Page 29 of Blue Moon Mistress

“We are definitely going to meet up so you can spill every last detail.”

Chuckling, I start to unpack my purchases. Grabbing a jar of moon water from the sill, beside a trio of newly charged crystals, I fill a rose quartz bowl, and slip the amber into it, watching it float for a moment before turning back to Elaria.

“What is my mother up to now that is so strange it warrants a call?”

“For one thing, she wants five dozen truth tarts by tomorrow morning. She won’t tell me why, and when I told her I don’t have the ingredients for the filling and don’t actually know where to source it this time of year, sheflipped. Always fun. So, I’m expecting her to bust down my front door in the next few hours having magically found those tart cherries I’ve only seen imported in late winter.”

“Couldn’t you swap them out for those sour oranges?”

“Not for the specific truths she’s hoping to find.” She shakes her head, bright hair fluttering around her face. “What are you doing?”

“I felt a barrier on the way back into town from our Carraway plot. I need to know if it’s something I should be worried about.”

Elaria sits up straighter. “What kind of a barrier?”

“Not sure. It didn’t try to force me out, but it also wasn’t there this morning and I haven’t checked to see if it would try to keep me from leaving…

“Honestly, I don’t think it’s meant for me. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it if it was a few degrees weaker.”

“Any of the local witches suspect?”

“There are only two others. Gena lives down the coast near the lighthouse and all of her spells taste like salt and sadness. She doesn’t leave sight of the ocean if she can help it. But it might have been the guy who runs the local herb shop.”

“That Wexler guy?” Elaria’s scowl tells me she knows she’s wrong.

“Wexxon.”

“I thought you said he was a dabbler.”

“Gotta rule everyone out, right?”

“Fair. But if it’s not a local… has someone else has moved in?”

“Hence the spell.”

Her lips twisted in a scowl, Elaria nods. “Okay. Let me know what you find and if you need any help withanything. An excuse to get away from your mom is always appreciated.”

She blows me a kiss and disconnects before I actually say goodbye.

Elaria hates the word.

I twine the new purple sage with mugwort hanging on the wall across from the kitchen window speaking the binding enchantments slowly. It takes two seconds to slip the purple candle from its place among the others and set it in the pewter stick at the center of my altar.

The map however… That takes a little longer.

There’s a creased and folded Triple-A version I could use… I set that one close by, but I don’t think the barrier is big enough to need it. And a hand-drawn map of town, sketched into calf skin with hot charcoal, will always be more receptive to magics than mass printed paper and ink.

It’s tucked away in a small trunk and once I have it, there’s nothing between me and finding out whatever this barrier is meant to do.

I light the candle, speaking the words to one of the very first spells I learned before snapping my fingers over the wick with the final command.

Dezva.

Behind me, the wolves shift, restlessly. They haven’t been with me long enough to know what magic is safe and what would be beyond me. I glance over my shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ve done this dozens of times.

Even if I get the words wrong. This is a little white spell. The recoil might singe my fingertips… but it’s not like the big ones.

I stay away from spells that could eat me alive—I glance at the wolves again—most of the time.

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