Page 13

PIPER

A fter Ambrose fishes my phone out of a giant urn, he takes me back to my apartment to gather up things like clothing and my own toothbrush.

This entire situation is weird. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying at the chateau.

Even having Ambrose in my apartment feels strange, as though he’s inhabiting a part of my world that doesn’t exist anymore.

I don’t know why it feels that way, because I’m still the same person.

Except everything has changed in the course of a few days.

By the time we get back to Ambrose’s house, his parents are gone and so are the rest of the staff. Ambrose takes my suitcase and the duffel bag from my shoulder and heads upstairs, leading me to a new room. It’s a different one than where Odie stays.

“There are, like, twenty rooms here, so if you don’t like this one, please feel free to pick another.” Ambrose opens the door with more finesse than I could’ve ever managed while juggling multiple bags.

“I’m sure it’s fine.” I stutter to a stop as I look at the room. It’s more than fine. It’s beautiful. The Roth mansion is a strange mixture of old world and new. Parts of it feel like a museum, but there’s also something magical about living in a space so laden with history.

This room feels out of another world completely.

As if whoever decorated the rest of the house gave the responsibility of the decor over to somebody else entirely.

Where the rest of the house is dark, mahogany wood and heavy oil paintings, everything in here is light and airy.

There’s a canopy bed with sheer curtains pulled back to display a fluffy comforter and massive amount of pillows.

The walls are a pale cream, with gold art that provides a counter to the dark hardwood floors.

It’s warm but still has the same sense of history as the rest of the house.

Ambrose sets my bags in the walk-in closet. “You have your own bath, and I’m right next door if you need anything. And I do mean anything .” He smirks. “Three months is a long time, Piper.”

“Only for you. Go.” I take Ambrose by the shoulders, turn him around, and push him out into the hallway. His laughter lingers as I close the door behind him and lean against the heavy wood.

Even after sleeping all night in Vegas–and basically the entire trip home–I’m still exhausted.

Part of it might be the weight of freedom from Tucker.

It’s so foreign that I don’t know how to manage the feeling.

It doesn’t seem real. I’ve spent my entire life tiptoeing around my father and then Tucker.

Afraid every time I saw them that they would ask me to do something I wouldn’t want to do. I could never refuse.

Now I can say no.

And I’m married to Ambrose Roth. Whose bedroom is mere feet away. If I wanted to, I could climb into his bed, and he would make me forget my own name.

I shake my head and drag my hands through my hair. I groan at the tangled mess.

Shower. Bed. And no more thoughts of any problems tonight. That’s all I’m allowed to do tonight. Nothing will get solved by me worrying.

I peel my dirty clothes off, take a scalding hot shower, and try not to think of Ambrose naked in his own shower, just a room away.

The coven gathering is being held in the auditorium of the old Tenebris coven house tonight.

There’s no official Luminara coven house yet.

Lucida used to be the Tenebris coven leader before she took control of the Luminara coven, so I suppose it makes sense that she feels more comfortable gathering us all here.

I can already tell that some people are not pleased by what seems like a preference for one coven over the other.

Witches are giving each other suspicious looks and talking to each other behind their hands.

I’m feeling pretty confident that a fight will break out tonight.

Especially now that I’m in a room with all these witches. Tensions are that high.

It’s raining again tonight and all the damp bodies shoved into one room has led to a hot and humid space.

The auditorium where we’ve gathered has a small stage but no permanent seats.

The crowd has formed little pockets where those familiar with each other congregate.

I follow Ambrose through the crowd, since he seems to know where he’s headed.

I probably would’ve camped out in the back corner of the room until I saw one of my friends.

Ambrose looks at me over his shoulder. “Our friends are over there.” He jerks his head, and I try to see through the crowd, but there are too many people.

I’ve been in this room once before, when summoned by the old Tenebris coven.

The council was searching for a set of grimoires that my friends and I had stolen. Ones that are still at Ambrose’s house.

He reaches behind him and searches for my hand, grabbing hold tight so I don’t get lost among the frenzy.

The crowd is vibrating with nervous energy.

An even mix of the old Tenebris and Lumen coven members packs the room.

Witches stand shoulder to shoulder with their former enemies and they’re not happy about it.

The transition into one coven has not been smooth.

We grew up hearing about how awful the witches on the other side of the river were and it’s going to take time to break down those beliefs.

The Lumen coven was made up of light witches, whose magic specialized in things like healing, elemental magic, and potions.

Dark witches have a more arcane type of magic, tending toward shadow and mental magic.

We were led to believe there was a reason we never mixed together.

That turned out to be a lot of politicking bullshit.

But there are many witches who refuse to believe that we’re not so different.

Ingrained biases and being told your whole life that the witch on the other side of town is really your enemy are hard things for some people to give up.

Ava is the first to spot me and Ambrose.

Her light brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she’s wearing a pair of yoga pants and an oversized sweatshirt that I’m pretty sure belongs to her fated bond, Bram.

She pulls me into a hug, but I don’t untangle my hand from Ambrose quickly enough.

Ava’s eyes go wide as she looks between the two of us.

“Hey, guys. Did you get here at the same time?”

Odie pops up behind Ava and signs hello.

She doesn’t speak. I’m not sure what happened with her voice or if she was born that way, and it’s really none of my business.

I’ve been learning sign language since we first met, and I’ve improved immensely in the last few months.

I'm going to need to thank her for the clothes I borrowed at some point. She’s several inches taller than me and athletic, where I’m more rounded.

Her long hair is platinum blonde, and she’s the most calming presence I’ve ever been around.

“No, we came together.” Ambrose grins at Ava like the little shit he is.

Half of my friends have coupled up and formed magical bonds in the last year.

It’s been overwhelming. Everything has changed so quickly that it’s hard to process it all.

Josephine, who used to be cursed to feel pain whenever touched, is now standing with Roman pressed to her back, his arms holding her to him.

Ava steps back next to Bram, who throws an arm around her shoulder.

Up until recently, Ava was cursed to be forgotten.

If we went more than a few weeks without seeing each other, she would be erased from my memory.

I realize now I haven’t seen her in over two weeks, and I remember her as clear as day.

It's incredible. Finding their true love was powerful enough, but for that love to break curses that have been passed down for generations is something else entirely.

Bram and Roman are brothers who look similar, with their dark hair and glares that cut like a knife.

They each had their own set of curses that have been cured, essentially by love.

I’m happy for them, but I’m realistic. I can’t believe they found their fated bonds in the first place.

Statistically speaking, two out of three of my best friends found their soulmates, and in all likelihood, I will die of my curse, alone and sad. That’s just how the math pans out.

Ava’s twin, Stellan, rounds out our group. Stellan is a big dude and uses his body to form a bit of space between us and the rest of the crowd. Thankfully, we’ve got a spot against the wall, so at least we’re only penned in by irritated people on one side.

Ava’s still looking at my hand where I was holding on to Ambrose. She cocks her head. “That’s a new ring.” She picks up my finger and looks at it. “It’s really pretty.”

Ambrose, the shit stirrer that he is, lifts his left hand and scratches his eyebrow. Ava immediately clocks the ring on his finger.

“I didn’t know you wore jewelry, Ambrose.” Ava’s eyes dart back-and-forth between the two of us. Bram squeezes her to his side, but his eyes are narrowed on us both.

“What am I missing?” Stellan tries to rest his arm on top of Ava’s head, but she pushes her brother away.

“Shall we tell them, snookums?” Ambrose chuckles, enjoying this far too much.

Why didn't I anticipate this? We knew we were going to see our friends tonight. Ambrose and I never talked about what we’d tell people, but we also never said we were going to keep the marriage a secret.

Somehow, in my head, I convinced myself that this was just going to be a secret between the two of us.

“Snookums?” Josephine asks, her eyes wide as she stares at me.

“Piper and I got married. Anyone want to throw us a party?”

The reactions swing from astonishment to disbelief.

“You’re the one with all the entertainment venues in town.” Bram stares at Ambrose as if he has two heads.