Chapter 32 #2
She rolled her eyes, already smiling when the next message came in.
Lochlan
Yes. But don’t let Jade eat too many hush puppies. I miss you, love.
Her face warmed.
Whatever she’d been about to do was lost to the flush of pleasure and comfort that washed over her with Lochlan’s love.
* * *
Drift was the kind of quiet that carried charm. Heating spells kept the ocean wind at bay, and the place smelled like salt and coastal comfort food.
Nia hadn’t been here often. Its proximity to the Videt made it inconvenient—too easy to run into Wulfric.
As if thinking his name had summoned the darkness, her father rounded the corner, flanked by two guards and a fae man she didn’t recognize.
“Pyronia,” he said, sounding almost pleased.
“Well,” Nia muttered, “there goes my appetite.”
Wulfric smiled and glanced over her companions. “Hello. I’ve never met your friends before.”
“Probably,” Nia said, “because I wasn’t allowed to have any.”
Her father ignored this, of course, and extended a hand to Becket, who took it without hesitation.
“It’s an honor, sir. I’m Becket—but you already knew that.”
“My apologies for the intrusion,” Wulfric said. “I needed to ensure my daughter remained married.”
“Of course,” Becket replied. Then the witch actually bowed.
Nia rolled her eyes.
Wulfric turned to Ivy, who was openly glaring at the most powerful supernatural alive.
“You must be Ivy,” he said, smiling. “The other half of Charis and a brilliant witch.”
Ivy crossed her arms. Jade growled low from under the table.
Wulfric withdrew his hand, unfazed. “I shall leave you to enjoy your afternoon.”
Nia stared after her father, the weight of his presence lingering long after he’d gone.
Once, she’d loved him fiercely. She used to race into his study, shadow magic curling around her fingertips, eager to show off the newest trick she’d mastered. He would lift her into a spin and tell her she was perfect, how he loved to see her mother’s legacy live and burn through her.
He had hired the best tutors. Bought every charm and ward the experts recommended. She was the perfect witch to wield such a gift, and he’d made sure she knew it. Magic didn’t always pass from parent to child: it could come from any ancestor. But her mother’s power had chosen her.
“You know,” Ivy said, “your dad’s kind of hot.”
Nia groaned. “Ivvyyy.”
“What?” Ivy grinned. “I can dislike the man and still think he’s nice to look at.”
“Why do you dislike him?” Becket asked.
Ivy lifted her pina colada and took a sip. “One, because he was a horrible dad.”
Nia sighed.
“And two,” Ivy continued, “he denied my application to Videt Hall.”
Becket blinked. “What? Why?”
“Probably because I was a gutter rat—”
“Ivy!”
“What?” Ivy shrugged. “It’s true. I didn’t have the best grades, and I came from the system. But my test scores were great. Still wasn’t enough.”
“You are definitely enough,” Becket said quietly.
Ivy grinned and punched him in the shoulder. “You’re such a good friend.”
Nia smiled. Good. Just friends. It was nice to see Ivy keeping that promise to focus on herself for once.
“If you’d gotten into Videt Hall,” Nia said, “we’d never have met.”
“True,” Ivy said.
A server dropped off bread for the table and a small plate of hush puppies for Jade.
Nia snapped a photo and sent it to Lochlan.
Last night, she had rummaged through his clothes and found one of his old college shirts.
It was recently worn, soft and threadbare.
The shirt was almost comically large on her, but it smelled like him: pine and soap and something warm she couldn’t name.
She’d worn it to bed like some kind of sad wife whose husband had been gone for years at sea, not for a couple of nights in a cushy castle.
She’d almost taken a picture of herself in the shirt. But they had only slept together once, and it didn’t feel like they’d reached sexy photo-sending territory yet.
Still. She’d wanted to.
Nia wondered what he was doing in Dover.
“So, you two met in college?” Becket asked.
“Yep!” Ivy said brightly. “What about you and Lochlan?”
Becket hesitated, his shoulders tightening slightly. “The same. We met at Videt Hall.”
Ivy leaned in. “It’s okay. You guys deserved it. And look at you now.”
Nia barely heard them. She was watching her phone. Waiting. Lochlan didn’t text back.
Maybe he was busy. Caught up in whatever power games his brother needed him for. Maybe there were deals to make, alliances to manage, the kind of work he couldn’t tell her about. Or maybe his horrible sister had—
“How’s our witch?” Becket asked pointedly.
“What?” Nia blinked. “Lochlan?”
Becket raised an eyebrow.
She coughed and grabbed her margarita. “I’m not sure. He usually just asks about Jade.”
“Right…” Ivy dragged the word out with a smirk.
“You’re among friends,” Becket said. “Spill. Are you sad? Do you miss him?”
“It’s been two nights.”
“But who’s counting?” Ivy grinned. “Why’d he go back again?”
“His dumb big brother talked him into it,” Becket said.
“Ooh. Family drama?”
“So much family drama.” He sounded genuinely aggrieved.
Nia looked back at her phone one more time. She hoped Lochlan was okay. And if he wasn’t—well, she might just head to Dover and kick someone’s ass.