“He’s an imp. A witch’s familiar, the very first of his kind. He used to live here when he and Willow were still bonded. He’s very old and very dangerous, and I donotwant him to hurt you. Please promise me you won’t try to trap him.”
She nodded to herself at her conclusion, pleased with her ability to keep things succinct.Now to wait for his promise.
Anzan said nothing for a long moment, and then another. He looked down on her stonily, his stoic countenance slowly giving way to an expression of exasperation when she didn’t continue, his blue eyes narrowing. She watched the black ripple of his other eyes, his face screwing up into a scowl.
“Little bug, please forgive me for this, but that was the worst story I’ve ever heard. If I’m going to be kept from enjoying my movie with you this night by this allegedly terrifying feline, I expect to be entertained. At the very least, educated.”
“Oh, that issomean!“ She swatted the back of the sofa, her shoulders shaking in laughter as he shrugged unapologetically.
“It’s as if you’ve never heard a story before,” he argued as she laughed against him. “A beginning, middle, and end are expected, to say nothing of a bit of suspense. You went from the prologue straight into the moralizing with nothing in between.”
Ladybug gasped, swinging one of the pillows against his chest. This, too, was an evolution of the past year. The Anzan who had joined her for Mabon would have never joked in such a way, would have never insulted her, even in this lighthearted manner, would be prostrate at her feet for even thinking the things he was now saying without a breath of remorse.
“Aha! The truth comes out! You want to be a moviecritic, not be entertained!”
“That may be so,” he went on gravely, “but I assure you, little bug,thiswould have never been green-lit. Now, let’s start over.“ He made a show of settling into his cushion, gesturing grandly for her to begin again. “When did he live here? For how long? What has possessed him to attempt getting back in now? Am I to assume he left on less than desirable terms?”
Ladybug laughed again, although that time it was devoid of humor. She didn’t want to relive the evolution of Holt’s presence in her household, but he was right. He deserved to know.This can’t be your home together if you keep things from him that affect it.
“Oh, the day he left was a disaster,” she scoffed. “I’m pretty sure the neighbors remember; they were all standing out on their porches watching it. He was clinging to the doorframe as Aunt Authricia hit him with a broom. You think he’s noisy now? You should’ve heard him then.”
Beside her, Anzan lifted the bowl of popcorn from where he’d set it on the floor, replacing it between them on the sofa.
“Act one, then.”
If she were paid in sighs, Ladybug considered that she would be an independently wealthy woman.
“Fine. But first you must understand about familiars,” she began earnestly. “They were born of old magic, from the other side of the veil. The first witch to call one forth did so at great peril. You know once a connection has been opened—“
“It is not so easily closed,” he finished for her, nodding. “This I know well. Is that not considered dark magic?”
Ladybug weighed the question. It wasn’t one that could be answered with a yes or no.He’s your partner now. He deserves to understand who you are, what you are. What are you, if you’re not a witch?
“It’s not as simple as that,” she finally said. “Dark and light . . . it’s all the same magic. What matters is the intent. The intent of the witch, the intent of the spell, the intent of the potion. I can kill just as easily as cure with the ingredients I have in my kitchen right this moment. I choose to be a healer, and my intent makes the difference.”
He nodded after a moment, digesting her explanation.
“Familiars. They were born into this world from the other side, but once they crossed through the fire, they could not return. They are bound here, bound to the witch to whom they’re assigned. Not every witch gets one. That’s the most common misconception, I think. Familiars only go to exceptionally talented witches, or ones with rare skills. I’ve heard of some families who have bought a familiar’s favor and they’re passed from mother to daughter, but Holt came to Willow deservedly.”
She paused, sucking in a slow, centering breath. The popcorn was some unidentifiable umami flavor, one of the few they agreed on. He found her preferred caramel-coated treat noxiously sweet, and she had no love for the sharp, metallic tang of the blood-flavored popcorn he’d once foisted on her under the guise of a snack.It’s fine. You’re here with Anzan and it’s fine. Another breath before continuing, the emotion overwhelming her almost immediately.
“My Aunt Willow was anextraordinarywitch. She was kind and patient and so, so loving. I miss her so much.“ Heat began to press in at the edges of her composure, and she was obliged to stop again, this time sucking in a hard breath and expelling it just as forcefully. “Divination in and of itself is not especially rare, although it takes extreme dedication to be any good. Willowsawthings. She saw them clearly, with none of the uncertainty normally associated with divination.”
“Fortune telling,” he interrupted again. “We had an elder in my clan who practiced this.”
Ladybug exclaimed in wonder. It was rare that Anzan shared any of the details of the life he’d known before arriving at her doorstep, and every nugget she gleaned gave her a better understanding of him, the environment he came from, and his people. She already knew that his homeland was very far away, on the secluded coast of a turbulent sea, but he only ever occasionally offered her more than the vaguest glimpse of his early life.See? This is why you need to share with him. Some day, he’ll be comfortable enough to do the same to you.
“Every year during the tidal festival,” he went on, “Many tents would be woven upon the sand as the waters rose. The oldest reina in the clan would have her tent set upon a jetty, that could only be accessed as the waves pulled out. The brides who were brave enough to skirt the water would have their fortunes told.”
“And did you go to have your fair fortune read?” she asked, grinning up, barely able to contain her giddiness at the confidence. She tried to imagine him, young and gangly, all awkward limbs and sharp elbows, going to the divination tent.Perhaps his elder foretold of you.
But her enthusiasm was not met by his own good cheer. A sardonic chuckle was his reply, softened only by the hand that stroked her hair.
“No, my little witch,” he chided, shaking his head as if she ought to know better. “That was an honor only for the brides. A mere palp would never be granted an audience with an elder of such esteem. And besides, our lowly fortunes were well known.”
Ladybug blinked rapidly, breathing slowly, hoping her face did not reflect the heartbreak she felt, hearing him refer to himself as amereanything. Marriage or exile. That was the way, in his clan. Unmated Adraneaen sons were cast out of their village, away from their friends and family and entire way of life; cast out into a world predisposed to be hostile to their kind.Cast out like you. And if he’d not been, he’d never have found his way to your door.The Fates worked in mysterious ways, and she knew better than to doubt their wisdom.
“Your aunt told fortunes this way, then?”
