Page 29 of Spellbound & Speechless
I blink. “What?”
“If you want to,” Aspen says. She still isn’t looking at me. “You don’tneedto, but… it seems like we need protection here, too.” Aspen passes the grimoire to her older sister. “She was trying to get this.”
“Of course.” Laurel’s eyes widen. “The family magic. This must be the weapon she was talking about.”
I lift a brow. “The book is the weapon?”
It’s not exactly what I had in mind.
“It has powerful magic,” Juniper says. “Itisthe closest we have to a weapon, as far as I know.” She holds the book against her chest, treating it like a newborn baby.
A grave silence passes through the room. Wind whistles outside.
“Will you stay?” Aspen peers up at me with a look that makes me want to sayyes.
Fuck. I’ll do anything for her.
I should deny the offer. It may be safer to have me around, but it also means getting closer to them… and to Aspen. That’s a risk I can’t take. As much as I want to run away from it, I also want to chase it.
My heart thumps. “If you feel safer with me around, I’ll stay. It’s the least I can do.”
They’re offering me a room, probably a better room than the one I’m staying in. I can give them protection in return, while staying close to Aspen. There’s no reason to turn it down.
“I think we would all feel safer with you around,” Laurel says. “You’ve been a big help at the bar.”
“And you saved my magic,” Aspen murmurs.
“Then it’s settled,” Juniper says. “Now, onto the grimoire.”
I guess that’s that.
“There should always be at least one witch watching it.” Juniper continues speaking. “If the corrupt witch gets her hands on this…”
My face grows grim. “She can drain your entire family of magic, can’t she?”
Whether it’s a weapon or not, the book is powerful. It will only strengthen the corrupt witch. Juniper is right. It has to be protected.
Juniper nods. “She can, and I think given the chance, she will.”
It turnsout that when the witches offered me a place to stay, they didn’t have a place. Not really. Not a room to myself, at least.
That’s how I end up sharing a bedroom with… well, with Aspen. Apparently, she has the largest room, and she doesn’t complain when Juniper suggests letting me sleep with her.
Well, notwithher—near her. Fuck.
This is the best and the worst outcome. I’m close to her now, as near as I can be without crawling into her bed, which means I can keep her safe. That’s the problem—we’re too close. All I can smell isher.
She showers off the scent of the corrupt witch, and now… it’s justher. Sugar, almond, and flowers that I don’t know the name of.
I clutch the quilt with white knuckles. The rollaway bed is less comfortable than the one at the motel, but I’ll sleep anywhere if it means I can keep Aspen safe.
Aspen tucks the grimoire into bed next to her, propping it up on a pillow. “There.” She beams at me. “Now we can keep an eye on it together.”
Her bedroom is fit for a princess, complete with a canopy and mountains of fluffy pillows in silky pink cases. She wears a matching eye mask on top of her head, and after the day she’s had, I hope she can sleep well.
I doubt I’ll be able to.
“Great,” I grumble.
