Page 100 of Black Willow Witch
Paisley’s lips hitched up. ‘He rocks in bed, so I’d be fine with that.’
Kage pushed away from the wall. ‘Wait, you’re sleeping with Crew?’
‘Why, you gonna be the protective big brother and go order him to treat me right?’ Paisley asked, a mocking note to her tone.
Kage blinked. ‘And contribute to your happiness?’ He paused, humming. ‘I don’t know. The thought never really crossed my mind.’
Paisley squinted at him. ‘You’re such an ass. We’retwins. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?’
‘Should it?’
Letting out a sound of exasperation, Paisley turned away from him. ‘Be thankful that you’re an only child, Emberlyn. Siblings are theworst.’
Feeling her lips twitch, Emberlyn peeked up at the wall clock. ‘We’d better get downstairs. The hub needs to open in, like, two minutes.’
‘First, you have to tell me about the secret convo you had with Ripper last night at the game. You told me you’d give up the goods today.’ Paisley folded her arms. ‘Let’s hear it.’
Kage cocked his head, visibly intrigued.
‘Reena came to see me yesterday.’ Emberlyn relayed the entire conversation to her friends, adding, ‘I wouldn’t have thought she’d ever seek me out for advice; it still feels weird that she did.’
Kage rubbed at his cheek. ‘She could be just trying to make youthinkshe means you no harm when, really, she’s plotting to take you down. But that doesn’t sound like Reena.’
‘No, it doesn’t,’ agreed Paisley. ‘She may be right thatshe’sthe real target. It would actually be kind of smart of whoever’s responsible to make it seem that they’re after you. It’d mean that people would suspect your enemies, not hers.’
‘I think it has to be someone in the faction, or maybe several of them.’ Emberlyn looked from Kage to Paisley. ‘Do either of you have any inkling as to who might be part of the group?’
Kage pursed his lips. ‘There are lots of witches who think the coven should be taught about malevolent practices for informational purposes. I’ve never heard anyone openly admit that they want to dabble in them, though. Whatever the case, this faction will be tight. Secretive. Maybe even generational.’
Emberlyn nodded. ‘And they will have infiltrated Reena’s inner circle for certain. They’d need to keep tabs on her and be sure she isn’t figuring shit out. It also means they can mislead her and paint people as trustworthy when they’re anything but.’
‘It’s partly her fault that it’s gotten this bad,’ Paisley claimed. ‘She never took the faction seriously. Prior High Priestesses kept an ear to the ground. She ignored any and all rumors of the group, acting as though it didn’t exist; too arrogant to consider that it might ever work to undermine or overthrow her.’
‘Well, she’s considering it now,’ Emberlyn muttered.
Paisley plucked at her lower lip. ‘I don’t believe any of my family are part of it, but I also don’t think they’d much care if she was replaced. They don’t like having a leader who never holds her close ones accountable for anything. She always makes excuses for them, especially Tyra and Sera, and will even give them false alibis.’
‘Speaking of Sera, I wouldn’t be surprised if she wants to be part of the faction. I don’t think she is, because they seem intent on not drawing attention to themselves. No one can say that about Sera.’ A secret organization wasn’t likely to trust her.
‘She claims to look down on you but, really, she’s jealous. You have what she wants – the freedom to practice whatever forms of craft you choose. So yes, she’d definitely be interested in being part of the faction. But I can’t see them reaching out to her and inviting her to join. She’s too mouthy and dramatic.’ Paisley tilted her head. ‘Did I tell you that she’s been advising my mother to officially disown me?’
Emberlyn felt her brows snap together. ‘The fuck?’
‘Our cousin gave us a heads-up about it,’ said Kage, his jaw tight.
That fucking heifer. ‘Why would Sera care either way?’
‘Because if I’m upsetyou’llbe mad, maybe?’ suggested Paisley. ‘She can’t go at you, but she can irritate you via other people.’
Emberlyn pressed her lips tight together. ‘Someone needs to shoot her in the ass.’
‘There’ll be people who’ve thought about it. It’s not just you she annoys.’ A sudden shiver racked Paisley’s body, and she let out a shaky breath.
Concerned, Emberlyn studied her closely. ‘You all right?’
‘I keep getting shivers. Crew said it’s normal for a newbie werewolf on the day of their first full moon.’
Ah. ‘If at any point today you feel like you need to get out of here because the upcoming full moon is playing havoc with your system, just go.’
