16. Olivia

After droppingSammie off at camp, I stepped into the quiet of my home. Sammie”s laughter still echoed in my mind. He loved it there.

The breakfast dishes lay scattered on the counter. Blah. We”d been rushed this morning. I rolled up my sleeves, ready to tackle the mess. I could”ve used magic, but that always felt like cheating… though I did it more often than I wanted to admit.

Just as the water started to run, my phone buzzed with a text from Ava.

Potion contest tonight. Winner gets the crown. You in?

My hands were wet, but I managed to type out a reply with a grin.

Heck yes, get over here. Found a new cauldron in one of Luci”s mad rooms.

Within minutes, Ava burst through the door. Together we fell into an easy rhythm, scrubbing plates and stacking them to dry. As the last dish was wiped clean, she leaned against the counter, her gaze meeting mine.

”Liam”s set for Rune Academy,” Ava said with a hint of excitement. ”He”ll be with Zoey. Wallie and Michelle might audit some classes too.”

”Wait, hold on. I didn”t know Zoey was going to Rune Academy,” I said, rinsing the suds off the last plate.

Ava nodded, wiping her hands on a dish towel. ”Oh, yes. She”s technically past high school age, but you”ve seen her, she could pass for seventeen. And she”s never had the chance to learn all those basic classes like math and science. It”s something she feels she missed out on.”

”Math and science?” I chuckled, imagining Zoey wrestling with algebra instead of her usual shifter challenges.

”Yep, and some shifter history, too. Rune Academy seemed like the perfect fit,” Ava explained, tossing the towel onto the counter.

I mulled it over for a moment. ”That”s such a great idea.” Seeing Zoey get a shot at learning things we took for granted felt right.

”Let”s head upstairs,” I said. The house was silent as we made our way up the staircase to Lucifer”s corridors. The first door I tried led to a library that smelled of leather and dust. Not there. The next opened into a room full of mirrors reflecting infinite versions of ourselves. Nope. Didn”t like that.

”Try the one with the crescent moon on the handle,” Ava suggested.

I turned the knob, and there it was—a room full of cauldrons. Shelves lined with every size and shape, from small enough for a single potion to large enough to bathe in.

”Whoa,” Ava said as she moved to a wrought-iron cauldron with intricate runes designed around the rim. ”This one”s calling to me.”

”Luci really has everything,” I said, running my fingers along a shiny copper cauldron that seemed perfect for our potion-brewing adventure.

”Great choice,” Ava nodded, her gaze bright with excitement. We hauled it downstairs to the pantry where shelves upon shelves were lined with jars and bottles of potions ingredients: roots, herbs, and powders of every imaginable color.

”Okay, so what are the deets for this potion contest?” I asked while rummaging through a drawer of dried flowers.

”Any kind of potion works,” Ava said, picking up a vial filled with glittering liquid. ”But it”s all about how well it works. The coven votes based on efficiency. The best potion wins.”

I stopped and grinned at Ava. ”Remember that cupcake Lucy-Fur ate? The one that turned her into a chicken?” I chuckled, remembering the chaos. ”What if we whip up something along those lines?”

From the next room, a voice sharp as claws sliced through our brainstorming. ”I am not turning into a chicken again.”

”Lucy-Fur!” I exclaimed, and we both hustled out of the pantry into the living room. There she was, the white long-haired cat sprawled on the sofa, licking her paw, and fussing over her two black kittens.

”What the heck are you doing here?” I asked, half-laughing at the sight of her.

”Here I am, and here I will remain until Ava zaps that demon out of her office,” Lucy-Fur muttered without missing a beat in her grooming routine.

”You packed up your babies and bailed? What about your husband?” Ava prodded, leaning against the doorframe.

”Snoozer elected to stay home,” Lucy-Fur replied curtly, blinking slowly, her blue eyes giving nothing away.

”Does he like the sphynx cat or something?” Ava teased, trying to draw her out.

Lucy-Fur turned her head, her gaze pointed. ”I don”t want to talk about it.”

Ava and I exchanged glances and burst into laughter, the sound echoing off the high ceilings. It was still ringing when the doorbell chimed.

I reached the door, the laughter fading as I grasped the cool metal of the doorknob. Behind the door stood a man with an air of confusion, yet something about him sparked recognition. He was tall, with sharp features that seemed oddly familiar.

”Hello, I”m looking for Lucifer,” he said, extending his hand towards me.

”Lucifer?” I repeated, eyeing him skeptically. My stance shifted, guarding the entrance to my home. Who was this stranger, and why did he evoke an uncanny sense of déjà vu?

Ava sidled up beside me, narrowing her eyes as she took in the sight of the man. Her posture mirrored mine, shoulders squared and ready for anything. It wasn”t every day we had visitors seeking the devil himself. It wasn”t any day, actually.

”Who are you?” I asked, declining his handshake.

”Sorry, I should have introduced myself first,” he said, his hand retracting smoothly as he caught onto our wariness. ”My name is?—”

”Wait,” Ava murmured, cutting him off as she leaned in closer to me. ”Do you feel that? His magic... it”s kind of like the mayor”s.”

”Are you nephilim?” I questioned, not quite able to place the familiarity of his presence.

”Yes, I am nephilim,” he confirmed, a hint of relief in his eyes at being understood. ”And I”m fairly sure that Lucifer is my father.”