Page 27 of Summer Solstice

“You say you think you’re cursed, then let’s check... again.”

Wanda’s voice was brusque, but her words sent a wave of gratitude through me. I probably gripped her hands a little too hard, but she didn’t complain, other than a little wrinkle forming between her brows.

I always expected Wanda’s power to be like a battering ram, which was maybe not terribly flattering to her. She just had so much strength, and a kind of to-the-point attitude, that it made me expect a huge outpouring of magic. But the almost delicate way her magic feathered through me was a surprise. Instead of feeling like I was being swept away by a riptide, it was a bit more like slipping into a warm bath. Power, familiar and strong, moved through every vein, warm and determined.

My eyes fell closed. I was so, so tired, and even just that warm soothing touch was almost enough to have me snoring on the table. Eventually, Wanda sat back to take a sip from her mug. There was a bit of tightness to the skin around her eyes that made the back of my neck prickle.

“What is it? Is it bad?”

“As far as I can tell, there is no outside magic affecting you—just like I told you the first time. I don’t make mistakes.”

I nodded but was disappointed. I just didn’t understand how that could be. “Then there’s nothing wrong with me?”

“No curses, no glamours, nothing.” Wanda tapped her nails against the table, thinking. “There’s no witch magic that I can sense, not even faerie magic, which can be a bit hard to sniff out. The only magic I could detect in you is your own.”

I sagged back into my seat. The news that I wasn’t cursed should have been a relief, but all I felt was defeated. A curse could be broken, magic removed. But instead, it was all just random happenings, and there was nothing I could do but grit my teeth and hang on until things got better. Well,ifthey got better.

I tried to smile, but I could tell it was a little watery around the edges. Frustration pulsed like a second heart beat at the back of my skull. “Okay. Well, thank you for checking again. I’m sorry to have bothered you... again.”

Wanda reached for me, like she was about to pat my shoulder and tell me to cheer up, but I was already hurrying for the front door. The only reason I got away with it was probably because I looked two steps away from bursting into tears, and Wanda just did notdocrying.

It was hard not to be upset, though. I thought I’d really figured it out after a random power outage just happened to interrupt my first real date with Andre. I mean—how could this just be coincidence? Just bad luck? It had to be a curse, didn’t it? I felt like I’d had hope for the first time in days, only to have had it snatched away again.

I blotted my tears with the back of my hand as I hurried back to my car.

***

Even though I barely had any stock left, and only a few safe supplies left to even attempt making more potions, I decided to keep the shop open late that night.

Finn had gone over to Andre’s after school for another magic lesson, and I needed some kind of distraction from worrying or I was just going to end up climbing the walls or peering through his windows like a creep.

So, I spent my time cleaning up the store and chasing downanothersupplier, while going through what oils I did still have, testing each bottle to make sure the labels actually referenced what was inside. It was tedious, but it had to be done for safety, and my own peace of mind.

Throughout the entire evening, I felt like someone was watching me. It was that spine-prickling feeling like I was being hunted, followed. And after being chased and attacked by a vampire, it was a feeling I was way too familiar with.

With the lights on in the store, and the streetlights outside softened through their frosted glass coverings, the windows became as opaque as dark water. Anyone could be standing just outside the shop, looking in, watching me, and I’d have absolutely no idea.

Chapter Eleven

I set a bottle down too close to its neighbor, and the little tinkle of glass clinking caused me to jump so badly that I almost dropped it.

Enough was enough. I stood there for a second, one hand pressed against my chest like that would do something to calm the panicked thumping of my heart. There was no one out there, and even if there were, I’d arranged the display windows to attract the eyes of people walking along the main strip of town. No one was watching me.

To prove it, I stalked over to the door and yanked it open, ignoring the clang and clamor of the rehung bell, and stepped outside.

The street was deserted.

I frowned. Haven Hollow wasn’t a huge city, or anything. Really, it wasn’t even a ‘city’ but more of a ‘town’, even a ‘village’. But we got a lot of tourists, especially in the warmer months. It was beyond unusual for Main Street to be dead like this, at the end of August, even after dark. Especially with the Half-Moon up the road, and Stompers Creamery on the corner.

The sense of something being wrong got stronger as a cold wind gusted up the street, carrying bits of paper and litter with it. I shivered and tugged my sleeves down over my hands.

“Well, still. There’s no one watching me.” I nodded, gave myself a little mental pat on the back for proving as much to myself, and then promptly had to fight to keep from wetting my pants as my phone blared.

I fumbled it out of my pocket and shut the door behind me. And then, because I just couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of being watched, I flicked the lock before I answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Poppy.” Andre’s voice, smooth and rich, came across the line.

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