Cresent Prophecy by Axelle Chandler (great reads TXT) 📕

blow the lid off everything and unleash something far worse than Mairead dropping out of Trinity—which was news to me.

“I’m not sitting here and taking this,” I said calmly, surprising myself at my restraint. That toad was still looking rather appealing. “Mairead is welcome to take her job back at Irish Moon anytime she wants. She also has a place to stay with me. No questions asked. Life is tough, but not as tough as growing up. She needs you, but if you don’t want her, then she’s welcome to come with me.”

Snatching up my jacket, I nodded at Gregory and stormed out the front door, Mairead on my heels. I mightn’t have had Aileen growing up, but right about now, I was glad for my dad’s influence. Even when I was a complete ratbag, he’d never turfed me out onto the street. Beth was such a drag, but I reckon she knew I was going to pick up the slack…which made it even worse. Dumping your parental responsibility on a twenty-eight-year-old woman with zero child-rearing experience was real smooth.

Poor Mairead.

“I can’t believe Mum kicked me out,” she seethed as we walked down the lane.

In the distance, I could see the spire of St. Brigid’s peeking over the treetops. The sky was gray, matching both our moods as we walked back toward Derrydun and Irish Moon.

“Do you really want to drop out of university?” I asked.

“I can’t go back there.”

“I know you went through a horrible situation, but it’s not just about that. It’s also about your future.”

She shrugged, rolling her eyes. It was a classic avoidance tactic and one I was well versed in, what with my past as a pouty teenager and all.

“We can find a way to shield you from the fae,” I added. “Then you won’t have to worry about all of that. You might’ve missed a few classes, but you can pick it back up, right?”

Mairead pouted. “So?”

“So?” I scowled, getting the vibe something else was in play. “Mairead… Did something else happen?”

She kicked the ground, scuffing the toe of her boot against a fence as we passed.

“Mairead. You know my deepest, darkest secret.”

“I hated it, okay!” she exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes. “I didn’t fit in, the professors picked on me, and I didn’t make one friend. Not one!”

“I’m sorry.” My shoulders sank, and I reached out and pulled her into a hug.

“I don’t want to go back. They don’t want me there.”

“People suck, but you can’t let one asshole ruin everything for you. High school never ends, it just levels up.”

She turned her head away and sniffed, then came out with the million-dollar question. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing,” I replied. “Nothing is wrong with you.”

She sniffed again, dabbing gently at her tears and trying her best not to smear her eyeliner.

“Sometimes, we just don’t fit, I suppose,” I went on. “It’s nothing to beat yourself up over. You’ve just got to find where you belong. Everyone goes through it.” I snorted and gestured to myself. “I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“Oh, jeez,” I declared, rolling my eyes. “Cut me some slack. I’m not Yoda. That’s Boone’s area of expertise. I’m the hotheaded one who leaps into trouble headfirst and talks her way out of it with sass and pop culture references.”

We continued walking toward Derrydun in silence.

“Did you really mean it?” Mairead asked after a while.

“Mean what?”

“That I can stay with you?”

She was looking at me hopefully, and I groaned. What had I gotten myself into?

“I have one condition,” I said, waiting for her to acknowledge my demand.

She nodded.

“I reserve the right to ground you.”

When we arrived at Irish Moon, it was five minutes to ten, and Lucy was waiting out the front.

Luckily for me, I’d warned Mairead about the new hire the night before and gave her the heads up to keep Boone out of our witchy conversations. Still, the Goth girl glared and pouted as I introduced the two.

“Mairead, Lucy. Lucy, Mairead.”

“Ah, so you’re the famous author of the Irish Moon employee handbook,” Lucy declared, causing Mairead to falter.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

Snickering, I unlocked the door and let us in out of the cold.

“Mairead’s had a little falling out with Trinity College,” I explained. “She’ll be back helping out around here for a while.”

“Oh,” Lucy said. “Does that mean…”

“You still have your job, don’t worry.”

The witch smiled and looked rather pleased. All this hero worship was starting to go to my head.

“And FYI, there was a slip…and an awkward moment where she found out about you know what.”

Lucy’s mouth fell open, and she glanced at me, looking alarmed.

“Ixnay on the witchy-stay.” I winked at Mairead and laughed.

“It’s not a joke!” the witch declared.

“And I trust Mairead implicitly.” I glared at her, pulling rank. “My turf, remember?”

Lucy backed down immediately, but her distrust was clear as day.

“Things are changing,” I went on, going for my tarot cards as Mairead switched on the heating. “I can feel something coming. Aileen was waiting for it, but she never got to see it. The more I learn, the more I envy her to be honest. I’m the last Crescent. There’s no one else to take the mantle, so it’s time. My time. We have to adapt…and that means a new work roster.”

“That was an anticlimax,” Mairead said with a groan. “I was ready to go find a sword or somethin’ and dig a trench.”

Opening the box of tarot cards, I laughed. “Got to make a joke sometimes. Otherwise, what a dreary bunch we would be.”

Shuffling the deck, I kicked back and allowed my minions to open up the shop. Having two employees was rather liberating. I could laze about all day! What a stroke of cheeky luck.

Setting the cards on the counter, I swept them to the side, fanning out the black and gold rectangles. Eyeing the Goth girl, I got an idea.

“Hey, Mairead,” I said, gesturing her to come forward. “Pick a card. Any card.”

“Um… I don’t really know