Page 22 of Bewitched By the Voodoo King (The Bewitching Hour #7)

Growing up, I’d been raised on hand-me-downs.

Anything to help save money when you’re a part of one of the biggest and most powerful covens on the West Coast. Being the biggest and the most powerful certainly didn’t mean the richest. My older sisters shared their clothes with me, and when I was done with them…

there wasn’t much life left in the clothes.

Maybe someone with magic could have fixed them up and given new life to them, but that wasn’t me, and eventually, I grew to be okay with it.

As I got older, I saved up my own money from working on the coven grounds and helping out with the younger kids, so I was able to buy my own items. It was nice to be able to take care of myself for a little bit, but now everything felt uncertain.

The thought of not having my own money and going shopping with my new friend and her mother made me feel anxious to say the least.

As we entered the first store in the busy, upscale mall, I felt a growing resentment for my parents.

Who sent their daughter to live on the other side of the country and didn’t send her with a little bit of money?

Yes, I had some savings, but after flipping a few price tags at the entrance, I knew immediately I couldn’t afford anything the other women would be trying on.

I trailed behind the two of them, my fingers brushing over the racks without really seeing anything. Silk, sequins, and sparkles everywhere.

Adelle held up a shimmering silver dress against her body, turning toward her mother. “What do you think?”

Rene smiled warmly. “If you don’t, I will!”

Adelle turned to me, practically glowing. “Maple, find something too! My treat.”

Panic bloomed low in my gut. “Oh, that’s sweet, but I’m really just here to hang out.”

Her brow creased. “No, you aren’t, you are here to get a dress. You are here to impress Rune at the Halloween Masquerade, and you can’t convince me otherwise. Besides…” She smirked. “When I say it’s my treat, it’s really Rune’s.”

She winked, but it didn’t make me feel any better. He’d insisted the coven money was also mine, but what had I done to deserve it? I certainly didn’t work. Sometimes I helped Maggie in the kitchen, but that was my punishment for breaking and entering…

I opened my mouth to insist I was fine—because that’s what I always did—but the words stuck.

Because I wasn’t fine.

I felt small and out of place again .

Today, I wanted to feel like I belonged. Just for a minute.

So I nodded. “Okay. One dress.” I could try them on without buying, I’ve done that almost my entire life.

Adelle beamed and immediately pulled three off the nearest rack. “You’re going to look like a goddess.”

Doubt flickered inside me, but I let her shove the dresses into my arms anyway and followed her toward the fitting rooms. Rene didn’t bother with following behind us; she was eyeing a few dresses but hadn’t picked up one of her own just yet.

“Is your mom okay?” I asked as the fitting door clicked closed behind us, and we immediately began undressing.

Adelle’s lips twisted. “To be honest? This is her favorite time of the year. She and my dad usually go all out for the masquerade. I’m sure it feels different without him here.”

“I’m so sorry,” Guilt ate at my insides. Of course, she was still grieving her late husband. Of course, all of this would be hard on her.

Adelle shimmied into a bright red number and shrugged. “She needed to get out of the house. She needs something to give her joy, and even with her missing my dad, I know she will find joy in this.”

I pulled the straps up over my arms to a pink sparkly number. It wasn’t what I pictured myself in, but it was pretty. We both turned and looked at ourselves in the mirror before we agreed that these were not our dresses.

While we tried on the others, Rene brought us more dresses until both chairs in the fitting room were overflowing with sparkles and sequins.

Adelle pulled on a dark green number that didn’t have a single ounce of sparkle to it.

She turned in the low lighting, and my jaw about fell to the floor. It was everything.

“Adelle,” I whispered. “That dress… that’s your dress.”

She gave me a shy smile as she looked over her shoulder. “You think so?”

“I know so,” I said. “You look like a freaking enchantress. That color— ugh . I’m obsessed.”

She did a little twirl and then reached for her phone. “We are absolutely documenting this.”

As she snapped a few selfies, I turned back to my own pile. My last option was buried under a pile of rhinestones and ruffles. It was a deep plum, almost black in the shadows, with silver threads stitched along the bodice like winding vines.

I slipped it on and everything stilled.

The moment the fabric settled against my skin, the air seemed to shift.

“Whoa,” Adelle said, voice suddenly soft.

I turned toward the mirror.

My reflection stared back at me, but she didn’t quite look like me…

I looked like an enchantress myself, this time.

The dress hugged every curve, and the silver thread shimmered like it had been spun from starlight.

My hair, messy from all the outfit changes, suddenly looked intentional.

I looked like I had magic thrumming through my veins like all of the other witches I was constantly surrounded by.

“Maple,” Adelle whispered. “That dress just activated .”

I blinked. “What does that mean?”

She stepped closer, eyes wide as I did another turn. “It’s literally enchanted. Probably keyed to magical resonance. Which means… it responded to you and your magic . Not all outfits do it, but sometimes a witch or two works in fashion and decides to add a little to their projects.”

I was quiet as we emerged from the fitting room. I didn’t know what to say or think. There was no way the magic in the fabric or the thread had responded to me. I didn’t have magic for it to respond to. Right?

The dress felt heavy in my hands as I walked it to the counter. I absolutely couldn’t afford the garment, but I didn’t know how to confide that in Adelle or even her mother. I didn’t want them to pity me or to buy me the gown out of charity.

Rene was already waiting at the checkout counter. There was a pile of shimmering black silk being wrung up, as well as Adelle’s dark green piece. I held back and calculated in my head how I would be able to make this happen.

Rene looked over her shoulder at me and grinned. “Bring that over here!”

I looked down at the gown in my hands and wanted to cry. Adelle snatched it from me and threw it on the counter next to their dresses. She shot me a look to quiet any kind of protest.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the ping of the register.

Adelle didn’t look at me—just grinned like it was nothing. “You’d do the same for me.”

“But I haven’t.” My hands twisted together. “I can’t.”

Rene turned as the clerk bagged the dresses, her expression soft but firm. “Maple, kindness isn’t a transaction. It’s a gift, and you don’t owe us anything.”

I nodded, but my chest still felt tight. I didn’t know how to be on the receiving end of generosity that didn’t come with strings. It felt like wearing a crown when you’d grown up apologizing for needing shoes.

The bag holding the dress felt heavier than the fabric should’ve allowed as she passed it to me. My eyes burned as I looked down at it. It was the prettiest thing I’d ever put on and probably the most expensive thing I’d ever owned.

“Do you carry wedding dresses? I’m beyond pleased with the items we saw here today!” Rene gushed to the woman behind the counter.

Wedding dresses? I frowned.

Then it hit me. Oh. Oh.

“If we don’t carry what you’re looking for, we can order it. Hold on and let me get a card with all of our socials on it so you can see what we keep in stock.” The woman leaned down and grabbed a card for Adelle’s mother, and she beamed.

“Thank you! We will be back soon!”

Before I could open my mouth to ask about this wedding stuff and when it would take place, Adelle groaned. “Is anyone else starving?”

Rene nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, let’s take a streetcar to get some po-boys!”

“What’s a po-boy?” I felt silly for asking.

Rene laughed, the kind of full-bellied laugh I hadn’t heard from her all day. “Oh, honey. A good po-boy can fix things you didn’t even know were broken.”

“That sounds… delicious?”

“Just wait.”

We filed onto the streetcar, the old wooden seats creaking beneath us as it trundled through the French Quarter.

The dress bag sat carefully across my lap, and I couldn’t stop staring at it—like maybe I’d imagined it all.

That moment in the mirror—the spark. It was easy to be fixated on the dress, instead of the streetcar we were piled on.

I’d already geeked out over them earlier in the day.

Rene and Adelle were chatting about oyster vs. roast beef like it was life and death, but my brain was still back at the register.

Wedding dresses.

Did they know something I didn’t?

I mean, yes—Rune and I had kissed. But it wasn’t that kind of kiss.

Or was it? Because my heart had absolutely written vows halfway through it, and we were arranged to be married, but was he making plans he hadn’t discussed with me yet?

Oh… Were there plans already in motion from the contract that my parents signed?

“Earth to Maple?” Adelle waved a hand in front of my face.

“Sorry.” I blinked. “Just thinking.”

She smirked. “Thinking about Rune?”

“No,” I lied. “I’m thinking about—po-boys.”

Rene snorted. “Good. Because we’re ordering you the classic. If you’re going to fall in love in New Orleans, you better do it with a full stomach.”

Before I could stop myself, the words escaped my lips. “Was Rune planning on marrying Babette?”

Adelle and her mother shared a look.

“What do you mean?” Rene asked carefully.

I’d been so preoccupied with how good the kiss had felt the night before that I knew bringing up Babette to Rune was wrong. I didn’t want to tarnish our moment because of her.

I licked my lips as I stared out of the window of the streetcar. “Last night when we went out for dinner…”

Adelle smiled wickedly as she interrupted. “So that’s where you disappeared off to.”

“I was cornered in the bathroom. A woman from the coven claiming that I stole Rune from Babette and that they were planning on getting married.”

Rene let out a breath. “I think this is something you should speak to Rune about.”

“I plan to, but I just wanted to know both of your thoughts first.”

Adelle leaned back in her seat and nodded. “Yes, you should talk to Rune, but you can get some insight from us. Neither one of us can speak for Rune or how he feels, but it was something that was always expected.”

“Babette comes from a powerful line of witches. Many in the coven thought she belonged in power beside him, even before they became romantically involved.”

“Which is a rather loose term if I do say so myself,” Adelle crossed her arms over her chest. “Even though they were together, Rune could never trust her. She was manipulative, seductive, and sneaky. She brought out a dark side in him that we’d never seen before.”

Rene cut eyes at her daughter. “We aren’t going to gossip, Adelle.”

Adelle frowned. “I’m being honest.”

Rene took a deep breath. “All that matters is that they aren’t together anymore.”

“Was I the reason they aren’t together anymore?” It was the one burning question on my mind. I could get over everything else.

Adelle frowned. “No, but the timing wasn’t the most convenient. Rune broke it off with her two weeks before he found out about the arrangement with you.”

Adelle nudged me with her elbow. “Po-boys. Come on. They fix everything. Even existential dread.”

I snorted.

“Seriously,” she added. “We’ll get roast beef for you. Drown it in gravy. It’ll cure at least 80% of your emotional turmoil.”

I grinned. “And the other 20%?”

“You’ll have to talk to Rune.”

And I would.

Eventually. But first, I was about to enjoy another pivotal part of New Orleans.