“And those filthy animals are always ready for an attack,” Mel said.
Hilde sat back. She glanced at her son, and she saw that impatient look in Dash’s eyes. He wanted to stand to offer his service. To be the one to become the next leader of the coven and king of the witches’ territory. She gave him a subtle shake of her head. Now wasn’t the time. They needed to be more panicked, and he couldn’t be the one to offer. Someone else had to.
Vanessa stood, grabbing the other bickering elders’ attentions. Hilde was all too aware of the relationship she had with Dash. She applauded her son for making his own connections; it was one reason why he should be the next king. Hilde had groomed him into the perfect ruler, but she left nothing to chance, which was why she had two other children.
“If Snoe isn’t ready, then it should be Dash next,” Vanessa said.
The room went silent before Parkins stood and shook his head. “He isn’t a Blake,” Parkins repeated.
Vanessa didn’t back down. “He is by marriage—his name was changed, and Alister Blake himself had claimed them as his children. Not to mention that it was Dash who attended all previous meetings and events along with Alister, and not Snoe.”
The room erupted once more. The elders argued the facts amongst themselves.
“If it is the name and bloodline that matters, Hina is a Blake in every right,” Hilde said.
“She is a child, and her magic has yet to fully manifest,” Adello said. He shook his head, his cheeks flapping with the motion. He wasn’t wrong, but the way he said it pissed Hilde off all the same.
Vanessa took her seat once more, crossing her arms on top of the table. “Yes, but she is a Blake, and that is what we need right now,” Vanessa said.
“Even with that being said, she isn’t ready,” Baldwin pointed out.
Oliver slapped the table as voices were raised. “Neither is the boy. Look at him—he hasn’t said a word this whole time,” Oliver said, pointing in Snoe’s direction.
Hilde’s puppet was doing his job beautifully, sitting back and being silent.
“He clearly doesn’t share his father’s beliefs,” Oliver shouted.
Perfect. They had to see Snoe wasn’t the right witch for the job.
“We can’t make this decision right now,” Baldwin said.
“We are here to make a choice, and he is clearly useless,” Oliver argued.
Hilde was glad that she had Oliver on her side. She couldn’t agree more—Snoe was pathetic and held no value besides his last name.
Hilde cleared her throat. She needed to keep up the pretense. “I will not have you insult my child like that.”
Oliver’s pale face went red.
“He is still a Blake and will be treated as such,” Hilde said.
The room quieted down as she took charge of the meeting. “Now, I know we require a leader to remind the other families why we are at the top and to reinforce our rule on the borders. Hina isn’t ready, I have to agree. She is but a child, but Dash, as Vanessa has pointed out, has been by Alister’s side for the past twelve years.”
Parkins looked ready to object, but Hilde raised her hand, stopping him instantly.
“Dash can be the face for now. We need power and someone who knows what they are doing. I will help anywhere I can. This will hold us over until Hina is of age or my sweet son Snoe is ready to step up.”
Parkins and Keys looked unhappy, but there was no surprise they were for Snoe, who was still being a good puppet, not contributing in the least. Not that Hilde thought he had anything to contribute in the first place. The spell was just a precaution.
Seven elders out of twelve seemed to be on the same page as Hilde.
“But what will Snoe do, and why should Dash be the face?” Parkins asked.
“I don’t think it would be wise to make Dash the face of the Blake coven. It will confuse those around if we were to switch to Snoe once he’s ready,” Keys said.
Hilde wanted to scream, but instead she just kept her lips locked.
“There are many reasons why Dash should be the face,” Jero started.
But Parkins evidently wasn’t having any of it. “I say we meet privately and discuss this. Obviously, this decision isn’t to be made lightly,” Parkins said.
It effectively ended the meeting, and Hilde wanted to smash the old man’s head into a wall or watch him being boiled alive. Anything was better than him getting in Hilde’s way.
“Very well. We will meet back up at a later date,” Baldwin said.
The others got up, and Hilde kept herself seated, making sure none of her anger showed on her face. She smiled at each of them as they left the meeting room.
“We understand and graciously await your decision,” Hilde said.
She would kill them all if she didn’t need them alive. She would get what was hers.
Chapter Four
Snoe
“You need to leave,” Parkins said.
He snapped his fingers, burning three charms at once, and Snoe’s clothes and belongings started packing themselves.
“What, why? I’m not going to get in their way. I want nothing to do with the coven or the position everyone is obsessed with. I’m nothing like my father. I’m fine with staying out of the way,” Snoe stressed.
Parkins shook his head. “It’s been a couple of days since the meeting. You have to realize no matter the decision, you pose a threat to them.”
Snoe shook his head. He wanted nothing to do with it. He didn’t want to leave the roses he’d been around since childhood. This was his home—it wasn’t fair that he had to leave it.
“You just breathing poses a threat. You have to leave.”
“Where do I go?” Snoe asked.
What the hell was he supposed to do?
Parkins stared at him as if he didn’t know the answer. “Anywhere. Why don’t you travel and go see the world? There are other witch territories in other countries.”
Snoe tossed his hands up. Didn’t Parkins get it? “There is nowhere I want to go.”
Parkins exhaled. The old man had been his father’s right-hand man in everything. He’d been to family dinners plenty of times while Snoe’s mother had been alive. Snoe had seen more of Parkins than his own father growing up, but still the older man knew nothing about Snoe.
Parkins grabbed the three packed suitcases and handed them off to Snoe. It was all too real and too fast. He had plans to plant some new flowers today. It was supposed to be a good day.
“It doesn’t matter where, the important thing is you disappear.”
Snoe felt glued in place. Parkins was trying to make it sound easy, as if Snoe leaving was a simple option, and maybe it was, but Snoe had never been outside the estate longer than a few hours. It was all he knew.
“But—”
“You will die if you stay here,” Parkins stressed.
Snoe closed his mouth, knowing Parkins wasn’t lying, no matter how much he wished he was.
“This is all I can do for you,” Parkins said with a sad look. His salt-and-pepper hair was long at the top and flopped to the front as he moved around with haste.
“Okay,” Snoe said reluctantly. He had to leave. “Can I at least get some of my gardening things?”