Page 17 of Spookily Yours

She gave me a sad smile, and I instantly wanted to make it better. To soothe her fears.

I couldn’t do that as a cat. Couldn’t take her beautiful face into my hands and promise her everything would be okay, not yet.

But after she fixed me, I could.

And that was the thought that sent me scurrying in search of the only thing that belonged to me. Something no one else had a claim on.

Something I’d hoped to one day need, but not for this.

FIVE

willow

He’d spent the night sleeping at my feet again, and even though I knew now that he wasn’t really a cat, the action still comforted me. It was a small thing, really, to know I wasn’t alone, but it made me feel better.

Damien had disappeared during the afternoon, leaving me to work in the study, making sure I had just the right balance of herbs and ingredients for the spell. It was a relatively simple task, but it still required my undivided attention.

He returned, holding something in between his teeth. After hopping up on the table, he unceremoniously dropped it onto the workstation in front of me.

“This is it?” I asked, holding up a small silver ring, the purple amethyst sparkling in the light. The setting was gorgeous—the entire piece was, really.

He cleared his throat. “It was my mother’s. It’s the only thing I could think of. She gave it to me before she passed away.”

So he’d lost a parent, too. I knew firsthand how heartbreaking that was, and I wondered who had been by his side. Who’d helped him through the grief? How long had it been?

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, brushing my finger over the stone.

Damien’s big yellow cat eyes connected with mine, and I wondered what he would look like if we were successful. What color his eyes would be. If his hair was as dark as his fur. Would he have a strong jaw? His voice was deep, and I imagined—

“Little witch,” he murmured, breaking me from my trance. “Shall we prepare?”

“Right.” I nodded, setting the ring back down. “We still have a few hours till the sun goes down. I want to have everything ready so I can perform the spell when the moon is at its highest. That way, it’s the most powerful moon magic possible. And hopefully…” I snapped my fingers.

“What are these?” Damien said, nudging a bundle of herbs with his nose.

I looked at my chosen selection. We’d talked about doing the spell, but in reality, I was tryingeverything.

“I’m going to burn it,” I explained. I’d burn incense—a blend of rue, hyssop, salt, sage, and frankincense. “The smoke should hopefully help to cleanse away the curse from your body.”

If it worked. Some of the herbs served specific purposes: hyssop was good for magical self-defense, while frankincense was used to cleanse and purify. Both of them would take part in my spell.

I explained all of that as I worked. Whenever he had a question, that little cat nose of his sniffing at my workstation, I did my best to answer it.

It was weird, because I always worked alone, except for my coven and Luna. But I didn’t mind him being there. His presence, while also the cause of my current distress, seemed to soothe some of the jittery feelings running through me.

I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“And what about the object you asked me to bring?” He asked, peering at me curiously.

The ring was sitting in the middle of the desk, untouched.

“I’m going to use it as a talisman. Hopefully, it will protect you and keep this from happening again.” I swallowed roughly. If it worked. “You can wear it around your neck, I suppose.”

I eyed his cat collar, the one with the bell. “How’d they get that on you, anyway?” Reaching over, I took it off of him, setting it on the table next to me. I should have taken it off sooner. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me.

“Around the twelfth time of me chewing it off, I realized it was useless. They just kept putting a new one on me. So I just gave up.” He peered down at the orange thing. “Strange, to think I might go back to normal soon.” He licked a paw.

“Hopefully,” I said, giving what I hoped was an optimistic smile. Even though I had no idea if it would work. If any of it would.

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