Page 10 of Board Games and Broomsticks

Nyssa looked up from her now-laced-up boots to find Liora looking at the stack of board games she’d found in her childhood closet earlier that day. The one Liora was now pulling from the pile – a game called Familiars – had once been Nyssa’s favourite.

As a child, she’d been obsessed with the game, which her great-grandmother Sybil had made. Sybil had modelled the board on Nighthaven itself, its twisting streets and best-known landmarks rendered in miniature. Each player had to select a familiar to represent them and undertake quests around the game-version of the town. Nyssa had always chosen to play as the raven, until Lisabeth had added a tiny cat, modelled on Nyx, after Nyssa had brought home her familiar. She had passed endless hours immersed in the game, searching mini-Nighthaven for hidden treasure and forgotten magic. It was only when she began having nightmares in which the figurines were real people trapped in clay-made-familiar forms that her grandmother had stopped letting her play with it unsupervised.

‘They were my grandma’s,’ Nyssa said. ‘They’re all enchanted, and grandma and I would play most weekends when I came to stay during the summer.’ They were some of Nyssa’s fondest memories, and even though she had little use for them any more, she hadn’t yet been able to bring herself to put them in her ‘to donate’ pile.

‘They’re all enchanted?’ Liora stared at the large pile with her wide, unblinking eyes. ‘In that case, we absolutely have to play them some time. I bet Elowen and Alaric would love them! You’ll meet them tonight, too – oh! Speaking of tonight …’ Liora began rummaging around in her satchel and produced a small, oval-shaped purple case. ‘I got you these earbuds for my performance. Can’t have you falling under my spell.’

Nyssa’s brow furrowed. ‘I thought I was the witch in this relationship.’

Liora let out a little laugh, one Nyssa had noticed she tended to emit when she was nervous. ‘Oh, you are, don’t worry! It’s just my lyre, it’s kind of enchanted. I don’t use it for anything bad!’ Liora hurried to add. ‘It just helps to keep my audience’s attention a bit, or to calm a rowdy crowd, you know? If you come and listen more frequently, I’ll teach you some tips to shield against it. My pops told me it can be used to enhance another person’s magic, and that it holds a lot of untapped power of its own, but … well, I guess if it does, I’m not good enough to harness it …’

Liora trailed off, her eyes going slightly foggy. There was definitely a past there she hadn’t yet told Nyssa about, one that conjured in the bard the same sort of heaviness that came over Nyssa whenever she thought of the last argument she’d had with her grandma.

‘I have no doubt you’re good enough,’ Nyssa said perhaps a little too forcefully. ‘Sometimes, power is about intentions. Maybe yours are too good for whatever magic lurks in your lyre. Besides, sometimes too much power is a bad thing.’

A face rose unbidden in her mind as she said it – Morven’s face. Out of everyone in her training days, the warlock had been the only one she’d ever truly considered a friend. They’d spent countless evenings discussing spells and studying late into the night, and he’d been the only person she’d told about how she’d left things with her grandma, and about her absent mother, who’d left her under the care of a nanny most of the time and handed her off to her grandma permanently when Nyssa was just fourteen. But that had been before. Before he’d gained more power than any warlock ought to have access to.

Before he’d betrayed her, and she had betrayed him in return.

‘Yeah, you’re right.’ Liora’s voice snapped Nyssa out of her musings, but she couldn’t help but notice that, even though Liora’s smile had returned, it was a little tighter than it had been before. ‘Anyway, I’d still feel better if you wore the earbuds tonight. I wouldn’t feel right influencing you, even in a small way.’

A strange lump formed in Nyssa’s throat as she took the case from Liora. It was such a simple gesture, but the kindness behind it … That was something Nyssa hadn’t experienced in a long time. The other mages in the coven were pleasant, yes, and they’d cared about her in a professional sort of way. Nyssa hadn’t truly realized how different that kind of care was to the kind Liora was showing her now.

And now that she’d experienced it again, she wasn’t sure how she’d gone so long without it.

Nighthaven’s one and only tavern was nothing like the dimly lit, overly loud establishments Nyssa had pointedly avoided in London.

If anything, The Pixie’s Grove was what Nyssa would describe as cosy. Made of a mixture of stone and wooden beams, the large space was lit with chandeliers and various candles that gave off a soft, orange glow. There was a large hearth on the north wall, the fire inside bright and crackling, and there was a crest in the shape of a twisting hawthorn tree hanging just above it. A wooden staircase sat to the right of the fireplace, next to which was a small bar surrounded by a crowd of patrons. A number of candlelit tables were spread out in the centre of the tavern, each one occupied with people Nyssa recognized from either her childhood or Liora’s recent tour. The place was packed, the air filled with the kind of easy laughter and conversation that only came from people who knew one another well, and a strange, warm weight settled in Nyssa’s chest as the townsfolk smiled and waved at her and Liora as they made their way to the bar.

Nyssa leaned in to whisper into Liora’s ear. ‘You said there would just be a few people here,’ she mock-scolded.

Liora smiled innocently. ‘I don’t know why it’s so busy! It isn’t usually like this …’

Nyssa raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh, really? So if I asked around …’

‘All right, all right! I told a tiny white lie to get you here. I just hate the thought of you all alone in that big house, and everyone here really wants to get to know you better!’

The look on Liora’s face was so sincere Nyssa softened instantly. ‘Fine,’ she sighed, ‘but you owe me a drink for lying.’

‘Deal! But I want to introduce you to someone first. Elowen!’

At the sound of Liora’s voice, a tall, slender elf appeared in the doorway behind the bar, her soft pink lips curled into a smile so beautiful that for a second Nyssa forgot to breathe. Her auburn hair was cut to skim the sharp lines of her jaw, and her eyes – ancestors, she had such beautiful, green eyes – crinkled at the corners in a way that made Nyssa’s heart skip a beat. ‘Good evening, Liora. What can I get for you?’

‘Nothing for me, I’ve got a show to play! But I want you to meet Nyssa! Nyssa, this is Elowen Meyrick! Elowen, this is Lisabeth’s granddaughter, Nyssa!’

Elowen turned those beautiful eyes Nyssa’s way, her expression so neutral that if she had any opinions on who Nyssa’s grandmother had been, Nyssa couldn’t tell. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nyssa. What would you like?’

It took Nyssa a moment to compose herself beneath the intense stare of who might have been the most beautiful creature Nyssa had ever seen, and when she did, she prayed that the elf thought the flush to her cheeks was due to the heat of the hearth.

‘Oh, um …’ Nyssa’s eyes scanned the board above the bar. ‘I’ll take a Spicy Gnome, please.’

‘Ohhh, great choice – that’s El’s favourite!’ Nyssa’s cheeks flamed hotter, and she was glad when Elowen turned away to start making her drink. ‘I’ve gotta go prepare for the show, but I’ll see you after – don’t forget to wear the earplugs!’ The words came out in one long rush, and before Nyssa could reply, Liora had bounced off towards a small space beside the fire.

‘One Spicy Gnome.’

Elowen placed the tall, brass-coloured sparkling drink in front of Nyssa with long, slender fingers that, when Nyssa reached for the glass, retreated just a fraction too slowly. Skin brushed against skin for the briefest of seconds, and Nyssa’s cheeks flamed anew in response.

‘Get it together, Hawthorne!’