“You had to try.”
“No, I didn’t.”
I shrugged her arm off my shoulders and walked back into the house, feeling miserable. My mom took the hint and didn’t follow me. I needed some time to myself. I looked around for Freya, hoping to curl up with her, but she remained elusive, and I convinced myself that I probably didn’t deserve cat snuggles. I laid down in my room and stewed in my own misery until the sun started to dip behind the tree line, and Rhi called everyone down for dinner.
Jess didn’t ask about Nova as I sat down, so I assumed my mother had told her about my disastrous attempt to get the grimoire. Rhi hovered over near the window, biting at her lip.
“Do you think we should check on her?” Rhi asked. “She hasn’t come out of the workshop all day.”
“She really should eat something,” my mom said, nodding. “Maybe we can just take her a plate, so she can still be alone, if she prefers?”
“Yes. Yes, that’s a better idea than dragging her to the table,” Rhi said, her expression clearing up. She began to pile food onto the table. I watched Jess’ eyes go wide as Rhi handed her a heaping plate of roast chicken, potatoes, gravy, asparagus wrapped in bacon, and a steaming, buttered popover.
“This woman should open a restaurant,” she murmured to me. “I’ve never eaten so well in my life.”
We all ate in silence for a few minutes before my mom finally said, “We should try to decide what to do next. Jess, can we still summon Sarah without the Claire grimoire?”
“I’ve got other methods we can try,” Jess said, nodding. “They’re more complicated and less reliable, but they can definitely work.”
“Well then, I guess the next question is when?” Rhi said. “How long do you need to prepare?”
Jess considered, chewing thoughtfully. “It will depend on how hard it is to get my hands on a few items,” she said. “There are some specialty herbs and gemstones and stuff that?—”
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” my mom said, trading a smile with Rhi. “We’ll take you over to Shadowkeep after dinner.”
Jess looked dubious. “Really? Because when I peeked in the window the other day, it looked pretty… well…”
“Yes, that’s the tourist level,” my mom explained. “We keep the good stuff upstairs. I think we’ll have everything you’re looking for, and if not, we’ll know where we can get our hands on it.”
Jess grinned. “Excellent.”
We finished eating, and Jess and I helped to clear the table while my mom went to change out of her dirt-smudged overalls, and Rhi put together a plate of food to take out to Persi. She carried it out to the front door, and then called to me.
“Wren? There’s something on the porch here for you!”
Puzzled, I put down the plate I was washing, turned off the water, and walked out to join her at the front door, wiping my hands dry on a dishtowel. “What is it?”
“I don’t know, honey, it’s just got your name on it,” Rhi said, pointing to one of the rocking chairs. Then she continued down the steps and out through the garden to take Persi her food.
I looked down at the seat of the chair. There was a square package wrapped in brown paper, with a note tucked into the string. I picked up the note, which had my name scrawled on the front, and opened it.
I don’t want Bernadette’s last message to go unanswered.
Sorry I threw that vase at you, even though you kind of deserved it.
Also if anything happens to this grimoire I will kill you myself.
Nova
Heart thrumming, I tore open the paper. The grimoire lay inside.
I turned to run into the house to tell my mom, when Rhi’s voice suddenly rang out from behind me, and I swung around again to see her running from the direction of the garden, the plate of food still clutched in her hand.
“She’s not there! Persi’s gone!” she called out.
I opened my mouth to reply, but my mother appeared in the doorway behind me at that moment, making me yelp instead.
“Are you sure? Maybe she’s just refusing to answer,” my mom said.
