Jinxed (Coven Corner #1)

by Charlotte French

  Aiden stood at the edge of the patch. The collar of his black coat was turned up and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. A swath of ghosts shifted around him, draped over his shoulders, arms around his waist.

  Even the ghosts found him attractive and wanted to be near him.

  “You’re using spells now,” Aiden added. “With the pumpkins.”

  He gestured to the pumpkin that she had let topple to the ground upon his arrival. It bucked and kicked its way back into the air as she concentrated on crafting the rest of its shocked little face with a spell.

  “This is easy magic,” Sky said. “Children do this sort of thing during their first year of school.”

  Aiden hummed. “You don’t give yourself enough credit, Miss Sangrey.” He withdrew one hand from his pocket and placed his palm flat to his chest. “In fact, I think…I might even feel a lingering…tickle. Right here.”

  He patted his heart. Sky hiccupped in surprise and her pumpkin wobbled in the air, threatening to fall again.

  But Aiden’s hand shot out, magic snapping like a whip to catch the pumpkin before it could hit the ground.

  Bryony glanced between Sky and Aiden. She blew a puff of air upward to dislodge a curl from her forehead and rolled her eyes.

  “Please tell me you’re joking,” Sky said.

  Her hands were shaking. Her magic stuttered and sparked but it wasn’t steady enough to take the pumpkin back.

  “Yes,” Aiden said softly as he stepped forward. “I am.”

  Sky closed her eyes with an exhale of relief.

  “Don’t tease me,” she said. “I feel terrible what I did to you.”

  Aiden lowered the pumpkin to the ground and spread his arms to either side.

  “I’m in perfect health,” he said. “No harm done. And besides, it’s the only way I can get your attention. You ignore my existence otherwise.”

  Sky opened her mouth to protest but she stopped. She had been ignoring him, to a point. But she hadn’t meant it to be rude. She just…couldn’t think straight around him sometimes.

  Aiden’s smile faltered at Sky’s silence. He raised two fingers with a flick of his wrist, carving the remainder of Sky’s pumpkin into a grinning face.

  “Could we talk?” he said. “I know you’re busy but it won’t take more than a minute or two.”

  Sky cast a glance at Bryony. Bryony raised an eyebrow with a shrug—a studiously nonchalant gesture and yet it held connotations of skepticism, too.

  Bryony wouldn’t give the situation a second thought. She wasn’t the romantic type.

  But Sky was the romantic type, even though she knew perfectly well that Aiden wasn’t available. And she did like Aiden for his kindness toward the Torres children, for his generosity toward the residents of Wildemoor.

  “All right,” Sky said. “But I have to be back to help Bryony with the rest of the pumpkins as soon as possible. It’s a big job for one person to take on alone and I don’t like leaving my friends high and dry.”

  Aiden and Sky made their way into the orchard where the trees were thick and smelled sweet with the last few apples of the season still clinging to the branches overhead. This was where they had been during Mabon, walking arm in arm, content with each other’s company, warm and smiling.

  It was different now. Chilly with distance. But that lingering warmth of familiarity still sat between them, surviving somehow despite the roller-coaster they had been through over the past few weeks.

  Finally, Aiden stopped and turned to face Sky. He reached out for her hand and Sky sucked in a breath. He stopped, his gaze flicked up to her face.

  “I have a gift for you,” he said. “For Samhain.”

  Sky hesitated. “You gave me a gift for Mabon, too and look how that turned out.”

  Aiden breathed a quiet laugh. Sky pitched forward on her toes at that sound, how soft it was, how easily she could just sink into it like a cloud. She had missed that sound. She had missed him, even though she had no right to, even though she had tried to stop herself from wanting him.

  “This is to make up for that gift,” he said. He paused then added, “And because I’d like us to start over.”

  A flush of heat swept up Sky’s neck at those whispered words. Had she heard right?

  “But…Bianca…” Sky faltered.

  Aiden frowned. “What about her?”

  The flush of heat quickly turned to anger.

  “You can’t just forget about her,” Sky said. “She’s carrying your child.”

  Echoing silence settled between them. Aiden stared at her, unblinking and steady.

  “I…certainly hope not,” he said slowly.

  Sky huffed. “Well she seems to think so.”

  “Sky,” Aiden said. “She’s my cousin. And she’s been seeing Keegan O’Hara on and off for about two years now.”

  All the air in Sky’s lungs rushed out at once.

  “She…what? But…she came to me to read her tea leaves. She talked about a guy she liked who didn’t know she existed.”

  Aiden nodded. “That definitely sounds like Keegan. He has no people skills whatsoever. He prefers numbers and architecture to socializing. I have no idea what Bianca sees in him but I guess we can’t help who we fall in love with.”

  Sky placed a hand on her forehead.

  “I still don’t understand. I thought…she was so friendly with you. She looked at you like…like…”

  “Like she was in love with me?” Aiden offered.

  Sky went still. Aiden stepped closer and this time when he reached for her hand, she didn’t shy away. His fingers curled around hers, warm and solid. She closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of his skin against hers. Just one little touch. That was all she needed to realize how starved she was for contact.

  Sky shifted toward Aiden until her hip bumped his, her mouth nearly touching his shoulder. He dipped his head and his breath skimmed the curve of her cheek, sending a ripple of goosebumps snaking down her spine.

  “What I said before,” Aiden whispered. “It came out wrong.”

  Sky brought her hand up before she could stop herself and placed her palm in the middle of his chest. His heart thumped away rapid-fire beneath her fingertips.

  “Then what did you mean to say?” Sky whispered back.

  Carefully, Aiden slipped his other hand around her hip, coasting up her side to curve around the back of her neck.

  “I meant to say that you were the one who brightened my day. When you smiled and your whole face lit up. When you got tongue-tied and gave me that wide-eyed look.”

  Sky bit the inside of her cheek and turned her head away. Aiden nuzzled against her hair with a light kiss.

  “I left New York for peace and quiet,” he said. “To be closer to my family. But everyone treated me like I was some…” He shrugged. “Some hot shot warlock.”

  “You are,” Sky said, a faint teasing tone slipping into her voice.

  “I’m just Aiden Hall, a weather warlock. That’s it. I felt…out of place in Wildemoor. But you welcomed me. You made me feel at home in a way no one else did.” His words fell away at the end on a faint breath and his voice dropped so low that Sky had to lean forward to hear him. “You made me happy, Sky. You still do.”

  Sky slid her hand up his chest to trace along his bottom lip with her thumb.

  Aiden took her wrist and turned her hand palm up. He flattened his palm to hers and magic sizzled like electricity.

  Sky’s magic had always been rather faded, muted, like it existed in a fuzzy dream that she could never quite wake up from.

  But Aiden’s magic was sharp and so pronounced that it tingled like needles against her skin.

  Then Aiden closed the last miniscule scrap of distance between them and kissed her. Firm and unwavering and searing hot with the desire he didn’t try to conceal in any way.

  Aiden pulled back and there in Sky’s palm was a small thundercloud that grumbled. It crackled with lightening and a delicate rain
misted onto Sky’s hand without leaving a hint of condensation.

  “I don’t expect you to forgive me right away,” he said.

  A small voice in the back of Sky’s mind agreed. If he was lying, her heart would be broken and she couldn’t allow herself to be caught off guard again. She had fallen for him so easily the first time and stumbled into a love spell that had made a mess of things.

  She had to play it smarter this time around.

  “Take the storm cloud,” he said. “It’s formed from your magic and mine. After three days have passed, if I’m telling the truth, the sun will come out and the rain will be gone.”

  “But this is magic,” Sky said. “You could manipulate it. You could make it do whatever you want it to.”

  Aiden smiled softly and brushed his knuckles over her chin. “That’s why half of it is your own magic. You’ll keep me true.”

  He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek. His fingertips barely rested on her hip, five pinpoints of heat seeping through the rough fabric of her coat. The scent of cloves and incense wrapped around her, mingled with the smells of apples, leaves, and autumn.

  “Happy Samhain, Sky,” Aiden whispered against her skin.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Sky tucked the miniature thunderstorm on her kitchen windowsill. Every morning as she waited for her first pot of water to boil for breakfast tea, she would prop her elbow on the counter, chin in hand, and watch the little cloud.

  It burbled and sparked, whispering that gentle, steady rain hour after hour without pause. But there was no sign of a sun peeking through the gray, grim atmosphere.

  Finally, Sky would tear herself away and pour her first cup of tea for the day.

  As Sky was contemplating the thunderstorm on the second day—only one day left and she would know for sure, one way or the other, whether Aiden was lying or telling the truth—a light tap-tap-tap came at her door.

  The tearoom wasn’t open yet. It wouldn’t be for another hour yet. Sky hadn’t even combed her hair or changed out of her bathrobe. But one peek out the window showed who was on her doorstep.

  Mother Hestia.

  “Sweet Nicniven,” Sky muttered.

  She smoothed her tangled hair down as much as she could, adjusted the collar of her bathrobe a little higher.

  “I know you’re in there, Sky, dear,” Mother Hestia called. “There’s no need to be nervous. I just came to have a little chat.”

  Sky answered the door and stepped aside, offering a hand to Mother Hestia. She waved Sky off and hobbled inside, leaning heavily on a twisted cane made of willow wood.

  Mother Hestia made her way to Sky’s kitchen without prompting and settled into a chair at Sky’s small oak table. Sky remained at the kitchen doorway, blinking in surprise. Then she scrambled to the oven and poured another cup of tea. She had to use both hands to steady the saucer and prevent the cup from rattling as she placed it in front of Mother Hestia.

  “Is something wrong, Mother Hestia?” Sky said. Her voice rose a little too high and cracked.

  Mother Hestia sipped her tea.

  “You were never very good at hiding your feelings, Sky Sangrey,” she said, musingly. “In fact, you tend to wear them on your sleeve for the whole world to see.”

  “Well, I—”

  “And that takes an admirable measure of courage to remain so vulnerable,” Mother Hestia continued in a softer tone.

  Sky’s words sputtered to a stop on a puff of air. She fiddled with the handle of her teacup, seeking the comfort of something familiar and solid in the face of Mother Hestia’s sudden visit and the questions her appearance brought with it.

  “Is this about Aiden?” Sky ventured.

  “Who else would it be about?” Mother Hestia said in a wry voice. “You’ve been moony-eyed over him practically since the first day he arrived in Wildemoor.”

  “That’s not fair,” Sky countered, straightening her shoulders. “I hadn’t even met him yet. I didn’t see him face to face until several weeks later.”

  Mother Hestia took an inordinate amount of time focused on her tea, blowing on it to cool it off before she took a slow, measured sip. Sky’s fingers tightened on the handle of her own teacup to compose herself and remain calm.

  “Sometimes,” Mother Hestia said at last. “We are drawn to people naturally before we’ve even met them. Especially when it concerns witches and warlocks.”

  “You mean I was supposed to be with Aiden all this time?”

  Mother Hestia tapped two fingers against the rim of her saucer, tracing a pale blue painted cluster of forget-me-nots.

  “Perhaps,” she said. “Your magic seems to compliment each other well enough.”

  She slowly raised her gaze to look at Sky.

  “Particularly when it comes to love spells,” she added.

  Sky held up one finger. “I can explain that.”

  Mother Hestia raised her hand for silence.

  “There’s no need,” she said. “I’m not here to chastise you for using magic against a warlock. Aiden can handle himself. And it’s hardly an offense worth getting exiled from the coven over.”

  Sky released a shaky breath of relief.

  “Then…why are you here?” she said.

  Mother Hestia’s gaze slid over to the thunderstorm. It still boiled with black clouds and hissing rain.

  “I came to congratulate you,” she said.

  She nodded toward the windowsill. Sky twisted around to see a golden ray of sunlight streaming upward like a ribbon of promise. The clouds parted into wisps of gray then dissipated all together.

  Mother Hestia raised her cup to her lips with a small smile.

  “It’s a miracle you’re still standing there,” she said. “When that young man desperately needs to be kissed.”

  Sky stood from her chair so fast that her abandoned cup of tea rattled in its saucer. She scooped up the tiny magical sun in one hand and grabbed her broom off of the rack. She stumbled out the door as she tugged on her boots with one hand. With an awkward little hop, skip, and a jump, she was flying down the street to Spellbound.

  A minute later, Sky skidded to a stop so suddenly that her boot heels left black marks on the dusky red cobblestone street. Her broom clattered to the ground as she ran up to the door and pounded until her hand throbbed.

  The door finally fell away beneath her hand.

  And there was Aiden. His hair was rumpled, spilling into his eyes instead of so neatly combed back like it usually was. His crisp, clean black clothes were replaced with a gray t-shirt worn to faded softness and a pair of dark blue sweatpants. She must have woken him up and she might have felt guilty about that at another time, but not now. She was too relieved to see him again.

  “Sky,” Aiden said, a little breathless and pleased to see her. Then his eyes darkened with concern. “Is something wrong?”

  Sky let out a laugh. Nothing was wrong, for once. Nothing at all.

  Everything was right.

  She held out her cupped hands to show the sun—no bigger than the head of a pin.

  The tension in Aiden’s shoulders melted away and he placed his hands over Sky’s. He pulled her closer and Sky rose on the tiptoes of her boots to kiss him. She could taste the sweetness of his smile, like clove cookies and harvest tea.

  Aiden looped an arm around Sky’s waist, lifting her up off the ground a few inches as he backed up into Spellbound, taking her with him. Sky’s fingers snuck beneath the hem of Aiden’s shirt, questing after warm skin.

  Aiden broke away with a gasp.

  “Your fingers are like ice,” he said in a strangled voice.

  He blew on her fingers then peppered her hands with ticklish kisses until Sky laughed. He kissed up her wrist, peeled the bathrobe sleeve aside to continue kissing up her arm.

  Sky placed her hands on either side of Aiden’s face, her fingers wandering up into his hair. Aiden closed his eyes and leaned into her touch with a small contented sound.

  “Doe
s this mean you’ll have breakfast with me?” Aiden said.

  Sky smiled. “Only if I get to make the tea.”

  He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, skimming his thumb along her cheekbone. Sky slid her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down to kiss him again and again until they were both laughing.

  Aiden’s hands curved around Sky’s waist, pulling her flush against him. She stumbled and sent Aiden retreating a few steps to catch his balance. His back hit the counter and the display rack of potions next to the register toppled, sending bottles rolling in every direction.

  One bottle dropped to the floor, the cork popped out. Rose-scented liquid pooled at Aiden and Sky’s feet. LOVE POTION, the bottle read in bold, red lettering.

  But neither of them noticed.

  It was practically just colored water anyway.

  SNEAK PEEK: SPELLED KISS

  CHAPTER ONE

  A YEAR LATER

  A gust of autumn wind sent leaves skittering around Bryony’s feet in a whirl of bright colors. The chill of Samhain was in the air, mingled with the sweet scent of apples and baked treats from the kitchen—hand pulled taffy, gooey caramels, rich hot chocolate, and fresh toffee.

  Every autumn, Sky helped Bryony in the orchard, greenhouses, and pumpkin patch. When the work was done, they went hunting for late mushrooms until it grew too dark to see anything. Then they would huddle in Bryony’s cramped attic bedroom—smelling of mothballs, lavender, old roses, and dirt, no matter how many air freshening spells she used—and told each other scary stories by the pale light emanating from their wands.

  But for most of this year, Sky had barely been around. She had been preoccupied with her new boyfriend, Aiden Hall—a fancy, powerful warlock from New York, and the owner of the local occult shop known as Spellbound.

  Bryony tried not to hold it against Sky. She liked seeing her best friend so happy. Sky glowed, as if there was a sun in her chest and she couldn’t contain the light that poured out of her.

  Because Sky was head over heels in love.

  Bryony crouched on her heels with a scowl. She let her wand dangle from her fingers, lost in thought. She absently poked at a nearby pumpkin and a ghost went wriggling out of it with an offended noise.