Page 46 of Bewitched By the Voodoo King
With that, she was swept away and I was left alone to stare down at the dessert table again. I sighed and turned away from my favorite table and looked around. It was probably a good idea to try something from the dinner spread. My eyes skipped over everyone, and that was when I saw him, standing slightly in the shadows across the courtyard, watching me.
I didn’t know how long he’d been standing there watching me, but when he raised his glass, my stomach erupted in butterflies. I wanted to go to him, but as soon as I started my trek in his direction, someone grabbed his hand and pulled him another way.
He shot me a small, apologetic smile and my shoulders slumped.
I stood still for a moment, watching as he disappeared into the crowd—drawn away by duty and expectation. I knew it wasn’t personal. But it still stung.
I turned back to the food, grabbing a plate, I didn’t quite feel hungry for anymore. Crawfish etoufie, hush puppies, and something with a lot of rice and sausage that I was pretty sure was jambalaya. It didn’t matter.
“Need a place to sit?” a soft voice asked beside me.
I glanced over to see a woman with loose, dark curls and moonstone earrings. Her soft smile was calm and refreshing.
“I’m Calisto,” she said. “Seraphine’s twin.”
Of course, she was.
Where Seraphine was sunlight, Calisto was moonlight. Same eyes—gold threaded with bright blue—but they shimmered a little darker.
“I’d love that,” I said, gesturing to the spot beside her at a table lit with floating candles and half-empty plates.
“You’re the infamous Maple that no one stops talking about.” She scooped up some of the rice on her plate while one of her brows lifted.
I touched my face, now extremely self-conscious. “I don’t know about that.”
“It’s given this coven something to talk about,” she was still smiling as she spoke and ate. “So they are going to run with it until they have something new, and that might take a minute.”
I nodded my head as I looked down at my plate again, unsure of what to say and more than anything else, unsure of myself.
“It’s okay to be unsure about all of this; you’ve been thrust into quite the ordeal.”
I looked up at the darker-vibed twin and tilted my head. “You and your sister live in the Quarter, and after last night’s attack… Are you going to go back?”
Calisto licked her lips before she leaned back in her chair. “We are going to be here for the coven for the rest of the month. We have some human employees who can hold down the fort for us. Mom needs help with the ball, though she will never directly ask, and I feel like Adelle needs us too, and she will never ask either.”
“I’m glad that you’re both going to be here for your family. I’m looking forward to getting to know each of you better.” I piled my trash up on my plate and said my goodbyes to the people sitting around us.
“Have a good night, Maple,” Calisto said as I walked away.
A sigh escaped me. I wanted nothing more than to have my own huge kitchen and get lost in my baking. Maggie would have a fit if I tried to go in there now, but I had all of this pent-up energy and anxiety that I didn’t know what to do with.
I felt lostin the hustle and bustle that came with coven politics, preparing for the full moon, and wondering where I belonged in all of the chaos. We were a week away from the masquerade ball and a little over a week away from the full moon.
No one asked me about my magic, but I could practically hear it in their thoughts when we spoke about preparing. Rune was wrapped up tightly in the search and rescue that would happen during the full moon, and I could do nothing but offer him emotional support— which didn’t feel like enough as is.
I tried to stay busy by learning and helping Maggie in the kitchen. This week she’d taught me how to make a dry roux and a wet roux—who knew there was a difference—, and crawfish bisque. We’d started working on a gumbo when Adelle interrupted and said I was needed elsewhere.
Elsewhere was going over the guest list, checking RSVPs from the spelled invites, and checking the decorations arriving. It was boring, but at least Adelle tried to make it interesting. I hadn’t seen Calisto or Seraphine again, but Adelle reassured me they were helping her mother with all of the other finishing touches.
Rune was elusive at best. He was always busy, and just when I thought we’d get a moment alone, he was whisked away with coven business. I tried to remind myself that it wouldn’t be like this forever, but it was hard to hype myself up.
When I was done for the day, I spent the evenings in the library looking for something that would point me in the right direction of why I was a null, or anything that would help me understand why I was the first born without magic to two parents that had powerful stuff running through their veins.
It was no use, but at least it was something. Nothing was worse than letting my mind run wild when I was restless like this.
The library was a sanctuary for the coven’s most precious knowledge—but none of it had anything to say to someone like me. But I still hoped because what else was there for me to do? I needed to unlock something within myself to help with the wolf problem, and I didn’t have much time left.
Every night, I dragged my exhausted ass back to bed, feeling defeated, but not allowing myself to be hopeless.
