The Vampire & Her Witch

In the kitchen of the Gilded Horns, Ashlynn stood behind Jocelynn, slowly combing her hair while her sister sat on a kitchen stool facing the feast they’d spent the morning preparing.

Jocelynn’s arms burned from all of the pounding and stirring, and her hands felt like they were going to cramp from skinning almonds and wringing out the paste to produce enough almond milk for her mother’s favorite dish, but true to her word, she hadn’t given up.

”You said the game was called ’Fangs and Feathers’?” Jocelynn asked, leaning up against her sister for a little bit of support while Ashlynn started separating her hair into neat sections for braiding. ”Which of you thought of that?”

”It was Nyri’s idea,” Ashlynn said, her face turning a slight shade of pink that had nothing to do with the warmth of the kitchen’s roaring hearth or mighty ovens. ”She said that, since I’d spent so much time training my senses, she wanted to see how ’sensitive’ I really was,” Ashlynn said.

”I guess that explains the blindfold,” Jocelynn said, smiling as she imagined the scene her sister had described. ”But why did she have to tie you up before... AH!” Jocelynn squealed as one of Ashlynn’s hands dipped low, tickling the back of Jocelynn’s neck and sending shivers down her spine.

”That’s why,” Ashlynn said, letting Jocelynn’s hair go for a moment to gently rub her shoulders when she saw Jocelynn struggling to let go of the sudden tension that had seized her body when Ashlynn touched her neck.

”Sorry, Jocey,” Ashlynn said as a light green energy covered her hands, seeping into Jocelynn’s shoulders and bringing with it the soothing feeling that accompanied a hot cup of willow bark tea. ”I didn’t mean to scare you.”

”I know,” Jocelynn said, doing her best to let go of the tension as Ashlynn’s hands worked at the knot in her neck that had been there since long before Owain Lothian’s ’grand ceremony.’ ”I’m sorry too,” Jocelynn added.

”You’re doing so much,” she said, looking at the feast that extended far beyond the single dish that Jocelynn had helped with.

Never in her wildest dreams had Jocelynn thought that she would spend a day like this with her sister. From spending the first hours of the day on the river in a tiny fishing boat to all the hours they’d spent side by side in the kitchen preparing the feast, and now, after she’d changed into a clean dress to welcome their mother, Ashlynn was standing behind her and braiding her hair while they gossiped about Ashlynn’s new love.

For the first time since Ashlynn’s wedding night, or perhaps for the first time since Owain Lothian entered their lives, Jocelynn felt warm and at peace.

Behind her, Ashlynn’s fingers worked smoothly as she gathered Jocelynn’s honey-blonde hair into an intricate fishtail braid, just like the one Jocelynn had worn for her coming-of-age ball.

At the center of her chest, Ashlynn felt something new from the seed pulsing in time with her heartbeat. There was still pain and tightness, but somewhere at the core of all those twisted, tangled feelings was a familiar sort of warmth, waiting for her, like something long buried.

It wasn’t much, but as her fingers hovered behind Jocelynn’s delicate, slender neck, the worst she suffered from the Olive Seed was a simmering thought beneath the surface, easily resisted in a room filled with so much warmth and affection.

”Jocey,” Ashlynn said softly. ”We’re both doing so much more than we should, and so much more than we ever thought we could,” she said, securing the end of her sister’s braid with a black silk ribbon tied into a simple bow before she leaned in close enough to whisper in Jocelynn’s ear.

”I’m proud of you,” Ashlynn whispered in a voice that pierced through any resistance Jocelynn had against praise. ”I know how hard it is to survive, Owain. I almost didn’t. It was close for you too. However tonight goes with Mother, just give her time... I’m sure that once she understands, she’ll be proud too.”

”Ash...” Jocelynn said, turning around on the stool and looking up at Ashlynn with moist eyes. ”Do you really think I still have a place in her heart? After everything...”

”There’s only one way to find out,” Ashlynn said, taking Jocelynn’s hands in hers and helping her sister to her feet. ”Mother’s close. Ollie is with her, so it won’t be long,” she said, feeling her own heartbeat growing quicker as she felt Ollie coming closer and closer to the Gilded Horns. ”Come. Let’s welcome her home...”

Both sisters felt a bit like thieves in the night as they stood in the foyer of the Gilded Horns, watching out the window through a gap in the curtains as they dared not appear in public. Word that the Evergreen Empress had received an unmarked carriage at a closed restaurant would spread through the city like wildfire, and she had no desire to ruin her reunion with a crowd of onlookers waiting to learn who her mysterious guest was.

A few moments after the sisters arrived in the foyer, Ashlynn saw Marcel’s nondescript carriage pulling up, followed moments later by Ollie emerging from the carriage to extend his hand to the most familiar woman in either sister’s world.

Micheline followed not far behind her aunt as Ollie escorted Maela up the stone steps of the restaurant, but Ashlynn barely noticed. She had eyes only for her mother.

Maela looked more worn than Ashlynn had ever seen her before. Or, rather, she looked just as worn as she had during the terrible spring all those years ago when Maela had lost her one and only son in childbirth. There were shadows under Maela’s eyes, and she looked like she hadn’t eaten or slept well in far longer than just the few days she’d spent crossing the Verdant Hills in Marcel’s company.

Her eyes, however, were bright and determined as she made her way up the stairs, and while Ollie offered his arm as any gentleman should, Maela gave no sign that she depended on him for support.

And then, before Ashlynn or Jocelynn were entirely ready, Ollie reached out a hand and opened the door for one of the most important women in their lives...