Page 33 of Love's a Witch
Honestly, I’d forgotten the punch of a man in a kilt, having been away from Scotland for years, but seeing Knox stride into the party last night had conflicting emotions rising inside me. Objectively, I could admire a drop-dead gorgeous man. Yet when said man was insistent on running you out of town, it certainly leveled up the annoyance factor.
“It’s a good thing it’s not too bright in here, as your beauty lights the room.”
I played his words back to myself, shifting under the blankets, as Blue snored at my feet.
For just a moment, I wanted to savor the compliment, like a delicious dessert enjoyed slowly and paired with a perfect glass of wine. He’d meant it too. It wasn’t a reflexive comment, one thrown off the cuff to be polite. Those blue eyes had pierced me, and he’d visibly swallowed as he’d taken my dress in.
I’ddone that to him.
I wasn’t used to playing the part of bombshell, but when Lyra had insisted that fire engine red was the way to go, shoving a dress in my hands and refusing to hear my insecurities about how it hugged my curves, I’d given up and gone with it. Now I was glad that I had followed her directive.
There was something about putting a man like Knox on his back foot that made me feel powerful.
I rolled over and looked to where I’d plugged my phone in across the room. Wind gusted against the window, making me burrow more deeply under the covers, and I realized that now I didn’t have to get out of bed in the cold to go get my phone to check my messages.
I could just use my magick to bring it to me.
A little thrill of excitement shot through me. So what if Mandy Meadows thought I was a basic witch? This magick was still mine, and I would be proud of it. Two days ago I couldn’t lift things with my mind, and now I could. Which was more than the majority of the world’s population could do. Far from basic, in my estimation.
I’d spent much of the day yesterday practicing my levitation skills, and frankly, I was quite chuffed with myself. I had my magick under my command, and I could quickly use it as needed.
Pushing my hair back from my face, I focused on the phone and reached for the magick that shimmered through me. I realized, now, that it had always been there. Though I’d started to notice its presence more in the years approaching my twenty-fifth birthday, this spark had always been inside me. My very essence, I supposed.
Or, my sparkles, as Lyra called it.
She was going to take to coven life like, well, a charm. I smiled to myself. Lyra had always been a girls’ girl. No matter where she went, she collected friends like handbags, and ingratiated herself quickly into any new community, while Nova and I were more cautious in our approach. Nova didn’t much care about appeasing anyone, aside from her clients who commissioned her art for digital prints andtattoos, and she’d spent most of the night discussing the best running routes around Briarhaven with Tam.
Broca had stayed home with Blue, insisting that she was happy to do so, and I was glad that I didn’t have to leave him alone.
Aside from Knox reminding me I was unwanted, and most of the town not showing up to the party in protest of our arrival in Briarhaven, I’d had a really nice night.
Reaching my hand out, I pulled at a thread of magick and invited my phone to come to me.
The curtains covering the window behind the phone promptly burst into flames.
“Shite!” I screeched, startling Blue, who toppled off the bed and caught himself just before he reached the floor, and flew awkwardly across the room. Whipping the blankets off the bed, I kept screaming as I beat the curtains with my blankets, trying to tamp out the flames.
“Watch out!” Nova shouted at my back, and then she was there, fire extinguisher in hand, and foam exploded across the window.
In seconds, the fire was out, and Lyra stood in the door, gaping at us, while Broca cried out from below.
“Everything’s fine.” Lyra turned and padded down the hallway. “I’ll go to her.”
Blue threw his head back and howled, and I automatically lifted my arms for him. He slammed into my chest, still not great with his landings, and I cuddled him as I stared at the curtains. My heart thundered in my chest, and a bead of sweat dripped down my back.
What the hell had just happened?
“What the hell was that?” Nova demanded. “Was that Blue’s fault?”
“No, not at all.” Blue whimpered in my arms, and I hugged him more tightly. “I… I don’t know. I just was going to float my phone to me, so I didn’t have to get out of bed. I have no idea what happened.” I flailed one hand helplessly in the air, blinking at the foam spray that crusted my window. Gingerly, I put Blue down on the bed, andhe pawed at the blanket, burrowing his nose in. Stepping across the room, I wiped some of the foam off the window and peered out.
My neighbor lifted two fingers from across the street, where he shoveled his walk. I waved, less enthusiastically today, but still, we had a thing, didn’t we?
“Let’s go talk to Broca. Don’t try to levitate anything else.”
“Good shout.”
“And then we’ll clean this up.” Nova shook her head at the mess of my bedroom wall. “I don’t like this.”
