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“Don’t wait up, Mom.”

“You’ll be grounded!”

Annise disengaged the alarm on her car and pulled open the driver’s-side door. She waved over the roof. “Rest up. Gotta take you out for your last night here.”

Niera watched as the pixie pulled out of the short driveway onto the quiet road before stepping back inside. She started to close the door when the sunlight reflected off something in the planter.

“What a good friend you are, leaving the spare key out for all to see.” With an exasperated groan, Niera reached for the key. What her fingers met wasn’t a key at all, but a disk. She lifted the gold coin, speckled with damp potting soil, and turned it over in her fingers. “What is this?”

Anyone who finds a lucky coin can make a wish.

Her Uber driver’s wistful words teased her mind. Surely someone dropped this in the planter. Simple explanation. It didn’t look like any currency she was familiar with, one side featuring a stylized image that resembled the paw of a cat, the other boasting an old-style ship with large masts and grand sails.

I’ll ask Annise about it later.

Niera closed the door and engaged the lock. Gods only knew if these cats could open doors. After all, portaling someone seemed to be child’s play for Holly. Or kitten’s play.

After finding a broom and dustpan tucked in the tiny laundry closet, she began the tedious cleanup from her unexpected visits to the beach. The TV droned in the background until she finally gave in and reached for the remote. Comedy or a nature show would suit her mood far better than sullen and sad news stories.

Leaning on the broom, she angled the remote to change the channel when the weather forecast popped up on the screen. A cold front would be coming through tomorrow, dropping the temperature to a record-breaking low.

Niera’s jaw sagged as she noted the weather map.

“No way.”

“Be sure to get those kids outside because there’s a chance of some rare flurries hitting the area as evening comes. The last time Cat’s Paw Cove experienced snow on the mainland was in 2015, and only scattered flurries at that. You won’t want to miss it!”

A clatter startled her. It took a moment for her to realize the broom had slipped from her hand and fallen to the floor. Hand to her chest, feeling her racing heart under her palm, she reached down to retrieve the broom.

“This trip gets better and better. Now, snow in Florida.” She tipped her head to the ceiling and groaned. “What did I do to deserve this? All I ever wanted was to make others happy, not walk into a curse!”

As always, silence answered. Gods didn’t heed the calls of those beneath them, and the Fates couldn’t be bothered when they were too busy wrapping energy lines in knots for their own entertainment.

Niera scowled and resumed sweeping. As she piled the sand on the kitchen tiles, her eyes gravitated toward the coin on the counter. She ignored her impulse to snatch it up and cast a wish as she swept the sand onto the dustpan and dumped it in the garbage. But after she put the broom and dustpan away, the coin beckoned, challenging her to pick it up.

Cast a wish.

She scowled at the object. “You’re trying to trick me and it’s not going to work. I’m done playing by unfair rules.”

“Cast. A. Wish. Any wish.”

“Talking coins now. Lovely.”

As she leaned closer to the counter, subtle energy hummed through her spirit, stoking her curiosity.

“What the heck,” she murmured, turning the coin over in her hand. “Go big or go home.” Closing her fingers around the coin, she squeezed her eyes shut and formed her wish in her head. She funneled all the energy she could into the coin.

“I wish…I wish to find my one-hundredth match and be done with curses by tomorrow morning.”

Nothing happened. Then again, what was she expecting?

“Faery dreams and wishing wells. All a bunch of meaningless nonsense and a waste of time,” she muttered, tossing the coin onto the counter and heading to the guest room.

Annise was right. A purifying bath and a hot cup of tea were what she needed. Maybe a nap.

Time to focus. To figure out a way to bring two strangers together before tomorrow night.

Stripping out of her clothes and tucking a towel around her chest, her confidence dwindled. Stealing a quick glance in the mirror, looking over the sickly pallor of her glamourless face, the sallow shadows of her cheeks and the rings beneath her dull eyes, she grappled for that tiny frayed end of hope.