Page 88 of Witchful Thinking
Sirena gave her an incredulous look. “I can’t believe she said that to you.”
Callie turned away, unable to look at Lucy. “We’re supposed to be family.”
“Our wishes started all this nonsense. We need to fix it,” Sirena said. Her eyes flashed with determination.
“No,” Lucy said. “This separation was starting long before what we wished for. We just sped it up. I don’t regret anything; I just wish it didn’t go down like this.” She blew out a sharp breath. It didn’t matter if she won awards or gained clout if she didn’t have family and friends to celebrate with. She’d lost so much in the last few days that what she’d gained wasn’t worth it.
“Let’s talk about something else. How’s school going?”
“Well, I didn’t fail my class,” Callie said proudly. “I’m enrolling for the fall semester.”
“That’s great. You’re doing the damn thing, Cal.” Callie brightened. Lucy faced Sirena. “How’s the restaurant going, Si? Did you get any investors?”
“Maybe. I’ll check in with Felix. It’s fine. Everything’s okay.” Sirena waved her hand dismissively. “No, wait. It’s not okay. I can’t stop thinking about this—spell. Ursula’s wrong.” Sirena’s voice rose. A few dining patrons turned their heads in her direction. She continued talking while ignoring everyone. “I’m not going to the wedding if you can’t. She can’t kick you out. If you don’t go, we all don’t go.”
“All for one, one for all,” Callie said.
Lucy teared up. Her heart swelled at their absolute loyalty, but it wasn’t worth breaking up the entire family. “She’s still family.”
“I think she’s forgotten.”
“No.” Lucy lowered her voice, playing with the fork and spoon. “It’s her wish. She’s getting what she wants, so let her get what she wants.”
Callie looked from Lucy to Sirena. “What if what she wants sucks?”
“I don’t know if I can watch this train wreck,” Sirena said.
“Sirena,” Lucy said. “I can’t reach her, not if she’s under the spell. It’s grown too powerful.”
“How long will that last? Two days. Two months? Two years?” Callie shook her head. Unshed tears made her eyes wet and glossy. “There has to be a way to stop it.”
“We can’t. I consulted the Wishcraft book. If we try to stop the wishes, then…it’s going to be worse for all of us,” Lucy said.
“How?” Sirena demanded.
Lucy took a deep breath. “Think about stopping a train instantly—you need three or four times the force to stop it. We need a spell four times as strong to end it, and we don’t have one. Even if we brought other Caraway witches in to help us reverse it, she’ll always remember we stopped her wish. She’d never trust us again. We have to let it play out. No matter what happens.”
“What if we lose her for good?” Callie asked, her voice so small Lucy strained to hear it. Sirena paled. “What if we lose each other?”
“We won’t. I’m not going to let that happen,” Lucy swore. She held out her hands to her sisters. Callie took her hand and squeezed. Sirena grasped her hand tightly. “Caraways stick together. Always. We’re blood. We’ve got magic in our veins. We’re the ones our ancestors wished for. We’re divine. We’re bound together no matter the distance.”
Lucy had to trust the blood would bring Ursula back home one day. She might take Lincoln’s name, but the magic would keep her connected to the Caraways. Blood would bring her home one day. The more she repeated it, the more she willed herself to believe it.
“We never should’ve cast the spell. We were better before,” Sirena said. Lucy opened her mouth to disagree, but Callie scoffed. She held on tighter.
“Let’s be real,” Callie admitted. There was a meditative shimmer in her eyes, rimmed with unshed tears. “We weren’t doing anything special before. What did Nana used to say? The worst things you could do with your magic is misuse it, refute it, and waste it.”
“I remember,” Sirena said wistfully.
“I completely forgot,” Lucy said.
“We wasted our magic just trying to get by day by day. We weren’t thriving, we’re just surviving. It was enough, but not anymore. This spell was the kick in the ass we needed to start living our best lives,” Callie said. The tears fell from her eyes, pooling underneath her chin. Lucy went to wipe them away, but Callie stopped her. “I’m finally back in school, Sirena’s searching for restaurant investors, and you—” Callie gave Lucy a watery smile. “You’ve transformed.”
Sirena nodded in agreement. Lucy looked down at their hands. Interlocked. Together. United.
“It’s all the wish. It’s not me.”
Callie coughed, unconvinced. “So the wish made you make the cake? The wish made you go after Alex? No, you said the words, but you’ve acted. The wish may have thrust you into the spotlight, but you didn’t run. You shined. You’ve grown into who you’re meant to be.”