Page 3 of Magic & Matchmaking
Wonderful.
“I have a life.” Sort of. Okay, not really. But that was because I had responsibilities. I crouched down, rearranging a few tonics on the bottom shelf so their names faced outward. “And I can’t leave.” Father took care of all these animals. Someone had to take care of him. I thought of the one time I had left, how everything had fallen apart so quickly. My throat went dry, and I pushed the thoughts away.
If I left, he’d be lonely. He’d forget to take his medicine. Forget where he placed his wand. All the systems I’d put in place here would crumble.
“Sounds like an excuse to me,” Herman said. “You need friends. Ever since that Riven fellow left, you’ve holed up in here, talking to animals all day. And yourself. It’s really quite annoying.”
My heart squeezed. I hadn’t seen my childhood friend in over a year. The last time he’d visited had only been for one day. Riven had lived in the cottage next to ours in Thistlegrove Forest. We’d grown up playing in the forest, playing with all my father’s magical creatures. I missed my friend. But we weren’t children anymore. He had a life, a job, responsibilities. Just like I did.
It wasn’t easy making friends as an adult. Everyone was so busy, and it wasn’t like I could just visit the local tavern, walk up to someone, and ask, “Can you be my friend?” That might’ve worked when I was five but not so much as a thirty-three year old woman.
“And what about dating?” Herman pointed a long, curled claw at me. “Yes, you have no sense of style and your hair is always up in a dreadful messy bun, but I’m sure you have some redeeming qualities a suitor might notice.”
“Thanks,” I said drily, wiping dust off some of the glass bottles. “Is there a point to this?”
“Why not go to one of those matchmaking events at Steeped in Love? Find a gentlemen who might get you to realize there’s a life outside this shop?”
I walked over to the map of Thaloria plastered to the wall. I lifted a pin and pushed it in the human lands, where our newest arrival came from, a hellhound that breathed fire and was causing a raucous in the human lands.
“Instead of staring at your map all day, dreaming of the world, why not actually go out and experience it?” Herman asked.
My teeth clenched as I whirled. I knew there was a life outside this shop. I knew it all too well. I’d experienced that life. With Riven when we’d attended the Coven Institute. Riven and I had talked about traveling the world together. He was possibly the only other person who understood me. So many plans and possibilities. But it had all come crashing down.
This was my life now, and there was nothing I could do to change it.
Besides, I was happy. Happy enough.
I glanced at my father again, then cleared my throat and pointed at Herman. “You’re a dragon. What could you possibly know about any of this?”
“I’ve spent years watching you.” His pointed ears twitched. “I know more than you think, thank you very much. I’m actually very wise. I give great advice. Just the other day, I was telling a young woman that she should adopt one of the cats. She was going to get a bird, but I told her birds were all wrong for her. They’re so bothersome. All chirpy and constantly molting?—”
“Herman, Morty is here!” I pointed out the window as the elderlywitch crossed the street. She wore a bright purple dress that swished around her ankles and matched the pointed hat sitting atop her head. Grey curls spiraled out beneath her hat.
A baby griffin flew over my head, letting out a pathetic roar that sounded more like a squeak. Its lion tail whipped back and forth.
Oh, not again. I snatched my wand from the counter near the back wall, then chased after the griffin, attempting to recite the spell that would catch it in a protective bubble. Griffins had a bit of a problem with biting. I said the spell, but no magic came from the wand. I groaned, banging it into my hand and saying the spell again. It wouldn’t work. My inflection must not have been right.
A stream of golden glittering magic flowed through the air and wrapped around the baby griffin. It yowled in displeasure, butting against the bubble that now encased it. The bubble floated straight into my father’s arms, popping as he gently cradled the griffin to his chest.
I rolled my eyes, and he smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners. He turned and moved toward the back of the shop to put the griffin in its case with the other baby griffins. The door was ajar. Those griffins were smart. They were already learning how to use their tails to unlock the doors. Another problem I’d have to solve. I’d work on it later tonight.
“You just need a little more practice,” my father said over his shoulder.
Right. As if I hadn’t been practicing for years. Somehow I could never get the spells right. Whether it was the wording, the inflection, the wand movement—I didn’t mesh well with animal spells. I reached up and grabbed Herman off the shelf, cradling him in my hand.
He squirmed in my grip. “Not so tight, you ingrate.”
I rubbed my forehead right as Morty Hallow stepped through the front door, a steaming cup of tea in one hand and a rolled-up parchment in the other, a severe look on her face.
“We need to talk,” she said.
Chapter Two
EMMA
“Witch’s tits,” Herman said, smoking puffing from his flared nostrils. “What’s the problem?”
I shushed him and looked at Morty, hoping she wasn’t changing her mind. I couldn’t handle any more of Herman and his constant blathering.
