A Little Green Magic (The Little Coven #1) - Isabel Wroth Page 0,82

proud. Smug, even.

Like his sister, there was a wealth of anger that seemed to swell and grow with each passing word their father spoke.

The two seemed to be a united front, but when Ilex claimed he wanted to be Ivy's brother, there was nothing in his scent to even hint at a lie. Ilex wanted a relationship with his sister badly.

Rowena took the lead next, a far better actress than Uriah would have expected, pretending the offer for payment from the Fae for Ivy's services was of great interest.

“Obviously, the offering should match the effort needed. What exactly does 'a little while,' mean?”

The forest god made another impatient gesture, but there was a gleam of triumph in his golden gaze.

“With her powers completely unbound, it would take no more than a week to prepare, and a day to perform the ritual that would heal the imbalance in our realm.”

“I see,” Rowena answered, glancing to Uriah then with a lift of her brow, signaling him to take the lead. All the while, Ivy sat quietly, an easy smile on her face.

“If Ivy and I did go with you to the Summerlands to help you with your problem, what would she be expected to do?” Uriah's instincts screamed at him to beware, the bear inside him rising to the surface when Donnatar turned a cold stare his way.

“Your presence is not required,” the forest god stated flatly.

“Then there's no reason to waste any further time,” Uriah replied, lifting his arm to let Ivy settle into his lap. She snuggled right in, resting her cheek on his shoulder with a happy hum. “Ivy doesn't go without me to keep her safe.”

The trees closest to them shivered in response to the forest god's anger, but Ilex once again stepped in to divert it. Clearly, he had a lot of practice smoothing the way when his pops would have bulldozed right over anyone standing between him and what he wanted.

“Surely, father, the Summerlands would eagerly welcome them both.”

There was an unmistakable weight to Ilex's suggestion, and Uriah was happy to sit and cuddle Ivy while her father gnashed his teeth and glared evilly at Uriah. It took the Fae a few minutes to respond, and when he did, his smile matched his frosty tone.

“Of course. Clearly you have my daughter's best interests at heart.”

“I do,” Uriah confirmed, more than ready to get to the part where they could all stop this talking in circles bullshit and get to the part where Donnatar fucked back off to wherever he came from.

“Excellent!” Rowena declared with a clap. “Shall we begin negotiations?”

“Negotiations?” Donnatar guffawed, and with so much churning rage pumping off him, Uriah couldn't tell if his confusion was genuine or not.

The guy had to be thousands of years old—seen it all, done it more than once. Uriah could only hope the plan concocted by the witches was enough to fool the Fae for a little while longer.

“I must negotiate to spend time with my own daughter?”

Rowena spread her hands with a charming smile. “You stated only that you require her magic to repair damages to your lands, not family bonding time. As Ivy's coven leader, it's my duty to make sure her talents aren't misused. You need her to perform a service; you'll pay for them like everyone else.”

“A reasonable request, I think,” Ilex commented casually.

Donnatar grunted his disagreement, impatiently gesturing at Rowena. “Your terms, witch?”

“Oh no, Ivy can do her own negotiating,” Rowena announced with a sunny smile. “It's her you're after, anyway.”

“Indeed, it is.” Donnatar harrumphed, his smile brittle when he turned his gaze to Ivy. “So, daughter, what payment do you require for your... services? Gold? Jewels? Lands of your own?”

Ivy straightened up from where she'd snuggled into Uriah, but didn't return to her own seat. Uriah was only too happy to be her chair. “No, no. Nothing so grand as that. Where did I put that damn thing?” She made a show of patting herself down, but it was the cue for Rowena to make a scroll of paper appear in Ivy's hand when she snapped her fingers. “Here we go!”

The little trick completely threw Donnatar for a loop, so much so that he spluttered and guffawed.

“Your power is bound, how is it that you can still work magic?”

“I did not bind that part of me that is a witch, father, and I don't want payment from you. I want information.”

“Information?” Donnatar repeated skeptically.

“Information,” Ivy confirmed. “I have questions only you can