Page 20 of Magic and Matrimony

“I’m not an idiot, Ambrose. Things are chaotic with the coven, and in my life. Besides, you have an incredible magical library, and safety in numbers and all that.”

“Ah.” Ambrose smiles at me. “I get it now. You married me for my library, didn’t you? That was the plan all along.”

“Let’s be honest, you don’t have much else going for you,” I quip, and he grins at me. Ambrose is vain enough to know that he’s beautiful, and rich, not to mention charming, and generally an all-around good guy.

“Sir, this arrived for you while you were away.” One of the staff dressed in blue and gold livery, that looks straight out of a period film, holds out an envelope to Ambrose.

I can already tell at a glance that it’s from the coven. Ambrose takes it and rips it open, holding it so that we can both read it together. “It’s an invitation.”

“I’ve already been to a coven party. I don’t think I’m interested in another.” Ambrose sighs, but upon further reading, I realize it’s not really a party. It’s a letter explaining that it’s time to select a new coven council. After the masquerade, we lost our entire coven council. They plotted to curse the witches of this town in an effort to outrun their own mistakes. Which is how my uncle and the rest of the council ended up under magical house arrest.

Lucida Ash, who’s currently the head of the Luminara coven, has requested the presence of every witch in Mystic Hollows to join her in calling for a new coven council. Besides the date and time, there’s no other information provided.

“What are the odds this ends in another riot?” Ambrose waves the envelope like a fan.

“I’m not much of a gambler, but I’d guess there’s a ninety-nine percent chance of a fight breaking out.”

11

PIPER

After Ambrose fishes my phone out of a giant urn, he takes me back to my apartment to gather up things like clothing and my own toothbrush. This entire situation is weird. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying at the chateau. Even having Ambrose in my apartment feels strange, as though he’s inhabiting a part of my world that doesn’t exist anymore. I don’t know why it feels that way, because I’m still the same person. Except everything has changed in the course of a few days.

By the time we get back to Ambrose’s house, his parents are gone and so are the rest of the staff. Ambrose takes my suitcase and the duffel bag from my shoulder and heads upstairs, leading me to a new room. It’s a different one than where Odie stays.

“There are, like, twenty rooms here, so if you don’t like this one, please feel free to pick another.” Ambrose opens the door with more finesse than I could’ve ever managed while juggling multiple bags.

“I’m sure it’s fine.” I stutter to a stop as I look at the room. It’s more than fine. It’s beautiful. The Roth mansion is a strange mixture of old world and new. Parts of it feel like a museum, butthere’s also something magical about living in a space so laden with history.

This room feels out of another world completely. As if whoever decorated the rest of the house gave the responsibility of the decor over to somebody else entirely. Where the rest of the house is dark, mahogany wood and heavy oil paintings, everything in here is light and airy. There’s a canopy bed with sheer curtains pulled back to display a fluffy comforter and massive amount of pillows. The walls are a pale cream, with gold art that provides a counter to the dark hardwood floors. It’s warm but still has the same sense of history as the rest of the house.

Ambrose sets my bags in the walk-in closet. “You have your own bath, and I’m right next door if you need anything. And I do meananything.” He smirks. “Three months is a long time, Piper.”

“Only for you. Go.” I take Ambrose by the shoulders, turn him around, and push him out into the hallway. His laughter lingers as I close the door behind him and lean against the heavy wood.

Even after sleeping all night in Vegas–and basically the entire trip home–I’m still exhausted. Part of it might be the weight of freedom from Tucker. It’s so foreign that I don’t know how to manage the feeling. It doesn’t seem real. I’ve spent my entire life tiptoeing around my father and then Tucker. Afraid every time I saw them that they would ask me to do something I wouldn’t want to do. I could never refuse.

Now I can say no.

And I’m married to Ambrose Roth. Whose bedroom is mere feet away. If I wanted to, I could climb into his bed, and he would make me forget my own name.

I shake my head and drag my hands through my hair. I groan at the tangled mess.

Shower. Bed. And no more thoughts of any problems tonight. That’s all I’m allowed to do tonight. Nothing will get solved by me worrying.

I peel my dirty clothes off, take a scalding hot shower, and try not to think of Ambrose naked in his own shower, just a room away.

The coven gatheringis being held in the auditorium of the old Tenebris coven house tonight. There’s no official Luminara coven house yet. Lucida used to be the Tenebris coven leader before she took control of the Luminara coven, so I suppose it makes sense that she feels more comfortable gathering us all here. I can already tell that some people are not pleased by what seems like a preference for one coven over the other. Witches are giving each other suspicious looks and talking to each other behind their hands. I’m feeling pretty confident that a fight will break out tonight. Especially now that I’m in a room with all these witches. Tensions are that high.

It’s raining again tonight and all the damp bodies shoved into one room has led to a hot and humid space. The auditorium where we’ve gathered has a small stage but no permanent seats. The crowd has formed little pockets where those familiar with each other congregate. I follow Ambrose through the crowd, since he seems to know where he’s headed. I probably would’ve camped out in the back corner of the room until I saw one of my friends.

Ambrose looks at me over his shoulder. “Our friends are over there.” He jerks his head, and I try to see through the crowd, but there are too many people. I’ve been in this room once before, when summoned by the old Tenebris coven. The council wassearching for a set of grimoires that my friends and I had stolen. Ones that are still at Ambrose’s house.

He reaches behind him and searches for my hand, grabbing hold tight so I don’t get lost among the frenzy. The crowd is vibrating with nervous energy. An even mix of the old Tenebris and Lumen coven members packs the room. Witches stand shoulder to shoulder with their former enemies and they’re not happy about it. The transition into one coven has not been smooth. We grew up hearing about how awful the witches on the other side of the river were and it’s going to take time to break down those beliefs.

The Lumen coven was made up of light witches, whose magic specialized in things like healing, elemental magic, and potions. Dark witches have a more arcane type of magic, tending toward shadow and mental magic. We were led to believe there was a reason we never mixed together. That turned out to be a lot of politicking bullshit. But there are many witches who refuse to believe that we’re not so different. Ingrained biases and being told your whole life that the witch on the other side of town is really your enemy are hard things for some people to give up.

Ava is the first to spot me and Ambrose. Her light brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she’s wearing a pair of yoga pants and an oversized sweatshirt that I’m pretty sure belongs to her fated bond, Bram. She pulls me into a hug, but I don’t untangle my hand from Ambrose quickly enough. Ava’s eyes go wide as she looks between the two of us.

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