Page 25 of Potions and Proposals
Benedict sat on the edge of the fountain with his elbows on his knees; the weight of her admissions had drained the colour from his cheeks. Defeat wasn’t a good look on him. Lucy blamed herself.
“Could we try and undo the spell?” he asked, looking up at her. His hope only added to the weight on her shoulders.
“It depends. There are only two ways to look at this,” she began, standing in front of him. They’d both calmed down enough to talk rationally. “If what you said is true, and the spell worked and swapped our elements because we agreed to be together, then it should wear off once the ritual is over.”
“And the other way?” he asked, staring at the grass.
“If the wrong ingredient altered the spell from its natural course, then I might be able to reverse it. Theoretically, performing the correct spell might switch our elements back.” It was a gamble, but she didn’t want him to freak out even further by admitting that.
“Our options are: to be bound to get our elements back. Or to perform the corrected spell, which will reverse our elements,but it might stop you from being bound to me?” he summarised, finally meeting her eye.
“We might not have to complete the binding ritual to get our elements back. The spell was set to lastuntilAll Hallows’ Eve; we should switch back anyway. If the corrected spell works, and I find my soulmate, then we’d be spared from spending an eternity together.” She hoped her logic was sound; she couldn’t imagine his fire coursing through her veins for the rest of her life. It felt far too… intimate.
“Either way, our elements might be stuck like this until All Hallows’ Eve?” He didn’t sound as pleased as she thought he’d be about their not being bound. She’d thought he’d be jumping for joy.
Lucy nodded.
“In that case, let’s assume we’ve got to wait out the spell effects until then. If casting the correct spell doesn’t work, we can reassess. In the meantime, we need rules to protect ourselves.”
She had to respect him for thinking ahead. If the Mathersons were good at anything, it was a cover-up.
“We can’t tell anyone about our elements switching. If the coven learns of this, neither of us will be appointed.” It seemed obvious, but she wanted his word.
“Goes without saying. I won’t tell a soul,” he promised. “The last thing I need is another blot in the Matherson ledger.”
Lucy’s phone rang, making her jump. Rosie’s name lit up the screen. She answered, not wanting her friend to sniff her out.
“Why am I getting calls about the library being closed? Caffeinated students worried about their potion exams are not the best people to talk to first thing in the morning,” Rosie grumbled, clearly suffering from her late night.
“Sorry. I’m running behind. Don’t worry about it,” Lucy said quickly before hanging up, not wanting her friend to hear Benedict in the background.
“I was thinking… we were both so worried about being cast out that we agreed to the binding. And now, if the coven finds out about our elements, we’d be cast out. Together.”
“Your point?” She folded her arms.
“Maybe we are destined to be together,” he said, his voice edged with uncertainty rather than humour.
“I’ve got to go. If I don’t open the library, Rosie is going to know something is up,” she said, putting her phone in her bag. Now was not the time to unpack whatever he was trying to get at.
“I can come with you, help look for a spell,” he suggested, clearly forgetting he looked like a drowned rat. A strikingly handsome drowned rat.
“It’s probably best if we avoid each other as usual, so we don’t make our elements worse.” She didn’t want him breathing over her shoulder as she tried to fix the mess her family had created. “Rosie will be suspicious if we’re suddenly hanging out, and it would give the town the wrong impression of our relationship.”
“Didn’t you say the spell was meant to bring us closer together? Our elements might act out if we stay away from each other.” Benedict followed her to the breakfast terrace. Luckily, the rain had sent the guests inside.
“It was intended to find my soulmate, not the person I agreed to be in a political marriage with. I still think it’s the wrong ingredient that did this, and not our agreement,” she said as they reached the doors. She didn’t want to entertain the idea that they might be soulmates.
“Fine. Call me if anything goes wrong, and try not to set the library on fire. We should refrain for using our – your – my element as much as we can.”
His calm demeanour troubled her. “I can control your element, don’t worry about that,” she scoffed, wondering if he was willing to let her leave because any loss of control would reveal their secret to the coven. She didn’t like feeling paranoid, but it was easier to think the worst of him than imagine he might trust her. Even the thought made her shiver.
He smiled at her retort.
“Get into some dry clothes – you look like a drowned rat,” she snipped as she headed down the grand staircase, feeling him close behind. At least in all this chaos, the topic of last night hadn’t come up.
“Pumpkin?” Benedict said as she reached the last step. His soft tone made her uneasy.
“Yes,” Lucy hissed, wondering why he had to ruin such a civil conversation.
