Page 39 of The Witch's Spell
I nod. “Yes. If you’ll have me.”
Though the others try not to be conspicuous, I notice how they glance at my cane.
“I’ll be all right,” I tell them. “If my pace is too slow, you’re welcome to go ahead. I’ll meet you there.”
“Nonsense,” Aurora says, fetching a knit cap from a hook and pulling it on over her head. It has a pouf at the top, and it looks so adorable and silly on her, I almost want to laugh. “I’ll walk with you.” She turns her gaze to Alden and Rowan. “You two go on ahead. I know you’ve work to do.”
“You sure you’ll be okay?” Alden asks. At first, I think he’s asking Aurora if she’ll be okay withme, but then I realize I’m the one he’s looking at. “The snow’s still pretty deep; I haven’t finished shoveling our road into the village.”
He’s kind, this Alden Stonewood.
“I appreciate your concern,” I say, already thinking of the pain potions in my satchel, “but I’ll be just fine.” Reaching down, I give my leg a pat. “I’ve walked many miles on this thing. It’s not failed me yet.”
He looks unsure but doesn’t push. Instead, he and Rowan take turns kissing Aurora goodbye, then leave the cottage and start down the road toward the village.
As I clasp my cloak about my neck, Aurora tips her head at me. “Are you really going to be okay? I don’t want you to hurt yourself. I’d be happy to bring any books I find back from the library.”
The worry in her voice is cute.
I remove my satchel from the hook on the wall and reach in to grab one of my few remaining pain potions. When I hold it up in the light, the golden liquid inside shimmers.
“This is a potion made by our apothecaries,” I tell her. “It’s for pain. Amazing stuff. If I get uncomfortable, I’ll take one. It’s nothing to worry about.”
“Oh.” Some of the concern leaves Aurora’s face. She leans in to get a closer look at the tonic. “Do you know what they use for this?”
“Can’t say I do.” I pop the cork from the bottle and hold it up to my nose. “It smells of... chamomile, lemon, and honey, I believe. There’s something else too, but I—”
Before I can finish my sentence, Aurora pushes up onto her toes to get a whiff from the bottle. She’s so close to me that I catch my breath. A strand of her hair tickles my chin.
“I think that’s... cinnamon. Oh, and white willow. I have that here. But what gives it the glimmer?”
She lowers back down, giving me some space, and I can breathe again. The more time I spend around this witch, the more time I find myselfwantingto spend with her.
And the more often I wonder what it might feel like to actually touch her.
I clear my throat. “I’m not sure.” Slipping the vial into the satchel, I offer her a smile. “Now, shall we?” I ease past her and open the door. The burst of cold air has Harrison running for the parlor fire.
In a moment that almost takes my breath away, Aurora links her arm through mine and says, “We shall.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
I look down at Aurora—or at the pouf atop her hat, more like—and say, “Of course.”
She hesitates a moment. Then, finally, she says in a timid voice, “What happened to your leg? If you don’t mind me asking...” As she turns her face up toward me, I note the blush rising into her cheeks, turning her rosy cheeks a darker shade of red.
“I don’t mind at all. Here, come this way.”
I wave her over to a spot along the path that has melted enough for me to stand with my boots flat on the snow. Taking my weight off my cane, I say, “Look here.” When I stand with my weight on my right leg, I have to bend my left a bit to compensate. “I was born with my right leg shorter than my left,” I explain. “I can walk on it, but the cane helps with my mobility and with some of the pain.”
“Oh.” Her green eyes sparkle in the winter sunlight. “I see. Does it bother you quite a lot?”
Putting my weight into my cane again, I shrug. “I’ve always lived this way; I know no difference. It does cause discomfort, but I manage that well enough. At home, we have hot springs. The heat takes some of the pain away.”
“We have those too!” Aurora says suddenly, perking up like the first buds after a spring thaw. “Well, Alden has a secret hot spring spot, but I don’t think he’d mind sharing. If you’d like...”
The thought of sitting in a hot spring with Aurora has my cheeks wanting to heat up. I clear my throat and glancequickly away. “Perhaps after we’ve cleared up all this fog business,” I say. “It’ll be our gift to ourselves.”
“Then it’s decided,” she declares, seeming not to realize that I can’t look at her right now lest I imagine what she looks like beneath all those layers of winter clothing. “We’ll clear the fog, and then we’ll go to the hot springs. But first, the library. Hopefully Welma will have what we’re looking for...”
