by Eva Chase
“In eleven years she never got the chance to swing by for a visit and now she’s here? What changed?”
My gut twisted. “She’s engaged,” I said. “She’s come back to get married and take over the estate, is the impression I got.”
For the second time, I saw a crack in Damon’s front. He blinked at me for a second before shaking his head. Jin and Seth were staring at me too. I might have neglected to mention that little detail earlier.
Mostly because I’d known they’d react like this. I knew how I’d felt when she’d said those words. Even after all this time apart.
“Engaged?” Jin said, raising his eyebrows. “To who?”
I rubbed my mouth. “I don’t know,” I said. “Only I’d guess it’s… someone like her.” Someone who understood the strange things no one liked to talk about that much that happened on Hallowell grounds. Someone she could share those secrets with.
Someone very different from any of us.
Not that I’d have stood much of a chance with her compared to the other guys even if there hadn’t been that invisible dividing line we never talked about between us and her. I pushed aside that uncomfortable feeling and glanced back at Damon.
“So will you be there?”
“I’ll think about it,” he muttered, and stalked off the way he’d come.
Chapter Four
Rose
I sliced my arm through the air and pulled my hand back to my chest, closing it in a fist. My left leg swept behind me with the hiss of my sock against the polished hardwood floor. The silence of the manor’s common magicking room settled back around me. I breathed in and out, slowly but evenly, the way my tutors had drilled into me years ago.
The witching forms were meant to strengthen and focus the magic inside a witch. If your spark hadn’t lit yet, or had petered out, the movements didn’t do anything other than provide a little physical exercise. But any witch who cared learned the patterns of motion long before they were close to taking a consort. I wanted to be able to make full use of my magic as soon as it was mine.
I leaned forward into a streak of morning sunlight. The room’s only natural illumination drifted down from a few skylights on the high ceiling. No risk of any curious eyes peeking inside. Just me and the dust motes dancing with me in the air, surrounded by the wood panel walls and the lingering scent of jasmine incense.
Books were my happy place, but now that I could practice the witching forms without a tutor looking over my shoulder, this place was pretty happy too. As I moved through the shapes and stretches, my mind drifted back to all the childhood stories I’d read about great feats of magical power. Raising bridges out of the earth to cross a frothing river. Calling a rainstorm to soothe parched fields and end a drought. Casting a shield to fend off an entire army.
Not likely I was ever going to need to do anything like that, but that didn’t make daydreaming any less fun.
I finished the last in the standard forms set and took a few minutes to cool down. Then I headed down the hall to my bedroom to change. Done properly, the forms could work up a bit of a sweat.
“Preparing for your grand entrance?” Philomena said, bouncing on the edge of the bed. “Oh, I can just tell this is going to be a thrilling venture.”
“I’m walking into town to catch up with some friends I played with as a kid.” I peered at the clothes I’d unpacked and hung in my closet yesterday. “It’s not going to be that exciting.”
“If you say so, Rose. I suppose that means it doesn’t matter to you what you’re wearing when you see them?”
“No,” I said tartly, “it doesn’t.” But then I spent another five minutes gazing blankly at the closet. A dress would be too… dressy, right? Just to take a walk through town. But I didn’t want to look as if I hadn’t bothered to put in any effort at all. The sweats and tee I had on weren’t going to cut it.
Phil snickered. I shot a glower her way and pulled out my best attempt at a compromise: my nicest pair of jeans and a purple cashmere blouse that would be just warm enough for me to skip a jacket. The material was so snuggly soft I always felt like I’d just wrapped myself in a bundle of cuddly kittens. A little comfort would be good for my nerves, which had already started jumping.
It was still a half hour off from noon and the walk would only take half that.
I combed my fingers through my hair in front of the mirror until Philomena started snickering again. Grabbing my purse, I headed for the door. “You should stay here,” I told her, as much good as that was likely to do. You might think having an imaginary best friend would mean she always listens to you. Let me assure you, that is so far from being true.
As I started down the staircase, my pulse hiccupped. Derek was standing in the front hall, speaking to one of the cleaning staff, a slightly chubby young woman with bright red curls named Polly.
“—nothing of it,” he was saying in his light voice. “I’m glad to have it sorted out.”
“Of course, Mister Conwyn. Thank you.” Polly blushed and then noticed me. She bobbed her head and hurried away.
Derek turned, the light glancing off his ash blond hair. When he saw me coming down, he smiled.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with Derek Conwyn, really. He had a softly handsome face with a high brow and light brown eyes that glimmered when a subject caught his interest. Looking at him from above as I descended the stairs, I had an excellent view of his broad shoulders and defined chest. He’d come up from Louisiana, where his family was based, so when he spoke it was with an appealing drawl. I couldn’t complain about any of that.
The only problem was I didn’t know him all that well yet. He was from a witching family, he was willing to marry into mine, he liked jazz music and sailing and dropping bad puns when a group conversation got a little tense. The rest would come now that we had more time to spend together without so much company looking on. At least, I hoped it would.
I didn’t really have a whole lot of choice. If I hadn’t taken a consort by the time I turned twenty-five, the spark of my magic would snuff out forever. Maybe I wasn’t madly in love with Derek, but he was the best out of the witching guys I’d met.
“Derek,” I said, smiling back and hoping it didn’t look stiff. “I thought my dad was giving you the full tour.”
“Oh, he got temporarily delayed with a business call,” my consort-to-be said. He offered me his hand as I reached the bottom of the staircase, as if I needed help handling that last step. I took it a little awkwardly.
“He just finished up, said he’d catch up with me in a moment,” Derek added. “I’m looking forward to getting a look at the full property. Would you like to join us? I’d love to hear your take on the place too.” His gaze fell to the purse slung over my shoulder. “Or were you going out already?”
“I’m just going to poke around town a bit,” I said. “See what’s changed since I was last here. Drop in to chat with a few of the business owners who’ve done work for us. It’s always best to keep good relations with the unsparked community.”
Behind me, Philomena chortled. “‘Good relations.’ Is that what you’re hoping to have with these dashing young men? Lots of changes to examine there. Maybe up close and in great detail.”
I kept my eyes on Derek, studiously ignoring her. “Indeed,” he said, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “We wouldn’t want them bringing out the torches and pitchforks. We’ll have lots of time for you to show me your favorite spots later. When we’re both back at the house, perhaps we could take a walk in the gardens together, if we’re not both walked out?”
“I’d like that,” I said, meaning it. Maybe I hadn’t had much choice, but I wanted to make this partnership work.
I slipped out ahead of Derek and my father and set off along the lonely road into town. The tall grass in the sprawling fields whispered with the breeze. Philomena had produced a bonnet out of thin air. There were some benefits to being a figment of someone’s imagination, and quick costume change
s was one of them.
“Are you certain there aren’t any wolves or bears we need to be wary of, wandering about out here on our own?” she asked, peering toward the shadows of the forest beyond the fields.
“I thought you were eager for adventure,” I said.
“Oh, quite. I just prefer my adventure without literal teeth, you know. And ideally with at least one wall between me and the wilds of nature.”
“You could have stayed back at the manor.”
She waggled a finger at me. “Oh, no. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I want to look over every one of these childhood friends of yours. The first one was quite a treat on his own.”
I wrinkled my nose at her. “I hope you’ll at least keep the commentary to a minimum once we’re there. I haven’t seen these guys in years. I’d like to be listening to them.”
“We’ll see,” Phil said coyly. “There are some observations that simply must be made.”
To be fair, I was actually glad for her imaginary company. Bantering with her made the trek pass a lot more quickly than if I’d been left to my own thoughts.
I’d never used to be allowed to walk into town on my own. Of course, I’d only been thirteen when we’d left here. Dad had never been exactly hostile about the unsparked, the way Celestine sometimes was, but he’d always reminded me to keep distance and maintain caution.
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with them, you understand, little lamb, he’d say when I’d ask him a question after reading some new book or watching a movie in which the unsparked lived their magic-free lives. They’re just different. They’ve never understood what we are, and they never will. So it’s best we don’t mingle any more than we need to.
I wasn’t sure exactly what he’d have been worried would happen to me in town on my own at thirteen. It wasn’t as if anyone was burning suspected witches these days. But it didn’t matter now. I’d been going around Portland without any company for the last few years, once Dad’s and Celestine’s nerves had settled about my interest in keeping unsparked company. It would have been ridiculous to go back to those old rules now, when I was twenty-four.
Phil and I passed a couple of farm houses and then came into the town proper. A few cars puttered down the otherwise quiet roads. The downtown area was made up of a central cobblestone square with a large fountain in the middle and a couple streets on each side with their hodgepodge of shops.
Looking around, I realized with a twinge that I couldn’t actually say how much had changed. My visits here as a kid had been infrequent as well as escorted. My whole life had revolved around the estate.
It’d always been my boys coming to me.
So it really was about time I returned the favor. I scanned the signs until I spotted the Bluebell Café.
A bell over the door tinkled as I went in. The waitress by the display case of pies nodded to me, not looking at all concerned as I headed straight for the back. Picnic tables with gingham umbrellas stood beyond the screen door that led to the patio.
I stepped outside, and my pulse hiccupped for the second time that hour. The guys were already there.
Three of them, anyway, waiting around another table off to the side. Kyler, who was standing, beamed and raised his glass to me. “Here she is!”
The guy beside him had been sitting, but he stood up at my entrance, as if I needed that formal gesture of respect. Even if I hadn’t already seen how Ky had grown up, I’d have recognized his twin at once.
Seth Lennox had the same tawny hair, cropped close to his head as always in contrast with Kyler’s messy waves. His tall frame was packed with muscle from his brawny calves to his well-built shoulders. Also as always, his face had formed that familiar solemn expression.
“Rose,” he said, holding my gaze so intently I couldn’t do anything except stare back. “No one gave you any hassle about coming down here?”
I shook my head. “No. No one seemed at all concerned.” Why should Dad or Celestine worry about a simple stroll around town? Any normal person would have forgotten the friends of their childhood and preteens, right? Certainly any normal witch whose friends had been unsparked.
But here I was.
Seth’s stance relaxed. “I’m glad. And—I’m glad you came down.”
“Me too,” I said, a lump filling my throat out of nowhere. My attention slipped away from Seth to the third figure at the table.
That guy was sitting casually, his back propped against the side of the table just beyond the shade of the umbrella. The sun lit up his golden-brown skin and the blue streaks dyed into his smooth black hair. Those were new.
The slow grin he gave me lit up his dark eyes in turn. “Our Briar Rose has returned to her castle at last,” he said. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen that pretty face of yours.”
A face which was now flushing. Jin Lyang had always been a flirt. It was just a little harder to brush off those remarks when they were coming from a rather stunning man and not a still kind of gawky young teenager.
“I wish it hadn’t been so long,” I said. “But, you know, evil stepmothers and all.” I swallowed hard and found I didn’t know what else to say. It’d been hard enough figuring out how to talk to just Kyler last night. Now I had three visions from my past, all grown-up, in front of me.
I sensed Philomena lingering behind me, but for once she kept her mouth shut, as if she could tell I needed a moment or two to process. There was a reason I’d picked her as my best friend.
“You should have something to drink,” Ky said, waving me over to the table.
The waitress appeared beside me. “I, um— Can I get a Coke, please?” I said.
“Sure thing, dear,” she said, and hustled off.
As I sat down gingerly at one end of the picnic table bench, my gaze fell on Ky’s glass. He was drinking beer. Jin had a half-empty glass of red wine beside his sprawled arm. Suddenly I felt as childish as I had in my cat pajamas two nights ago.
Well, Seth only had water.
“Where’s Damon?” I ventured. “Ky said Gabriel wasn’t in town anymore, but I thought—”
Jin rolled his eyes with a chuckle. “You know Damon. Thin skin, thick layer of attitude. He’ll show up just late enough to make the point that coming wasn’t that important to him.”
“Oh.” My gut twisted. Way back when, he’d never acted that prickly with me.
“Don’t worry about him,” Seth said firmly. “Whatever issues Damon has, they’re definitely his. Ky told us you’re back at the manor for good?”
I took a deep breath. “Yeah. I’m sure we’ll travel around every now and then, but other than that, I’m sticking around. They’ve finally decided I’m all grown up and ready to take ownership.”
Not that Celestine had much choice in the matter. It wasn’t as if my father would have let her stop me from coming into my magic.
I glanced around the table at the guys. Ky was still beaming, rocking eagerly on his feet, and Jin still wore that easy grin. Even Seth smiled a little when my eyes met his again. My pulse skipped, but in a much happier way.
I was back. Back with my boys. It wasn’t quite the same, and maybe it never would be, but I was more at home right now than I’d ever been in that house in Portland.
“What have you two been up to all these years?” I said, looking from Seth to Jin and back.
Seth swung his thumb toward the back of a store with a stack of two-by-fours outside, just down the laneway beyond the patio. “I’ve been helping my dad with his company. Got a degree in business management, which doesn’t help as much as you’d hope with managing an actual business.” His smile turned wry. “Mostly I go out and help him with the construction jobs he gets.”
Philomena let out a low whistle. “With the muscles on that fine specimen of manhood, I’d bet he could do a job and a half all by himself.”
I figured it was better not to pass on that observation to Seth. Even if it was accurate. “And you?” I asked Jin. My artist.
We’d never had any doubt that he’d be creating some kind of masterpieces even back when we were kids.
Jin made a vague gesture in the air. “Oh, I hit the road with my dad for a while as soon as I was done with high school. Got to see a lot of the world while he was touring with the latest band. Lots of inspiration. I’m doing mixed-media paintings these days. Had a gallery in Seattle pick up a few, but mostly I sell them online. My mom even brought a couple to display at the hairdresser’s so she can pitch them to the customers while she works. It’s a start.”
“That’s great,” I said, but my brain had stuck on his second-last sentence. I held my tongue as the waitress set my Coke on the table in front of me. When she’d vanished back inside, I curled my fingers around the coolly sweating glass and made myself look at Jin again.
“Your mother isn’t working in our gardens anymore?”
Jin’s eyes twitched, as if he’d just realized he’d made a misstep. His gaze shot to the twins before returning to me. “No,” he said gently. “She, you know, after the whole thing… I’m sure it all turned out for the best.”
Wait. I turned back to Seth and Kyler. “Is your mom still working as our pastry chef?”
Seth froze. Ky’s mouth bobbed open and shut. “Well,” he said, but I could already tell the answer.
A chill washed over me. “He laid them all off, didn’t he? My father. Your dad didn’t leave because he wanted to try something new. He had to.”
Kyler grimaced. “It wasn’t a big deal, really, Rose…”
But it was. Yes, Dad would have needed to reduce the staff while we hadn’t been in regular residence. Maybe a pastry chef hadn’t been necessary. But the house still needed at least some security, and someone to keep the gardens from overgrowing. And he’d just happened to lay off the parents of the boys he’d insisted I stay away from?
“Damon’s mom?” I asked, my heart sinking. She’d been on the cleaning staff. “Gabriel’s dad?” No. The Lordes had worked for the Hallowells for generations, all the way back to when our garage had been a stable instead. The Mr. Lorde I’d known had overseen everything to do with Dad’s prized cars. There was no way—
