Page 60 of Charmed, I'm Sure

Nyx flicks his ears in my direction as Bellamy narrows her eyes. “Why?”

“No reason. Call it educational. I mean I was gifted Hops, but that’s different. So, I was just curious how it works with, you know, real witches.”

From somewhere near the counter, Sir Hops-A-Lot croaks. Loudly, while glaring at me. I swear on my wolf’s soul that toad is cursing me in his mind. I might not hear it, but I know.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I mutter.

Bellamy smirks as she continues to read. “He’s not wrong though.”

I cross my arms over my chest and huff like a child who was told no to candy before dinner. “It’s not fairthat you all are talking, but pretending you aren’t.”

Bellamy lowers the book an inch, her eyebrow arching. “If you asked more like an adult and less like a child trying to sneak a peek at their Christmas presents…then maybe you would get a real answer.”

My mouth drops open as I blink at her. “So you’re saying there is an answer.”

“I’m saying I know the answer and if you want to know bad enough, you’ll figure it out. Or…you won’t.”

“That’s cruel.”

“Is it though?”

Hops croaks again, as if in agreement with her. “Traitor,” I mumble.

Nyx yawns, snuggling in closer to Lady, but his tail flicks once in my direction as he glares at me with a half-lidded eye. He’s mocking me, I’m sure of it.

I point between them. “One day, mark my words, I’m going to catch you both mid conversation. And when I do—”

Bellamy tilts her head, her lip twitching as she holds back the smile trying to break free. “You’ll what? Write it in your wolfie diary? ‘Dear diary, Bellamy talked to her familiar today. I knew it was real’.”

“Maybe,” I grumble. “Depends on how much sass you give me. It might be more about how charming you find me.”

She scoffs. “Keep dreaming, Dog Boy.”

I groan dramatically and push to my feet, pacing the shelves behind her. I know she’s trying to pretend that I’m not here. My fingers run along the spines of the books. So many different titles to choose from, so much I could learn just from her collection alone. I can sense her curiosity, she wants to know what I’m doing. It’s in the stiff set of her shoulders, the way she hasn’t flipped the page yet, and how she’s staring at the same spot on the book.

“If you aren’t going to answer my questions about familiars or curses, at least help me with something useful.”

She looks up, wary. “Useful how?”

“What can I expect tomorrow?”

Her eyebrow quirks as she watches me. “What do youmean? Like will there be zombies walking around or blood pouring down the street?”

I stop mid-step and whirl to face her fully. “Those are possibilities?”

She laughs, but she covers her mouth quickly. Trying and failing to keep me from knowing it happened.

“You are far too gullible," she says with a shake of her head. “I hope you have a costume though.”

“Costume!? You waited until the night before to tell me that I needed a costume? How am I going to find a costume before tomorrow?” I pace back and forth, shaking my hands up and down in front of me. “It’s not like you have a costume store in this town…or wait do you?”

Bellamy fully laughs, loud enough that it startles all of us. I stop pacing, Nyx stops licking Lady, and even Hops tilts to the side to see from the desk. We are all watching in fascination as she continues to laugh.

I don’t know whether I should laugh along with her or call Elora because her sister has finally cracked. Both seem plausible at this point.

She laughs long enough that tears fall from the corners of her eyes, her face is red, and the rest of us are holding our breaths.

When she finally tapers off her laugh, wipes her eyes, and blinks up at us, we all are hovering around her watching.