Witch-Mage Legacy (The Chronicles of the WitchBorn Book 8) by Isabel Campbell & Michael Anderle

Author:Isabel Campbell & Michael Anderle [Campbell, Isabel & Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2024-06-24T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Imagine a lone figure roaming the curve of an ancient river. The river is so old that it whispers of deaths from long, long ago. The most ancient peoples’ bones lie at the bottom. I wander it, seeking my death—the black, peaceful kind. It is here I first saw the horrors of another world.”

—Unknown, The Mage Circle Accounts, Vol. 1

Brandon’s mother slid her brown eyes to Thea and stayed there for two beats. Thea counted and only breathed again when the woman’s attention returned to Brandon, and a smile broke across her face. “No hello from you, Brandon? Give your mother a hug!”

The woman was nearing fifty, with softly graying hair pulled back. Her brown eyes reminded Thea of Brandon. She was broad-shouldered, with the hands of a woman who had been managing her home for the past several decades and was well-versed in raising young men.

Brandon embraced his mother as she commanded, then pulled back quickly. “I was supposed to pick you up at the airport tomorrow morning! What happened?”

She shrugged, still smiling. “I managed an earlier flight and didn’t want to bother you, so I got a taxi.”

Brandon slapped his palm to his forehead. “The airport is over twenty miles from here, Mom. You should have had me pick you up.”

She waved a dismissive hand. “No matter. Now, are you going to let your poor mother in or not?”

Brandon moved aside, beckoning her into the hallway. Thea offered to take the woman’s luggage, coat, and umbrella before kissing her cheek and greeting her with, “Nice to see you again, Renee.”

Renee smiled back. “Good to see you too, Thea. It’s been quite a while since you and Brandon came to visit Brandon Senior and me.”

Thea glanced at Brandon, remembering his father’s name was the same, and Brandon had grown up being called “BJ”—a fact he was glad to forget, and his friends in New Orleans were happy to give him shit about. She smothered a smile as Brandon replied to his mother. “Thea and I have been very busy.”

“But not too busy for a visit from me?”

Brandon kissed her cheek as Thea had done. “Never.”

Despite the sudden interruption and Thea’s plans for the night going down the drain, she liked Renee Cole. She was a tough-as-nails, no-nonsense homemaker without a fake bone in her body. The looks she gave Thea made her feel like the woman could swallow her with a small glass of water, but she gave no false niceties, no simpering, and best of all, no manipulating. Thea could work with that.

“I’ll admit I didn’t know this…estate was so far out. Or that it was an estate,” Renee remarked as she looked around the hall, taking in the old rug running its length, the curving staircase to the upper levels, and the plethora of framed paintings and photographs. She turned to Thea. “I didn’t realize your home was so big. You own this place?”

Thea forced a smile. “It’s my family home. The Blackwoods have owned it for generations.

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