Page 241 of Castings & Curses

No. NO. NO!

Eyes squinted, teeth gritted, I shoved back with my powers. Suddenly, vines erupted from the window boxes where I grew various herbs and berries, cherry tomatoes included. The strong, thick, green ropes wrapped around my friends, holding them still and terrified.

I was breathing heavily by the time they’d stopped and realized only Arlo and I remained untouched. It seemed Enok, Brandon, and Magnus had tried to free their mates, earning the ire of my plants. They too, were wrapped up tight.

“Holy. Shit.”

Arlo’s words echoed in the suddenly silent kitchen, and I stood up slowly, backing away until my butt banged against the cabinet and the countertop dug into my back.

Because it is in the nightshade family of plants, it was once feared by normals. Deadly nightshade, or belladonna, was believed to have been a favorite of evil witches in folklore and myth. It was actually a toxic herb, whereassolanum lycopersicum, or the tomato plant, while part of the nightshade family, was, in reality, a delicious fruit-producing perennial, though grown as an annual by many summer gardeners.

That was certainly a mouthful of information, but such was my mind. I had stores of trees, shrubs, plants, herbs, fruits, and veggies completely memorized. Anyway, my magic had somehow turned my innocent cherry tomato vines into something else—something potentially deadly.

My roommates ceased their struggling as, one by one, their mix of terrified and pissed off gazes landed on me. I cleared my throat, flicking a glance at Arlo, who’d joined me by the counter. He didn’t look pissed or scared, though. The hot-as-Hades wizard looked downright amused.

A giggle slipped past my lips, and I covered my mouth. Arlo tsked and took my hand in his, gently tugging it away from my face. He kissed it as he gestured for everyone to calm down with his other hand.

“Tomatoes really are underrated,” he stated. Something I myself had said many times over the last few months.

“You can say that again.”

CHAPTER6

It took a bit of convincing,and some threats, but I finally got my roommates to settle down long enough so we could have some semblance of a normal discussion. I understood how they felt about Mabe, and I knew this new information would make some of them uncomfortable. Heck, it made me uncomfortable. But Mabe was a person too. She deserved the benefit of the doubt.

My sunny personality annoyed many, but I was determined to see the positive side of this. We just needed to talk it out. Now, everyone has different family dynamics. I knew this, but in times like these, I fell back on what I’d been taught.

The Montrose family prided themselves on their communication skills. It was something deeply ingrained in me, and I would never stop trying to make it work with my Westwood family. That was how I thought of my roommates—my family away from home.

Rio helped me brew tea, and Enid baked some lemon shortbread while we waited for everyone to get over being bound and gagged by my tomato plants.

“Maybe we should call that plantMister Gray,” Rio asked with a snicker.

“No. Definitely not,” I replied. I could not even imagine my mother’s reaction if she knew I’d named my plant after a smexy book character.

“You ready?” Arlo asked, joining us.

I nodded, focused on my task, secretly thrilling when he carried the tray laden with two teapots, one with a citrusy mint green tea, the other with a vanilla peach blossom blend. Arlo placed the tray on the table right next to the platter of still warm cookies.

“Okay, we have our tea and cookies, now spill,” Tana muttered between bites.

The redhead loved a good cookie.

Who could blame her?

I nodded and stood up. What I had to say required moxie, and I needed to stand for that. Going against popular opinion was never my thing, but Mabe needed me and something deep inside told me she was important to our friend group.

“A few weeks ago, Mabe received an invitation to Westwood Academy, and that invitation included a room assignment here, 563W. Before you interrupt me, please, let me finish,” I said, glaring around the table. Most of my besties looked guilty, except for Rio, who was nodding her approval, and Enid, who looked thoughtful.

“She came to Westwood, maybe a little curious, but mostly unaware of the power inside her. I think she was assigned this room, like we were, because Professor Armstrong knows something about her and us, and she wants us to figure it out on our own, but we’ve missed something, a piece of the puzzle. We’ve been missing Mabe.”

My announcement was greeted with hard silence. I looked at each of them, waiting for someone to dismiss me or call me silly. I got that a lot.

Silly, fluffy little Jade, so sweet and naïve.

But I wasn’t just that. I was more and for the first time in my life, I felt like more. I felt Arlo’s approving gaze focused on me, and it bolstered my courage. I flicked my head toward Mabe, and the witch nodded. That was all the approval I needed.

“Mabe is not an elemental like us.”

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