PACK YOUR BAGS
Barely a day later we’re being loaded onto a jet. It’s a good thing that Ji-hwan’s coming along. He’s spent a fair portion of the past twenty-four hours reviewing his best and most flirtatious tips with Starla, in a bid to get her through what will probably be some rather unpleasant meetups.
Most importantly, he’s been reminding her repeatedly that even when she wants to lose her temper over the coming deluge of suitors, she will instead smile and endure it if she wants to achieve our goals.
And she does.
We all do.
“How incredibly interesting,” Starla manages with only a bit of tension in her voice after Ji-hwan, pretending to be a suitor, gives a speech that manages to be both condescending and offensive.
Jackal moves across the jet to lean over the two of them as they practice.
“The good thing is, you’ll at least have a chance to tell the councilman to his face how you feel about all this once the event wraps up.”
Starla grins, and the smile is the type that would have me backing away from her if I didn’t know her.
“My idea of closure is telling my father to his face exactly what I think of his interference. Maybe I should hire a photographer for the occasion. Have a scrapbook made. Brilliant idea, don’t you think, Leena?”
“Hmm,” I respond, inner thoughts whirring. I brush my fingers over my shell necklace.
“What? Why just ‘hmm’?” the witch questions.
I pet Pickles, who is already halfway asleep in my lap.
“I remember the year you stopped going to visit your father. You’ve kept your distance, but Grammy Pearl has always been insistent that you at least interacted with him respectfully when those moments arose, didn’t she?”
“That’s only because Grammy Pearl is big on Southern hospitality and manners,” Starla counters.
“And she probably knew Starla’s father would be a bigger pain in the arse if he was challenged directly,” Jackal guesses.
He and Exos grab everyone drinks while we continue our chat. I thank him as he hands me a water, his fingertips brushing mine. A pleasant tingling sensation dances through me.
“Thank you,” I say, wishing I had the hyena alone somewhere.
“Any time. And anything for you, love.”
Ji-hwan cuts in before the two of us have the opportunity to move our own conversation in a more romantic direction.
“You’re saying Coven Leader Pearl actively encouraged you to let your father have it once the curse is sorted? Even though she’s never approved of that sort of behavior previously?”
Starla shrugs.
“She’s a nice lady, but the woman has her limits, as much as anyone else. Maybe she didn’t like him taking advantage when we needed help. Maybe she just feels sorry for me.”
Exos nods along.
“Perhaps. Or maybe the seer truly did have things she had to hold back. I hesitate to say this, but could he be involved in any untoward practices?”
Starla shrugs again.
“Almost undoubtedly. But mostly motivated by greed and status-climbing. That’s why he’s so eager to use me as a pawn. Put his dud-witch daughter with the lame key to good use. Not that I agree with his assessment. Just saying how he sees it.”
Exos glares, crushing the soda can in his hands and sending bits of brown liquid spurting everywhere. Pickles rushes to help with cleanup, lapping at the gargoyle’s fingers.
“Could be one of the guests. That’s most likely.
Grammy Pearl did get your father to hand over a list of attendees as part of the stipulations of having you attend, and it’s extensive.
There’s bound to be someone on it who holds the key to our problems,” Jackal says, pulling out the list in question to peruse it again.
“And as for you confronting your father, it could be as simple as you’re thinking. He’s just one part of the puzzle, and the only part he plays is closure for you. Maybe the timing is because Grammy Pearl has seen that, after this event, you won’t need anything from him in the future,” I say.
“Or she knows that you’ll need to put him in his place to reestablish the idea that he can’t easily push you around,” Ji-hwan adds.
“Yeah, maybe. Or maybe she just knows I’ll explode like a watermelon under the pressure of a thousand rubber bands if I don’t tell him my true feelings eventually,” Starla says.
It’s a clear visual, and I don’t quite suppress a giggle.
Jackal grins.
“How about we make this fun? If you can survive your father’s meddling and the line of potential husbands he no doubt has readied for you, then you are truly the strongest witch I know,” he says.
Starla yawns.
“Tell me something I don’t know. You said fun. Are you suggesting a bet?”
His eyes flash.
“Yes. It’s how we used to get you through these things growing up. What do you say?”
“I say I may have lost trivia, but I will come out on top for this one. I bet I can get through all the suitors my father pushes in my direction without insulting or attacking any of them … to their face.” She tacks on the last bit in a hurried voice, and I have no doubt that she’ll be saying plenty about the men behind their backs, and most likely directly to me.
“How long is this function again?” Jackal asks, one eyebrow rising.
“With the time change, we’ll land Thursday morning, giving us a day to prep and sneakily scope out the grounds. Friday evening is when I’m expected, with an opening event that night. There will be a few things planned for Saturday, and then the final celebrations will wrap up on Sunday.”
Jackal holds out his hand.
“Deal. If you win, then I will bow at your feet and declare you the strongest of witches.”
Starla opens her mouth, but Jackal continues before she can say anything.
“But if I win, and assuming we make it out alive after you undoubtedly lose it on one of these gentlemen, you will loudly yell ‘Shifters rule, witches drool’ in the middle of your next coven meeting.”
Starla’s already fair skin leaches of color, her hand freezing before she takes his.
Grammy Pearl is unlikely to find this as funny as the two of them will.
Starla locks her jaw, grabbing Jackal’s hand forcefully.
“It’s a deal. Even more motivation to bite my tongue.”