Southern Secrets: Book 2 in Southern Charms Series

A Fresh Perspective

Rose

Mama gave me a side eyed look when I walked into the house late that evening. Common sense told me my lateness irritated her, but my guilty conscience screamed she knew I'd been out- as Clemmy would put it- "necking with a boy in the woods." To be fair, neither my lateness nor "necking" session had been premeditated, but even though I was left with more questions than answers, I would choose this turn of events again and again. My fingers danced over my lips, and I swear the skin was still warm from his touch.

"Where have you been?" Mama asked, setting a plate down on the dining room table with enough force it was a wonder the thing didn't shatter. Guess she didn't care if it did considering a simple spell would mend the dish with ease.

Jealousy washed over me, and I battled it away, well aware the emotion wasn't mine. At least, not fully. After weeks of being bonded to the demon, I suspected he couldn't implant thoughts or emotions; instead, he used what he found. Envy was rooted within me, buried deep after years of being treated as an inferior. Malphas simply fanned the flames whenever he wanted to push my buttons, and it would seem his own temper was in a tizzy after hours of not being able to sense me.

"Went for a walk."

"In this weather?"

"Mama,"I groaned, hanging by bag on a hook by the front door. "I get it. I screwed up, but don't you think it's about time you ease up a little? I've been nothing but on my best behavior for weeks."

Alizon Wych sniffed, and that was enough for me to know she wasn't near ready enough to let it go. I suppose I would do the same if I was in her place. A couple weeks wasn't nearly enough time to restore the trust that had been lost.

Not only had she spent a week in jail for attempted murder, her two eldest daughters and her mother were missing, one of the most prominent members of her town was planning on unleashing demons on the world, and her ex-husband was responsible for her youngest child's magical defect. She refused to acknowledge the part about my impending nuptials to the prince of hell. Last time it was mentioned, she turned a concerning shade of purple, and I decided it was a topic best left alone.

It didn't matter that my behavior was reactionary. A result of all that had come before me, including the magical defect. In Mama's eyes, I was guilty for not telling her the moment I suspected something was amiss. All fair points, but I also wondered if she would have believed me, not to mention we hadn't been sure who we could trust at first. I surely never would have suspected my father was behind everything.

Suddenly, she dropped into her seat and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her shoulders shook, and tears glittered in the candlelight when she lifted her face.

"Rose, I know you think I'm punishing you for what happened-"

"Aren't you, though?" The tears tugged at my heartstrings, but my tongue wasn't softened by the display.

She smacked the wooden surface. "A little, but that's not my primary reason for these rules. It's dangerous for you to be out there alone. Especially after dark."

I picked up a biscuit and cracked it open. Steam rose from the flakey layers, and I inhaled the doughy scent with a contented sigh. Mama watched as I buttered it and popped a morsel in my mouth. We both knew this conversation would go over better if I wasn't hangry.

"I don't see how it's any different from a few months ago. In fact, I'm probably safer than ever because old Malphas doesn't want anything happening to his betrothed."

Mama went ramrod straight, and her shoulders rose so much they looked like they were in her ears. Most worrying, though, werethe splotches of violet forming in her cheeks. I grimaced. Forgot we didn't talk about him.

"While that may be true," she said, her voice quivering, "We can't be certain that Luis won't make a move against you, or what about Polly? And what if there are other demons he's called up? You don't have a way to defend yourself."

The locket was hot on my chest. That was one detail I'd kept to myself, too afraid that my mother would pressure me into releasing my powers.

"Luis answers to Malphas, Mama, and so do the demons. Polly..." The biscuit threatened to come back up. "Polly isn't an issue anymore. Her host was a little too greedy, and she didn't hold up very well."

Mama's hands went over her mouth. Bits of white dough clung to her knuckles, and I fixated on that rather than look her in the eye. I could barely handle my fear; I didn't want to see it reflected at me.

"How could Luis do that to his own son?" Her tone turned hard. "How could your father do that to his daughter?"

"Malphas is more controlled than that, Mama, and that's why he wants me. Ash's body will be fine." It had to be, but I prayed we figured this mess out before it got that far. "And Daddy didn't know he was offering me up when he made that deal."

"Don't you go making excuses for him, Acantha Rose. If I didn't want to saddle Alma with a newborn on her own, I'd turn him into a rat for life. Course, I don't know what good that man is for those children. Poor Remy. He needs a better father figure. It's just a shame Alma can't go back home."

I let her ramble, used to this turn in the conversation by now. This had to be the hundredth time she had said something familiar. This was the perfect opportunity to think about the day's events. I'd been in such a fog over that kiss I'd barely thought about the bizarre shack and its memory spell, but just as I analyzed it, a thought seized me.

"Mama, where is Alma from?"

"Louisiana, you know that."

"New Orleans, right?"

"Yes."

I snagged another biscuit and jumped out of my seat. "I just remembered I have some homework to finish."

Mama beamed at me. "Glad to see you're working hard."

"Of course," I shouted as I grabbed my backpack and went to my room.

This would be the first time I had opened it outside of the classroom, but as I read through the chapter we covered earlier in the week, my excitement grew brighter. Impoten schools taught me that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. Until this point, we'd been scouring the limited resources we had about demon possession. It was a taboo subject, and because of that, people didn't study it for fear of being accused of practicing dark magic. The information wasn't going to change, no matter how many times we read those old texts.

We had to come at this situation with Malphas from a fresh perspective. I grabbed my phone and called Willow. I expected it to go to voicemail, but she answered on the first ring.

"Hey, come with me to Alma's tomorrow. I've got an idea."