Page 1 of All's Fair in Love and Magic

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SAGE

The smellof smoke clung to my skin as I stepped out of my ancient vehicle in front of the luxury resort that engulfed the horizon.

It wasn’t cigarette smoke—just smoke that accompanied burning plants. Not the pleasurable kind of plants, either. I’d turned normal weeds and decorative-bush clippings to ash in an effort to keep my old Slug Bug running on magic alone.

It had failed, of course.

Magic didn’t work on engines.

I’d been desperate enough to try anyway.

Eyeing the expansive building and pristine landscaping in front of me, I tried to brush the last bit of ash off my oversized t-shirt. They fell to the parking lot’s fresh-looking pavement, just as out of place in front of the luxury beach resort as I was.

That ashy t-shirt, a pair of cotton shorts, and a tropical-patterned bikini I’d purchased from a thrift store was all I had to my name at the moment.

Other than about five bucks in coins, and the Bug. It was debatable whether or not she would even start again.

The sun was rising over the resort. It was framed with picture-perfect palm trees, stunning white sand, and an endless view of the Pacific Ocean. Not to mention the other tropical plants that had been flown in from around the world.

Legal?

No.

But supernatural beings didn’t follow human rules.

I itched to get my hands on some of those new plants, just to play around with them. Witch magic was largely dependent on the quality and variety of the plants used to influence it.

Filling my cheeks with air, I let it out slowly.

The Supernatural Resort was one of the last places anyone ever hoped to visit. Yes, it was known for being stunningly beautiful, built on a magic-made island outside California with a road that only a magical being could find or drive down.

But it was also known for being the hiding place of many inhuman criminals.

Which I supposed I technically was, now.

Yikes.

None of the authorities, either human or supernatural, were willing to risk the wrath of the man who owned the resort. I was pretty sure that was why it remained protected. I didn’t know anything about him—it didn’t seem like anyone outside the resort did—but obviously, he wasn’t the nicest guy you’d ever meet.

Somehow, I was going to have to convince him to let me stay.

The island was full of restaurants, pools, and gorgeous beaches, so I couldn’t have picked a prettier hiding place.

Then again, if I hadanyother option, I would’ve chosen it over the resort.

Hiding among supernatural beings was never a good idea for witches. We were universally hated by humans and supernaturals for reasons that were unknown, even to us. We stuck together, because we were all each other had.

Now I had no one.

Except my mom, but she’d stayed with the coven. So, our relationship wouldn’t be anything like what it had been before.

I was on my own.

It was a miracle that I’d lasted twenty-four years without the coven realizing what I was, so I couldn’t exactly complain about the turn of events.

Letting out a rough breath, I adjusted the tangled mess of wavy brown hair I’d thrown into a bun on top of my head two days earlier. There were a few pins in it, but they were sharp at the tips, and mainly there to use with my magic. Helping tame my hair was just a perk.