Chapter Seventeen

Exhausted after tea with Primrose, Mika slumps in her car, only for Jamie to arrive with Ken, having anticipated she’d be too drained to drive. Jamie bundles Mika into his warm coat and refuses her sleepy request for a kiss, insisting she’s not thinking straight, revealing the attraction is mutual but postponed.

On the road, Jamie buys Mika food and they talk: his unhappy Cambridge years, unexpectedly becoming a caregiver at Nowhere House, and Mika’s surprising success getting Primrose to share history. Mika dozes in his coat as Jamie drives through delays after an accident.

They reach Nowhere House late. Mika thanks Jamie for coming to get her, a first for her. In the kitchen, Ian greets them with tea and fresh cookies, teasing Jamie about giving up his coat. The warmth and care steady Mika after the grueling day.

Prompted by Ian, Mika explains the cover story she gave Primrose—blaming a power surge on an ex—and then admits the ex exploited her magic: ATM tampering, exam cheating. She further reveals earlier caretakers also used her, shaping her belief that witches are exploited when convenient and rejected when not.

Jamie’s anger centers on those who harmed her, not on Mika; Ian offers comfort and insists not everyone will use her. He shares his and Ken’s decades-long love, once hidden but enduring, as a counterexample and hope that Mika can someday “just be Mika.”