Luc stared wide eyed at the commissioner, becoming increasingly and rapidly aware of her state. Tears streaking down her face, blood coating her side, and she’d just been screaming inside her car. Had he heard any of that? He had to have.

  I’m screwed.

  This was where they fired her. This was where they revoked her magical girl license and she had to figure out a plan B for her life. She didn’t even have a plan A yet.

  She scrambled for the door handle, popping it open and stepping out as she attempted to swipe the tears from her face. There was little she could do to hide her puffy cheeks and red eyes, but that didn’t stop her from trying.

  “What can I do for you, sir?” she asked, one hand lingering on her car door. She couldn’t bring herself to close it, in case she needed to make a fast but tactical retreat.

  “I heard you had quite a day, Miss Gadget,” Commissioner Blanchet said. He didn’t look anything like his daughter. He was tall and undistinctive, with pale skin and black hair peppered grey. If it wasn’t for the suit, she could have passed him on the street without ever realizing who he was. But this was the man who’d been the face of the mage commission for the past two decades, longer than Luc had been alive.

  “Yeah it was, uh, eventful.” She stared down at her new-to-her shoes, taking in the state of herself. She’d never imagined meeting the commissioner looking like she’d just dragged herself out of a grave. Her usual twin buns were in shambles, hair hanging down in chunks around her face. Her skirt was stained, shirt torn, tights ruined. She had bandages wrapped around her side, covering the long cut she’d taken to her ribs. This wasn’t a good look for her. It was too bad her power couldn’t repair her outfit.

  “You caught my daughter’s eye,” Commissioner Blanchet said. “She’s a magical girl now, you know? I’ve never been so proud.”

  The commissioner smiled, and it took every ounce of self control for Luc to keep her face from twitching into a frown.

  “Yeah, I’m aware,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

  She didn’t want to say anything terrible about the new magical girl, not to her father and head of the commission, but she didn’t want to stand here and listen to her get praised either.

  “But she’s new,” the commissioner continued. “She doesn’t have a lot of confidence.”

  That wasn’t what Luc remembered, but sure.

  “In my experience, there is nothing more inspiring than a rival,” the commissioner said, and Luc couldn’t bite back her groan. Was that really why he was here? His daughter had gone crying to him and demanding a rival the same way a toddler might demand a pet puppy, and here he was, trying to buy the puppy.

  Commissioner Blanchet raised an eyebrow. “You’re not fond of the idea? Rivalries are generally mutually beneficial.”

  A sigh rattled free of Luc’s chest as she slumped, the exhaustion settling in like it’d just been waiting for a cue. “I just don’t have time for it, sir. I need to work. To do work that makes me money.”

  His eyes narrowed as he considered her before nodding. “How much?”

  Luc coughed. “What?”

  “How much would you need to be paid to be her rival?” Commissioner Blanchet asked. “It would have to be off the books, of course, but we can come to an arrangement.”

  Luc stared at him, brain slow to process. Was he really offering to pay her to be his daughter’s rival?

  “Uh…” She shook her head, doing her best to clear her clouded brain. “You can start by reinstating my monitor and paying me for my job today.”

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  “Done,” he said. “I’ll have them fast track repairs, and issue the payment order myself. Should have you back out there by tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “How about this?” Commissioner Blanchet began. “I’ll up your hourly rate to eighteen an hour, and then pay that amount to you myself for any jobs you do that overlap with my daughter, Marie. Additionally, we can make you a member of the influencer fund, meaning you’ll bring in money based on the views you generate. You don’t exactly have star power, Miss Gadget, but my daughter certainly does and you could do a lot to push her to further heights of greatness.”

  I don’t have star power? The outrage built up on the tip of her tongue, a moment away from spilling over and irreparably damaging the situation laying itself out in front of her. All she had to do was keep herself quiet and let it play out.

  She shut her mouth tight. She didn’t even care about having star power. She was a magical girl, not a pop star.

  “So,” the commissioner clapped his hands together. “How does that sound to you?”

  “Sounds good,” Luc said. “I won’t do anything until my payment for today hits my account.”

  He laughed that stupid, rich person laugh. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  Commissioner Blanchet held out a hand. With a moment’s hesitation, Luc shook it.

  Before she knew it, the commissioner had excused himself, walking back to the lobby.

  Luc sank slowly back into her car, staring blankly at the steering wheel. What just happened?

  She didn’t get much of a chance to consider it before her phone began to ring in the cupholder, vibrating so violently it threatened to spill out into the trash filled floor of the passenger seat.

  One look at the screen and her heart dropped into her stomach. Oh, fuck. She’d totally lost track of time.

  Scrambling, Luc started the car back up and took off across town at speeds that were borderline unsafe, especially in her car. It rattled all the way down to her mom’s cafe, Lucky Penny’s Diner.

  Screeching into the parking lot, Luc pulled into the first open parking spot she spotted and went to hop out before cursing. She couldn’t go in there looking like this.

  The first thing she did was turn off her transformation. The car settled as the magic that kept it running stopped entering the world. Her gear stored itself away in that same realm, leaving her in her outfit from school.

  It was too bad her magical girl uniform wouldn’t repair itself in the magical realm. Maybe once she started getting paid for this rivalry, she’d invest in a better set of materials for her outfit.

  Luc did what she could for her hair, taking it down and combing it back with her fingers, before hopping out of the car.

  Her phone began to ring again. “Fucking chill,” she muttered, turning it off. “I’m literally in the parking lot.”

  The diner was the busiest she’d seen it in weeks when she walked in, noise and warm light filling the space alongside the hearty, earthy scents of homestyle cooking.

  Despite how packed it was inside, nearly every table filled and even the bar taken, her mother was on her in an instant.

  In a lot of ways, her mother looked just like her, only older, more tired, and with that frantic energy of someone constantly on the brink of destruction. The only difference was, where she wore mom jeans and button up blouses and had a pair of reading glasses pulled up on top of her head, Luc wore low-waisted pants and graphic T-shirts that didn’t matter if they got dirty. That, and for the first time in a long time, she wasn’t absolutely desperate. Things were finally going sort of her way.

  Penny grabbed her arm, fingernails digging into her flesh. “Lucky, where were you?”

  Luc cringed at the use of her full name. She hated it, on so many levels. Lucky was the sort of name you gave a pet, not a child. Her mom knew she hated it, that she wanted to be called Luc, pronounced like Luke, not Luck.

  “I was working,” Luc said. “And I lost track of time. Sorry.”

  “Sorry doesn’t cut it,” Penny snapped, then dropped her voice until she’d pulled Luc into the back. “You know I can’t afford to pay Kira for any more hours than I already do.”

  “And that’s my problem, why?” Luc snapped. The words came out before she could stop them, regret following hot on their heels. Still, she didn’t bother taking the statement back. It wasn’t her responsibility to deal with her mother’s failing cafe or her bad business decisions. Yes, she helped out. She came to work even though she wasn’t getting paid for any of it, even though it was time she could spend actually making money, and did whatever her mother asked. Waited tables, worked the kitchen, did prep, scrubbed the goddamn floors. How much more could she be asked to do?

  Penny’s eyes narrowed, and her grip tightened to the point of pain. “Who do you expect to pay the bills if this business goes under? Who do you expect to keep the lights on?”

  “I already keep the lights on,” Luc said, meeting her mother’s gaze. Before her mother could say anything else, she pulled away. “Just let me change and I’ll take over for her. Don’t worry. You won’t need to pay another dime.”

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  The Glass Knight.