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

magic.
    Moira looked angry
only for a second, her angular features predatory, and then that
strange, sweet, and frighteningly beautiful smile pasted itself back
on her face. Hazel just looked at Serena with even more fury in her
red, teary eyes.
    “ So,
what sort of magic were you wanting to learn to snag your handsome
merman, darling?” Moira said, placing a tender hand on
Serena’s shoulder and gently pushing her towards the cauldron.
“A love potion, I assume?”
    “ Yes,
but I don’t want it to be permanent,” said Serena, her
voice and eyes stern to show Moira it was a non-negotiable
condition. “I want to be able to break it whenever I choose.”
    “ Oh,
I understand perfectly,” said Moira. “You just want the
potion to get his attention, get him to stand up to his mommy about
you. But you don’t want a merman who only loves you because of
a potion. You want to break the spell once he loves you of his own
accord. And really, why shouldn’t he? You come from a long
line of beautiful and powerful mermaids. And you’ve got great
power in you, Serena; I’ve always said so, haven’t I?”
    “ Yes.
I suppose we’ll see if it’s actually true.”
    “ I’m
never wrong. I knew that one,” she pointed a thumb over her
shoulder at Hazel, “was going to be a disappointment ever
since she was a baby. But you? You’re special, Serena.”
    “ Please
stop talking about Hazel that way, Mother,” said Serena,
knowing she was beginning to push her luck but unable to bear the
guilt brought on by Hazel’s crestfallen face. Hazel’s
chest had begun to go up and down in little, silent, hiccupping
sobs. Serena wished she would just go to her room so Moira wouldn’t
keep throwing harpoons at her with her wicked tongue.
    “ Don’t
tell me what to do, darling,” said Moira. That sweet smile was
still plastered on her face, but a snarl was growing underneath it,
and her eyes blazed for a second. Her voice was as sharp as a
swordfish nose.
    “ Sorry,
Mother,” said Serena through gritted teeth. She was sick of
playing this game.
    “ Good,”
said Moira, her voice soft once more. “Let’s get started
then, shall we?”
    She reached towards
the highest shelf and then paused halfway there.
    “ You
know, Serena,” she said, slowly retracting her hand and
turning to face Serena with a thoughtful look, “a love potion
may land you Triton, but it won’t get you Amphitrite’s
approval. The love potion will make him love you, but it won’t
erase his love for his mother, and he’s quite the momma’s
boy, you know. If she objects, they’ll be no wedding
trumpets.”
    Not for the first
time, doubt in her plan made Serena bite her lip. The thought of
coming so close only to lose him once again because of Amphitrite
was unbearable.
    “ You
can’t know that for sure, Mother,” said Serena, but she
was having a hard time convincing herself as she remembered Triton’s
uncomfortable silence in the face of his mother’s wrath. “If
that does become a problem, I’ll just have to deal with it
when I come to it.”
    “ Why
not be proactive?” said Moira.
    “ What
does that mean?” said Serena, her brow creasing.
    “ Nothing,
darling,” said Moira. “It’s just…I don’t
want to see you get your heart crushed again, especially not by
Amphitrite. She’s the one not fit to lick the ground you swim over. She’s jealous of your power. She’s
jealous of the both of us.”
    Only a month ago,
Serena would have cast aside the idea as Moira’s own prideful
fantasy, but now she wasn’t so sure. Casius had said the same
thing, and he was right about almost everything. He had been right
about Arcanus giving her a new start, a new confidence. He was right
about Bria being an exception; there were so many good-hearted
people there, so many who had been cruelly cast out by Amphitrite
and Poseidon.
    “ I
mean, just think of what she’s done to our family business,
all because of her own petty insecurities,” said