Wanda rolled her eyes. “You can’t account for every emergency, Poppy. Just embrace that you’ve got a gift. You’ll be happier if you stop worrying about what could go wrong and focus on whatcouldgo right.”
I stared at her for a second before saying, “You know, I think that’s the most optimistic thing I’ve ever heard come from your lips. I’m proud of you, Wanda.”
Wanda’s lip curled. “Oh don’t get maudlin, Poppy. Blame it on the alcohol. I’m sure I’ll be back to my moody self by morning.”
I smiled a little to myself. Wanda wasn’t half as hard a character as she made herself out to be. She was actually very endearing. She’d also curse me if she heard me thinking as much.
And speaking of curses...
“Are they resistant to magic at all?” I asked.
“You’re not going to hurt your contractors, Poppy,” Wanda said, sighing as though I was hopelessly misguided in my worry.
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“Sure it isn’t. If you don’t want to be honest with me, just say so. At this point, I’m drunk enough not to care.”
“Should I cut you off?”
She glowered at me. I just laughed.
“You know, you might be able to make that glare work better if you didn’t have a mudslide mustache.”
She immediately wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “I have a mustache?”
“Well, now it’s more a fu manchu.”
She dabbed again, then glared up at me for the second time. “If you cut me off, I’ll be forced to hex you into next week.”
“I’m just making sure you aren’t going to be sick all over my house.”
Wanda waved away my concern. “As if I’d toss my cookies.”
“I’ve seen you do it before.”
“Blah.”
“And I’m not worried about Smith. Not directly, at least. I’m more worried about whether I can deliver. I mean, what if he builds me a lab and I can’t come through on the gemstone he asked for? Then what?”
Wanda considered me thoughtfully (well, as thoughtfully as she could when she was beyond inebriated) before nodding. “I believe in you.”
“At least one of us does.”
“And the good news is that his sister—”
“—niece—”
“—whatever is already gone. So even if you fail to turn her into an emerald, it’s not like you can hurt her since she’s just ash.” Hiccup. Another hiccup. “Do I still have a mustache?”
“No, now it looks like a little beard on your chin—like you’re a member in a 90s grunge band from Seattle.”
Another frown. But I couldn’t say my mind was on Wanda’s mudslide facial hair. Instead, it was stuck on the fact that there was a good chance I wouldn’t be able to deliver. I mean, my alchemy was new to me. And I had no idea how hard it would be to turn ashes into gemstones.
“You can do this, Poppy.” Hiccup. Then something I was pretty sure was a burp.
I sighed. “I’m just a novice. What if I can’t do it?”
“You will. You’re a witch in my coven. You can do anything you set your mind to.”
