CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Myra
Morgana’s disintegration into madness had taken a lifetime.
The younger version of her had always been anxious, all the way up through her teenage years, but everything changed once she took the throne.
What had until then been seen as quirkiness or timidity soon became her defining characteristics.
Worry had rapidly escalated to paranoia, leaving her isolated with few that she’d still allow near; those that she still saw as allies.
Finn and I had been among those chosen few.
Access to the queen had allowed me to see just how erratic and unhinged she’d become.
I’d often find her alone in the throne room, rambling to herself about a portal to a hostile dimension we’d spent decades at war with; one that had been shut before I was even born.
One she had threatened to reopen. She’d look up at me with manic eyes, desperate for me to see the logic only she could, and it had scared me.
Her mental state should have rendered her unfit to rule, but she was the eldest daughter of the royal line, and that was the only deciding factor. The day the king died, she took the throne, but a piece of her seemed to die along with him.
It was that slow, insidious erosion of who she’d always been, and what she might do because of it, that had driven me to Finn’s room one night to tell him we had to do something—had to stop her for her own good and that of our people.
Together, we’d devised a plan to get close enough to her for me to use my gift, and with it, compel her to step down.
Her power would be her undoing if I didn’t.
And attempting to help her was my own.
Finn’s betrayal had not only cemented my fate, but opened my eyes to the cruel reality that he himself had had a long-standing hand in the queen’s decline.
Because it was his duplicity that had surely been poisoning her all those years, twisting her mind so that she could be manipulated.
Unlike me, she was an easy target, but my love for him had blinded me to his true nature until it was too late.
Both the queen and I had fallen prey to him in our own ways, and the only shot at freeing her from that hell was my return.
If it didn’t kill me first.
I was keenly aware of that grim reality, but after the mystery of the invisible crone and her ominous message, it seemed even more so.
I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Who was she, and why couldn’t Yael see her?
Was she only invisible to him, or to everyone but me?
Was she even real, or a figment of my imagination?
And most importantly, what the hell did she want from me?
Those questions and more played on a loop in my mind while I went through the motions at work all the next day until close.
Laney had to leave early for some reason, which left Sasha and me to clean up the front-of-house together.
I didn’t want to talk to Ravi about what had happened with the creepy old woman because he was already worried about me as it was, and since she gave off serious witch vibes, I wondered if Sasha might be a better resource, even if I didn’t love the idea of sharing the details with her.
Hoping I wouldn’t regret it later, I walked over to the bar to ask her about it just as she dropped a whole tray of clean glassware.
The glasses shattered on contact, spraying the wood floor like shrapnel, and she looked down at the carnage with an exhausted sigh.
“That is not what I needed after that shift,” she said to the pile of shards at her feet.
“Need some help?”
She looked at me from the corner of her eye with warranted suspicion. “So you can just lord the fact that you did something nice over me forever?”
“I would never,” I replied, feigning shock while knowing that was something I would absolutely do just to piss her off.
Her lips pressed to a thin line to punctuate her disbelief as she raised her hands above the mess, palms down.
“You’re a terrible liar, Myra. And I don’t really need help anyway.
” She wiggled her fingers while muttering something under her breath.
A delicate tinkling sounded, and I peeked over the bar to find the jagged pieces standing on end, vibrating as fast as hummingbird wings.
Her hands began to swirl in small circles, and the fragments mirrored her movements, knitting together as the tiny tornado of glass grew higher and higher.
“Almost done…” The mesmerizing display continued until the reformed glasses danced through the air and lined themselves up on the counter.
Sasha looked at me, clearly pleased with herself, and gestured to her work. “Ta-daaaaaaa. All better.”
“Impressive.”
“Not really, but it’s effective,” she said as sadness settled into her expression. “Not effective enough to have a coven, but who needs that when I have all this?” Her arms went wide, indicating The Riff Raff, but her facetious tone could not be ignored.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one less than thrilled with the hand she’d been dealt.
“What do they know? They’re probably a bunch of insecure assholes anyway.”
“What do they know?” she asked, her tone incredulous. “Other than a shit-ton of magic, spells, wards, and curses? Why would I possibly want that?”
“Sasha, I get it—”
“No,” she snapped, “you don’t. You were banished, and I’m sure that totally sucks, but I was told I wasn’t enough and never would be.” Tears welled in her eyes before she quickly wiped them away. “And then they threw me to the wolves by dumping me in the Playground.”
“So you were betrayed too,” I said, leaning closer to her over the bar.
“I guess so.” She forced a smile through the tears. “Sucks to be us, doesn’t it?”
“Sure does seem that way.”
A genuine grin spread slowly across her face. “Except I’m willing to bet it definitely does not suck to be fucking Yael Kristoris, because daaaaamn, that boy is fine.”
“He’s something, all right.”
“What’s he up to tonight? I haven’t seen him in here since you two disappeared midshift the other day.”
“It’s Yael,” I replied with a shrug. “What isn’t he up to?”
Her eyes narrowed. "Something's going on. Did you guys flame out already?”
“No, we’re still together,” I replied. “He’s just tied up with fae business or whatever. I don’t really ask questions because I’m not super interested in the answers.”
“I’d like to be tied up with his fae business,” she said as her grin returned, “and you’re not interested in answers because you just want that diiiick.”
“Yep, that’s me. Just in it for the dick.”
She reached across the bar and slapped my shoulder as she laughed. “You’re such a slut for that D. I love it!” Pulling away, she sighed, looking off into the distance. “God, his body is ridiculous. What I wouldn’t give to see him naked.”
Visions of him in nothing but his boxer briefs in the shower, the water running down the planes of his chest and abs, coating them in a delicious sheen, assaulted my mind.
“It does not disappoint,” I said without thinking.
Then my mind snapped back to Sasha’s keen expression as she awaited details. “That’s all you're getting, you perv.”
Another wave of laughter struck. “Okay, you selfish bitch. Keep your bedroom secrets from those of us in need of some titillating story time.”
“If you’re hard up, I’m sure Curtis would help you out.”
“Oh, I think Curtis would much prefer the petite blonde who left early tonight.”
“Really?” I asked, and she nodded with confidence that rivaled Yael’s.
“Interesting.” I hesitated for a moment, wondering if now was the time to hit her with the bizarre question I’d been waiting to ask until her mood improved.
With little to lose, I took a breath and gave it a go.
“Hey, speaking of interesting things, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound ominous at all,” she muttered under her breath.
“It’s more random than anything, really.”
“Okaaay…”
“Do you know of a spell or something that could make someone invisible to some people and not others?”
Her brows furrowed, clearly surprised with where my question had landed. “You’re right. That is really random,” she replied. “Why do you want to know? Wait… are you seeing shit that no one else is seeing? Because if you are, I think you should probably go talk to someone about that—”
“I saw one person,” I explained, hoping to talk her down. “I was with Yael at the time, but he said he couldn’t see her. And actually… when I saw her the first time, it’s possible the third person in the room with us didn’t see her either.”
“That is interesting.”
“I just want to know if there’s a way to make that happen that you know of.”
“I mean, it could be a spell, but that would take some serious power, and I can’t think of anyone who could do it. Not without talismans and trinkets and potions, all of which would require a shit-ton of imbuing by not one but multiple witches.”
“Oh,” I replied, unable to hide my disappointment, “okay.”
“But…” She paused for a moment, her expression tight as she undoubtedly worked through the magical logistics in her mind. “It could have been an astral projection. There are some witches capable of that.”
“And that could be targeted at one person?”
“It could.”
“And they could talk to you?”
“Yep.”
“Touch you?”
She hesitated as she pondered the question.
“That’s rarer, but still possible in theory.
” I quickly described the crone to her, excited that she might have answers for me beyond her speculation, but the lack of recognition in her eyes slayed my hopes.
“She’s not familiar to me, but I can ask around.
I still have a couple friends outside the Playground who might know her. ”
“No, it’s fine. Just leave it alone for now. Thanks.”
“If you see her when I’m around, let me know. I can try to do a spell that would expose her for a bit. Or maybe Ravi would recognize her. In fact, maybe you should tell him—”
“It’s really not that big of a deal. She’s more annoying than anything. I don’t want Ravi to go all… well… Ravi about it.”
She nodded with understanding. “Heard. We’ll keep it between us for now.”
“That would be great—and thanks, Sasha,” I said, turning away from her intense stare. “Why don’t you head out? I can manage closing by myself tonight.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. Call it payment for your information.”
She studied me for a moment, eyes narrowed with suspicion. “And you’re not going to call this in one day, with interest?”
“I might if you keep looking at me like that instead of saying thank you and fucking off.”
She untied her apron and threw it on the counter with a smile.
“Consider me fucking off, then—and thanks, Myra. I’ll see you tomorrow.
” I watched her walk to the kitchen doors, her shoulder-length hair swinging wide as she turned and backed through them with a wink.
“And I hope you get some of that dick tonight!”
I laughed as she disappeared from sight, knowing that Yael Kristoris’ dick was the last thing I’d be getting that night.