Page 53 of Charmed

With a rigid shake I forced my thoughts away from her darling dimple, expressive eyes, and quirky eyebrows to refocus on magic, clinging to it like a lifeline.

“I don’t understand how you transformed back into a human. I didn’t do anything.” The mystery gnawed at me, almost as persistent as this strange new feeling swelling my heart I had no explanation for. Desperate for answers, I spun on my spellbook, which had been closely following me in my frantic pace around the clearing. “Were you aware that my apprentice had become a frog?”

It gave an aggravated rustle and promptly opened itself to the frog transformation spell it’d tried to show me many times before now, a message that in my distraction with my own self interests, I hadn’t given the proper consideration.

With a frustrated sigh I plucked it from the air. It wriggled uncooperatively as I frantically searched through it for the frog transformation spell, where the spellbook felt obliged to illuminate a particular section so that it practically leapt off the page:Alternatively the curse can be broken through true love’s kiss.

My breath hooked.Impossible. Breathless with disbelief I stared, the only sound the frantic pounding of my heart beating erratically and almost painfully in my ears.

I slammed the book shut. “That isnotthe reason she turned back.”

“What did the spellbook suggest?”

I stiffened at her innocent tone, completely oblivious to the spellbook’s mischievous accusation. I tried not to look at her…but found myself drawn to her anyway. She truly was quite pretty, especially with the air of mischief about her that made her all the more interesting. Of all the woman to notice, it was myapprenticewhen up until this point only magic had been able to turn my head.

The spellbook inched closer, angling itself to better showcase its condemning suggestion concerning love and curse-breaking kisses. I shoved it away. “Kisses only break curses in fairytales,” I muttered beneath my breath so as not to risk Maeve overhearing.

The spellbook lifted its cover in a distinct shrug, but even without words I sensed its knowing stare, its smug challenge to deny the reality before me: despite how much I yearned to believe kisses didn’t break spells, I couldn’t deny mine had done exactly that. With a defeated sigh, I collapsed onto the bank and buried my forehead in my hands.

I sensed her approach before she grazed my shoulder to gain my attention, a touch that felt like a jolt of heat similar to when I cast a spell. “Are you alright, Alden?”

I’d never been less so. There was so much I wanted to tell her in this moment, but despite the many long, deep conversations we’d already exchanged, I suddenly had no idea how to interact with her.

Before she’d been a common girl with magical talent, then she’d been my apprentice—during which she’d been a woman who both challenged me and drove me insane—only to become my dearest friend and comrade as a frog, to now…

My heart gave another unexpected lurch, as if trying to tell me something. I’d never experienced a feeling more confusing or frightening, not even when forced to interact with the conniving women of the royal court. Whatwasthis feeling? The aftermath of my shock, or perhaps the lingering effects brought by her broken curse?

I seized hold of both magic and my role as her tutor and lifted them over my vulnerable and thoroughly confused heart, a familiar entity I could rely on midst the unfamiliar emotions raging within me. “I told you not to mix up filipendula with dryas.”

Anxiety caused the words to come out more harshly than I intended. Reverting to the basic facts of ingredients and potion-making felt like I was wrapping myself in a protective shield, even as I wasn’t quite certainwhatI was protecting myself from. Only that in this moment I’d never felt more vulnerable.

She drew her shoulders back. “You don’t need to scold me; experience has made me well aware of the differences between the two ingredients. I doubt I’ll ever mix them up again.”

Fire flashed in her dark eyes, and I couldn’t help catching my breath, certain I’d never seen their equal in beauty, emotion that drew me in until it seemed impossible to look away. I felt the familiar thrill when she put me in my place…but it was different now, deeper somehow.

She lifted her chin to a defiant angle. “There’s no use scolding me when the entire situation turned out rather well, considering we’ve been able to assist one another.”

In that moment the full implications of my frog turning out to be my apprentice overcame me. Horror seized my breath, trapping it in my throat. “This entire time…you’ve been myapprentice.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Is that bad?”

“Bad?It’s a catastrophe. I’m not allowed to get help from anyone in this competition.”

Her eyes widened before remorse overcame her. “Oh Alden, I didn’t think…I know how important it is for you to prove yourself.”

The sincerity of her apology did little to ease the escalating tension tightening my chest, nor the implications brought by this realization. “I need to be disqualified.”

With a gasp she was at my side, so close…much too close. She leaned in farther to rest her hand on my arm. I experienced a myriad of sensations at once—energy pulsed in the spaces of our proximity, heat pulsated from her touch, and I noticed a rather intoxicating floral scent in the air around her.

Surely the startling intensity of our response was merely our magic making contact, nothing more. I tried to convince myself of this over and over…but I was having a rather difficult time of it.

“I’m so sorry, Alden. I didn’t realize my identity as a witch would put you in such a predicament. But please don’t give up on the competition. You must hold fast to your dream.”

Her reassurances only reminded me of how much of my heart I’d laid bare before her. It pounded wildly at her nearness, as if trying to burst from my chest.

“Surely my knowledge and experience with magic is far too limited to have been of any real help,” she continued.

She had given me far more assistance than she realized. Without her insights and support, I doubt I would have made it this far. My expression faltered at the realization, which only caused her to become aflutter with panic.

---