. “I’ll be there in about half an hour.”

“I’ll have a cold beer waiting for you.”

“Thatwould be appreciated.”

He hung up. I shut the computer down, checked there were indeed a couple of beers in the small fridge up here, then grabbed a quick shower. After dressing in a loose shift dress rather than my usual shorts and tank top, I grabbed a cold bottle of water, then settled back on the sofa and rang Mom.

She answered almost immediately. “Lizzie,” she said, her voice warm. “This is a surprise—is everything all right?”

“I’m fine, but unfortunately, the reservation has been infested with vampires and they’re looking at going to war.”

“And you’re ringing for help?”

“God, no—the last thing this reservation needs is to be inundated by the high council.”

“My fellow councilors would never venture far from their lofty halls without good reason, and they would never consider a vampire war that.”

Surprise flickered through me. “They never asked you about the wild magic I unleashed up there?”

“Oh, they asked, but I feigned ignorance. It is best the council be kept in the dark when it comes to your control over the wild magic, Elizabeth. Such knowledge would not only mean too much attention being placed on yourself, but also our family in general. And with your father the way he is…”

I was well aware she never meant that last bit to sound like she was once again putting my father and family fortunes above—or at least, at the same level—as mine, but that’s nevertheless how the inner me, who hadn’t one hundred percent forgiven, read it.

“He’s seen no improvement then?”

“No.” She hesitated. “I personally believe what the wraith stole will never be returned, but he refuses to accept that.”

Because, for a man like my father—who’d bathed in the glory of being one of the most powerful witches in Canberra—the loss of his magic would be a bitter pill to swallow.

I had no idea what Mom actually thought about his loss—even now, her voice gave very little away—but I continued to hope he remained without magic. He’d spent most of his life belittling me and walking over others for their so-called magical “lack,” so this bit of karma was very well deserved. And if you asked me, a year—which was how long the few doctors he had seen believed it would take for his magical prowess to be restored—was certainlynotpunishment enough.

An absence that stretched over the rest of his lifetime might not heal all the harm he’d caused over the years, but it would at least go some way to satisfying the ghosts of pain and heartache, be they within me or others.

Of course, there were plenty of people who’d considerthata horrible thing to wish on a parent, but my father hadn’t really been much of a parent.

“What I’m actually ringing to ask is a couple of questions—first, what do you know about gray-area blood spells making you more susceptible to the call of dark witches or mages?”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “This has happened to you?”

“Sadly yes, though it appears that while they can summon me, they can’t control me.”

“That is at least something.” She paused for a second. “I’m not personally familiar with the implication of gray blood spells, but I know someone who is. I shall ask him and get back to you.”