Page 28 of Magical Mischief

“It might give you a little extra something.”

My eyes widened, and I chuckled as I quickly put the cup down.

“Stella, you promised no more magical tea without me knowing.”

“Right, but it’s not the tea. It’s the cup. Oh, and the box for winter décor is in the corner behind the rocking chair. I think we can do a quick swap.”

“Sounds good.” I chuckled as she wandered off.

The soothing liquid went down my throat, and I looked around the tea shop, waiting for something to happen.

Nothing did.

Stella glanced over her shoulder at me and smiled, and I realized a two-hundred-year-old vampire had just played me.

Neither the tea nor the teacup held magical powers. I drank the rest, walked over to the rocking chair painted in varying shades of purple, and grabbed the box from behind.

Stella had labeled it asWinter Goodies. I lifted it over to the windows where she’d had a Santa and Rudolph hanging in the window, along with some snowflakes and snowmen. The Christmas mural painted on the windows remained, and I just worked around it, dismantling the figures.

Most customers cleared out as I swapped out the décor when Stella came over.

“Looking beautiful. Might as well keep the snowflakes dangling. We have a solid three months of winter weather around here.”

“Maybe more,” I said in agreement.

When the last few customers left, Stella laughed and shook her head. “Thank goodness.”

“What?”

“Time to switch the mural.” She grinned.

“You painted that?”

“Well…define painted.” Stella took a step back. “So, what do you envision instead of poinsettias?”

Feeling nostalgic for Celeste, I thought back to what she loved most about winter.

“How about a sweet winter scene where kids are playing outside?”

“That I can handle.” She snapped her fingers, and the reds, gold, and whites swirled off the glass instantly as a new block of colors appeared before my eyes.

“Wow.” I shook my head in awe. “Things about this village never cease to amaze me.”

The window’s mural depicted a tranquil winter scene with pastel blues and whites capturing timeless winter marvels. Delicate strokes reminiscent of older times whirled with falling snow and drifted across rolling hills blanketed in shimmering frost. The image looked nearly alive as the snowflakes glittered on the window. Children with ice skates and rosy cheeks spun circles on a frozen pond, while evergreens and fir trees stretched tall, dusted with glittering powder.

Stella reached for a few candlesticks to put along the windowsill from the box and glanced at me. “Now that the tea shop is quiet, why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind?”

“I spoke with Gideon,” I said solemnly.

“Ah, Nova thought you might venture to do that.”

The knot in my stomach tightened to a burning sensation. “I just can’t sit idly by while he’s using my dad as a pawn. It’s not fair.”

“Your father is strong, like you.”

I gave her a faint smile. “Doesn’t make it any less painful.”

She covered my hands with hers and nodded. “It wouldn’t, but he will be fine. He’s a Bellemore. So, fill me in.”