Affinity Witch

Chapter 8: A Lecture Over Breakfast

When Sabrina awoke the next morning, there was a shimmering silver diamond hovering against her bedroom door, and she groaned, sinking back against her pillow and draping an arm over her eyes. A gold diamond meant a message had been sent out to the entire Hexen; a silver diamond meant it was a message from one individual to another.

In this case, she had a pretty good idea of exactly which individual had left her a message.

While she was tempted to roll over and go back to sleep, pretending she'd never seen the message indicator, Sabrina also didn't want to be late for work. Throwing back the covers, she climbed out of bed and made her way to the still-closed door before pressing her fingertips against the floating silver diamond.

Her mother's voice immediately filled the room.

"Please meet me in the Essen Hall for breakfast," she said, and Sabrina didn't need to see her mother's face to know she hadn't been happy when she'd recorded the message.

Dressing quickly, Sabrina made her way to the Essen Hall, hoping some important Hexen matter might have come up and taken her mother's attention elsewhere, but luck wasn't on her side that morning, for as soon as she stepped into the hall, she spotted her mother. The Sprechen was sitting at a table by herself, facing the large entryway, ensuring there was no way she would miss Sabrina or Sabrina would miss her.

Swallowing hard, Sabrina nodded to her mother, making it clear she saw her, then hurried to retrieve oatmeal and fruit before making her way back to the table and sliding into the single empty chair.

Marlene remained silent, but her eyes were narrowed as she raised a porcelain teacup to her lips and took a long, slow sip.

Deciding it was futile to even attempt pleasantries, Sabrina placed a napkin on her lap before meeting her mother's piercing gaze.

"I'm sorry I was out so late last night," she said. "I was in my workroom and lost track of time."

Marlene lowered the teacup onto a saucer, setting it down without so much as a clink, her gentle movements at odds with the sparks flickering angrily in her grey eyes.

"If I'd known procuring you a workspace meant not seeing you anymore, I would never have to agreed to such a thing, Sabrina."

Sabrina almost pointed out that her workspace didn't really change how much the two of them saw one another...even if they'd both been in the apartment, she would have been in her bedroom while her mother worked from her armchair or in her own room. But she remained quiet.

Marlene shook her head. "I thought you were looking for a place to work, not a new place to live. We might as well put a bed in there for you!"

That actually sounded wonderful to Sabrina, but she knew better than to say such a thing, and bit her lip instead, hoping she could avoid angering her mother further.

Marlene exhaled loudly, and the action seemed to stoke the flames of some internal fire, her displeasure becoming even more apparent before she quickly cleared her throat and assumed a more neutral expression. In that moment, Sabrina found herself grateful her mother had wanted to meet for breakfast...as the Sprechen, she would never raise her voice or do anything that might cause a scene in such a public place.

Of course, that also meant Sabrina was expected to behave with propriety, as well, which wasn't always easy when her mother was involved.

"I'm not looking for another place to live," Sabrina assured her mother, trying to keep her voice level. "I made a fantastic discovery last night, and I was actually looking forward to telling you about it. You see, I've always been told it's impossible to—"