Page 1 of Once Upon a Curse for True Love
Chapter One
Mugshots on Movie Night
ANDROMEDA
On a cool October night, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts, where witches lived in disguise among humans, Andromeda and her roommate were snuggled up on their cozy couch, engrossed in a rom-com.
“Do they think this is a realistic portrait of modern guys?”Andromeda passed the half-eaten carton of midnight ice cream to Sarah Michelle to adjust her messy bun with sticky fingers.“The abs, the sensitivity, the huge romantic gestures.No real man has the complete package.”
“Well, actually, Lorcan…” Shelly’s face took on that faraway expression she wore whenever her boyfriend came up.
Andromeda rolled her eyes.“Yeah, yeah… Tall, Blond, and Magical is perfect.But you lucked out.Snatched the last decent wizard on the planet.”She pointed at the TV.“Men like that don’t exist.”
“And the moron girl doesn’t even want him,” Sarah Michelle groaned, shaking her head.Her dark bob shone blacker than usual against the pale yellow of her hoodie.“Why is she conflicted between him and the loser best friend?”
“There wouldn’t be a movie otherwise?”
Outside their large arched window, Salem breathed with the vibrant energy of fall.Leaves rustled in the wind.Glowing jack-o’-lanterns lit up the night.And the Atlantic’s salty tang filled the streets.Andromeda loved these chilly October evenings when humans were distracted by pumpkins, and magic tingled, unbothered, through the shadows.She especially enjoyed having a friend to snark with when the men in movies—and in life—had the emotional range of a spoon.
A pang of nostalgia assaulted Andromeda.Her roommate was right next to her, and she was already missing the witch.Since Sarah Michelle had gotten into a serious relationship, their nights together had become few and far between.Most evenings, Shelly stayed at Lorcan’s place, which made tonight even more special.
Quill, Andromeda’s snobbish hedgehog familiar, declared that true romance was dead and had been buried next to modern men’s sense of style.The pronouncement earned a scoff from Nox, Shelly’s ferret, who darted across the windowsill and landed on the coffee table.
Quill scowled but continued undeterred, “I suppose this drivel has some merit in demonstrating how low women’s expectations have sunk.”
Andromeda snorted.“Sorry the entertainment is not classy enough for you.”
Quill bristled.“I did not expect fine art.But surely they could have produced something less banal.Is originality dead, too?”
“Oh, come on.It’s cute.”Nox circled around Quill.“And anyway, aren’t you supposed to be a fan of the classics?Boy meets girl.Boy likes girl.They’re stealing from Shakespeare.”The ferret jumped onto Sarah Michelle’s knee looking for ear scratches, which he promptly got.
“If this were the Bard, the boy would’ve killed her by now—or they’d both be dead in a crypt somewhere.”Quill sighed.
“Right, Shakespeare’s men were such catches,” Sarah Michelle shot back, fending off Nox’s attempts to dive into the ice cream carton.“Let’s romanticize the guy who strangled his wife because another man dropped a handkerchief.”
Quill made a huffy noise that earned him a pillow to the face from Nox.The soft projectile bounced off his quills, leaving him unharmed.But the hedgehog cast the ferret a dirty look as he climbed atop the couch armrest, muttering, “They are not called throw pillows literally.”
Sarah Michelle narrowed her eyes at the fallen pillow.“Is that a new one?”
“Mmm… what?”Andromeda played dumb.
“Don’t worry, Andy, you’re still my favorite roommate.”Shelly blew her a kiss.“Even with your pillow obsession and spare electronics hoarding issues.”
Andromeda smiled, bittersweet.It was only a matter of time before Sarah Michelle moved in with her boyfriend.And then it’d be just Andromeda and her familiar.
Quill was still watching the TV with disdainful interest.“I’m about to faint from the insipidness.”
Andromeda rolled her eyes.She was doomed to spend her evenings with a pint-sized moralist who thought himself a Victorian gentleman stuck in a hedgehog’s body.
As the movie progressed, the couple on-screen finally leaned in for an overdue first kiss.The music swelled dramatically.The guy cupped the woman’s face, delivering solid eye contact, while everyone in the room held their breath—even Quill, despite all his protesting.The lead was about to close that last inch when the front door blew open with a deafening crash.
Quill got so startled he tumbled off the couch, landing on his back while Andromeda clutched the remote like a weapon.Her gaze bounced from the struggling hedgehog to the shattered remains of their front door, and then to the hunk of a man standing on the threshold.Tall, broad, and dark-haired, he was wearing full black SMPD tactical gear and stood in the wreckage of their doorway, backlit by the streetlights like an action hero out of a different kind of movie.Andromeda’s mouth fell open as she hid behind the backrest and studied the man in uniform.
Under the stunner-proof jacket, his stretch shirt hugged his broad shoulders so tightly it left no doubts about the strength coiled beneath it.Polished boots, badge shining like a new coin, and not a speck of lint on him.The only messy thing about him was the mop of dark hair.Even his stubble was orderly.It shadowed a jawline that could cut glass, sharpening the angles of his face.Dark eyebrows framed intense eyes that were now widened on Sarah Michelle—in recognition?Were they colleagues?
No, a friend of Sarah wouldn’t have dismantled their living room.Wooden shards lay scattered across the entryway.Quill was still on his back, tiny legs flailing, making indignant huffing noises as he tried to right himself.Meanwhile, the movie kept playing, the cheesy soundtrack creating a jarringly romantic backdrop for the destruction.
For one wild, delirious moment, Andromeda thought Sarah Michelle had arranged for a stripper to surprise her.An early birthday present, perhaps?Or a roommate appreciation gesture?But then logic kicked in.The man wasn’t carrying a boombox.No cheesy music cued up.And his expression lacked the practiced seductive grin of someone about to shed his clothes for money.
