She followed Mira out of the tent and back toward the RV.The campground was divided into the festival area and a roped-off clearing for travelers.
“Yeah, why?”
“You just seem kind of off.”
They stopped at the RV that belonged to their family, where her dad and Hollis, a psychic who could reveal a person's history through a personal object, were talking quietly.She stared at the two males for a moment and then looked at her mom.
“Dad said that my future was here, but he didn’t say in what form.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, what does that even mean?My future is here.So…what?I’m going to finally come into my psychic powers, in Northern Ohio of all places?Or I’m going to find the man of my dreams here among the witches and wizards and humans?”
Daphne put her hand on Mira’s shoulder.“You know your father can only share what he sees; he can’t divine more than the supernatural world shares with him.”
“I know.It’s just frustrating.”
“I really don’t think you’ll come into your psychic powers at this point, honey.You’re twenty-five.”
“Eighteen plus seven.”
“Yes, yes,” Daphne said with a chuckle.“But you know what I mean.Psychics come into their powers at a young age, even younger than shifters shift or Wiccans find their power.”
Mira knew that.But there was always hope, wasn’t there?
“Then why are we here?”Mira asked.
“I don’t know the answer to that.But somehow, your future is tied to Velastra.”
Mira envied her family and the other house members.Their magic felt like a foreign language she was never going to master, no matter how much she craved it.It was hard as hell to be non-magical in a magical family.
A psychic who couldn’t predict rain while staring at a storm cloud.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky and the festival opened to a crowd of people, Mira returned to her duties and finished setting up the booth where Tamsin would give readings by crystal ball or playing cards.Mira would sell magical artifacts they’d gathered in their travels, the kind that people who didn’t have magic liked to purchase: cut crystals, unique stones, amulets, statues, and bottles of blended powders to cure everything from insomnia to finding romance.
She stood behind the table and smiled at the patrons who milled by, some giggling as they teased each other about getting a reading from Tamsin or buying a stone for good luck.
There was definitely something about this place, but Mira just wasn’t sure what it was.
* * *
Later that evening, Mira stepped away from the booth to wander the festival, her mind on cotton candy and popcorn.The festival was in full swing, people filling the aisles in both directions.Music drifted in the air from the stage where a group played medieval instruments and sang about warriors of old and the damsels they rescued.
She turned at the end of the aisle and stared at the stage for a long moment, and then she glanced at the cotton candy and popcorn hanging in bags from a booth where a woman waved and invited her over for a treat.
But Mira suddenly wasn’t interested in a snack.
She headed down another aisle, some invisible tether drawing her forward until she stopped in front of a booth.
She faced it and lifted her gaze to the wooden sign hanging over the booth.
Cleveland Wiccan Coven.
Curiosity filled her, and somethingrightsettled over her.She inhaled and picked up the sweet and spicy aromas of sage, lavender, and beeswax.
“Hello,” a young woman with warm eyes and golden-blonde hair said.“Are you enjoying the festival?”
“Yes,” Mira said, dropping her gaze to her.“I’m looking for the Corners of your coven.Are they here?Are you one of them?”
