The Crowns of the Gods.

Air-Jinx- Zeus' Daughter

The air crackled with anger and resentment. Seven years she had devoted to this place, and how did they repay her? By firing her! What a foolish decision they had made. Taking a deep breath, the young woman tried to calm herself. Not everyone should suffer for the mistakes of that idiotic manager. She vowed silently to make his life miserable. Money wasn't an issue; her father had seen to that. As a child, she had once frightened him with her abilities—she even made it rain in his office on a couple of occasions. When he passed away, he left everything to her, leaving her stepmother and her three children with nothing.

Despite her tough exterior, Jinx wasn't entirely heartless. She had bought her stepmother a house three thousand miles away and taken custody of the three children. Initially considering foster care, she found herself bound by her father's will: the children couldn't be evicted until the oldest turned eighteen and graduated high school. She didn't feel guilty; she held a particular disdain for the oldest, so instead of a comfortable room, she assigned her to the servants' quarters.

"Jinx, darling, breakfast," Sam called from downstairs.

"I'll be down soon," Jinx replied, stowing her writings in a lockbox before descending the three flights of stairs.

"Hey, Sam, guess what?"

"What is it, Jinx?"

"Opal graduates this week."

"You shouldn't sound so pleased, Miss Jinx. The girls might overhear you, and you wouldn't want to hurt their feelings any more than you already do."

"Well, the will states that when Opal turns eighteen and graduates, I can send them away. She can live with her mother in the house I bought for her. The others can stay here—they're my siblings; Opal is not."

"Karma will catch up with you, miss," Sam remarked, her voice tinged with both amusement and frustration.

"Yes, but when it does, at least I'll be happy," Jinx replied with a sly smile, blowing a playful kiss towards Sam. The morning sunlight filtered through the kitchen window, casting a warm glow on their exchange. Opal, with an air of entitlement, skipped into the room and shot a spiteful smile at Sam.

"Sam, where's my breakfast? It should be ready when I am," Opal demanded imperiously, her tone laced with disdain.

"Sorry, Opal, I was talking to Miss Jinx," Sam explained calmly, though a hint of defiance simmered beneath her surface.

"Don't you dare talk back to me, bitch. You work for me as long as I live here—" Opal's voice grew sharp, cutting through the air.

"No, Opal. Sam works for me, not you," Jinx interjected firmly, her eyes flashing with restrained anger. "Now, go to school. You can grab breakfast for yourself and your friends on the way."

"Yeah, good idea. Sam's cooking is terrible anyway," Opal huffed, grabbing her things and sashaying out with an air of superiority.

"Gods, I hate her so much," Sam muttered under her breath, frustration evident in her voice.

"Karma will catch up with you, Sam," Jinx laughed lightly as Sam threw a pancake at her in mock annoyance. "Now, Sam, don't waste food. You're the voodoo queen; you should know better. Wasting food upsets your ancestors, and if we upset them, they won't help us when we need it next."

"Aye, you're right, darling. We don't want to anger them. They can be quite temperamental about wasted food," Sam agreed with a chuckle, returning to the kitchen to resume her tasks.

Meanwhile, Jinx gathered white candles and sage, setting up her sacred circle in the cozy living room. The scent of sage filled the air, mingling with the faint aroma of pancakes. As she worked, the air around her seemed to tingle with electricity, a subtle indication of her magical presence.