Page 52 of Uncharmed
‘Word around the cauldron at symposium was that you’ve been doing us proud over at Selcouth, darling.
A little errand for those Sage Witches at Hecate House, I hear?
You should have come straight to me, Annie.
Naughty thing.’ Glory tapped her on the nose and winked at her in a way that so closely mirrored Romily, Annie found herself doing a double take. ‘I simply must hear all about it.’
‘We’ll leave you two in privacy for a moment,’ Romily said with a feline smile. She gave a small head nod to excuse herself, before Vivienne and Harmony immediately trotted behind her. Annie couldn’t ignore the feeling that Romily was following an unspoken instruction.
‘It’s no mean feat to land yourself a role like that with Selcouth, Annie. As always, you continue to excel yourself. And I couldn’t be prouder of you.’
Annie’s heart gave a jolt. It was all she ever longed to hear, really. That she’d done right. Done just what she was supposed to do and someone was proud of her for it.
‘You were always like a second daughter to me. And I don’t know about you, but I suspect that that beautiful dress of yours would look even more sensational with a Crescent pin to accessorize it. It’s only fair that we cash in a favour for all your hard work.’
Annie gasped. It was really happening. But none of it made any sense.
She had clamoured and contended for this moment her whole life, ever since her father brought the prospect crashing down, but nothing had ever worked until now.
Until this one, unsuspecting favour for the coven and a young girl.
‘I’m so delighted, Glory, I really am. But I’m not quite sure what I’ve done to warrant it. ’
‘From what I hear, it sounds as though you may have identified a rude little hiccough for us to take a closer look at. Some young little thing from nothing and nowhere, who needs to be further examined?’
The world stopped moving. It was as though the sky had fallen and the earth had risen to meet it, claustrophobia binding Annie to the spot with a tight black ribbon. Panic bubbled in her throat, strangling her. This interest in Maeve from all sides...something wasn’t right.
‘Well don’t look so surprised, Andromeda. You should know by now there’s no such thing as secrets from the spellborn.’
‘What do you want with her?’ Annie dared to ask in a choked whisper. Everything else had sort of blurred backwards in Annie’s vision, smeared around her. She had thought she had kept Maeve’s talent hidden from the coven, from them.
‘No need to make it sound so sinister, darling.’
‘I...I’m afraid I can’t help you, Glory,’ Annie said, doing her best to maintain composure. ‘I don’t know where the coven have placed her. Wherever she is, she’ll be safe and secure, as will her magic. It’s under control now.’
At that, Glory scoffed. ‘You have a lot of faith in a coven that continues to prove itself almost entirely useless. Not to worry, we have our methods of finding anybody we need to. I look forward to meeting her, intriguing little thing that she is. Could prove rather useful to us, my sources suspect, if she’d be interested in such a conversation. If not, well...’ Glory grimaced.
Annie did her utmost to remain calm, even though it felt like the thunderstorm outside was beginning to brew under her skin, too. She gave a breathy laugh with a dry smile, keen to underplay Maeve as much as she could to Glory. ‘You’ve got this all wrong.’
As she often did, Glory reached out a tender hand to hold Annie’s face – something Annie had always felt to be a caring, delicate gesture of affection for a second daughter of circumstance.
But this time it felt different. She moved Annie’s face left to right to guide it into the light, as though examining a chipped and spoiled vase and deciding how low to name her price. Her hand suddenly dropped.
‘Need I remind you, Andromeda, of the...precariousness of your situation. Poor Romily and I have made great exception on your behalf, to keep you from being thrown away and forgotten altogether. It has not been easy to keep you in favour. And I should hope, if you are the girl I think you are, that you would understand. You owe us, Annie. And you will do what is required of you in return.’
Annie glanced behind Glory, noticing the tight circle of Heralds were all observing their conversation with great interest. She swallowed and did her level best to bring it to an end. She couldn’t process the reality while Glory was standing so close by.
‘I’m not sure who your sources are, Glory, but I think they may have their wands crossed. She’s just a girl,’ Annie laughed.
Glory peered intently at Annie, stony-faced with piercing purple-blue eyes. Annie was surprised to feel a sudden sense of palpable fury radiating from the Herald, as though it broke through a carefully restrained barrier.
‘There is no such thing as “just a girl”.’
Without excusing herself, Glory left Annie standing alone.
Reeling from the removal of such a powerful presence, Annie suddenly felt faint, as though she needed something to hold on to.
‘How about we try some of those desserts?’ Harmony interjected as she reappeared at Annie’s side. ‘I know I’m supposed to be on a sugar ban, but it is Samhain...Annie, those profiterole thingies sent from your bakery look frankly glorious.’
‘Later, Harm. I just need to...’ Annie was shaken.
She couldn’t think straight, couldn’t hear her own thoughts.
She felt unsafe, uncertain. She held her forehead, trying to stop herself from swaying.
Was Maeve in trouble? Was she in trouble?
Pressure clamped her temples. If she could just figure out the next right move. ..
‘Actually, do you mind if we sit down?’ Harmony interjected, looking slightly worse for wear in the ghostly ballroom light. ‘Too much punch.’
It felt serendipitous. ‘Of course, I need some air anyway,’ Annie said, nodding in a haze as she guided Harmony to the edge of the ballroom and deposited her into a chair.