Page 104 of Love's a Witch
“By blood that bound, by love now freed,
Let this curse be undone in word and deed.
Honey sweet, whisky strong,
Upend this heartache to right a wrong.”
Three times we recited it, our voices united, many of us reading from the text message I’d sent with the ritual earlier that day. At the end, light flashed inside the empty cauldron, the air shimmered, and then quiet descended on the pub.
“There’s something in the cauldron,” Broca said.
Sloane bent over and reached in, pulling out a stone.
“It’s a piece of pink quartz.” Sloane held it up. “But it’s broken.”
“Is it part of a heart?” Nova said, stepping forward to examine it. “See how it curves? It looks like a piece of a broken heart.”
As one, the MacGregor sisters slumped, their eyes filling.
“It didn’t work,” Lyra muttered, her huge eyes sad. “What are we supposed to do with a piece of broken quartz?”
“?‘Three fragments mended, a heart restored, let curse unwind, its chains no more.’?” Sloane turned, hugging Blue to her chest. “The line that didn’t make sense. In my book.”
“That’s your piece,” Broca said, nodding knowingly. “I told you. ‘Three sisters to right a wrong, a heart shattered, once again strong.’?”
“This is part of the heart,” Sloane murmured, turning the piece in her hand.
“The snow… It’s gone.” Lyra clapped her hands to her mouth, and we all turned to look.
That had been the silence that had fallen, I realized.
I’d grown so used to the howling of the wind outside that I hadn’t realized that the storm had not only disappeared, but it had taken the rest of the snow with it.
Not a single flake remained. Sunlight filtered through the tree branches, a few still stubbornly having held on to their amber leaves, and fluffy clouds dotted the azure sky.
The army of snow sculptures were nothing but puddles on the front lawn.
We all gaped out the window, and then cheers erupted.
“Drinks are on the house,” Liam called, and we all cheered again.
I turned and scooped up Sloane, pressing my lips to hers in the kiss of all kisses. I needed her to feel, down to her very stubborn toes, how much I loved her.
“Ahem.” A throat cleared behind me, and I lifted my head from Sloane’s to grin at her father. “I love her, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“Right, that’ll do.” Russell tapped two fingers to his head in a gentle salute, and then faded away, likely slipping back to the quiet of the hills he now called home.
“I love you too,” Sloane said, and Blue bobbed his head in her arms, before barking once. “Blue says he does too.” A lightnessfilled me, like a thousand champagne bubbles exploding, and the remaining tension that threaded my shoulders eased. She was really mine to keep.
“How do you feel about joining our pack, Blue?” I asked, bending down to kiss his furry little forehead. He swiped his rough tongue up the side of my face, and I took that to mean he approved. Then he wriggled out of Sloane’s arms to launch himself around the room, and I pulled her close.
“You’re staying.” It wasn’t really a question, but still I needed to hear it.
“I’m staying,” Sloane agreed, and laughed when I pulled her tight. I just needed to hold her close, to know she was mine, forever, hopefully, but for as long as she’d give me for now. “I’m worried, though. It’s only one part of the heart. Which means… we haven’t fully broken the curse, have we? Something else will happen, won’t it? With Lyra?”
“Hush, darling.” Broca stepped forward, having overheard Sloane’s words. “We’ll have a respite for now. Lyra has some time until she gets her magick. I suspect the curse will rear its head the closer we get to that. For now, just breathe. Tonight we celebrate. But tomorrow?”
“What’s tomorrow?” Sloane leaned forward, hanging on Broca’s words.
