Page 56 of Kiss and Spell

Xavier reached up, plucked the flower, and delivered it to her. Their fingers brushed, sending a vibration through his body. He pulled away from her to gather himself.

Ursula pressed it to her nose, then tucked it behind her ear.

“The clinging vines are said to symbolize seduction,” Ursula said. “It might help you get your kiss.”

“Yes, but from who?”

Ursula blushed. A thread of guilt went through him. He shouldn’t flirt with her, but being with Ursula made him forget about being enchanted. Made him remember when he felt powerful and capable of magic. The conversation with Whitney and being here with Ursula was making him question everything. Do you even want to go out with Paige anymore?

He was still a gentleman and a royal of his word. He’d meet with Paige out of respect for her, but he was rethinking being on EnChant altogether. It was becoming clearer that what he was looking for was closer than he expected. They sat down on the stone bench underneath the wooden trellis. Sunlight trickled through the lattice overhead.

“We used to let honeysuckle grow wild in the family garden. Nana said that it needed to grow free, so it could thrive.”

“She sounds wise.”

Ursula nodded; a light smile appeared on her lips. “She taught me to respect, but be wary of, all magical beings. She had a rhyme for everything. ‘Gnomes and fae make the garden flourish every day,’” Ursula said. Xavier let out a soft laugh. Her smile fell. Sadness dulled her eyes. He moved closer to her. “They didn’t bloom the spring she passed away. I haven’t been to the garden in a while. I don’t know if the honeysuckle returned this year.”

He hated to see her so upset. All he could offer were words, but they were hers to have. “They’ll return. Give it time.”

Ursula nodded. She blinked and the dullness eased a bit. “Tell me about the fair folk.”

“What would you like to know, Madame?”

She paused and met his eyes. “How do you attract a fae?”

Xavier ran his tongue over his lower lip. When he spoke, his voice was softer than he expected. “Tempt them with something they want. Flowers. Trinkets. Coins. Leave them offerings in plain sight. The fae can find treasure anywhere. They can fit anywhere an ant can.”

“I once saw a fae who was as big as a mouse,” Ursula said.

He pinned her with an interested stare. “How big was he?”

She held up her thumb and forefinger and spread them three inches apart. “There.”

He wrinkled his nose. She was giving his brethren too much credit. Fae shrunk smaller than humans could ever imagine or see. Xavier reached out without thinking and adjusted her fingers, down by two and half inches. His flesh prickled at her touch.

“That’s about right.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Really? That small?”

“You have to be able to squeeze through a keyhole. To get into a locked room or tower.”

“A tower?” she asked, a little breathless.

“That’s where the treasure is,” he said. He imagined her as a bejeweled princess up in a high tower, not awaiting rescue, but waiting for something or someone worth leaving her space for.

Xavier studied their intertwined hands. How was her skin so soft—as delicate as a flower’s petal? The vibration inside of him turned up and it felt like everything down to his atoms were celebrating. He folded her hand into his, gently grazing her knuckles with his thumb.

He heard her small inhale of breath.

“Is it all right?” he asked. His parents raised him to always respect another’s space and ask every time before he took a lady’s hand. Before he asked for a dance.

“Yeah, it’s all right,” she said in a low voice.

There was a time when he wanted to pluck out his heart and bury it in the ground. Maybe then the loneliness would ease, and he could just be at rest. No pain. No yearning. No need for companionship. Now, holding hands with Ursula, he was so thankful to have an anxious heart pounding against his rib cage. Making him feel like every closed part of him was blooming.

Like a flower opening its face to the rising sun. He leaned in close.

Ursula stilled. “Shouldn’t you be saving your kisses, Xavier?”

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