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CIARA SIGHED HEAVILY. She had just left the London headquarters.
It had been quite a meeting. And not just a meeting, but a long day.
She had managed to convince the British head of hit witches and wizards that there was a real problem in Great Britain. She wouldn’t have been able to convince anyone without all the proof she had. Luckily, she and her colleagues had got information out of the two witch hunters in Canada. She also had some more proof to offer thanks to the British group of volunteers who had gathered evidence—potions, blood samples, and such—on their missions.
Having been transferred to England, Ciara’s new boss was Doherty, like back in the old days. It was going to be great. Both she and Doherty worked for the—illegally active—group. They could deliver information if the government failed at their task, so they still had a back-up plan.
Even though Ciara had convinced the head of the Hit Department, there had been no actions to convince her yet. Nothing had been proven, and Ciara refused to get her hopes up.
She hoped there would be proof soon. There wasn’t time to waste.
The sky was dark, and the streets were quiet.
Ciara hadn’t spoken with Henry since before her mission. In fact, Ciara hadn’t spoken to anyone other than Doherty—and her American colleagues. Still, she wouldn’t stay with Doherty.
He had done enough for her. The man had been the one to offer her the job as a hit witch. She had been one of the first hit witches ever in Canada. Even still, most of her colleagues were men.
Doherty had never treated her differently for being a woman. He hadn’t gone harder or easier on her, like many others had. She had been equal to her colleagues in his eyes—something she would never forget.
But even if Doherty hadn’t given her special treatment, he had spoken highly of her when she had earned it. Without him, she would have never got the chance to play a part in bigger missions with the more dangerous criminals.
She could have asked Doherty if she could stay on his couch for a little while, but she didn’t want to be a bother. She needed a hotel room.
To her luck, she found a hotel that wasn’t fully booked. The second she got a room, she rushed in there. A little later she had taken a shower and was ready to get some sleep.
She hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks.
***
CIARA’S MORNING WAS not off to a good start from the moment her phone rang. She sleepily reached for it. Declining the call was tempting, but she saw the caller was Iris.
She didn’t want to seem rude. She cleared her throat, hoping she wouldn’t sound sleepy, and picked up the call. “Iris? Hi.”
“Ciara! Hi!” Iris sounded frustratingly cheery. “It’s great to hear your voice. It’s been so long. I was told you’re back in England.”
“Yes, I’m in London.”
“Wonderful!”
If it had been anyone else, Ciara would have hung up.
“There’s something I need help with at my flat,” Iris said. “Would you mind coming over?”
Yes, I would mind, she thought. “Right now?”
“As soon as you can.”
Ciara checked the time. She wanted to stay in bed for the rest of the day. “I should be there in less than an hour. Is that okay?”
“That’s perfect! See you soon.”
“See you.”
It wasn’t the type of wake-up Ciara had expected. And she should have at least asked what Iris needed help with. Did it have something to do with the witch hunters and the group?
Ciara had been away for weeks. She didn’t know what had been going on in England.
In forty-five minutes, Ciara stood at Iris’s flat door. She knocked, and soon enough the smiling blue-eyed woman opened the door for her.
“Ciara! It’s fantastic to see you!” Iris said and hugged Ciara.
Ciara smiled. “It’s great to see you, too.” She stepped inside and closed the door.
She was so glad she had used magic to throw on some makeup. At least she didn’t look like a zombie. Except perhaps compared to Iris.
Iris had her blonde hair in waves. She was wearing shimmer eyeshadow, and she looked full of energy. In fact, she was beaming.
Iris grinned. “How was America? Anything exciting?”
“You’ll hear plenty about it at the meeting next week. It was just a work trip.”
“Not even a bit of free time?”
“I visited Theo’s grave and met with his mother.” Ciara swallowed, an uncomfortable sensation washing over her from thinking about Theo again. “Otherwise, it was just work.”
Iris nodded. “I see.” She gestured for Ciara to follow her and led her to the kitchen.
A pair of unfamiliar women were sitting at the table. Soon enough Ciara found out they were Iris’s friends.
“So, what did you need help with?” Ciara asked. “It seemed somewhat urgent.”
Iris grinned, revealing her perfect set of pure white teeth. She had undoubtedly had them whitened. “I’m sort of in the middle of planning a wedding. Liam agreed we should have a December wedding at last.”
Ciara looked at the blonde with her mouth agape for a second. She recovered from her initial shock and smiled. “Congratulations. So what can I help with?”
If Iris asked Ciara to help with the security at the wedding, she would be happy to assist.
“Liam doesn’t seem to care about the theme colours and such,” Iris said. “He said I can do the planning for him.”
It wasn’t going the way Ciara had expected.
“So, I started thinking.” Iris smiled at Ciara. “You know Liam almost as well as I do, so I’d like to have you help me. Well, us.” She gestured to her two friends. “I’d really appreciate the help. Unless you mind, of course.”
Ciara didn’t want to plan her ex-boyfriend’s wedding. She had a lot more important things on her mind. She was dying to tell Iris that.
But she couldn’t say no, seeing how excited Iris was. She put on a smile and agreed.
The four women went through theme colours, napkin colours, and flowers. It was tiring, and Ciara began to regret her decision to help.
She could have said no. In fact, she should have.
She didn’t even know anything about flowers. She was there just because she knew Liam. Or, rather, had known Liam.
And it was just plain odd for Ciara to be helping with her ex-boyfriend’s wedding. It made her uncomfortable, and she couldn’t wait for it to be over.
Ciara wasn’t sure what the worst part was of helping plan the wedding. Either it was the fact that they were planning her ex-boyfriend’s wedding, or it was the fact that she would have been planning her own wedding if Theo hadn’t died.
She lasted an hour before she came up with an excuse so she could leave. She claimed to have promised to meet a friend.
Iris walked her to the door while her two friends remained at the dining table. “So you’re staying in England now? For good, I mean.”
“You found out already?”
Iris nodded. “Doherty told everyone.”
“Oh.”
“And, well, since you’re staying...would you mind helping more with the wedding? It’ll just be little things, I promise. I already have bridesmaids and a maid of honour, but I would appreciate a little help.”
“I don’t know how busy my schedule will be in the upcoming months. But if I have time, then sure.”
Ciara hoped the upcoming months would be busy for her. She didn’t want to help, but she didn’t know how to tell Iris no. After Theo’s proposal, she had been excited about the idea of marrying him one day. Ciara could understand how Iris felt.
“Great! Thank you so much. You’re such an angel.”
Ciara smiled. “No problem.”
They said goodbyes, and Ciara left. When she heard Iris close the door, she sighed, relieved it was over—and exhausted from it.
Ciara took the stairs rather than the lift. She went through her handbag, looking for her phone, when she heard someone say her name.
She looked up to see a familiar hazel-eyed man standing two steps below her. “Oh, hi.” Ciara smiled at Liam and stepped down one step, so she was only standing one stair higher than he was.
“Hi.” He smiled back at her.
“I heard you set your wedding date,” Ciara said.
“Oh, yeah.” Liam ran a hand through his long hair. “Well, Iris wanted a Christmas wedding, so I agreed.”
Ciara nodded. “It means a lot to her.”
“Yeah, I suppose it does.” Liam nodded, too. “Um, do you have a moment?”
Ciara had lied to Iris about meeting a friend. She had to lie to Liam, too. “Actually, I have to meet a friend.” She forced a smile, knowing it worked when she had to lie for her job.
“Oh.”
Liam was disappointed, which Ciara noticed. But she didn’t know Liam could tell she was lying. Her small, polite smile gave it away.
“But I promised to help with your wedding whenever I can, so I suppose I’ll be around here and there,” Ciara said. “Unless you mind. It’s your wedding, too. I mean, Iris asked, so—”
“No, of course I don’t mind,” Liam said. “It’s, um, nice to have you back in England.”
Ciara smiled. “Nearly forgot you already know.”
“Doherty told at the meeting.”
“Iris told me that.”
“So—”
“Um, I’m sorry,” Ciara said, dying to get out of the building. “I really have to go now or I’m gonna be late.”
“O-of course.” Liam nodded. “Have fun.”
Ciara smiled. “Thanks. See you around.”
“See you.”
They both smiled at one another, and with one last glance, Ciara hurried down the stairs. She had to pretend she was about to be late for a meeting with a friend.