Iris let that go as she hopped out of the car and tried not to feel like the worst kind of parasite. She was about to request help from people she’d never met—on the most tenuous connections. Sally was dating Ethel, and Mira wanted to join Ethel’s coven. And Iris just happened to live with both of them, not too impressive a foundation upon which to request aid, but she had no better alternatives.
Sally motioned for Iris to back off as she knocked. Ethel opened the door a moment later and smiled at seeing Sally. They greeted each other with a soft kiss, which made Rowan smile with such brightness that even Iris allowed herself to enjoy the moment. Then Ethel glanced at the others waiting on her porch.
“Huh. I wasn’t expecting guests. I should have scried more thoroughly, but here we are. Come on in, then.”
“Pretty baby,” a brightly colored parrot shouted as soon as Rowan stepped in.
Rowan colored, their cheeks washed pink. “Uh, thanks?”
“Don’t mind Percy,” said Ethel. “He has a favorite whenever I have new visitors.”
Iris waited for Mira, then closed the door. Inside the room was warm and cozy, eclectic décor with all manner of bright colors. Sally went right in Ethel’s kitchen and started making coffee, attesting to how comfortable she felt here. The two of them were definitely cute together, but that wasn’t why Iris had bolstered her nerve. Normally, pride didn’t let her ask for favors, but…
This isn’t for me. It’s for us. To keep everyone together. To…
Protect our family?
They made small talk until Sally delivered all the drinks and Iris wrapped her hands around the hot mug, drawing comfort from it. “I don’t know where to start.”
“It must be important or you wouldn’t have showed up at this hour,” Ethel noted.
“I’ll just start at the beginning, I guess, since it’s my house. I had no idea there were rules about how many people I’m allowed to let live with me. No more than four unrelated persons are supposed to share a single-family residence.”
“Ah,” Ethel said.
“The crankypants next door reported us!” Outrage showed in every line of Sally’s body, from her clenched fists to her furrowed brow.
“Rotten luck!” Percy called.
Rowan nodded. “Tell me about it. I just started feeling at home, and I can’t get a deal like this anywhere else.”
Iris went on, “If I’d known, I would have looked into my options before, so that’s on me, but what’s done is done. Now, I have people to take care of, you know?”
Ethel sipped at her coffee. “I get it, but where do I come in?”
“I intend to try and get licensed as a rooming house, but I doubt the wiring is up to code, and I can’t afford to have the whole house physically rewired. Mira is a tech witch, but a spell to update all the house wiring is more than she can manage alone.
“She’s been looking to join your coven, so I wondered if the rest of you would be willing to help with the spell.” She took a deep breath. “I can pay, just not up front. It would have to be in installments. But…it would mean a lot to us if it was possible. If Violet Gables gets approved by the city, there won’t be any basis for Susan’s complaint.”
“If you need a deposit, I can take care of that,” Sally said.
Mira finally spoke. “This is awkward because I haven’t been voted in officially yet. We’re still getting to know each other, so I understand if—”
Smiling faintly, Ethel held up a hand. “Whoa, slow down. I didn’t say no. I didn’t say yes either.”
“Do it!” Percy shouted. “Do it! Do it!”
The curvy witch laughed. “Well, if Percy thinks so. But seriously, I need to talk to Clem and Danica first since this is their wheelhouse. They’d be doing most of the heavy lifting along with Mira. The rest of us would be lending our power to pull off a spell of that magnitude. I don’t think any of us have tried to cover a whole house.”
“Would it be easier in stages?” Iris asked. She didn’t want to be one of those people, asking for the impossible because she didn’t really understand how the magic worked.
Mira laced her hands together in her lap, and Rowan touched her shoulder lightly. “It…means a lot to me that you’d even consider it. I’m new here, after all.”
“But you’ll most likely be one of us,” Ethel predicted.
The other witch glanced up with a tremulous smile, one that touched Iris deeply, as she understood so well how it felt to crave belonging to that extent. “You think so?”
Ethel answered, “I do. I’ll text you with the particulars after I call for a coven meeting. We’re not due to meet again until next month, but we need to talk it over.”
“I appreciate being included,” Mira said softly.
“But…” Ethel fixed an acute stare on Iris, eyes narrowed. “Why don’t you ask your people for help?”
Honestly, Iris had no idea what the witch meant. “Excuse me?”
“That’s odd. Gladys mentioned you to me, and I just confirmed it myself. Why don’t you ask the fae? Is it because so few stay in the sunset lands?”
Iris’s heart started pounding so hard, she felt it in her ears. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Sally whispered, “I told you, she’s been fighting with her family. Because of the mix-up at the hospital.”
“Holy shit,” Ethel breathed. “That changes everything. No pun intended.”
Iris wished the world would start making sense again. “Uh, what?”
“I think I get it,” Rowan said. “It explains everything. You’re a changeling, Iris.”
* * *
Eli put away the remnants from their meal, wishing there was more he could do.
There were certain big moves he could make, like having the place completely renovated from the inside out, but he couldn’t bankroll that without revealing his true financial situation. If he dumped big money on the problem to make it go away, Iris would probably feel upset and betrayed.
“You worry about her a lot,” Henry Dale observed.
For once, the older man hadn’t retreated to his room after eating, a fair measure of how concerned he must be. Though Henry Dale wouldn’t admit it, he wanted to hear what went down just as much as Eli did. At first, Eli nodded without comment, then he added, “Do you think relationships are worth it?”
“You’re talking to the wrong person. But…for most, they seem to be. Why?”
“Never mind,” Eli said, wiping the countertops.
Happily, they didn’t wait long.
Soon, three of their housemates returned, but there was an odd energy between them. Rowan looked tentative and sympathetic while Mira kept stealing glances at Iris, as if something had changed in the time they’d been gone. Sally must have opted to stay over at Ethel’s when everyone else left.
Henry Dale wasn’t great at reading people, so he asked outright. “Well? What happened? Are you working with the witches, or…？”
“They need to discuss it,” Mira said. “But I’m hopeful.”