Page 12 of Love’s a Witch (The Scottish Charms #1)

CHAPTER EIGHT Sloane

Later that day, I snuck away to enjoy what had begun to be a bit of a tradition for me on my birthday—going to a bookstore.

When I was younger, it had been the library, largely to escape something I hated most at the time—being the center of attention. I’d since grown more comfortable with it, but I certainly wasn’t what someone would call a socialite.

Which was why books were my favorite place to escape to.

Every year on my birthday, I’d buy myself a pretty new journal to document the adventures ahead, and at least five books solely based on how pretty the covers were.

It didn’t matter what genre, as I read pretty much everything, so the main criterion I’d set for myself was it had to be pretty and it had to be pricey.

We all had our splurges, and this was mine.

Waving goodbye, Blue having settled down for a nap next to Broca, I zipped up my winter jacket and stepped outside, my eyes going immediately to the sky.

Thick clouds tossed snow at my face, a happy birthday to me, I guess, and I pulled a wool cap over my hair.

Irrespective of the snow, a calmness filled me for the first time in ages, and I considered the reason as I sauntered the fifteen-minute walk into town.

Truly? It must be because I’d finally figured out my magick. After waiting for this day all these years, the unknown hovering over my head, finally getting my magick felt a bit like a nonevent. An afterthought. I wasn’t even all that deflated, though—in fact, quite the contrary.

Levitation was an easy enough magick that I could understand and be in charge of. Nothing about my life had to change, and I’d have the added bonus of being able to move things about more easily. Or reach for a book on the top shelf.

I nodded a greeting at a few tourists who wore witches’ hats despite the snow, and long wool cloaks.

The trees that lined the street had stopped fighting the snow, their leaves shifting from yellow to deep red, falling like drops of blood on white linen, and I whispered a silent apology to them.

I knew they’d lose their leaves soon enough, but I hated they’d had to do so early because of our curse.

Passing Mystic Munchies, I waved to the woman with pink braids behind the counter who only glowered at me.

The next shop, the Arcane Attic, showcased a variety of cloaks, much like the ones the tourists had just sported, as well as a fun dress with an evil eye–and–lightning bolt pattern scrawled across it.

A scarf covered in butterflies and sprinkled with rhinestones was wrapped around a mannequin’s neck, and I grinned at the pair of ruby-red mary janes in the front window.

It seemed this was the spot for all one’s witchy wear.

Humming, I stopped in front of the bookshop, painted a deep navy blue. Quill pens were painted on the outside, interspersed between moons and stars, and I looked up to see the name.

The Silver Quill.

A poster for the Halloween costume contest hung in the window, and I crinkled my nose at the huge X across the location and the words marked below it. “Moved inside to the community center.”

That was our fault. I’d been told that Halloween was Briarhaven’s biggest moneymaker when it came to holidays, and typically they had a huge bonfire and tons of festivities around it. The witches would celebrate Samhain, and the tourists would celebrate dressing up and getting candy.

The door opened, and I nodded to a few people who bustled out, bags in hand, and slipped inside.

Instantly, I felt at peace.

It was the kind of bookshop one wanted to linger in, where cozy corners held overstuffed chairs and colorful cushions, and fire crackling cheerfully in a small wood-burning stove.

Thick, rough-cut wood beams lined the ceiling, the walls were painted that same deep navy as outside, and the bookshelves were in the same rough-hewn wood as the beams above.

A thick rug in an intricate pattern of navy, white, and small pops of blush pink was thrown across wide-planked floors, and the woman at the checkout waved to me with one hand while she continued her conversation with her customer.

Black hair flowed down her back, and she wore a fuzzy black sweater with a singular white circle on the chest.

The air shimmered around the woman, and I squinted my eyes. Her image blurred, and for a moment, the face of a cat looked back at me.

She was fae.

A cat sith, to be exact.

It appeared my new magick had other aspects I hadn’t considered. Would I now be able to see other magickals more easily? In the past, they’d always have to reveal themselves to me first, but now I could just see that this woman was not human.

Fascinated, I made myself turn away, lest I be caught staring and give another member of the town reason to be annoyed at me.

I breezed over to a display of books that had immediately caught my eye when I’d walked in.

Gold foiling shone on the covers, sprayed edges revealed flowers, dragons, and swords, and I almost squealed in delight. They were just so pretty.

Reaching to pick one up, I paused as my phone buzzed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw Lyra’s name and answered, ducking outside so as not to annoy anyone’s browsing time. Bookshops felt like almost holy places to me.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“The power’s out.” Lyra’s voice held a note of worry, and I straightened.

“What do you mean it’s out? Did you check the box?”

“We did, but it doesn’t seem like anything’s flipped.”

“Was there anything on the news about a power outage?” I glanced around the street, but all the lights shone brightly in the storefront windows.

“Nothing we could find posted on social media. And the neighbors all have power.” There was a note in Lyra’s voice that took me a moment to recognize.

“That bastard,” I hissed.

“Yup, that’s kind of the conclusion we jumped to as well.”

“I can’t believe Knox would have the power cut on us. In a snowstorm nonetheless.” Fury ripped through me.

“I mean, technically we’re fine. The house is chock-full of fireplaces, so it’s not like we’ll freeze to death. Which he knows.”

“What if we didn’t have wood? We certainly won’t have hot water. Does he want our grandmother to bathe in ice-cold water in the winter?” I seethed, digging a path in the snow in front of the bookshop.

“I think he’s making good on his threat to run us out of town. And I have to say, this is fairly effective. I have to have internet to work, and we clearly are going to need hot water to function. Damn it, but this man is exhausting.”

“He’s an asshole is what he is.”

A laugh caught my ears, and my head went up, as though scenting my prey.

Knox stood just outside a store called the Crystal Cavern, and was helping an old woman into her car.

Sure, he was going to help one old woman but leave another to freeze to death? Not on my watch.

“I’ve got eyes on him. I’ll take care of it.”

“No murdering!” Lyra’s voice went up, and I clicked the phone off, tucking it back in my pocket, fury propelling me across the street without looking.

A horn sounded, and then my feet left the ground. For a moment, I was airborne, before I landed on something hard.

Not as hard as the ground, but hard enough.

“Bloody hell, woman,” Knox said from beneath me. “You’re going to get yourself killed. What were you thinking?”

“What was I thinking?” I reached back with my fist and hauled off.

Knox caught it with his hand a second before it reached his nose.

“Hey, hey, hey, now. Calm down, lass. That’s no way to thank me for saving you.”

“Saving me?” I sputtered, wrenching my hand from his big palm and pushing myself up from his chest. One of his arms kept me pinned against him.

I hated that I couldn’t get up under his strength.

And I hated even more that I kind of liked it.

I should not be admiring his body, or how sexy he looked all rumpled and pink-cheeked in the snow, or how his muscular arm pulled me tight against his chest.

I should be trying to kill him for putting my grandmother at risk.

“You’re just fine, Sloane. It’s just an adrenaline spike from a near miss is all.” Knox pitched his voice low, speaking to me like he was trying to calm a child with a temper tantrum, and I reached my fist up again.

He caught it easily.

“Hey, now. Violence is not the answer, my friend.”

“You cut off our electricity,” I finally bit out, furious with him.

Understanding dawned in his eyes, and I swore under my breath.

“Aye, a warning.” His voice rumbled, determination lacing his tone.

“A warning?” I gaped down at him, refusing to notice how good he felt beneath me.

“It should be back on by now.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and reaching down with one hand, I pulled it out and swiped it open.

“All good?” I asked without preamble.

“Yup, power’s back on. No need to go on a murdering spree.”

“But you know how much I like to sell organs on the black market.”

Knox grinned up at me, clearly not threatened by my words in the slightest.

“I do at that,” Lyra said, cluing in to what must be going on. “But you might want to keep his organs all intact. Particularly one, likely very large organ—”

I hung up before she could say any more.

“You could have put Broca in jeopardy,” I said, easing back, trying to stay focused on why I was so mad to begin with.

“I’m serious about you leaving town, Sloane. But I’m also not an awful person. I’d never hurt Broca.” Knox seemed sincerely upset at the prospect, and I stood, looking down as he propped himself up in the snow.

I refused to offer him a hand.

“She’s just had surgery, Knox. You have no idea what she needs the electrics for. It was poor form.”

“I’m sorry.” Knox met my eyes, his tone sincere. “You’re right. It was poor form, even if it was for a short bit of time.”

“Come for me all you want,” I said, pointing a finger at his face. “But my family is off-limits.”

“Oh, make no mistake about it, witchling. I am absolutely coming for you. This is only the beginning. I can make your life incredibly uncomfortable. And I plan to.”

“We need time to break the curse.” I almost shouted it, but brought my tone down just in time as a group of tourists left a shop. Instead, I kicked a pile of snow by his shoulder.

“At the cost of everyone else in Briarhaven, Sloane? We’re all supposed to deal with endless snow that is increasing in severity, which could potentially become catastrophic for our homes and businesses, while you just take your sweet time figuring out some ancient curse?”

Knox stood and brushed the snow from his trousers, his face set in hard lines.

Shame now mixed with fury, and I didn’t like it.

It had always been this way. The catch-22 of my life.

If I stayed in one spot, people got hurt.

But the only way to fix this mess was to stay in one damn spot—the origin of the very curse—and that meant Briarhaven would just have to freaking deal with it.

“You pride yourself on being Scotland’s most magickal town. Well? You fix it, then.” I lifted my hand and waved at the snow cascading down around us.

With that, I turned, needing to get away from him. Knox had stirred up too many emotions, and I needed to walk them off before I could think straight again.

“Oh, and Sloane?”

I glanced over my shoulder to where Knox stood, the snow swirling around him but never really landing on him.

“I forgot to wish you a happy birthday. I look forward to celebrating with you tonight.” Even though frustration simmered in his eyes, he smirked.

“Absolutely not. You’re not invited,” I said, and he grinned, that same grin he’d shown me the first night when I tried to tell him no.

“Let me guess. You own the pub.” Resignation hung low in my gut.

“Nope. My best mate does, though.” Knox shot me a cheeky grin before sauntering to his Land Rover.

I looked at the Silver Quill and sighed, turning toward home. There weren’t enough books in the world to soothe my turmoil today. Annoyed that my calm had been ruined by one very frustrating man, I brushed the snow from my pants and stomped toward home.

A car pulled up next to me, and I glanced over to see Knox, a smug expression on his face.

“Nice and warm in here.”

“I hope you never have working batteries for your TV remote and that your tea is always cold.”

“Oh, vicious. I like it. Need a ride?”

I gave Knox the same cheerful two-fingered salute my disgruntled neighbor offered me in the mornings. He laughed and drove away with a jaunty honk of his horn.

Damn him, but that stupid horn made me want to smile.

Confused and frustrated, I bent my head against the snow and trudged home.

No, not home.

Just a place to stay for a short time.

I was pretty certain that Briarhaven would never be our home again.