Page 13

13

Vincent

D id she truly agree to this?

I paced Cliff House Inn’s private beach.

My wind wrapped around her before I heard her response.

Was she hesitating?

I paused.

Maybe I should call it off.

I shook my head and continued pacing.

My wind was too eager to prove it could do this.

I wouldn’t call it off unless she explicitly asked.

Never mind that I wasn’t sure I’d ever done anything like this with my wind.

For whatever reason, that wasn’t my worry.

I was confident I was capable.

Then I heard it.

Her words weren’t a whisper on the wind but a shock to my senses.

“Ready!”

My instructions were simple, and she no longer seemed hesitant.

I felt her shape on my magic despite her being out of sight.

She did it.

She threw herself out over the water, expecting me to catch her.

And I did.

My wind, purred in satisfaction.

I whisked her around the cliff’s edge and brought her careening onto the beach.

I aimed for the spot beside me, but I should have known that, with her, my wind had other ideas.

With a final gust, I slid her to her feet.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say a final bluster sent her tumbling toward me.

I caught her shoulders, and slid my hands down her arms to brace her.

“Sorry about that.”

She glanced up at me through long lashes, a little unsteady on her feet.

A few lashes stuck together, and her eyes looked a little wet.

I couldn’t be sure if it was from the sea mist or if she’d been…

crying before she’d jumped.

Given her reaction to the other side of the cove, I assumed the latter and knew she wouldn’t thank me for noticing.

She thought she’d hidden it behind impertinent questions about my family, but I could tell something about the beach bothered her.

That space meant something to her, and I didn’t think it was something good.

I was also sure she had no interest in sharing it with me.

Her lips parted slightly as our gazes locked.

Propriety dictated we put distance between ourselves, but she didn’t move.

Wind circled us as if locking us in place, and I was overcome with a desire to bend and close the gap.

I clenched my jaw at the last second.

Get your head on straight.

I knew I needed to, but I was loathe to move before she did.

A shy smile curved her lips as she finally pushed back, freeing herself from my grasp.

My hands fell gently to my sides.

The wind around us silenced.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” she said.

Is she nervous?

I thought we weren’t supposed to discuss the night we met.

Our proximity and our brief flirtation.

Those things were gone now that we’d made a bargain fueled by ambition, forcing us both into uncomfortable situations.

My wind surged as if to ask whose rule that was.

I needed to stop talking to my wind.

It seemed solely focused on crossing lines with Luna, which I was sure would only complicate matters.

“I don’t mind it.” The words were out before my mind and mouth connected.

I wanted to smack myself.

I wasn’t even sure she reciprocated the interest I was desperately pretending I didn’t have.

She held my gaze, and I almost believed her body swayed forward, returning to my space.

That same open intensity from the night we met was apparent in the bright blue of her eyes.

I didn’t breathe as I stared into them.

This move was her own.

My wind was locked up tight.

“We should head up and finish the tour.” Something halted her forward progress.

I let out a breath.

“Of course.” I turned, wondering if I’d imagined the moment.

She spoke from behind me, her voice was a little shaky as she slipped back into the original intent behind this trip—a tour.

“The stairs are over there.” She glanced around.

“This is the private beach for the guests’ use. It’s only accessible from the inn property.”

“It only adds to the feeling of being away from everything,” I said as we started up the steps.

“A person could forget the city, or their responsibilities.” I swallowed thickly, needing to be careful because my words were truer than I cared to admit.

Mooning over Luna Pierce was not part of the plan.

Breaking the story about her father’s bribery was.

She was using me for a review, and I would get a source for my article about her father for my effort.

As we ascended the staircase, Luna continued listing facts about the inn and the property, unaffected by any imagined moment on the beach.

Today wasn’t feeling like a bargain, but that was why we were here.

I’d do well to remember that.

Approaching the inn this way brought forth another awe-inspiring view.

I had begun to understand Luna’s attachment to this place when she took me to its library.

Even more so when we walked the edge between the cliff and the forested land.

She’d even shared that this place had some connection to her mother, though I wasn’t quite sure what that entailed.

Seeing the charming building grow from the center of the wooded property, with a view of cliffs and sea, was…

perfection.

I wanted to get lost here, no matter how much I’d recently attempted to remind myself of my responsibilities.

It was a large building, even with all its character.

I guessed it had ten or more guest rooms, which Luna confirmed as she spoke.

“Do you live in the inn?” I asked.

She paused, glancing farther into the woods.

“The groundskeeper’s cottage is in there.” She pointed to a dense copse of trees, too thick to reveal a building.

“It’s small but perfect for me.”

I had no doubt it was.

I felt much the same way about my apartment.

It was smaller and less grand than Andiveron House, to be sure, but it was mine, and it felt like home in a way the family house never had.

“Beautiful,” I said as we walked toward the porch overlooking the cliff.

My wind thrummed, and I was unsure if I’d been referring to her or the property.

She moved with a natural grace.

It was similar to when she’d stood ankle-deep in the water surrounding Parkview Tavern the night we met.

I needed to stop thinking about that .

But in the same breath, I couldn’t believe this place might cease to exist for her if we failed.

It won’t be my fault if she doesn’t get me access to Darius.

After only a few hours here, I was confident that I could sell this place in the column.

If she lost the inn, it wouldn’t be because I’d failed to hold up my end of the bargain.

“It is.” She opened the door and waited for me to catch up.

“ Come on, I know you already saw the library, but let me show you the rest.”

As I approached, she reached for my hand, beaming when she tugged me into the inn.

Forgetting the warning I’d given myself only moments ago, I let her take it and held on tight, letting her drag me through the porch and library.

“There is a small kitchen, the manager’s office, and this is reception,” she said, leading me through the first floor.

She dropped my hand as we turned, and she tilted her head back to look up the steps toward the guest rooms.

Whatever rush of emotion had overtaken her was gone, and we regained the distance between us.

“Did the inn ever serve food?” I asked, thinking about the kitchen and the space for tables in the library.

She shook her head, not looking at me as she did.

“It was never Byrd’s preference—the old manager.”

I couldn’t believe Darius had had her live as groundskeeper on the property and only gave her the chance to manage it as he considered closing it.

Something itched at my neck as I thought about her part of our bargain.

“The kitchen area is too small for a full meal,” she continued, not noticing my discomfort.

“The other day after our…conversation, I baked some bread in here. I wanted to prove it was possible. But light snacks is all the kitchen is good for.”

“It’s still something,” I said.

“And it could be a nice touch for trying to recruit weekend hikers to stop by for the view and something sweet to eat.”

She seemed to ignore my comment, her gaze focused up the stairwell.

“All the guest rooms are on the second floor.”

“Why do you sound hesitant about that?”

She started up the steps.

I thought maybe she’d ignored my question when she spoke again.

“My friends and I spent last week cleaning. We did a little shopping to freshen up some fabrics, colors, and decor to make it more cohesive. It didn’t need much,” she rambled, and I wasn’t sure I believed her.

She opened the door to the first room.

It had the same energy that the library did.

Plush fabrics and light, airy colors that mixed the idea of the seaside with cozy comfort.

It felt like her—her style.

It was a bit loud for my taste but wholly her and very welcoming for guests.

“We even patched a hole over in that room.” She pointed to the right, and while impressed, I was desperate to know what she was not telling me.

Lying about or obfuscating information clearly wasn’t her strong suit—she seemed too genuine for that, even if she had done a more than decent job of convincing Kristin we were lovers.

Images I had no business remembering flooded my mind.

“The only thing left is the room at the end of this hall.”

Everything came to a halt as I processed her words.

“What’s wrong with it?”

She hesitated, like her honesty had gone a step further than she’d intended.

This—whatever this was—had her nervous.

“Well, it won’t open.”

“Won’t open?”

“Yes, it has some kind of magical seal on it.”

I tilted my head.

Magic wasn’t my specialty.

I could barely control my wind, let alone the magic necessary to lock a door.

My wind flexed as if insulted.

It must be blood magic.

I had no idea how that worked.

However, I did know a magically locked room was bad for business.

“What are we doing about it?” I asked cautiously.

She smiled, and I realized my phrasing.

The magically locked door wasn’t my problem.

I would tell people about the inn.

If she had a room she couldn’t get into, that wasn’t something I had to solve.

My wind swirled slowly with curiosity, though.

“Evelyn, my friend, she’s a server at Parkview Tavern,” Luna started rambling.

“Well, she also works on research projects at the Vesten Library. She’s looking into it.”

We continued walking down the hall and arrived in front of said door.

“Do you mind if I try?” I asked, though I had no idea why.

Blood magic was beyond me.

I was confident there was nothing I could do.

My wind pushed on the bounds I tried to hold all the same.

She gestured toward the door.

“Please.”

I twisted the handle and pushed.

Nothing happened, but that was to be expected per Luna’s explanation.

I knelt and looked in the keyhole.

My wind was off and sweeping through the small space before I could think twice.

It was always a unique experience to have my wind somewhere I couldn’t see.

It didn’t have eyes of its own, but like when Luna had jumped into my wind at the beach, I could feel the shape of things.

My wind swirled around each item, cataloging what was there.

I tried to arrange them in my mind.

A picture came together and seemed the same as the other rooms she’d shown me.

A bed on the left, a wardrobe against the farmost wall, a writing desk and chair, and a moonflower lying across the desk, fully in bloom.

Wait.

My wind returned with a sudden gust smelling of moonflower.

I’d smelled it with Luna the night we met.

As the name suggested, those flowers only bloomed under the full moon’s light and in the presence of Norden magic.

“Luna,” I said hesitantly, wanting to confirm an assumption, “do you have moonflowers on the property?” I turned my head to look up at her over my shoulder.

She stood closer than I realized, trying to peek through the hole over me.

“What are you doing?” she squeaked instead of answering my question .

I laughed, having not explained myself.

“Oh, sorry, my wind, it’s cataloging the room to see what’s inside.”

She put her hand over her mouth in surprise.

“You can do that?”

I nodded, my chest puffing out without my consent at the awe in her voice.

“Most of it seems similar to the other rooms. The only thing that feels out of place is a bloomed moonflower.”

“We do have them on the property,” she whispered.

Her eyes darted back and forth in the hall like she was expecting someone to overhear our conversation.

Like what she’d say next would be some big secret.

“Luna, the inn is yours, at least for the next six weeks.” Something in the way she’d spoken about the previous manager in the kitchen gave me an inkling of why she whispered.

What was his name?

“Byrd can’t yell at you for stealing the flowers,” I said with a smile.

“You can come clean with me.”

She chuckled, probably realizing how silly she’d been.

“I guess you’re right.” She rolled her shoulders back, straightening, as I stood from my place on the floor.

“We do have them, but I don’t think Byrd knew about them. I use them for my tea mix.”

“Well,” I said, finding her response too curious by half, “I guess we’ll have to figure out why one is held in bloom within this locked room at some point. Add that to the list.”

Luna’s smile was bright, and I realized I’d inserted myself into this new problem to solve.

What am I doing?

“I already have it on mine, but I’ll add your new detail.” She clapped her hands.

“I think that’s it for the tour. Did you say you wanted to go to one more of the places you recommended to get more ideas?”

My cheeks flushed.

“I did, but the last place is Timeless Classics. And even if I put it on the map, I couldn’t get same-day reservations. ”

She laughed.

“Don’t they know who you are?”

I ignored her jab.

“I was able to get a reservation for two days from now. Evening meal. Does that work?”

“I still need time to work on my end of the bargain anyway.”

My shoulders raised inadvertently, but she’d already turned and walked away.

I tapped my chin and gave the door a final glance before following.

She harvested moonflower.

They only bloomed in the presence of Norden magic.

My own suspicions were forming, the same that had led me to assume she had water magic the night we met.

Yet she’d made it clear she had no magic and no interest in discussing it, so I’d keep them to myself.