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It was my only hope if I ever wanted to love Jade the way she deserved.
6
Late Sunday afternoon, I arrived at Get Hexed, the Coven’s witch-themed storefront, nearly an hour late to finish out the day’s shift with an apologetic plea in my eyes and a box filled with powdery beignets and café au laits.
The smells of burning incense and patchouli, along with the ever-present odor of spell casting, hit me as soon as I stepped through the doorway, making my nose wrinkle. “Sorry I’m late! I come bearing gifts,” I called out over the sound of eerie Celtic ballads playing hauntingly from the speakers.
Through the overstuffed bundles of dried flowers hanging from the ceiling, I found Ember attending to what appeared to be a group of bachelorettes. They proudly displayed their phallus-shaped accessories and sparkly tiaras while only half-listening to Ember’s explanation on how to read tarot decks and the benefits of crystal use to manifest your desires.
“Thank the Goddess. I’m starved,” she groaned dramatically, sending the humans a wink. “Y’all let me know if you need any more help.”
After placing the food on the counter, she immediately snagged a coffee and dug into the beignets before I could respond. A cloud of white powder exploded from her enthusiastic bite.
“This tastes amazing. Not that I don’t appreciate the offering, but why were you so late? My shift ended forever ago, and now I’ll be late for my round in the cemetery. Unless you secured all the spirits?”
I attempted a smile. “Reinforcements came from the Houston Coven. All the ghosts have returned to their eternal rest or moved on. Problem solved.”
Ember’s face brightened. “That’ll save me some time. I still have to meet with Grandmother about rescheduling the training she mentioned last night. Killian wanted to portal me somewhere tropical before our trip to Hell. You know how useless I am at packing, so I’ll be up all night at this rate.”
Guilt made my stomach churn. Though I knew my sister had been brimming with curiosity after we returned to our family home in the early hours of the morning, I hadn’t felt ready to share the ultimatum Grandmother had lobbed at me. I still wasn’t.
“I’ll help you pack tonight,” I promised, nervously wiping the cash register with a discarded napkin. “In fact, you won’t have to discuss the matter with Grandmother at all. I’ve sorted it.”
Ember lifted a brow. “You’ve sorted it?”
I pushed away from the cash register, suddenly feeling an overwhelming tightness in my chest. Distractedly, I rubbed at my skin, almost wishing I had the amulet for a boost of strength, regardless of the very recent evidence of why it was foolish to toy with it.
“After last night with the spirits, Grandmother has decided that it’s me who should train with Aunt Liliane, not you,” I said bitterly. “I’ll be staying with her until after Winter Solstice, absorbing as much knowledge about spirit magick as possible before I return in the new year.”
Ember’s humor dried up as she watched me with growing concern. “Sorry, Jade,” she whispered, coming to stand behind me and brushing her cheek against my shoulder. “I hate that Grandmother is punishing you for one measly mistake.”
“It wasn’t ameaslymistake. I unleashed dozens of ghosts on the city, obliterating our tireless work to keep supernatural shit hidden from the mortals in just one night.” I winced with renewed shame.
She threw her arms in the air. “As if they don’t suspect ghosts to be real! Even our shop prospers because of the mortals’ beliefs. She totally overacted.”
I huffed, pulling out of her reach with a worried glance at the oblivious mortals.
“How did you awaken all the spirits?” She wondered as she restocked bundles of sage. “We haven’t had much luck with the spirit magick grimoires in the library, even with Audra sending us pointers from Dragomire.”
My hands shook as I lifted a bundle of dried lavender from the shelf and held it to my nose. I couldn’t very well admit to stealing her prized Amulet of Davorina and using it illicitly as I practiced dark magick with Alexei.
With a noncommittal shrug, I said, “It must have been a reaction to my encounter with Grandmother at the masquerade. Emotions were high, and I lost control.”
“What about the moment on the balcony with the vampire prince? Did that have anything to do with your outburst?” Her lips quirked as she returned to her place at the cash register. “You and Alexei? For shame! I’m deeply disappointed to learn the news with the rest of the city rather than hearing it from you.”
My blood froze. “D-does everyone know it was me, then?”
“I mean, kind of?” She pulled my dark hair over my shoulder, twirling a lock on her finger. “Is it such a terrible thing to have everyone know about your romantic rendezvous? I call dibs on being maid of honor, by the way. And I’ll tell you now, I look terrible in blue tones.”
“Nothing happened,” I hissed. “We’re nottogether. It was just Alexei being Alexei, a terrible rake who can’t help but seduce anything that breathes.”
“Oh, really?” She flashed an evil grin. “Then why is he headed this way, only minutes after sundown? Be still my heart,” she sang dramatically, pressing a hand to her forehead like a swooning debutante.
My head whipped to the door, watching his leisurely approach. His dark steel shirt was unbuttoned nearly to his navel, displaying the planes of his smooth, muscled chest. When the bell dinged announcing his entrance, the entire shop stopped to watch his skin glow in the low lantern light.
“What are you doing here?” I snapped with more heat than necessary.
The mortal women moved closer, their heartbeats no doubt speeding at his immortal beauty, too perfect to be entirely human.
