Chapter 6 Gracie #2
Luciu drifts over to stand with me. “Anything I can help with?”
I suck in a breath and shake my head to dispel the cobwebs. “Not sure. Actually… Maybe? Let’s go introduce you to my besties and find out.”
Vyslan and Puck are deep into their tasks, so I don’t bother dragging them back with me. They already know how this is going to go .
Luciu and Darius accompany me behind the counter and down the short hall into the office.
Poppy and Briella are seated side-by-side at the worktable on the far side, wearing glovesand masks to portion out gummies into packaging.
Their heads snap up as we come in, and I glance between them.
We made a very small industrial kitchen area up to code in a space about as big as a storage closet.
We use that to make a variety of products.
Oil and budder, mostly. Though to be fair, most of it is done at home.
Given that these are magical products and the health code doesn’t apply to that part of the business.
The pair of them hunch their shoulders and duck their heads.
“H-hey, Gracie,” Poppy says with wavering enthusiasm.
“Briella, Poppy.” I gesture to my right. “Meet Luciu. He’s now attached to my hip.”
Poppy shoves up from the table. Her hair is braided on either side of her head in big, puffy braids. “Gracie, I can explain!”
I hold up my hand, and she wisely stops talking.
“I honestly don’t care about the explanation right now.
I understand the two of you made an executive decision in the interest of handling things without me getting involved.
I appreciate the sentiment, but we’re all going to have to deal with the consequences, and I don’t have time right now to listen to excuses.
Ezra’s life is literally in danger. Here.
I made these for the both of you, not that they’ll do a lot of good at this point. ”
I cross the room and offer the two of them small, refillable juice pouches with the potion I made.
Normally, I try to make things palatable, but I didn’t have time or the desire today.
It’s going to taste terrible, but nothing a little chaser won’t be able to handle.
I’m pretty sure I’ll be tasting it for a week myself.
“We can talk to someone,” Briella says.
“They did a blood bond.” I look into each of their wide, shocked eyes.
There’s a recurring theme here. I dread and prepare for the worst. And both Poppy and Briella are shocked when it happens.
They still have some distant hope that the coven is going to wake-up and make everything okay again.
I don’t know how to gently make them understand that the coven they love and grew up admiring isn’t made up of good people.
“Here’s the deal,” I say and look at each of them in turn.
“Because the coven had the check—even if they didn’t cash it—they were beholden to follow the terms of our agreement.
The moment you took the check back, the gloves came off, and those protections were no longer in place.
According to Luciu, he was likely summoned immediately after your meeting and blood bonded to me.
It makes sense that they’d lock me down first as the oldest, but they also likely did bindings for the two of you.
Now, those won’t snap into place for a few more months.
You’re both still somewhat protected by the last warding spell we put on you.
But when that lapses, you’re likely going to find yourself with a husband you didn’t pick. Are you still wearing the pendants?”
Briella lifts a silver chain out from the neckline of her shirt while Poppy wiggles her charm bracelet at me.
“Good.” I sigh, slightly relieved. “Those will keep you invisible to them, like we discussed. Hopefully, we can figure out who they’ve bound you to ahead of time and make some preparations.”
“Should we even be talking about this in front of him?” Briella asks, her gaze flicking to Luciu.
I glance at my new husband. He isn’t shrinking under the scrutiny, and I appreciate that.
I can still feel the phantom feel of his lips on mine from earlier.
If I’m honest with myself, I find it hard to believe Luciu is capable of being deceitful, and I like him.
I want this to work out. But I also have to be realistic.
This isn’t just my life on the line. “Probably not, but we’re about to go rescue Ezra.
I figure if Luc’s putting his business on the line to help with that, I can try to trust him a little.
Besides, I can’t break a blood bond. Where I go, he goes.
What’s done is done, and we all have to live with the consequences now. ”
Briella and Poppy are both pale and clutching each other.
Briella sputters. “You’re—what?”
Her question isn’t very illuminating. She could be asking about any of the points I’ve made. But I steamroll onward. Time is not on our side.
“We know where Ezra is. Luc is probably the only reason this is possible. I don’t have time to explain it.”
“Can we help?” Poppy asks. “I can call—”
“No, I need the two of you to stay here and hold down the fort. Also, Poppy? I’ve got something I need you to look into.
Mr. LaMari was out front, waiting to see one of us while Tanner was flirting.
Turns out the coven is trying to pressure him to stop buying from us.
He bought some product from someone named Logan at a higher fee, and I suspect this is our stock. ”
Poppy jolts as if struck by lightning. “What?”
I hold out the two packages, and she storms over, mouth hanging open, as she peers at both of them. The growing side of things is her baby. I wouldn’t want to be Logan when she catches up with him.
“Can you tell?” I ask.
“That they were from the same crop? Yes. They might even be the same plant, or at the very least sister plants based on what I’m looking at. Fuck.”
“We’ll deal with this, but not until I drag Ezra back. I’m sorry, but you two are going to have to hold things down here without me. I know you don’t spend a lot of time in the shop and this has to mess with your schedules. I’m really sorry about this.”
“Gracie!” Briella comes around the table, her face still pale. Her brow creases, and I can read so many things in her eyes. “Of course, we’ll be here. We can handle the store. We’re big witches. We aren’t completely helpless without you. Is there anything we can do?”
I thumb over my shoulder at Darius and Luciu, still hovering near the doorway. “No, I think I’ve got my own little army.”
Briella eyes the men openly. “I’ll say.”
Poppy blinks her wide eyes and studies Luciu a little. “Do I know you?”
“Um, not sure. I don’t think so.” Luciu shifts his weight from foot to foot and looks at me.
“They’re my best friends. Eventually, I’ll tell them everything.” I gesture at the girls. “Do you mind…?”
Luciu shakes his head. “No, go ahead. Might… Might clear matters up a bit.”
I nod once and look back at Briella and Poppy. “Luc’s mom runs Lilith’s Lounge. Chances are high his father is someone you both know. Who that is, we don’t know. If you have theories about it, might check if Luc wants to know before you blurt anything out, okay? But that’s the situation.”
The two girls just stare harder, shock written into every line of their faces.
I’m not sure what part surprises them more.
Honestly, I thought the issues behind his parentage would be a nonissue.
But sometimes my friends can have some problematic moments.
I don’t fault them for it. They were raised by the coven and brainwashed into believing that if they just did what they were told to do, it would all work out okay. Until it didn’t.
“Here. Drink these. I’ll let you know when we head back.
Not sure what shape Ezra will be in or what we will need to do.
I won’t fault you if you want to stay out of our way and process everything.
But I will take it personally if you choose now to judge my actions.
I didn’t ask for any of this. Ezra didn’t want to be a vampire.
Luc didn’t know they would do a blood binding.
Puck and Darius have their own issues. And you’re aware of Vyslan’s situation.
For the record, he and I had a talk last night, and he isn’t leaving.
So… Maybe I should have said that later instead of piling it on now… ”
Poppy shambles forward like a zombie and throws her wet noodle arms around me. That’s saying something, given her aversion to demons. She isn’t demanding Vyslan be sent away or anything. At the very least, she’s processing and thinking through things instead of reacting. And that’s all I can ask.
“You’ll call us on the way home, right?” Briella closes the distance and grips my elbow. “You’ll let us know everyone is okay? And if we need to… If we need to prepare to triage?”
That isn’t something I want to plan for, but it’s smart. “You’ll be my first call. Promise.”
Moments like these, I forget that Briella’s mother is an elder. She lived her whole life thinking she’d follow in those footsteps. Learning that her mother only sees her as breeding stock has been a harsh wake-up call. But that doesn’t discount her skills.
Briella is a brilliant witch and a rock under pressure. Most of the time. This business with her family has knocked her off her game, but I see twinkles of her past self in this moment.
Witches are expected to have three children. One to die in the ongoing coven conflicts. One to be a good little grunt. And one to either be an elder or a breeder. There’s nothing wrong with any of those roles.
The witches lost in the ongoing conflict believe they are safeguarding their families. And I can’t exactly fault them because that’s what they’ve been led to believe. I just see things differently because I have an outside perspective.
Every community needs people to do the normal jobs.
In the coven, that’s a wide variety of trades, studies, and sharing information.
With a coven our size, that’s a lot of people and a ton of knowledge to manage.
There’s a wellspring of potential for good.
I’m just not sure I believe in how they’re going about it.
The most prestigious role in the coven is that of an elder.
Everyone jumps to do their bidding. But they’re really just the first lapdogs lining up for scraps from the true elders.
Those witches who don’t die. Who continue to run this coven into the ground and waste lives on a conflict that doesn’t fucking matter.
What I don’t like is the blatant disrespect given to those witches who have either chosen or been forced into a life of procreating for the coven.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be a mother.
If I’d ever had an easy day of being a woman, maybe I’d have a different vision of my future.
There’s something beautiful about motherhood I’ll never get to experience. And I’m okay with that.
I think we should all get a choice. I was happy to be in the grunt category.
Witchweed Dispensary is a growing, thriving business.
And we haven’t opened our online store yet.
We’re doing fantastic as it is, but we don’t yet have the ability to operate both fronts of the company.
When we do, things are going to change drastically.
And that’s a scaling-up process we need to be prepared for.
“I’d like you guys to call in Zephyr and Cerdan.” I hold up my hands before they can protest. “For my peace of mind, please? Tell them I’ll make it up to them.”
Neither man is going to balk at the request. Admitting the weird dynamic with Ezra has made it impossible for me to miss the way those two dote on my friends, regardless if they are aware of it themselves.
I know if we ask, they’ll come and protect Briella and Poppy with their lives.
And probably thank me for it. I need to get a moment alone with the two of them.
Because very soon, Briella and Poppy are going to need their own shoulders to cry on.
And I’m not sure I can be what they need. I’m too hard. Too… Me.
But first, Ezra.
“We will,” Briella says.
She and Poppy share a long look. They have so many shared experiences that I don’t, and sometimes I’m jealous. Right about now, I’m glad I don’t understand their pain. This situation would suck so much worse if I did.
Poppy turns her attention back to me. “I’m sorry, Gracie. And Luc, I’m so sorry I didn’t listen. I just… I was wrong, and I’m sorry I did this to us. I’ll call Cerdan right now. We’ll stay in the shop and move together as soon as it's closing time.”
“Good.” I nod and push my bubbling emotions to the side. “I love you both so much.”
“We love you, too,” Briella says. “Now, go kick some vampire ass and save that pretty vampire man. You would be the one rescuing your prince.”
I grin at her. “Good thing I’ve got a few to choose from. Maybe we can take turns?”
“Gracie?” Darius says softly. There’s a hard edge to his voice that lights the proverbial fire under my ass. “We need to go.”
He’s been oddly serious and quiet. I don’t know what he’s seen or why the sudden change, but it leaves me unsettled. I cling to both men as we head out and collect the rest of our group before loading up and heading out of the city.
Time to save my pretty prince.
1. Budder is one of many slang terms for cannabis infused butter.