“It’s fucking annoying,” she finished.
He didn’t hesitate to say with a velvet tone. “Don’t be bitter because I stole your sweet Brax.”
“Don’t call him that, only I can call him that, no you didn’t, and don’t say I’m not right.”
“I never said you weren’t right.”
“And Merlin forbid they not adore absolutely every little thing about you. That’s why you’re always dressed so-”
perfect
-“neat,” she finished.
He hesitated. “Neat?” He repeated dryly. “Have I offended you, Sinclair?”
Maeve looked back down at her work. It vanished with the snap of his fingers.
She looked up at him. “I’m studying.”
“You’re studying spells you already know. Magic you can already dominate.”
“And?”
“How old were you when you first jumped minds?”
“I was four.”
“Four,” he repeated. “Four years old performing unheard of and unprecedented Magic that there is no record of. And even with the knowledge that it is doable, you are the only one able to perform it, no matter how hard the rest of us may try.”
“Do you have a point?”
“Don’t you think you should be trying to do more?”
“I didn’t try to jump when I was four, it just happened. My mother was screaming at Zimsy and I wanted it to stop.”
“And you think that means you can’t do more now? Because I disagree-”
“Is that what you tell your boys?” She muttered.
“Don’t interrupt me,” said Mal. “And yes. It is.”
Maeve placed her hands in her lap. “And what do they say? What do they care?”
Mal’s eyes were dark and calm, like deep midnight waters. “They see you, Maeve.”
She was silent for a moment and answered his earlier question. “I am trying other things.”
“I’m not talking about that little memory spell you already published.”
“I know,” said Maeve. “I’m not either.”
“Good,” said Maeve. “Tell me about them.”
And so she did. She told him what little she could. What little ideas she had. Practical Magic Charms were dependent on many factors. She told him what she had dabbled in, what she was confident she could accomplish.
Once he was satisfied, he looked at her with a proud, but challenging expression. And then he changed the subject entirely.
“I’d like for you to come with me to search for my family.”
