How could an entire family as well known as the Original Family escape history? Escape people knowing exactly who they are.

‘Bethan.’

She was rereading the letter; she gazed up at him.

‘This might sound insane,’ he said.

‘Shoot.’

‘What if we’re in the ancestral home?’

She let out a nervous laugh. Her jaw clenched. He knew what he said was insane, but Dana was hired by the Rennigans.

‘I don’t . . . it seems crazy. But . . . maybe you’re right.’

He pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a photo of it.

‘We should hide this.’

Bethan grabbed the loose piece of paper, running her palm over it, murmuring an enchantment. Kellan bit his lip and revealed a face of shock as he witnessed her using magic to reseal.

‘I feel like that is something I should’ve known,’ he said with a laugh.

‘I wanted to surprise you.’

‘Consider me gobsmacked. I can’t wait to see what you can do.’ He pressed a warm kiss on her forehead. ‘As long as you don’t hex me.’

She sighed. ‘I was hoping to test out some old hexes I used on frat boys at university.’

Her anxieties returned after their brief exchange, which Kellan guessed gave her some relief. But if he was being honest with himself, he was full of fear and worry too. If his hypothesis was correct, they are deep in the lion’s den. And the thought of Bethan suffering the same fate as Dana and Lenovik left him wanting to travel deep into his well of magic. He prayed to the Mother, Crone and Maiden that they will be enough to fight them. And he had made a silent vow that if only one of them were to leave the house, it would be Bethan.

‘How are we going to do this?’ she said. ‘We can’t just ask them if we can go around their house to look for the grimoire.’

‘We sneak around,’ he said. ‘You distract them; I ask if I could use the bathroom and go looking.’

Bethan didn’t appear convinced. They needed the grimoire out of there. And that was the only plausible way.

‘They still think we’re in here,’ she said. ‘Let’s look around now.’

He shook his head. ‘We’ve been here for a good hour; they will come to us soon.’

‘Surely it’s in here.’

He looked around at the many shelves of books; nothing seemed to stand out.

‘I doubt they’re going to hide it in the most obvious place in the house.’

‘Well, what else are we going to do?’ she barked. Tears welled in her eyes. ‘We can’t fail.’

‘We’re not.’ He grabbed her forearm. ‘Calm down. Otherwise, we’re not getting through this.’

He brushed a stray hair from her face. ‘You work best when you’re calm. Clear your mind and relax.’