“So, you aren’t dealing with your long deceased ancestor?” he asks dryly and takes a sip of his wine. “Then who is Nestor? A fairy locked in the attic? A demon you summoned in the den?”
“Maybe,” Esme says. Her eyes are sparkling with mischief.
“No,” I immediately tell Gale, then look back at Esme. “And there will be no summoning in the cursed inn, Esmeralda.”
Rolling her eyes, she leans back in her chair with a defiant shrug. “The inn isn’t cursed,youare.”
If it weren’t for the interest already piqued in Clementine, followed by Clover’s glare, I’d laugh.
“Ignore her,” I tell everyone who doesn’t know Esme the same way the coven does. “Why is a ghost surprising when we’re dealing with everything else, like our—” I point between Archer and myself, “—doppelgängers? We were all sent into that godforsaken house and expected to deal with it… Well, surprise! We are dealing with it.”
Taking a deep breath, embarrassment begins to seep in at my outburst. The longer everyone quietly stares at me, the more anxiety sets in.
What will they say?
Will Gale want me to leave?He should.
I didn’t need to yell or make a scene.
As the initial embarrassment settles, something else takes its place.
Relief.
Fuck, that felt good. The pressure of my fate is a ton of iron strapped to my shoulders that I’ve been carrying for years.
Maybe they will shame me or banish me—someone could even hit me—and it wouldn’t be anything I haven’t experienced before. Even as I think the words, I know that won’t happen. For the first time in my life, I’m safe enough to explode with emotions and not be villainized for it.
As my breathing finally returns to normal, my eyes bounce around to each person—lingering longer on Archer’s gaze—and I’m only met with concern from each person. Even Sybil, who looks sympathetic.
“I’m—I wasn’t sure if you knew about the doppelgängers,” I admit suddenly.
Archer, Sybil, and Gale don’t look surprised, so they must have figured it out at some point.
“Cordeliadidshare some of the photos with us, so I knew as soon as I saw both of you,” he says and holds his hands in mine and Archer’s directions.
“He’s come to see me once,” Archer says. “In my dreams.”
My brows furrow. He must have been in the meadow at some point.
Sybil clears her throat uncertainly. “I know about the doppelgängers, but I’m still new to all of this—” She waves her hand in the air around me.
“Me too, girl,” Esme says and pretends to clink her glass before taking a sip, pulling a smile from Sybil.
Gale looks at me with a friendly but challenging expression. “I think it’s time all five families are on the same page again, don’t you think?”
Biting my cheek, I avoid everyone’s eyes and fiddle with my utensils on the table.
He’s right—and this moment will determine how much like Cordelia I am.
Do I keep my secrets and die with them? Or trust my growing coven?
Finally meeting his eye, I nod and look at the four witches staying at the inn, a silent plea in my eyes.
Don’t mention the eye-for-an-eye theory.
Chapter 28
Archer
