The Sea Witch (The Era of Villains Book 1) by S.J. Valfroy

her nails into her palms. Hazel wasn’t breathing. Her
eyes were darting back and forth between her mother and sister, pure
panic on her face. Serena forced herself to look away from Hazel and
focus on Moira. She locked her dark eyes with Moira’s violet
ones, trying to show that she was in control here; she was not
giving in—she was stepping up.
    “ Yes.”
    Hazel’s held
breath came out as a gasp.
    “ You
plan to do this magic on your own?” said Moira.
    You
know that I wouldn’t have come home if I could do it on my
own, you old witch, thought Serena. She took
another deep breath to keep herself in check.
    “ No,
Mother. I would like you to teach me.” Serena chewed on her
lip for a moment before adding, “Please.”
    Moira held her arms
open and beckoned to Serena with her fingers.
    “ Come
here, darling,” she said with the warmest smile Serena had
ever seen on her face. It still wasn’t exactly motherly, but
it took Serena’s breath all the same.
    At first she was
confused. It couldn’t be. Her mother had not truly hugged her
since she was a child—and even then, hugs were a scarce
commodity. But Moira beckoned again, opening her arms wider, and
Serena’s heart sped up with involuntary delight. She swam into
her mother’s arms with a feeling of unreality. She pressed
herself against her mother’s warm chest and had to fight the
urge to cry when Moira’s arms settled around her.
    “ My
darling child has finally come home for real,” said Moira.
“I’m so proud of you, Serena.”
    “ Thank
you, Mother,” said Serena, her voice unsteady.
    Then Serena caught
Hazel’s eye over the top of Moira’s arm and was startled
by the force of the hatred burning there. It was then that Serena
realized she had just erased the one thing that made Hazel special
in Moira’s eyes: her willingness to learn magic when Serena
would not. Serena gently pulled away from her mother, wishing she
could tell Hazel that she didn’t have to worry, that she did
not plan on learning how to do anything except create a love potion.
But she couldn’t say that out loud just yet, or Moira might
decide not to help her at all.
    “ Does
this mean that you’ll finally stop taking all of your
hostility out on me?” said Moira. “You’re always
blaming me for your unhappiness, but really you were unhappy because
you wouldn’t take action for yourself. You know that now,
don’t you, darling?”
    “ Yes,
I guess you’re right, Mother,” said Serena, biting her
tongue against her objections, reminding herself that she needed
Moira’s help just this once.
    “ Good,
dear. I’m so very glad.”
    Serena had never heard
her Mother’s voice so sweet, and now that she was out of the
warm, unusual comfort of the hug, it made her nervous.
    “ Triton
will be lucky to have you. You’ll make a wonderful queen. Much
better than that eel in a crown Adamar has now.”
    “ Thank
you, Mother,” said Serena, slightly flattered despite her
suspicions. Having her mother speak to her in such a way, so
encouraging and kind, gave her a light, happy feeling in her chest,
and part of her didn’t care if the words were false, so long
as Moira kept this disposition.
    “ Won’t
she make a lovely queen, Hazel?” said Moira, the sweet smile
turning into a smirk as she turned to face her younger daughter.
    “ No,”
said Hazel, her sulky voice just above a mumble. “She doesn’t
look anything like a queen.”
    “ What
would you know about it?” said Moira with a curt laugh. “Your
hair looks like dead seaweed. Serena has my looks…though, not
my body type.”
    “ I
like Hazel’s hair,” said Serena, the familiar anger
rising in her again as Hazel’s face crumpled in on itself in
pain like it always did. The stab at Serena’s waistline didn’t
faze her. Serena knew it was Moira’s way of keeping her in her
place. Serena looked Moira in the eye, her jaw defiant, daring her
to start a fight and ruin her chances of teaching Serena