1. Daisy

CHAPTER 1

Daisy

"G reetings, my favorite westie!" Daisy says, sliding into the chair opposite her best friend, Petra Rose.

Petra rolls her eyes at Daisy as usual. "That term is nowhere near as endearing as you think."

"Shut up, it rocks," Daisy replies, determined to make the "witch + bestie" term stick. "Anyway, what's up? Why were you so eager to meet today?"

A barista delivers drinks to their table, a vanilla latte for Daisy and a caramel macchiato for Petra. Picking up a paper napkin, Petra begins tearing it to shreds. The air around her has shifted; what was once light now feels tense and full of electricity.

Daisy knows this pattern. Petra's nervous about something. Something she feels will be important. With an audible sigh, Daisy leans back in her seat, steeling herself for whatever is coming her way. "Petra. Just tell me what's going on before you tear that entire stack of napkins to shreds."

"What do you mean?"

Daisy sips her drink, closing her eyes briefly as the deliciousness hits her tongue. Light. Smooth. Subtle. Everything that Petra is not right now. "Westie, you've already shredded two napkins. Just spit it out."

Sitting up straighter and letting go of the remainder of the napkin, Petra raises her eyes to Daisy and shifts into what Daisy knows is her Premier Witch pose. This can't be good. Daisy's insides clench as her magic sizzles under her skin.

"It's about your parents."

Her chest tightens, a lump of burning coal forming in the space her parents once occupied in her heart. "And?"

"Well, they've been petitioning…" Petra hedges.

"Petitioning?" The room blurs and begins to spin. She hasn't heard from or seen her parents in twenty years. Not since they were banished for causing harm to the Leeside community.

Petra's hands remain clasped in front of her, ever the image of Premier Witch professionalism. "Yes. They've been petitioning for visitation. With you."

"They want to see me?" Daisy asks. Her gut turns, unsure of whether to be excited that her parents still care enough about her to fight for a chance to see her or scared of what it could mean to have them back in her life after all this time. Assuming the council allows it, that is.

"Yes. They've been sending requests for a while, apparently. Some of the previous council members felt it unwise, but with the new direction we're trying to take and with some strong encouragement from myself and Lachlan, we've decided to grant the request. The current council believes that you should not continue to be deprived of that connection."

Daisy's mouth hangs open in pure bewilderment. Her parents have been attempting for some time to be able to see her, their only child. And she didn't know anything about it. All this time, she believed they left and didn't care about her. She has complicated feelings about her parents, though, and as these thoughts run through her mind, she wonders if she wants to see them. What would it be like after all this time?

Once she's able to find words again, Daisy asks, "When would this visit happen?"

"In two days. We have a neutral location selected, as they are still not allowed in Leeside. There will also be a couple of Lachlan's trusted demon bodyguards present. They will keep their distance but be there as a protective measure."

Daisy nods, trying to process all of this information.

"Daisy…" Petra says. Daisy's eyes meet hers, and she sees a world of emotion on her behalf being reflected back at her. "You're going to get to see your parents."

"I'm gonna get to see my parents," Daisy repeats softly. "I'm gonna get to see my parents."

"There's something else too," Petra mentions.

"Hmm?" Daisy sounds, taking a sip of her drink.

"The council would like to request your presence at our meeting this week. We want to discuss the consultant position with you. We have a plan for your first assignment."

"Sounds… ominous."

Petra laughs lightly. "It's nothing bad. I can't say anything else right now while we get the pieces finalized. But I think you'll enjoy it."

"Ok, I'll be there," Daisy responds. "So, it's been almost a year since you became the Premier Witch."

"It has. It's wild to think about."

"With a full year to look back on, how are you feeling about it? Have you been enjoying it?"

Petra smiles. "I have. It's hard at times, don't get me wrong, but I love it," she says before going into stories about some of the situations she's had to face in her first year. Daisy knows some of it, but Petra does a decent job of keeping her Premier Witch life out of their regular chit-chats.

As Petra continues to talk, Daisy's mind wanders. She tries to remember life before her parents were sent away, but there's not much there.

* * *

Daisy Hale hasn't seen her parents in years, and to say she was looking forward to today would be a gross overstatement. Her insides roll with anxiety, threatening to bring up her breakfast and anything else she's consumed in the last twelve hours.

Daisy's good ol' mom and pop were exiled after it was discovered they were part of a group of witches and warlocks selling dangerous potions and spells to humans. The humans took these potions and fed them to their spouses, crushes, or troubling neighbors, which led to the receivers becoming severely ill, committing heinous crimes, or sometimes even dying. Needless to say, the news that people were being "mind-controlled" created a frenzy in Leeside. As fingers were pointed back at the supernatural community, the council couldn't risk harm to its people. Thus, any members associated with this group were exiled, stripped of their powers, and, in some cases, memory-wiped. Daisy's parents were allowed to keep their memories, but they had not been permitted within three thousand miles of Leeside or any of its members since.

Since she was only eleven and still essentially a child, Daisy had no role in their endeavors and was placed into a foster home with another magical family in Leeside. Now, thanks to Petra and Lachlan—Petra's husband, the demon representative on the council, and Daisy's boss and friend—she finally gets to see her family again. They'll have a supervised two-hour visit before her parents are sent back to wherever they've been since being banished.

So here she is, sitting on the bench of a picnic table in a park, with supernatural security guards standing a couple of hundred feet away, running the string on her hoodie through her fingers, hoping the repetitive motion will bring some sense of calm to her mind before she sees her parents for the first time in twenty years.

Spoiler: it's not working.

The tension running through her body creates tightness in her chest and tingling in her toes. Her emotions fluctuate between excitement at being reunited and outright fear—because what do you say after so long apart with no contact? How do you even try and act like you know each other?

As the tension shifts back to fear, her leg bounces, vibrating the bench. Daisy hears leaves crunch in the distance and looks up to see her parents, Norma and Levi, striding toward her. Their paces quicken into a slow jog, then a full-on run. Daisy stands, her head rushing as she's suddenly overwhelmed and unsure of how she should be reacting. Should she be excited to see them after so long? Angry for having spent over half of her life without them? Or relieved that they appear to be well?

By the time they reach her, with her arms outstretched, Daisy is a mess of tears and snot. Her mother wipes Daisy's tears away, helping her to see more clearly. Norma looks as overwhelmed as Daisy feels. Her father, ever the stoic, has a single tear running down his cheek, though his nose is rosy as if he is fighting back the urge to weep openly.

"My, how you have grown," Norma says through tears and sniffles.

"One would expect that to happen," Daisy jokes, soaking in the feeling of her mother's hands on her skin and the scent of jasmine as she buries her face in Norma's shoulder while hugging her.

"You clearly haven't lost your sense of humor," Levi says, stroking Daisy's hair from the side.

Norma and Daisy finally separate, holding each other at arm's length as they take each other in. Her mother has aged; whether it's more than would be expected, Daisy can't say. But she can see the wear of twenty years on her face in the fine lines and added wrinkles. The slight sagginess in her face adds to the mark of years spent away. Daisy turns and gazes at her father, noting his thinner hair, wrinkled hands, and extra hair that has appeared in his ears. All of it is a stark reminder to Daisy of how much time they have missed with each other.

Norma pulls out a packet of tissues from her pocket, hands a piece to Daisy, and takes one for herself. They wipe tears from their faces, mirroring each other's movements, and laugh softly. Levi sits on the other side of the picnic table, tucking his legs underneath and resting his forearms on top, his hands clasped together. He looks serious. As though he thinks this is a business meeting rather than a reunion with his only daughter after decades of not being able to see or contact each other.

Daisy's senses are on high alert, as she sits beside Norma, opposite her father.

He takes a deep breath and looks to her mother, who gives a slight nod, giving him permission to say what comes next. "We want you to come back with us."

There it is.

At a loss for words, Daisy stumbles over her reply. "I… I…" She steals a look at her mother and sees love and longing staring back at her. "I can't. I live here. I have a life here."

"What kind of life? Is it a happy one?" her father asks.

"I'm… content."

"Content is not happy. Are you respected within the community? Or have you been shunned for the past two decades?" he pushes. Daisy's eyes narrow. He speaks as if they have been watching her from a distance. But how would they ever know? They made choices and left her to fend for herself. "Don't look so surprised. We may have been exiled, but we have kept tabs on you. You put on a brave face, but we see how unhappy you are."

Daisy's mood shifts to anger, her power sparking under her skin. How dare he—no, they—have the audacity to pull this kind of shit after all that they've done. How dare they ruin what was supposed to be a pleasant opportunity to reconnect. The spark inside refuses to let her be the meek child she was; instead, it pushes her forward, giving her the strength to stand up for herself.

"You have no right to sit here and talk to me this way," Daisy says, and cuts her father off when he tries to interject. "No. You don't get to come here after all this time and shit on my life. The life I have had to live because of your transgressions ." Her magic fires with her anger, violet tendrils launching from her hand before she can prevent it, setting a small bush nearby on fire. The demon bodyguard standing nearby snuffs it out with his own power, covering it in darkness. She's never been an overly powerful witch with the greatest control of her power—she has enough to get by and use it in her day-to-day life—but when her emotions run high, unfortunately, so do her misfires. She mouths sorry to the bodyguard before turning back toward her mother.

"That's why we want you to come with us. We can be together again. As a family," Norma says, placing her hands on top of Daisy's.

"Even if I could, it wouldn't be that easy."

"You have pull with the council now. I'm sure you could talk them into allowing you to join us," Levi says. Daisy shakes her head in disbelief. Her hands roam over her face, frustration and disappointment building inside her. She has waited so long for the chance to see her parents again, and rather than rejoice in this opportunity, they want her to abuse her friendship with her best friend. "While we are deeply sorry to have contributed to any stress in your life, you know that town will never fully accept you. If they haven't done so yet, they won't in the future."

"Seriously, why do you think talking down about the people I live with and the community that rallied around me to support me after you were exiled is the smart play here?" Daisy snaps back, catching his flinch at her words. They don't need to know that the rally was more of a single person at the finish line, but the point remains.

"I'm sorry. I see this opportunity for us to be together and can't stand you returning to a town that will never love you like we do."

"Levi, maybe we should spend some time together and approach this again another time when Daisy has had more time to think about it."

"I am right here, you know. And I don't need more time to think," Daisy says, pulling her hands from under her mother's. "Why now? Why do you want me to come with you so badly?" She knows her parents lost their power when they were exiled, so they must need something. A magical tingle at the base of her neck warns her, preparing her for their response. Despite the warning, she still fears the next words coming from her mother's mouth.

Her mother and father look at each other, a silent conversation taking place. After a lengthy moment, Norma turns to her, placing her hand on Daisy's shoulder, and says, "We need your help."

I knew it. "What kind of help?"

"We have some connections and have opened a new store."

"What kind of store?" Daisy asks hesitantly, the hair on her neck standing on end. This isn't good. This can't be good.

Please tell me they haven't started their activities again… please.

"It's a magical artifact store, selling a mix of real magic items for local beings and knickknacks for the human clients," Norma explains.

"And why do you need my help?"

"Well, we need someone with magic to help procure some items and to create others."

Daisy rubs her hand on her forehead. "There's something you aren't telling me. Are you selling illegal wares?" A look passes between Norma and Levi, all but confirming Daisy's suspicions. "Nope. I'm out. Haven't you suffered enough? Haven't I suffered enough? Are you really that stupid to get tangled up in this shit again?" Daisy stands, preparing to leave outright. She's wanted a reunion for so long, and they've ruined it for everyone.

"Honey, please sit. Let us talk this through," Norma pleads, her eyes glassy as tears form.

"No. No. I had hoped this meeting could be a step forward, but no. I will not be a part of this. You haven't learned anything, and you certainly don't care about me and what your actions did to me." Daisy raises her hand, calling over one of the security guards. "Send them home. Now," she says when the oversized demon reaches them.

Without another word, a portal opens behind them, and red wisps wrap around her parents, grasping them tight. They try to fight, but to no avail; the grasp is too strong, and without powers, they cannot fend off the demon's abilities. The wisps lift her parents and deposit them on the other side of the portal. It closes before they have a chance to say goodbye.

Daisy sags onto the bench, her breath coming in short bursts. Her hand clenches her shirt over her chest as she struggles to find air.

"Ma'am. Are you okay?"

All she can manage is a small shake of her head. Thick, warm arms slide around her, picking her up, the scent of toasted marshmallows filling her nose. The next thing she knows, she is being ported and deposited on the couch at Petra and Lachlan's place. Petra jumps from the far end of the couch with a shriek, their sudden appearance evidently surprising her. The demon guard dude steps back, nods at Petra, and disappears.

"What happened? Why are you here?" Petra asks, concerned as she takes in Daisy's state.

Through tight breaths and tears, Daisy manages to say, "Parents suck."