Page 30 of Incubus with Benefits
She hesitated at the threshold, so I nudged the can closer. She let me pet her last time, but that was outside. Coming inside would be a big step.
She eyed Penny, but she must have decided that she was harmless because she stepped past the threshold into my home and went straight for the fish.
Penny and I exchanged matching grins.
Shadow was still chowing down when a portal opened up in my living room and Gigi stepped through. Shadow spooked and ranback outside, though she didn’t go far. I kept the door open a crack just in case she changed her mind.
But Gigi couldn’t unravel or sever the thread either. She did ascertain that it was wizard magic.
“So what now?” I asked. I wanted that thing off me now.
“We call in the big guns,” Gigi said. “The biggest, smuggest, most annoying wizard we know.”
We all said his name together.
“Seth.”
Too bad we couldn’t just call him into existence by chanting his name three times. In fact, we couldn’t even get a hold of him at all. But we did manage to reach Liam, who told us that Seth was with Desmon on a work trip out of town. So we thanked him and told him to say hi to Hazel for us.
We were on our own for now.
“If we can’t unwrap or sever it, then why don’t we hide it?” Penny suggested.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Remember when I cast that spell that sent me a bunch of unsuitable suitors?”
“How could we forget?” Gigi muttered.
“Well, I used a concealment spell to hide myself from unwanted attention. And if it hid me from something magical like a wonky love spell, then maybe it would block this one too.”
“That might work,” I said, nodding along with Gigi.
I’d much rather have it gone completely, but hidden was the next best thing.
“We can make it strong together. It’s not a solution, but it will hold until Seth gets back.”
The sound of eating alerted us that Shadow was back in my kitchen and chowing down. It was quick work with all three of us together. And since I had both of my friends' attention, I decided to bring up one thing that I’d been mulling over.
“I was thinking now that I actually have time, we could finally make our coven official,” I said, watching their faces to see their reaction.
Official covens were run like businesses with proper budgets, reports, quarterly meetings, all that jazz. It was a lot of work, but there were kickbacks. Recognition as an official coven meant access to protected archives, priority for rare ingredients, and even funding for community spells or warding projects. It was like incorporating a business, but with more candles and fewer tax audits.
We’d talked about it often in the past, back when we thought we’d have time to organize our lives like responsible witches. The plan had been to make our coven official, get registered, maybe even host seasonal gatherings. But then life happened.Penny moved away to be with family, Gigi started her business, and I did that whole corporate thing. Life got hectic, and we’d let it slide.
Now I had time to jump through the hoops needed to organize everything, Penny was back in town, and Gigi had employees to help out at her coffee shop. Maybe it was time to stop pretending we were just a group of friends who occasionally cast spells and did witchy things and start admitting we were something more, something bigger. The old excitement and joy I used to get when talking about becoming a real coven returned.
“Ooh! That’s a great idea,” Penny said, a spark lighting her eyes. “I know I resisted it before because of my family, but I don’t kowtow to them now, so I say we go for it.”
“I’m up for getting properly registered,” Gigi agreed. “We’re listed as coven sisters anyway. Technically, the EA already has us on file, and Desmon knows about us. But isn’t it, like, a whole lot of work? Like a website and logo? Proper meeting notes?”
“Yup. But I kind of have a shit ton of time on my hands right now.”
“Then let’s do it,” Penny said.
And so it was agreed that our little coven of three was going official.
Chapter 15
