Page 65 of Magic and Matrimony

Ambrose moves off the chair and drops to the floor in front of me. He grabs my hands and clasps them between his. “I’m glad you came to me that night. We’ve been distracted, and I haven’t been helping you figure this hex out as much as I should, but I promise I’ll make it a priority.”

“I know. Maybe in the morning, though.” I drop my book on the couch. Ambrose springs to his feet and pulls me to standing.

“In the morning,” he promises and leads me upstairs.

He stops at my room and opens the door. I hesitate. I should go inside alone, but despite being mad I don’t want to sleep without Ambrose next to me.

“Will you stay with me?”

Ambrose lets out a heavy sigh of relief. “I’d love nothing more.”

30

AMBROSE

“This one might work.” Piper is lying in front of the fire, pointing to a huge book in front of her. After we got up, I made breakfast, and we both downed a hefty dose of potion to cure hangovers. I consumed another to help heal the bruise on my jaw, then we spent all afternoon combing through the library for information on how to break Piper’s hex.

I fucked up last night. A few times. Piper’s rightfully upset about the women who keep showing up and throwing themselves at me, but it’s the hurt that I used her hex against her that’s really caused pain. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt like a bigger asshole.

I’m lying on the couch, trying to keep my eyes open. This book is mainly about horticulture, and it’s dull enough to put the most avid gardener to sleep.

I let my book fall to my chest and turn my head to look at Piper. Her dark red hair is piled up on top of her head and her skin is free of make-up. She’s wearing another one of my sweatshirts, and she looks like a goddess. One fallen down to earth to mix among us mere mortals.

“I think I may have found something. It says in order to break a hex of obedience, you must…” her voice trails off and she frowns.

“Don’t leave me in suspense. What must we do?”

Piper sits up and pulls the book into her lap. She hums under her breath. “It says you require the tongue of the person who hexed you.”

“What do you do with the tongue? If you’re able to get it.” I grimace. We’ve dug up a body before. Well, we pushed a lid off a sarcophagus. Piper’s father is the one who cursed her, and he’s definitely buried somewhere in Mystic Hollows. How long does a tongue survive, though? He’s been dead for over ten years.

Piper clears her throat. Her eyes dart to me and then quickly focus back on the book. “It says the current owner of the hex has to drink a potion made from the tongue of the hex’s originator. Then obey any commands given to them until a new day begins.”

I sit up and stare at Piper, who’s looking at me apologetically.

“You found another way, didn't you? This is punishment for last night, isn’t it. I get it. I deserve it.”

“What? No.” Piper tries to hide her laughter. “I swear, this is the only reference I’ve found in all these books.” Piper waves her hand over the stacks of books on the table and those that overflow onto the floor. I know she’s not lying; we’ve been looking for weeks.

I flop back onto the couch. “Fucking Crone. I’m going to have to drink tongue. Old, shriveled corpse tongue. Will that make me a cannibal?” I shudder.

Piper crawls over to me and lifts my hand off my eyes. “Yes. It will,” she says seriously.

I grab her and drag her on top of me, making her squeal with laughter. “Hey, that’s the guy you married. What’s that say about your taste in men?”

“I have superb taste.” Piper gasps as she wriggles around on top of me, trying to get free from my tickling fingers.

I almost bring up the dickhead from last night that proves otherwise, but I’m already going to be a cannibal. I don't need to be an asshole too.

“When should we do this?” I ask, giving up on the tickling. Piper sighs and sinks into me.

“As soon as possible.”

As soon aspossible turns out to be two nights later. It takes surprisingly little time to plan a grave robbery. Or, is it a robbery when you’re not taking the body anywhere? Just a tongue?

“Why do we always have to do these things in the middle of the night?” Ava complains as we make our way through Mystic Hollows Memorial Cemetery. This is the cemetery where Lumen coven witches have been buried for the past few centuries. There’s another in the former Tenebris territory, and a third still that is the oldest in town and holds the bodies of most of the founders of Mystic Hollows.

“I really appreciate that you guys wanted to be here.” Piper sighs, with a hint of hesitation in her voice. “But you didn’t all have to come.”

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