Page 64 of Board Games and Broomsticks

It was one of fear.

And despite everything he’d done, tears slipped free from Nyssa’s eyes as she watched him fall, helpless, towards the creature of the lake’s waiting jaws.

It lunged out of the water, trapping Morven between its teeth before the warlock could even try to defend himself. Nyssa heard the crunch of his bones. Saw the spray of his blood tainting the water. And then the monster dived beneath the lake, cutting off Morven’s pained scream and plunging the world around Nyssa into an oppressive silence.

Seconds passed before a spark of light appeared from deep within the centre of the lake, growing and growing until everything – the entire body of the lake, the treeline of the forest and the grounds of Hawthorne Cottage – were bathed in a green, otherworldly glow. Nyssa remained on her broom, her eyes fixed on the centre of that light, waiting for Morven to reappear.

But the light slowly began to fade, and the churning waters settled back into the peaceful stillness Nyssa had always known. And when what was left of Morven’s fog dissipated, taking the weight of his magic with it, she knew her plan had worked.

Morven Delamorte was gone.

Nyssa didn’t have time to sort through the storm of emotions raging through her, because just as it had the last time she’d exhausted her and Lisabeth’s combined power, her body was starting to fail her. She could feel her grandma’s magic slipping away alongside her grip on consciousness, the scent of it fading into nothing more than a memory. And as the darkness settled in and Nyssa tumbled from her broom towards the still lake below, she used the last sliver of strength she had to pray that her friends – no, her family – would be safe.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

It’s time to wake up now, Nyssa.

The familiar cadence of Lisabeth Hawthorne’s voice was like an anchor in the darkness. Nyssa instinctively turned in the direction the sound had come from, where a bright, warm glow had begun to flicker against the shadows. And within it, the faint outline of a figure Nyssa never thought she’d see again.

Grandma?

The figure didn’t reply. Instead, they held out a glowing hand in a silent invitation that Nyssa didn’t hesitate to accept.

Light exploded from Lisabeth’s form the moment Nyssa made contact, so bright that Nyssa was forced to close her eyes against it. It was just a flash, there and gone as quickly as the feeling of Lisabeth’s magic flooding through her, and Nyssa knew that when she finally opened her eyes, both that light and her grandmother would be gone.

The thought might have scared Nyssa if it weren’t for the fact that she could feel the presence of someone else. A different kind to Lisabeth’s, but equally familiar and growing stronger by the second, bringing with it the scent of fresh grass and warm, spring air.

‘El?’

She opened her eyes to find the elf sitting beside her, eyes wide and filling with tears as she stared at Nyssa for a long, silent moment. Nyx, who had been curled up on Elowen’s lap, let out a loud meow and promptly jumped on to Nyssa’s pillow to rub her head against Nyssa’s cheek. Nyssa didn’t even try to fight the tears that flooded down her cheeks at the sight of her familiar and Elowen, healthy and here, and before she knew it, her entire body was shaking with unrestrained sobs.

Elowen’s hand found Nyssa’s, her touch so gentle it felt like spiderwebs against Nyssa’s skin, as if she was afraid of hurting her. And it did hurt – every inch of Nyssa was in pain – but in that moment, she didn’t care. She would take all the pain in the world if it meant being able to feel Elowen’s touch again.

‘It’s all right,’ the elf whispered when Nyssa interlocked their fingers. ‘I’m here, we’re all here. Everyone’s safe.’

Nyssa slowly looked around her bedroom. It didn’t take long for her gaze to settle on her family grimoire, safely placed on her chest of drawers and, thankfully, seemingly undamaged from its time in the lake. ‘What … what happened?’

‘About half an hour after you left, Nyx started kicking up a fuss again.’ Elowen reached out to stroke Nyx’s head with her free hand. ‘She started yowling at the tavern door until we let her out, and then she ran off in the direction of the cottage. Alaric stayed at the tavern to keep the others safe, but Li and I followed her, we’d just reached the edge of the grounds when these huge bursts of light started to light up the sky. Elowen’s voice shook slightly, and her grip on Nyssa’s hand tightened. ‘We ran as fast as we could to the lakeside to find you and Morven out there, him firing those balls of lightning at you. We tried to help, but you were too far away for our magic to reach you, and the fog was so thick … but it turns out you didn’t need our help. Whatever spell you cast … it was powerful enough to be felt across all of Nighthaven.’

Nyssa’s cheeks heated, but beneath the embarrassment was something else.

Pride.

‘I had a little help,’ she said, warmth flooding her chest at the thought of her grandma. ‘Turns out the story about familial ley lines really is true. If you’d never told me, I wouldn’t have had the idea to try and combine my grandma’s power with my own.’

‘You’d have figured it out.’ Elowen’s smile was the most radiant thing Nyssa had ever seen, and Nyssa leaned into her palm as the elf cupped her cheek. ‘Afterwards, when you fell from your broom … it was the most scared I’d ever been. Once you were out of the water, Li and I managed to carry you the rest of the way inside and get you warm and dry, but my magic wouldn’t heal you. We just had to wait. It was … terrifying, honestly.’

‘I’m sorry for scaring you.’ Nyssa rubbed her thumb against Elowen’s knuckles in what she hoped was a soothing manner.

‘It’s all right. You’re here, you’re alive. That’s all that matters.’

The way Elowen was looking at her made Nyssa feel warm all over. She leaned forward, her heart thrumming wildly against her ribcage as her lips parted—

‘A-hem.’ Alaric leaned against the bedroom doorway, lips pursed in barely concealed amusement. ‘I hate to break up such a tender moment, but I thought we said to come and get us as soon as our favourite witch awoke from her slumber? Or did she require a kiss to fully break the spell?’

Elowen’s entire face turned red as she pulled away from Nyssa to throw one of the chair cushions in the druid’s direction. He caught it easily, his laughter as infectious as ever, and once again Nyssa found her eyes filling with tears at the sight of another of her friends alive and standing before her.

He wasn’t completely unscathed, though. There was a nasty scar on his jaw that looked sickeningly like a claw mark. ‘Ric—’