a magical store, but had more of a gift shop feel than anything else— touristy in a way that was homey and welcoming.
There was a witch behind the front counter. She was old, with long white hair and wrinkles running across her face. She leaned on a cane, and was dressed in a black peasant’s dress that was made of cotton. She was exactly as I’d pictured an elderly witch to look. A gray wolf sat by her side.
“Ah,” the witch said in a wizened tone. “I was hoping you would come.”
The rest of them hung back, but Kiara ran to give her a hug. “Hattie! I haven’t seen you in ages!”
“I missed you too, my dear.” Hattie looked between us as she pulled from Kiara’s grasp. “Where is the possessed?”
Stefan hauled my body forward. As she took in the leshane’s slumping stature and red eyes, Hattie’s mouth thinned. “This is very dire.”
“But can you save him?” Emma asked.
Hattie’s gaze flashed to Emma. “That is for Prince Ethan to decide.”
Hattie picked up a cauldron that was on the front counter. She locked the store door and drew the shades to give us some privacy before she began pulling items off the shelves, placing them into the cauldron. She took down black candles and a bag of salt, moving as fast as her age would allow.
There was an intricate, twisted piece of metal lying on the front counter. Odette stood over it, fascinated by its glint.
“Please don’t pick up my wand. It’s iron, forged by my own hand— you’ll burn yourself if you touch it,” Hattie said.
Theo pulled Odette back. Stefan was eyeing a tray of pumpkin cookies by the window. He reached out to grab one, but Hattie slapped Stefan’s hand. “Don’t take without asking.”
Stefan’s lip stuck out. “Sorry. They look so good!”
Hattie sighed and handed him a cookie. He began chewing with a look of bliss spread across his face.
“How can you think of food in a time like this?” Delmare scolded.
“I eat when I’m upset!” Stefan shouted. “You should’ve seen me at my grandma’s funeral. Half the buffet was gone.”
Hattie’s wolf curled around Emma’s legs. Emma stroked the wolf as it walked by, and the creature arched her back. “You have a wolf instead of a cat?”
“She is my Familiar. I am half Elementai— an elemental,” Hattie explained. “I grew up on indigenous lands in California, within the Hawkei tribe.”
“So why are you in Octavia Falls?” Odette asked curiously.
“I relocated from the Elementai lands in Kinpago a few months ago,” Hattie said. “The elementals are in a civil war at the moment, and I had no desire to get wrapped up in their affairs. Octavia Falls is where I wish to be, for now.”
“Don’t the Elementai need your help, if they’re truly in a war?” Theo asked.
Hattie paused, before she said, “Sophia and Liam will do fine without me, I’m sure. I’ve helped them all I can by offering my reading of their future. They are on their own path now.”
My friends relaxed a little. Elementai were allies with the fae, which made Hattie more trustworthy. I didn’t know who this Sophia and Liam were, but if Hattie had aided them in their own journey, perhaps my friends could trust her to help me as well.
Hattie passed a small tree that grew on a countertop, surrounded by crystals. She wiggled her fingers, and the tree grew three inches in height, dropping leaves from its branches to use for incense. Hattie caught the leaves as they fell into her cauldron.
As the tree continued to grow, Alexei said, “You must be an Earth elemental.”
“A Nivita, from the Earth House,” Hattie said. “I have power with rocks and plants.”
“And what Cast are you?” Theo added. Like fae, the witches had different Factions— Casts, they called them.
“A Seer,” Hattie replied. “My talent lies in empathic work, like your griffin friends.”
“Are you strong enough to get the demon out?” Emma asked.
Hattie picked up her wand. “As I said. I will do what I can, but it will be the prince who will make the final decision. Only he has the power to truly cast the demon out. I am merely a guide.”
Hattie stood before us. “The ceremony will take place in my own home, above my shop. I will need the prince and his mate. The rest of you must wait down here.”
“Emma’s not going anywhere alone,” Stefan demanded.
“The more that interfere in the ceremony, the less likely it will work. This will