Page 45 of A Touch Charmed

The heady scent of wildflowers and sea salt mixed together. Every time I smelled those two things, I’d think of this moment. I’d think of Finn.

“Did our magic do this?” I asked.

He took my palm and kissed it. “Your magic did.”

“Our magic.” I gripped his shoulders. “Mine doesn’t work without you.”

His eyes softened as he stood and set me to my feet. Holding me against his chest, he ran his fingers through my hair. “None of me works without you.”

Lifting me up, he wrapped my legs around his waist and took me inside to bed.

I rested my chin on Finn’s chest. It was almost midnight. We’d spent the entire day in bed, save for the time we stumbled into the kitchen for food, then went right back at it. I couldn’t deny how much I loved that speedy recharge he got from his power. It really made that fucking like rabbits thing a lot more literal.

There had been a few cracks remaining on his bedroom walls from the first earthquake. They had now sealed. A plant sitting on his nightstand that had previously begun to wilt and brown was now lush and green once more.

When we came together both physically and emotionally, my magic couldn’t be contained within me alone. It poured outward, healing anything in the vicinity. As if my cup overflowed with love and I had no choice but to share it.

“It’s weird that I now have this whole extended family on the island who doesn’t know it,” I said. “There are so many Everetts. I don’t even know who I should tell.”

“Maybe you should talk to Jocelyn.” Finn tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “At least you know how the two of you are connected now.”

I hadn’t given the elemental connections much thought since I found out I was an Everett by blood, but he was right. That explained the familial connection. Atlas Everett was Jocelyn’s father. Which meant she was my first cousin.

And so was Kenna Everett.

“Holy shit.” I sat up and grabbed Finn’s arm. “We need to go to the Leo’s Den. I think Kenna is the missing twelfth sign.”

“You sure about that?” Finn rubbed his jaw. “Kenna would’ve said something to Violet if she’d felt the first earthquake, the two of them are close.”

“Maybe she didn’t feel it, or thought it was something else. Who knows.” I stood. My magic thrummed against my ribs as my palms glowed with crystal clear light, pushing me forward, encouraging me to seek out the truth. “This feels right though.”

Finn glanced at the clock on his nightstand. “Leo’s closes in ten minutes.”

I bent over and kissed him. “You better move fast then.”

We got dressed as quickly as possible. I threw my hair into a messy ponytail, no longer caring if I looked like a proper mayor’s daughter. That wasn’t my role anymore.

Finn lifted me up and within a blink, we were halfway around the island. He’d stopped in the middle of a deserted section of road between his house and town. Dark clouds gathered overhead, blocking out the light from the moon. The earthy scent of night hung in the air. A few stars peeked out of the mist, providing a dim enough light for shadows to stretch across the street. The sound of waves hitting rocks crashed along the shoreline.

It was eerie, but as long as crickets chirped in the woods and owls hooted in the distance, I didn’t fear the curse. Animals were always the first to sense it and scatter.

“Why did you stop?” I asked.

Finn stepped up to a thin black wire stretched out in the middle of the road. I wouldn’t have even seen it if he hadn’t pulled on it with his finger. He hissed and shook his hand. A wisp of smoke rose from the wire as it vibrated.

“The curse set this out for me.” He sucked on his finger, and I took it in my hand, healing the small burn. “It doesn’t know how my magic works, only that I have speed. It must think that when I move, the world blurs past me. It wanted to cut me in half.”

“Thank God it doesn’t work that way.” I would’ve been able to heal him, but that was not an injury I wanted to experience in order to do so. “Let’s keep moving.”

He nodded and picked me up again. In another blink, we stood in Leo’s parking lot.

We made it just in time.

During festival week, Kenna had the doors open with tables set up all over the parking lot. Music from whatever band she’d picked for this week spilled out into the street, drawing people in from the beach. But Zodiac Cove had a very tame nightlife. Aside from the occasional bonfire, all businesses closed up earlier than what people were used to on the mainland.

Kenna had just taken the drinks from the last lingering group of tourists and headed back inside, her waist-length red hair trailing behind her like silken flames. She’d let them sit at the tables as long as they wanted, but she didn’t serve a drop of alcohol after midnight. Her father, Sol, had been the same way when he owned the bar. It was one of the few rules she’d kept.

That kind of surprised me, to be honest. She had been wild back in high school. Every major party had her name attached to it. I thought extending the hours would’ve been the first thing on her agenda when she took over, but I also had to admit that after being gone for seven years, I didn’t know anyone well enough to make calls about them.

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