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“Well, we would cast a magical protective spell on the entire town and on all of the land and water. We have no idea what the repercussions will be on the town. There might be some anomalies as we keep the magic alive. That kind of magic leaves traces, you see.”

“But no one will be able to find us? To cause us harm? Nothim? Not the child’s father?”

“As long as the magic holds, no one who doesn’t belong in Half Moon Key will be able to settle here.”

Mrs. Francis nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Lina repeated.

“Yes, let’s do it. Let’s cast this spell and make sure that no one else ever gets hurt in defense of our town.” Mrs. Francis gave a resolute head nod.

“It’ll be done, then,” Helena said. “We will do it as soon as the child turns one.”

“Why then?” Mrs. Francis longed to know.

“Because we need Alana’s magic to make it work. Neither one of us is powerful enough on our own. We need at least three witches to make it hold, but if Alana is as powerful as her father believes, then one day, she should be able to hold it by herself.”

Mrs. Francis walked over to the crib and looked down at the sleeping form. The baby girl was adorable, with soft, puffy cheeks and a shock of red hair that seemed to be a familial trait. Mrs. Francis felt horrible that she was putting so much pressure on an infant, but what choice did she have? No one would feel the crushing weight of grief in her town again. Not if it could be avoided.

“If we don’t do this, what are the chances that her father finds Half Moon Key?”

“He will find us. It’s just a matter of time,” Lina sniffed. “And I won’t let him take my baby away from me.”

“I would never ask you to relinquish your child,” Mrs. Francis assured the young witch. “But won’t she be angry with you one day?”

Helena and Lina exchanged another look. “She will be, and she will have reason to. We’re going to bind Alana’s powers to the spell to make it as strong as it needs to be.”

Mrs. Francis’s eyes widened. “Why don’t I like the sound of that?”

“Because you shouldn’t,” Helena responded sadly. “It means that our little Alana will never have access to all of her magic. Not unless the magic breaks somehow, but for that to happen, she would have to meet her match.”

Mrs. Francis frowned. “Her match? Is that similar to our mate?”

Lina nodded. “It’s basically the same thing.”

“We need to weave another part into the spell. We have to make it so that Alana never meets her match and that if she ever does?” The mother took a deep breath. “Their relationship has to be doomed for the safety of Half Moon Key. It’s the best we can do to protect the town. To protect her.”

Mrs. Francis sighed, feeling the mother's pain deeply, but the decision was made.

A few months later, Mrs. Francis watched from the darkness as the three witches, a grandmother, a mother, and a babe, made their way into the Half Moon Key woods to seal the town from any of its enemies.

In the morning, when she woke, Mrs. Francis didn’t feel any different, but she knew.

Life in Half Moon Key would never be the same.

SEVENTEEN

ALANA

Alana paced the length of Cohen’s impressive kitchen. The kitchen island was in the center of the space, and though the appliances were all top-of-the-line, it was pretty obvious that they weren’t used often. Cohen probably wasn’t much of a cook, given that he was a single man. Cooking for one was never fun. That was something Alana knew for herself.

She ran her hand down the smooth and cold surface of the island. It glistened under the spotlights as if it were inviting her to pull up a chair and sit or raid the cupboards to start cooking.

How strange was it that it was her first time in the man’s kitchen despite the fact they had already slept together? Stranger still was the fact that Alana felt oddly at home in the sparsely decorated kitchen. For some strange reason, she couldn’t help but mentally fill in the empty spaces with the stuff she had in her own place.

Like her brain was telling her that she belonged in this house. Cohen’s home.

Like she belonged with Cohen.