Set five years after the events of 'Daughter of Darkness', the ruling family of Regnum Infernale receive a peculiar visitation from their distant past. The visitors urge them to undergo a dangerous magical feat that could change their world forever...
Melanie DeLongpre settled on joining the coven in New Orleans, as during her tour of Miss Robicheaux's Academy for Exceptional Ladies, she felt a sense of extreme familiarity and belonging. Fate brought her there, and she was willing to accept the cards dealt for her. She had flown back home to Virginia that Sunday, as her round-trip ticket had that on there as a date and put in a two-weeks' notice at the museum she worked at. Many of her coworkers were sad to see her go, and when asked, she simply said it was a "new educational opportunity further down South." It wasn't a lie, but she couldn't just say it was a school for witches. She'd be ostracized. She didn't want that. Most of her clothing, shoes, and jewelry was packed in all of her luggage sets, which totaled to four sets, and her Porsche was sold off for a decent amount of money. She had sold most of the furniture in her penthouse, while one or two articles left over was given to any neighbors who lived downstairs. It took her a total of four weeks to finally get to New Orleans with all of her belongings, and her roommate was none other than Misty Day.
Her first two months at the academy were very eventful. She was able to practice all of her powers at different times; lectio animo, divination, telekinesis, resurgence, concilium and transmutation. She had even made the acquaintance of antiquated TV actress Bubbles McGee, movies of whom she had seen before. During her one-time drop-in to the academy, Melanie learned that Bubbles also possessed lectio animo – specifically, it was a type of clairvoyance where the user could read someone's soul and the thoughts associated with it, and extracting the truth came with the territory.
She grew particularly close with Mallory, Misty, Coco, and Madison. She was well-acquainted with Witches Council members Zoe Benson and Queenie, and Cordelia watched how Melanie excelled in several subjects. Green magic and potioncraft became a specialty for Melanie, and as she spent more time in the greenhouse, it fascinated her even more. As for spells, she was able to perform most with ease, and even picked up by other's example. There was one occasion during the first two weeks of her being there that Zoe was teaching an enchantment for turning roses a certain color with the backstory that Josephine Bonaparte, Empress of France, was a witch who cultivated one of Europe's most famous rose gardens in her time. She had turned her rose a light pink color, while Mallory turned hers a soft blue and made the petals detach and turn to butterflies. I wonder if I can do the same, thought Melanie as she concentrated just a little bit more and ended up turning the rose's petals into pink butterflies. She and Mallory giggled as their petals flew around the room, mingling, and the other students watched as well with expressions of wonder. Another spell Melanie learned was the Guardian's Chalice, a boundary spell for protecting a space involving filling a cup with sharp junk to trap bad juju.
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Little did the woman know her life would change greatly – one the day it did, she was with Misty in the greenhouse, learning a spell for protective berries that Cordelia once taught Misty a few years before. She also got introduced to Misty's special poultice made from Louisiana swamp mud, which was employed in the spell. It involved a semi-dead fruit-bearing plant in a pot, and herbs to put in the mud. One of them was bay leaves, and Melanie curiously looked at them.
