A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

Author:Sangu Mandanna [Mandanna, Sangu]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2025-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

* * *

Sera saw Luke leave the pub. She hesitated for a second before following him.

Outside, in the cold, quiet night, she saw him a few paces ahead with his back to her. “No, she’s in bed,” he was saying. “No, I really can’t wake her up so you and Mum can say good night.” A pause. “Well, for one thing, that’s not fair to her. It’s not her fault you didn’t get home in time to speak to her before bed. For another, I’m not at the inn.” Another pause. “Jesus, no, of course I didn’t leave her alone, what’s the matter with you?”

There was another, much longer pause. Feeling like she ought not to be listening to this, Sera was about to quietly go back inside when Luke spoke again, sounding weary.

“Fine. We’ll see you then.”

He hung up. He put his phone and hands in his pockets, stared silently ahead for a minute, and then turned. He stopped, seeing her.

“Sorry.” Sera gave him a small, sheepish smile. “I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. I just came out to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine.” His expression softened slightly. “Thanks.”

“I’m not sure I believe you, but I’m feeling magnanimous tonight, so I’ll let it go.”

He smiled a little, which was a pretty big victory as far as Sera was concerned. Stepping out of the path of the cold, biting wind, Luke drew nearer, looking down at her with a curious expression. “Where are your parents?”

“Right now? On a ship somewhere south of Argentina, I think. There’s really not much to say about them. They’ve never been proper parents to me, but we get along fine. We talk on the phone. I see them once or twice a year. I’m used to it.”

“You don’t mind?”

“No, I don’t think I do,” Sera said, truthfully. “Jasmine’s the one who matters to me.”

It was cold, and there was absolutely no reason to linger out here, but she found herself reluctant to move.

“The answer’s no,” Luke said, abruptly. She blinked at him in confusion. “Your question from the other day. No, we didn’t think you were like Grey. Nobody did. Most of us barely knew you, and some of us did think you thought you were better than the rest of us, but we could see even then that you weren’t like him. You were never cruel. Not once. You could have been, and you’d have gotten away with it, but you never were.”

Sera found it difficult to speak. Swallowing, she just nodded.

“That said, you should know I’m probably not the best person to ask that question,” Luke went on with a faint, rueful smile. “I did a lot of reading between the lines, but it’s not like anybody was actually telling me what they thought of you.”

“Why not? Didn’t you have friends?”

“I was…” He sighed. “I’ve been told I’m cold.”

“Luke, I’m sure that’s not—”

“It’s fine.” He looked away. “It was Verity who first called Albert the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz, but as soon as the other apprentices overheard her saying it, it caught on.

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