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

Moira. “The
potion I was working on when you came home is the only one that’s
been commissioned all week. If business goes on like this much
longer, I don’t know what we’ll do.”
    Serena had to hold
back a scoff. Slow business was not going to hurt Moira. The cave
was fully paid for, and Moira had enough wealth stowed away to last
a lifetime. Not to mention there was a whole forest of food just
outside. True, it belonged to the king and queen, but no one would
notice the few missing stalks needed to feed a family of three.
Moira was right about one thing, though. Amphitrite had tried to
destroy their family out of vanity and selfishness and insecurity.
She had maliciously set out to harm Moira’s way of life
because her own husband was buying anti-aging potions and not
sharing them with her. More and more, the thought of Amphitrite
brought on a cloying sensation of outrage that Serena had to try
harder and harder to shove aside.
    “ I
know how awful she is, Mother,” said Serena. “I’ve
learned a lot since I’ve been away.”
    “ Yes,
it seems you have,” said Moira, eyeing Serena with a look that
was almost greedy. “It still makes me furious just thinking
about all those horrible things she said to you.” Her tattoos
vibrated once to show she meant it. “She drove you away from
me. I was so worried when you didn’t come home, darling.”
    “ Frankly,
Mother, I didn’t think you cared,” said Serena, unable
to hide the sour note in her voice. “In fact, the last time we
spoke you told me to leave and not show my face until I had decided
to learn magic like you’ve always wanted me to, pushed me to.”
    “ Oh,
Serena,” said Moira, her fingertips tracing Serena’s jaw
in a gentle caress, “is it so wrong for a mother to want her
daughter to follow in her fin strokes? Especially when I know you
have the talent to be great?”
    Serena blinked,
surprised, as though Moira had suddenly transformed into a
jellyfish. The bitter taste in her mouth vanished. She had never
thought of Moira’s insistent pushing in that way. She had
always seen it as just another way Moira was trying to control her.
The idea that Moira had just wanted her daughter to carry on the
family business and unlock her potential had never crossed her mind.
Moira’s cruel sneer and furious shrieks when she didn’t
get her way had made it all seem like a petty need for dominance,
but now, in the wake of Moira’s warm hug and gentle caress,
Serena was not so sure.
    “ I
know I pushed too hard sometimes and said things I shouldn’t
have,” said Moira, her perfect lips pulled down in grief. “You
and I are very much the same, you know. Both strong-willed and
passionate. I’ve always fought for the things I wanted, and
now you are finally doing the same. I’ve always known you had
greatness in your veins, Serena. The thing I’ve wanted most of
all is for you to realize it, and in my desperation to get what I
wanted, I failed you many times. I’m so sorry, darling. Can
you ever forgive me?”
    Moira pulled Serena
into another hug, and this time Serena could not hold back the
tears. She didn’t want it to end, and the fear that it was all
an act made the tears flow faster.
    Hazel’s
nails drove into her palms hard enough to draw blood. She wanted to
scream in fury, but she was struck dumb by the pain of watching
Serena get everything she had
worked so hard for.
    “ Yes,
I forgive you, Mother,” said Serena, wondering if she actually
meant it.
    A small
but insistent prick of guilt stung Serena’s heart at her own
doubt. Perhaps she had been
acting like a selfish teenager all these years, pushing against her
mother just as a simple act of adolescent defiance. Moira was right,
she was strong-willed and hard-headed. Perhaps it had blinded her to
the truth. In the warm embrace of the hug, it seemed not only
plausible, but probable.
    “ Will
you forgive me for swimming away?” she said, clutching at her
mother’s back,