by Dodge, Lola
“We can’t help.” Wynn’s voice was resigned. “Zed’s losing me. He’s not going to cut anyone else loose and weaken his fighting force.”
“Fighting force? Since when?”
“Always. How do you think the Syndicate holds this town?”
“With magic.”
“Witches aren’t the only ones with power.” Wynn headed for the stairs before I could ask any more questions, and in the oddest role reversal, I ended up shadowing him and hovering in his doorway.
The room was so small and he had so few things, it didn’t take him long to jam the arsenal of weapons and his few extra clothes into a duffel bag. I was happy he was free and thrilled I’d have my privacy back, but when he swung the bag over his shoulder, it felt like he was ready to walk out and sever every tie.
I grabbed the duffel bag when he tried to brush past me. “Is this goodbye?”
“No.” Wynn frowned. “You promised me popcorn.”
“Popcorn?” I blinked. “When did I—?” My breath snagged. Our promise. “You still want to go to the movies?” I’d honestly expected that Wynn wouldn’t want anything to do with me after he was free.
“I was also promised licorice and chocolate,” he said the words dead serious like I’d promised him my first-born instead of movie snacks.
I laughed. “Come here.” He followed me down the stairs and I handed him the baggie of sugar cookies I’d left in the kitchen. “These are for you.”
“Thanks.”
“Thank you.” Maybe if I’d fed Wynn more from the beginning, we would’ve gotten along better. “Do you need a ride, or…?”
“I can walk.” He strode out the door on a mission and I didn’t expect him to turn back, but Wynn cast a last smile over his shoulder. “See you around, Anise.”
I waved, then locked the door behind him.
Feeling like I skipped on marshmallow clouds, I headed to my room and flopped onto the bed. Wynn was free, I was blissfully alone, and the sweet scent donut glaze snuck up the stairs.
I jerked upright.
Carrot dangled from the canopy of my bed, clinging with her paws and lion tail. She dropped down, unfurling her wings and landing on the comforter with a soft fwump.
“Where have you been? And how did you sneak through Agatha’s wards?” And maybe most importantly—why hadn’t I sensed her?
I have no idea.
But my power was back to normal and I had the rest of my life to figure out how familiars worked. It wouldn’t be as quiet a life as I’d wanted, but what I wanted could change too. I wasn’t looking for danger, but the world held so much magic.
And there were so many other worlds. So many other powers and recipes and spells.
So much to learn and try and do.
My whole body tingled with excitement. Hope. And a goofy smile spread to my face as I scratched behind my weird little battycat’s ears. “What do you eat?”
I scooped her onto my shoulder and headed for the stairs. “Then let’s get you a donut.”
With those priorities, she and I were going to get along just fine.
More Spellwork Syndicate
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***Summary Contains Spoilers for Sugar Spells***
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Finally back in the kitchen, apprentice baking witch Anise Wise is cooking up all kinds of enchanted treats under the semi-watchful eye of her great-aunt, Agatha. Anise has a job she loves, a cute and crazy-powerful familiar, and real-life friends she can count on for spellwork and sympathy.
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Life is a cozy, quiet dream until the vampire queen of Taos summons Anise for a meet-and-greet. The vamps want a piece of her magic and no one says no to the queen.
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Dragged deep into the town’s underbelly, Anise is jammed in the middle of an epic struggle between the Spellwork Syndicate and the frightening powers rising to challenge its control. She’ll need a little help from her friends—and her former bodyguard, Wynn—if she’s going to live to bake another day.
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Whether she wins or loses, Anise is headed down one seriously rocky road—and that last bump might be a killer.
From Lola
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Hungry for more?
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Just because Quanta can see the future doesn’t mean she can change it. She’s spent most of her life imprisoned, feeding her captors information to keep herself alive, but she’s finally reached the endgame and her death creeps closer by the moment.
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The son of two senators, Altair Orpheus leads a life of privilege that provides the perfect cover for his side job: working with the rebel Shadow Ravens to undermine the ruling Seligo government. Everything is running like clockwork until he crosses paths with Quanta. As he watches her deftly maneuver through life in a perverse prison, his plastic heart melts. A jailbreak would be suicide, but Tair is willing to sacrifice everything to give her a chance at happiness.
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