Flamebound A Lone Star Witch No(50)

But in the end, I pick it up. If I don’t, she’ll just keep calling. And soon enough, my mother will join the game, too.

“Hi, Aunt Tsura. How are you?”

“Fine, baby. How’d you know it was me? Are your powers chan—”

“Your number’s in my phone. I looked at the caller ID.”

“Oh, right. Of course.” She sounds disappointed. Not exactly a surprise. “How are you doing, Xandra? Is Austin treating you well?”

“Absolutely.” I sit gingerly in my desk chair, try to ignore the pain that swamps me with each little move that I make. “The coffeehouse is busy, but that’s how I like it.”

“Of course it’s busy! You make the best coffee around. In fact, that’s why I’m calling. I need you to send me five pounds of your French roast beans. I just can’t get coffee like that around here.”

“I’ll be happy to. Are you at home in Ipswitch or are you in New York?”

“I’m in New York right now, but I’ll be home in a few days. You can send the coffee to Ipswitch. Or better yet, you can come visit and bring it with you.”

I sigh, glance at the clock. It took her less than two minutes to get around to my mother’s dirty work. Must be a record of some sort. Usually she has a bit more finesse. “I was just home a few weeks ago for the solstice. Remember? Mom tried to poison me?”

“I’m so sorry to have missed that!”

I choke on a sip of tea. “You sound disappointed.”

“Only because I would have healed you right up, darling. Rachael is a great healer, but she’s still learning the craft. There’s a lot she doesn’t know, including different ways to treat poisoning.” She clucks her tongue. “I still can’t believe Alia tried to do that. Sometimes I wonder about why she was gifted with all that power.”

So do I. But that’s my mother for you. Macchiavelli had been talking about her when he wrote that the ends justified the means. She doesn’t care whom she hurts as long as the end result is the one she wants.

“Speaking of healing, how are you feeling? Are you all right?”

I shift uneasily, then wish I hadn’t when my leg starts to ache—exactly where Shelby’s cut is. “I’m fine. Just working hard. You know the drill.”

“I do.” She laughs lightly. “But everything’s healed up from a couple of weeks ago? No complications?”

“I’m good. Honest. You and Declan did a great job fixing me up.”

“Yes, well, he’s got quite a talent for healing himself. Which is a surprise, since healers are usually drawn to the light.” She sighs. “Oh well. The goddess works in mysterious ways, doesn’t she? I’ve seen that over and over again with the way things have turned out in this family.”

“She really does.”

“Speaking of which, I heard you might have run into a little trouble down there in Austin last night.”

“What do you mean?” She can’t know about Viktor Alride’s death yet, can she? I’ve been keeping an ear to the ground, so to speak, all morning, and nothing has come across any of the usual magical channels. So far, it seems the ACW is keeping the Councilor’s death locked down pretty tightly. Surely I would have received a call from my parents if it was otherwise. Between my magic and the implications of his death . . . I guarantee my mother would want to check on me.

“You didn’t sense anything strange last night, did you?”

Then again, maybe that was what this was—my mother’s way of checking on me without really checking on me. Thinking about that, trying to figure this out, I know I sound wary when I answer, “That depends what you mean by strange.”

Silence comes from the other end of the phone and I know my aunt is trying to puzzle out my reticence. I’m not normally one to play cat-and-mouse games, but this is my aunt, my mother’s sister. She’s a wily one, just like my mom, and I can totally believe this conversation is more of a fishing expedition than a simple chance to check up on me. And maybe I should tell her what’s up—tell her about Alride and everything that happened before and since—but all that will do is worry my family. Considering it took every ounce of persuasion Declan had to convince my mother to go home a few days ago, the last thing I want—or need—is something that will send her scrambling right back here.

At least not if I want to keep my sanity.

And not if I want to protect Declan. Yes, he told me he didn’t kill Alride. And yes, I believe him. But that doesn’t mean anyone else will.

When the silence continues to stretch between my aunt and me—she’s waiting me out, I can tell—I finally decide enough’s enough. “I’ve got to go, Aunt Tsura. One of my baristas just stuck his head back here and told me we were getting slammed.” I cross my fingers against the little white lie.