Page 36 of Love's a Witch
“Bedlam,” I murmured, holding my hands up. “How can I trust these two?”
“Sloane. The queen of chaos.” Nova grinned at me, knowing how much I would hate that title.
“How dare you?” I sucked in a breath and Nova pretended to duck.
“Careful with those. I like my hair as is.”
“Bitch.”
“Messy,” Nova taunted back, and I gasped, holding a hand to my chest.
“Rude.”
“Girls, that’s quite enough. Sloane, we need to alert the Charms.”
“Do we, though?” I glared as Nova broke into laughter.
“Aye, lass. We need their help. Now that you finally have your powers, we can use them to help break the curse. The sooner we can get started on tracking down how to do this, the better.”
“I think it’s a good idea, Sloane. We can use the help. The last thing Broca needs is to be putting out fires, literally, all day when she’s still recovering from surgery,” Lyra said, playing the Broca card, and my shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Fine, call them in.” I was doing this for Broca, I reminded myself. “But if they make me wear a pantsuit, I’m out.”
“But pearls would look so good on you,” Nova snickered.
“Bite me.” Blue huffed out a puff of smoke, accenting my words, and Nova held her hands up.
“Warning received. Between the both of you, we’ll never be able to say a word out of line again.”
At that, I beamed down at Blue, who was circling my lap for a nap.
“Hear that, bud? We inspire fear in others. I’ll take it.”
“So much for being a benevolent leader.”
“That comes after coffee.”
CHAPTER ELEVENKnox
The snow was becoming a problem.
Scratch that,Sloanewas becoming a problem.
I kept thinking of her silky red dress, my hands clenching with the need to touch her. It was undeniable, my attraction to her, and yet I knew that I needed to do what First Knight of the Iron Thistle Order would do—make her leave.
It would be one thing if all of Scotland were caught in an unexpected icy vortex, but since it was contained to just Briarhaven, I’d soon have to explain the situation to the regulatory authorities. A conversation that rarely went well. Heavy snow had collapsed the awning in front of the Familiar’s Nest, a store catering to the needs of our familiars, and I’d spent all morning helping to build it back up. Tucked on the corner of the square, the shop was painted a deep blue, with yellow-gold trim and a bright red door. Sorcha, the shopkeeper, had called in my assistance as she didn’t want to use her magick in plain sight to clean up the mess of her front walk.
“Thanks for cleaning this up for me, Knox.” Sorcha leaned in the doorway, arms crossed over a knit sweater with bunnies on it, her gray hair braided back from her face. “I doubt we’ll have many tourists with this weather, but I wanted to err on the side of caution.”
“Nae bother.” I shrugged and finished clearing the splintered wood, throwing it in the back of my car.
“I think Haggis and Oswald deserve new toys for your hard work, don’t they?” Sorcha asked, holding the door open when I walked back to her.
“Oswald will pretend he isn’t interested, but if I get Haggis a toy and not him, he’ll be livid.”
“Come on, then, let’s pick something out.” Sorcha ushered me inside, and though I had a million other messes to clean up around town, I went, unable to resist new toys for my boys.
The shop was softly lit, the walls painted a deep maroon, and wicker baskets filled with toys lined one large table. On the other side, shelves held more practical needs, like grooming supplies, medicines, and various harnesses that were more adaptable to a variety of different-shaped bodies. Like familiars with wings. I paused. I’d heard through the small-town chatter that Sloane had received an emberwolf as a gift for her birthday, and now I couldn’t help but think that maybe I should also get her new arrival a gift. I was going there anyway, after this, to berate her into leaving, again—but that didn’t mean I had to take it out on her new pet. And if—no,when—Sloane finally left, it wouldn’t be like she could take the emberwolf with her. Maybe I could convince him to move in with me at the castle.
