Page 14

Jean made a move.

That was what Winter came for. He was worried about me and thought something more was going on because Jean had a press conference to finally announce she was the new head of the family.

I sat there and watched as she twisted so much around, basically making it like she was the only reason I’d gotten free. Clare too. That it was because of her and making sure we were safe from the abusive and evil men in our family—Bryan excluded.

But he did stand at her side and make it clear he was with her, not standing against her.

She apologized to us for not being stronger and able to protect us, but we would always still be sisters, and no matter the name, that bond would never be gone. She said Alex would be pleading guilty and serving his sentence for violently attacking Clare. Also, that she witnessed him abusing me as a child, so the rumors were true and she supported my pressing charges.

Then Grandmother took the podium and completely rewrote history. It wasn’t a pattern or tradition of sacrificing the youngest for the oldest. It was one instance—a mistake she didn’t put a stop to. That her youngest had sustained a life-threatening injury and magic could not save him. That they were trying and to figure out who could help him.

That it was Charles who decided to put his sibling out of his misery… But did the unthinkable to siphon his magic so it wasn’t wasted. The way Grandmother told it, she came in too late and never had the heart to tell her mate. She couldn’t lose two children because she knew what Charles did was wrong, but her youngest couldn’t be saved.

She was very sure that it drove Charles mad. One witch or warlock wasn’t meant to absorb that much magic that fast and certainly not through death. That it was dark magic for a reason and could only lead to one inevitable outcome—madness.

And that was what happened to Charles, so the proof was there.

Also, she would accept whatever punishment she should for hiding the truth but asked for people to understand that she was a mother who had lost a child. No matter what he’d done, he was still her child and she wasn’t strong enough to lose another. Though apparently, she had in the end.

“I almost fucking believe her and I know it’s bullshit,” Emma muttered as she watched over my shoulder.

“We’re amazing liars as Shaws,” I chuckled darkly.

“You’re not like them,” she comforted as she rubbed my back.

“Oh no, I am in this. I’m a great actress. It was the only way I survived,” I countered.

Jean went on, and in an effort to make it clear that the Shaw family was turning over a new leaf—a lawful leaf—she was asking the High Council to punish Charles. Not just that but accept her proof of the police department’s corruption and the list of all the dirty officers—the ones that Charles had killed even so those families could have closure.

I shocked people by chuckling. I met Councilman Reid’s gaze. “You know what she just did, right?”

He ground his jaw. “She pushed over the first domino to try and bring war between the council and top-tier families. I can’t not take that bait, and they’ll try to block it at every turn. We’ll eat each other while she solidifies her position.”

“Yes.” I let out a slow breath as I kept watching, shaking my head. “She’s not taking into account how petty and vindictive they are. Walking into meetings and showing she’s more powerful than Father will only get her so far.”

“She has money,” Clare said from behind me. “She has her own personal money. She has for a while and kept it from Father. I knew that. She almost got caught once—her stock portfolio and whatever business she had. She said it was her master’s project and all fake. That was the only way she kept it from him. But I knew—it was real. It was a lot.”

I nodded and listened to the rest, disgusted how well it would play to the media. The poor victim but also the new face of what a top-tier family should be and diligent instead of so spoiled… Which was what normal witches and warlocks wanted to hear.

“And she wants me to file charges against Alex to get more time in prison for him,” I muttered.

“Yes, but while horrible, the statute of limitations on his crimes has to be—” Councilman Reid started to say.

“Dad, she’s eighteen,” Taylor reminded him. “She was a child a few months ago.”

Councilman Reid blinked at me and rubbed his face. “I keep forgetting you’re so young. Yes, of course. I just—I guess I thought—forgive me.”

I nodded and kept Clare’s gaze. “I have proof that whole press conference is bullshit. What’s the play?”

She blew out a harsh breath, her lips making funny noises as she did. “MAD? Mutually Assured Destruction? They leave us alone and we leave it alone, but if they come for us or Familiar Treasures, we’ll bust their asses?”

“That’s where my head was,” I agreed. “And I’ll give them the information on Hughes in a few weeks if she keeps her word. Take the ban off those who work for the Shaws in a few months.”

She raised her eyebrow at that. “Not the family?”

“No, fuck them,” I grumbled. “Not one of them has reached out to ask if I’m okay or offer help. They didn’t care until it was useful to them to maybe get more power.”

“Wow, we’re really born of snakes, and that’s insulting to snakes.” She snorted. “Good luck at Jean’s side, Bryan.”

He deserved it. He was an unfeeling asshole who thought himself better than the rest of us but never stood up for anything, just gave disgusted looks.

Oh yeah, you were so amazing for judgy looks . How big of you.

“I agree with you, but see how Tracey and Jasmine want to proceed,” I told her, sighing when Taylor cleared his throat. “And our head of security or whatever. Maybe after Tracey is done spanking him. Don’t get in the middle of that.”

“Not my kink,” she chuckled.

Okay then?

People wanted to freak out over Link again and even checked things out with Loki. Then Tracey came back and was talking about Demeter and what happened. It was the perfect time for me to slip away so I could relax a bit and clear my head.

Link found me sitting on one of the new picnic benches by the lake. He plopped down next to me. “You good?”

“Just another day in paradise,” I drawled, sighing when he wasn’t going to accept that. “It’s fine. I just needed a time-out.”

“Something happened with what Jean said. A few of us noticed it. They worry you’re not telling us something because we won’t listen or take you seriously again,” he confessed.

Shit. Now I had to tell them. “Her familiar was outside the window when we met. I heard what she said.” I rubbed my hands over my face and stared out at the lake, glad someone had put lights out here now that people were coming more.

It was actually really pretty and fit the area well.

“What did you hear that hurt you, Bevin?” he asked gently, always catching onto things more than others.

“That Jean hates me,” I admitted. “Not that she doesn’t give a shit about me or I was inconsequential, but she hates me. She’s always hated me.” I swallowed loudly. “The familiar said she was still going to hate me even if I wasn’t a goddess witch because she’s always hated me—always been jealous of me.

“She only protected me because she couldn’t risk that Father would want me to become the heir if he learned I was so powerful and talented. He was too unpredictable to gamble on. She knew there was a chance he would sacrifice me to take the power for himself even if the blessing wouldn’t transfer to him, but he could also have made me heir.

“That could have brought about whatever people think will happen if a goddess witch is in a top-tier family, but it all sounds stupid to me. I’ve been treated just as badly by some of the councilmen so—whatever.” I let out another slow breath. “The familiar said if she didn’t hate me so much, Jean might actually thank me for making her the witch she is.”

“And you’re feeling what about that?” he hedged.

“Oh, so much it’s really hard to say,” I chuckled darkly.

“I can guess several, but hit me with one that’s making you feel so dark. Get it out and leave it there,” he said after a moment.

“Guilty,” I immediately replied. I sighed and scrubbed my hands over my face for like the millionth time when he just kept staring at me. “I made her the witch she is. I did this.”

“Hey, no, you can’t—you were a fucking kid, Bevin,” he argued, giving me a half hug. “Seriously, none of this is on you.”

“Oh sure, logic normally works in these situations. Yeah, I’ll just flip that switch to—”

“Yeah, okay, point made,” he chuckled. “Then let’s go at it another way. Is Jean the better option to Alex?” He flinched when I didn’t immediately answer.

“I really don’t know,” I whispered. “Alex would have imploded. He would have been Father’s puppet, and—I was looking forward to them being so busy fighting each other and for power and all the bullshit that—”

“They lost the focus on everything else and you,” he sighed.

“Yes. I saw them—my Shaw crystal ball had them basically destroying each other with the right pushing. Make Father implode so Alex had to take over and then watch them eat each other and the whole house of cards fall. Now I just…”

“Yeah, it’s a right hook you didn’t see coming.” He blew out a slow breath. “I don’t look down on her because she’s a woman. I don’t know her—I don’t know any of them really. But you know I’m not sexist.”

“I know,” I accepted. “I said that because you busted me and were a dick.” I flinched. “Wow, I’m a hypocrite.”

“I don’t buy that for a second, but we’ll go back to that. Let’s tackle this Jean thing first.” He waited until I nodded, kissing my hair. “You were the kid, and she took advantage of her kid sister—jealous and horrible to her without ever actually helping her, just using her for her own purposes. None of this is on you, but she owes you a huge debt for all you gave.

“Even unknowingly and play that card. Now yes, this didn’t go the way you wanted, but she’s smart. You’ve said she’s smarter. I would take a smarter foe than a dumb one any day. Dumb ones send hitmen after Kevin. Smart ones never have those messes and come after you different ways that you can fight better like the meeting you had.

“Smart ones cut their losses when they’re outmatched. And more than that, you weren’t traumatized by Jean. You were confident and amazing with her from what Aunt Marilyn said, and she only came in at the end. That is your winning card, Bev. You were a scared and abused girl with your dad and brother by default.”

“I was fighting it,” I grumbled.

“Yes, you were, and it was impressive, but you have too much going on to have to puke in the bushes every time a Shaw pokes their head into your life. Jean—even if smarter and more evil—wants to be the star. Alex wanted revenge for his perceived slight. That’s—there’s no level people like that won’t go to.”

“True,” I accepted. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” he yawned. “Okay, so why are you a hypocrite now? What is that nonsense?” He didn’t say it in a mean or dismissive way, more like he just couldn’t picture it.

“I was all over you for blurting out something about me that was so private and I just did the same damn thing,” I explained with a heavy sigh. “Everyone didn’t need to know about your power jump and what was going on with your sessions. That was a huge invasion of privacy. I’m so sorry, Link.”

He didn’t say anything, so I kept rambling on with my apology. It wasn’t exactly the same level, but I saw that I was a jerk and it was the right thing to do to apologize. I did feel bad and I didn’t want him to be upset with me.

Still, he didn’t say anything, so I tried to frame it in another way.

I thought maybe I’d said something that gave him a hint that I hadn’t meant to because his hand fell from my shoulder and down my back… To my ass.

What? Like… What?

I flinched when his head moved to my shoulder, shocked he was taking this moment to put the moves on me.

Or at all.

I pulled away so I could talk to him and ask what was going on.

And he fell onto my lap like dead weight.

Completely asleep.

I slapped my hand over my mouth at the last second to keep the laugh in. Oh, that was so much—my life was way too complicated for my confidant and someone always helping me to switch lanes on me like that.

He awkwardly brought his hand from behind me with a grunt and snuggled up to my lap.

I sighed, not sure what to do and deciding to just text Winter since I figured he was still there talking with people or… I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t even sure how long I’d been gone. I had sessions to still do and a lot to do.

I swallowed a second sigh as I looked down. Well, apparently, my help for my prank was out. Sleeping even.

Winter showed up with one of the golf carts like I asked and several other people, including Wyatt who looked pissed again.

I held up my finger to my lips and kept my voice low. “He just zonked out while we were talking. Like mid-conversation just fell onto me cartoon-style.”

“Shit, his power jump must have really hit him hard,” Winter worried. “Okay, we got him. The Oliverias can baby him. He’s definitely going to need a few days off.”

“Should I apologize?” I hedged, shrugging when all of them gave me a look when I was crazy. “Hey, unplanned is unplanned. His whole life got flipped on its head because of me and my shit. He didn’t ask for any of this. I understand that.”

“It’s cool you do, and you’re really a good person for seeing that,” Winter’s friend, Danny, said quietly. “But you gave him a miracle, so you’ve more than paid him back.”

“Yeah, a miracle,” I chuckled darkly. “Cool.” I thanked them when they picked Link up off of me and got him settled in the golf cart.

“This is going to come off wrong, but you don’t sound very grateful and it’s confusing,” one of the other friends, Nate, hedged. “I’d give a nut to be that cool and have this magic.”

I bristled at that, people always so quick to say too much about what they didn’t understand. “Really? You should learn a bit about the history of human saints who gave miracles. Read how most of them ended. Hell, look at our history. What happened to those who discovered new magic or revolutionized a type of our magic? Let me know how cool it is then.”

Winter moved his hand to his friend’s chest telling him to back off, focused on me when I met his gaze. “And one miracle is never enough. People always want more— expect more. The level is always raised and the demands crushing. Most are crushed under them.”

“Among other things,” I agreed. “So yeah, I would appreciate it if ‘miracle’ was stricken from everyone’s vocabulary. It’s not a miracle to me. It’s just something else people will want from me—demand or threaten for. Force me to do because all of you hope I’ll do the same for you. Don’t deny it. The council will pressure me for it.”

“You’re right,” Nate agreed. “I’m sorry. I did hope you could do the same for me. I should have thought more.”

“It’s fine,” I forgave. “The grass is always greener and all of that.” It was awkward after that, so I was glad when Winter sent his friends in the cart back with Link and we walked instead. Even if Wyatt joined us. It was calm and quiet.

I just wish it had lasted a bit longer because everyone —people who had been there and a lot more who had shown up—wanted to talk more about everything and too much when I arrived. I met Nate’s gaze and he nodded, fully understanding and accepting that I was right after just seeing this.

“Stop, stop ,” Councilman Reid cut in for everyone. “Stop. She is eighteen. I want everyone to repeat that several times. I keep forgetting how young she is too. We cannot be—she is not the answer to everything. She is not ours . This is why—we will break her.”

“And she needs to start being valued more so you fools don’t keep losing your heads,” Mrs. Oliveria said firmly. “Some of you are doing nothing for all she puts in. We are doing tons. Mark paid for the large familiar housing at Morrigan to support her vision and this progress. Laura is diving back into Morrigan to protect her and other witches.

“I’m helping with the renovations here and involved in other areas along with our chefs. The Moons have done the same. Fine, some of you are paying for your sessions now as punishment—paying should be the standard.” She shook her head when people argued. “We can afford it . She’s given brushes, blankets, and treats—how much in magic?”

“Agreed,” Taylor said firmly, crossing his arms over his wide chest as he stared down a few people in particular. “We’re giving her a discount—a heavy discount—for all the help she’s giving my people.”

“You are?” I asked, blinking at him.

His eyes softened as he focused on me. “Yes. Very heavy. Did you think Tracey would allow anything else?”

Tracey snorted and gave me a glance that she was almost insulted.

“It’s a lot to keep up with,” I reminded her.

“Fair, but I don’t let people abuse you, kid. I never have. I never will. Which is why I agree. It was different when I was the only proof and they could explain away a lot. You—there is no denying what you’ve done for Link in six weeks. Pay up, and enough trying to railroad you. It’s time people accept you hold all the cards.”

I sighed. That never went well, but I hated all this part.

Still, it worked. Councilman Reid seemed pleased when a few agreed to step up and at least help with the renovations at the council estate. Others were going to be seen more in education, and one was from Demeter and was going to make a fuss about what happened there.

After some back and forth, a going rate per session was decided—besides those who were being punished, but if they worked hard and didn’t cause trouble, I would only charge them that for a few more months.

Several other things were discussed and honestly I tuned most of it out, wishing to get out of there and just let the adults talk. Hell, I was a bit annoyed they just all invited themselves to my house, saying how nice it was to be there and once the patio was finished they should bring wine and let their familiars roam.

Yeah, sure, whatever. That wasn’t rude and totally fine.

“We’ve gotten way off track,” Councilman Reid finally said. “And your help for the Wicked Challenges passed out from exhaustion. So what is your prank so we can figure out how to get you some help, Bevin?”

It took me a second to realize he was talking to me or the conversation—basically that I had to pay attention. I would have normally politely brushed it off and just done my own thing, but I was tired and the change startled me too, so I told them the truth.

He blinked at me for a moment and I flinched when one of the other councilmen burst out laughing.

And he wasn’t the only one. They all started laughing. The wives—everyone. Even Taylor was chuckling, and… It was everyone laughing at my idea.

Laughing at me.

I endured it longer than I should and then jumped to my feet to leave, heartbroken that even Tracey was laughing. I understood the difference between people laughing at something funny and laughing at a person or even laughing in shock at something.

This wasn’t any of that. I felt it.

Someone grabbed my arm, and when I tried to yank it away, I moved too fast on the uneven ground from the construction. I started to fall, but then a strong arm pulled me against an even stronger body. We landed hard, but I was safe because I landed on top of him. I didn’t realize that at first, blinking around and just shocked that I didn’t crack my head open on one of the stones.

I blinked up into pretty grass-green eyes. Wyatt. He’d grabbed me and taken the fall to protect me.

“You are going to change the world, Bevin Millen,” he whispered as he stared at me.

“What?” I gasped. “Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Your idea is so—they laughed in relief because you just showed them that they’re on the right side. It’s a pleasant surprise because at every turn you’re pushing all of us to be better. It’s astounding and it makes them all feel like I did at the hearing after the attack. They know they’re where they should be.”

Someone cleared their throat behind us and it reminded me we were on the ground and I was lying on top of him. I scrambled to get up and face everyone… And accidentally kneed Wyatt in the groin as I did.

“Shit, shit , I’m so sorry,” I hissed, not sure how to help him when he swore and curled up in a ball. “I lost—I slipped pushing up. I swear it was an accident.”

“I know, but I’m sure I deserved it,” he moaned, cussing a few times again. “It’s fine. I’ve always wanted a nut injury in front of my boss and most of the High Council. Oh, fuck me hard.”

“Sorry,” I repeated again. “Do you want ice?”

“My pride would be much nicer.”

Well, that was one way to change the topic from my own meltdown. Shit.

Just… Shit.

Luckily, someone took pity on him and came to heal him before Winter and Nate helped him sit, both giving me amused glances. It really had been an accident. Seriously, I wouldn’t do that after he saved me from a fall.

Well, one he’d sort of caused, but whatever.

“Derek is completely right in our reaction,” Headmaster Kerwynn assured me firmly. “All you have going on and you’re—most college students drink and act out. This is your acting out? You’re worth fighting for, Ms. Millen, and my laugh was relief that I feel better that you’re pushing for the next generation.”

“As long as I can push from behind the scenes,” I mumbled.

“Or with the right shields,” Winter said as he sat next to me. “We’ll help. We can figure out points later, but—this is awesome. Let me in. That was my laughing. I want in on this evil genius.”

I accepted the help and showed them what I’d found because it was getting later and later by the second. Plus, the master’s students knew the campus like the back of their hands. I handled my sessions and we got some real food… And Wyatt recovered.

I was never going to live that down. Seriously.