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“It’s okay. It’s okay. Try again.”

Juniper breathed deep and squared her shoulders, focusing hard on the base of the pot.“Insignia!”

They cheered as a small flame blazed but thenquickly flickered out as if frightened by their excitement.

“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.” It was as if her magick wasn’t holding. “When my aunts did big spells, they would sometimes put their magick in other objects or borrow energy from other witches.”

“Where are we getting another witch?”

She looked over her shoulder at Dane. “We’re not.” She needed something she could charge, something that could sustain its shape while the fire burned. “I’ve got it!”

She rushed out the back door without explanation. Dropping to her knees, Juniper used a stick to dig a hole near the fence where no one walked. Navigating the earthworms and roots, she dug until the loose soot transformed into a damp clay.

She pried a collection of geodes from the earth and then banged them on the walkway.

“Juniper, what are you doing?”

“I need to break these open to see what’s inside.”

Adriel closed the distance. “You’re going to smash your fingers. Let me help.” She took a stone in both hands and tightened her grip. It snapped open as if she were cracking an egg.

“Holy crap.”

Unfortunately, the insides were not what she needed. “Can you break open the rest of them?”

Adriel cracked open several more stones, but none of them had anything more than layers ofuseless matter inside. She needed something powerful.

“We have to find a crystal.”

They dug until the sun faded behind the trees. It seemed like a useless effort until Adriel gasped. “How about this one?”

Minerals sparkled from inside the broken rock Adriel held, and Juniper scrambled to her feet. “That’s perfect!”

Taking the crystal inside, she washed it off to reveal a mixture of calcite and grey amethyst in the crevices. She set the crystal in the divot of the burner.

“Let’s hope this works because I’m out of ideas after this.” Calcite was great for amplifying energy, and amethyst was known to open the chakra around the third eye. Taking a deep breath, she held up her hands and called upon Spirit. “Insignia.”

A flame caught, flickering from the gemstone, and Juniper laughed. “Nobody move!” Dane and Adriel held back as Juniper blew a soft breath on the flame, and it doubled in size. “I did it!”

“I’ll start crushing the tomatoes.”

Juniper continued to focus on the stove. The books explained how water was made up of memory. It was transient in form, converting from ice to vapor and able to undergo extreme heat as it traveled through the earth and air. If she tapped into the water’s memory, she should be able to heat it to a boil. It was basic alchemyand something she’d watched her Aunt Venus do many times before.

Placing her hands on the side of the cool pot, she shut her eyes and poured her energy into the water. “Memóriám liquoris calefactus sum. Memóriám liquoris calefactus sum. Memóriám liquoris calefactus sum.”

The motion around her stilled, and the kitchen silenced. Dane and Adriel were on the other side of the table.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.” Juniper frowned. “I…felt something.” She refocused on the pot and continued chanting. “Memóriám liquoris calefactus sum—There it is again!”

“What are you talking about?” Dane frowned.

“I feel something—or someone—touching me.”

“Where?”

“On my hand. It’s not a bad feeling. It’s like…an energy. Like they’re trying to help me.”