She looks fondly at Seren as she speaks despite her slight exasperation, but my mate doesn’t see it. Seren’s got her eyesrolled toward the ceiling, clearly not interested in having what I can only imagine is an often-repeated conversation with her mother.
I, however, am not as ready to let the topic go.
“What’s Seren’s rising sign?”
Celeste’s eyes sparkle. Seren’s narrow into a glare fixed squarely on me.
“Sagittarius. My wanderer.”
“And Soleil?”
“Scorpio. My alchemist. Both of them are so driven to learn, to explore, to press boundaries, even if they go about it in different ways. And don’t even get me started on the rest of their charts. If ever there were two witches destined to do great things in their—”
Seren puts her palms flat on the table and lifts herself out of her chair. “Fascinating, truly, mom. But if we’re all finished up with this little lecture, Callum and I should really be—”
“Leaving already?” John asks, looking genuinely disappointed his daughter is going so soon.
Seren leans in to press a kiss against his temple. “I won’t be away so long this time, dad. There’s just… there’s something Callum and I have to do. It’s pretty urgent, and there are a few things we need to get before we can do what we need to here in this realm.”
“A glamour?” Celeste guesses, eyeing me. “I think I can help with that.”
“You don’t have to—”
Celeste interrupts her daughter with a wave of her hand. “You won’t find someone who does better or faster work than Angelique.”
Seren’s eyes go wide. “Angelique. Really?”
“Really,” Celeste says, reaching into a handbag sitting on the counter and pulling out a small, rectangular device that she tapswith her thumbs. “She owes me a favor for the charts I pulled and analyzed for her last month.”
“Must have been some pretty impressive charts, knowing what she charges for her stuff,” Seren mutters, and Celeste just laughs.
“You have no idea.” She finishes tapping and a few seconds later the rectangle lets out a metallic ping. “It’s not every day I have to pull composite relational charts for someone deciding between three different potential paramours.”
Seren’s eyes light up with interest despite her lingering grumpiness. “Who did you recommend she choose?”
“All of them.” Celeste sets the device down with a satisfied smile. “And she’s so happy with her lovely new ploycule that she’ll be here in half an hour with everything we need for a foolproof glamour.”
The glamour is… itchy.
Not in a way that makes it impossible to wear, but in a way that makes me keenly, uncomfortably aware of this temporary form.
Seren was right. It does look like me.
Sort of.
My horns, wings, tail, fangs, and crimson eyes are gone, but the rest of me is still somewhat the same. Same beard, most of my height and muscle, though both are toned down a little becausethey don’t grow them like you here in the human realm, as Angelique said when she put the finishing touches on her magick.
The glamour witch is just packing up her things to go when I return from the bathing chamber after inspecting my new appearance.
“Does it meet your approval?” she asks, putting her hands on her slender hips.
“It will serve,” I tell her, and she laughs, giving her long, midnight-blue curls a shake.
“I hope it does.” She gestures to the heavy black onyx ring she gave me. “Remember not to take that off unless you want to remove the glamour. Otherwise, you should be good to go.”
“How long will it stay charged?” Seren asks.
“My glamours? I haven’t had one discharge yet. Longest running is fifteen years, but if you ever find it wears out before that, just call me. I give all my clients a lifetime guarantee.”
