The Opal Witch

Epilogue

Declan squeezed her hand. "It's okay. Leadership is a heavy burden. That it hurts you so much to discipline your Circle means that Kitty's fears are unfounded. Someone evil wouldn't be sad about this."

"Grandpa boy is right," Sara Elizabeth chimed in, her comment teasing smiles to the edges of everyone's lips. "You're a good person, Lux."

"Lux, you helped me find peace for Corinne. Even when you felt powerless, you wanted to help. That's the mark of a good person," Brooke added, her voice soft and kind. The girl didn't hand out praise unless she meant it.

"Thank you," Lux said just as the bell rang. She flipped her planner open, its pages full and bright with plans and colors. Every hour of her day was mapped out. She had just enough time for a stop in the restroom. "I'm going to run to the bathroom before Drama. Save me a seat?"

"You don't even have to ask," Declan said.

"Oh, but I do. Nearly every girl in this school has a crush on you."

"I've only got eyes for you." He didn't finish speaking before they were both pelted with English peas. Their friends were gagging and chucking the vegetables while Lux and Declan laughed and ducked.

"Oh, you're going to pay for this later," Lux shouted, digging green mush from her dark hair. Her outrage just spurred them on, and she pulled on the magic in her veins and watched every single pea turn direction and fly at her friends.

"Lux," Sara Elizabeth hissed, "that's cheating."

"No, that's playing with all the cards in my deck," Lux said, wiggling her brows as she darted out of the cafeteria, her friends hot on her heels. She turned the corner, nearly taking out another student. The shrieks behind her told her not everyone had been as lucky.

"You best get to the bathroom," Declan warned as they caught their breath. "You don't have it scheduled in for the rest of the day."

Lux looked down at her planner, shrugged her shoulders, and tossed it in the trash. Her actions earned a look of astonishment crossing her boyfriend's handsome face. "What the hell. My plans never work out anyway."

"No," Declan agreed, pulling her close. He didn't bother to see if they had an audience, something he would've done when they first met. He captured her lips, sliding his tongue between them and making her lean into him to remain upright. "Sometimes they work out better than you planned."

*************************

Kitty

Kitty watched them leave the cafeteria. A pang of bitterness sparked in her chest. She could return to them. They'd offered, and she knew they would forgive her everything. She'd been under a spell, or at least they all presumed she'd been spelled.

"How absurd," Sara Ashley snapped, coming to stand beside Kitty as she gathered her things. The girl who'd once been a clone of Sara Elizabeth was the only friend she had left- though friend was too strong of a word for what was between them. Allies were more accurate.

"They're children," Kitty agreed, tightening her backpack straps. "Did you get what I asked?"

"Yes, but do you know how hard it was? That store is crawling with different Circles, all investigating how a Bloodborn went so long undetected."

"If you can't handle something so simple, you can't expect to be of any use to me or to her."

Sara Ashley blanched and dug the item from her pocket. "Here. Emerald, right?"

Kitty nodded, looking at the pair of earrings. She'd have to hide the stones or wear her hair down often. The magic surging through the stone was at once familiar and foreign. She could smell the earthy notes- the damp of soil and moss, the coppery taste of metal- but threaded through it was its previous owner's essence. She'd been young- only nineteen when Daphne had murdered her. Kitty's mouth filled with ash at the thought of using such tainted magic, but after the Circle- no, after Lux- had bound her powers, she'd been forced to look for another way to use magic.

"This will do. For now."

The lines in the other girl's face softened with relief. "But when do I get my own? This was the only one left."

"You know what you have to do to get this, right? You're willing to take those steps?"

"Yes. Just tell me how."

Kitty frowned and looked at the students trickling out of the room, headed towards their classes. One small girl caught her eye. With the earrings in her hands, her gift for sensing the magic of others had returned, and this slip of a girl, newly seventeen, had power in spades.

"Her." She pointed and Sara Ashley followed her finger.

"Kana Saito? She's a witch?"

"Yes."

"What do I have to do?"

Kitty stiffened her shoulders with resolve. "Wait for a full moon."

"Then?"

"Then, we will kill her."