Page 2 of Bewitched By the Voodoo King (The Bewitching Hour #7)

A good hair day was a lot to ask for most days but thankfully, this morning I woke up with perfectly bouncy curls and zero frizz.

I stared at myself in the mirror with a huge grin.

Maybe I did have a little bitty bit of magic in me.

I pulled on a light pink sundress that made the green in my hazel eyes pop and then strapped on some cute sandals.

No matter what happened, I was ready to manifest a good day.

The full moon was the night before which meant the rest of the coven would be buzzing about with a renewed energy.

They would hardly pay me any attention, which was what I needed to go digging around in the library.

I didn’t know what I was looking for but I was itching for something to keep my mind occupied.

First, I wanted to see how my bread turned out, as well as the rest of the breakfast. Gina was plating up eggs and toast when I walked into the kitchen.

I was ignored by mostly everyone else, but she smiled at me.

I could always count on her to be friendly.

It wasn’t like being a null meant I had a disease.

You couldn’t catch what I had. At least I didn’t think you could…

No one had yet and it had been almost fourteen years. People were safe for now.

“Good morning, Maple!” She beamed as she plated up some of my muffins and handed them out to the rest of the coven.

The room was full of energy and excitement.

Even though no one really looked at me, and I was treated as if I was invisible, didn’t mean I wasn’t thrilled for the high that came after the full moon.

Everyone was in a good mood. It meant it would be easier for me to slip into the library without having to tell too many fibs.

“Good morning, Gina! How did the bread turn out?”

She rolled her grey eyes at me. “It always turns out incredible. No one can bake like you.” Her eyes twinkled. “I swear there’s magic in you somewhere.”

My smile no longer felt genuine but I kept it in place. Her words came from a good place, even if they did sting a little. There was absolutely no magic inside of me, even if I so desperately wanted there to be. We’d checked… many times.

My oldest sister, Maeve, bumped shoulders with me as she came into the room. “Oh, your bread is the best! I’m so excited!”

And just like that, the sting was gone. My sisters never treated me differently. They were married now, but they still tried to make me feel welcome. They lived in their own homes around the coven property, but they were usually the first in for breakfast, especially after a full moon.

Maeve brushed her burgundy hair behind her ear as she looked over the spread in the middle of the island. “I’ll have one of everything, Gina!” She rubbed her pregnancy-rounded belly and grinned at me.

“Just a few more weeks, Maeve?” I said, but it sounded more like a question. Her pregnancy had passed in the blink of an eye, it seemed.

She nodded her head as she ripped off the top of a muffin with her teeth.

I was just about to open my mouth and tell her how excited I was to meet my newest niece or nephew when my father planted his hands on my shoulders.

His warm scent wrapped around me and I closed my eyes before I leaned back into him.

He patted my cheek affectionately. “Can we speak for a second?”

I blinked. What could he want to talk to me about? “Of course, papa!”

I stared at the back of his head as I followed him down the hallway to his study.

He was wearing a long-sleeve flannel that was rolled up over his elbows.

His worn blue jeans hung around his hips and there was a trusty pocket knife tucked in his back pocket.

His hair was starting to curl around the edges of his ball cap and my soul seemed to find solace in just being with him.

I loved my parents so much. Even though my magic was nonexistent, they loved me anyway.

They just struggled with how to include me and how to have me still in this magical world.

It wasn’t easy on me and I knew it was especially not easy on them.

My papa sat down behind his big oak desk and fiddled with a pen in front of him. He was nervous and I felt myself growing antsy from his energy.

“As you know from your studies,” One of his dark brows lifted on his forehead and I felt a blush creep up my neck.

Not much got past my papa, the coven leader.

“There are covens all over the world. There is a rather large coven in New Orleans.” I sat up a little straighter.

There was a lot of magic in Louisiana, especially New Orleans because of how rich and deep their culture ran.

They were very in tune with the area around them.

“They’re in trouble.”

I sat up straighter. Why was he talking to me about this? What about Maeve or Jessi my other sister? Surely their magic was powerful enough to help? What could I do? Bake them a loaf of bread? Wow, really beneficial. Truly inspiring . “Okay?”

“Their coven leader, Laurent Benoit has been reaching out to a few other covens these last few weeks. We are the biggest on the West Coast. Everyone else has turned him down.”

I frowned. “Why would they turn him down?”

“He only has one form of payment.”

My confusion only continued to rise. I didn’t understand. “What does that mean? In spices? Food? Something else only the people down there can acquire?”

My papa’s lips thinned out before he answered me. “I wish that were the case and if it was, I’m sure someone else would have accepted his plea for aid.”

“What does he need help with?”

His light blue eyes bounced around the room. “Your grandmother foresaw this many moons ago, but the outcome was always different. I knew the day would come that they would need us, I just didn’t think it would come so fast.”

“Mama’s mother has death magic.” None of this made any sense.

He closed his eyes. “My mother.”

A gasp escaped my lips. “Your mother?”

He nodded solemnly. “She foresaw this moment when you were barely eight years old though the outcome was always different. I didn’t want to tell you but she called me this morning.

She had another dream about you last night and she said if I do not accept what is to come, the magic community will fall. ”

“What do you need me to do, Papa?”

A single tear slid down his cheek. “Laurent has offered up his son as payment.”

I reared back and toppled over my chair backwards.

My back hit the ground and knocked the air from my lungs.

I coughed and gasped as I rolled from the chair onto all fours.

Papa was helping me from the floor and rubbing my back within seconds.

He cupped my face between his large rough hands.

“I do not want to do this. I do not want to arrange a marriage for my precious daughter.”

I shooed his hands from me. I was fine. I would be fine. I sucked in lungfuls of breath and shook my head. “It can’t be too bad, I won’t have to give up everything I know.”

The frown on his face only grew more worn and tired.

“No.” I stumbled back. “Papa. No.” Tears blurred my vision as I shook my head. “You cannot be serious. They’re giving their son as payment but I must go to them? ”

“Sometimes we must do things we do not wish to do.” My papa, my sweet papa, seemed to age right before my eyes.

His shoulders slumped forward and more tears rolled down his cheeks.

“I do not want to do this my darling, Maple. I do not want to send you away, but I do not have a choice and neither do you.”