Page 11

Eleven

ELSPETH

“ W hy is everything so sticky?” Adelaide stared down at the floor, frowning. Auggie was out foraging for mushrooms and herbs. Mama was dusting, and Prue was upstairs “cleaning” the library.

I’d checked on her several times, and her version of cleaning involved a lot of sitting on the little cushion by the window and reading. I hadn’t seen Prue so animated in a long, long time, and I had to admit it was nice.

“Ugh.” Adelaide lifted her hand from the floor, some kind of brown substance covering it. “This is disgusting.”

“I think it’s tree sap,” I said, nose wrinkling.

I grabbed the nearby bucket of water and slid it toward my sister, who dunked her hand inside and attempted to wash the sticky mess off.

I dunked my sponge into the bucket and continued scrubbing the floor, the sponge coming away with thick layers of dirt and dust each time. I was going to have to change out the water soon. Luckily there was a little stream right outside the cottage, so it wouldn’t require a long walk.

“If only we could spell some of these items,” Adelaide said, her blue eyes bright and full of excitement. “Get the broom to sweep for us, the sponges to scrub, the duster to catch all the cobwebs.”

“You mean if only Mama could spell the items.” I pushed the sponge harder against the floor, trying to scrub away the spot Adelaide had just stuck her hand into.

Adelaide bobbed her head. “Yes, I suppose that is what I meant. Now that we have a home, it might be worth doing some of those types of spells.”

“Maybe Mama has a few of them in the Moonflower grimoire.” I took a deep breath. “And this isn’t our home.”

The cottage shook, dust and dirt falling from the overhead beams and onto our heads. This place was so temperamental.

Once the cottage had finished its tantrum, Adelaide swiped the dirt from her cheeks and hair. “That’s not what you said yesterday.”

“I just meant this is our temporary residence while we’re here. We can’t get too comfortable.”

“I know.” Adelaide sighed and reached over, plunking her sponge into the bucket. “Don’t you ever wish we could have a home, though?”

Prue squealed from upstairs. At least someone loved this place.

“Of course I do. But life isn’t so bad on the road.”

Adelaide raised an eyebrow.

I flung some water at her, and she shrieked. “It’s not.”

Or, at least, it hadn’t been. Not until our cart broke, and all our plans broke down along with it.

“Just because it’s not bad doesn’t mean it’s good.” Adelaide scrubbed the tree sap, then flicked water back at me.

I laughed.

“Do you ever think about him?” Adelaide peered at me. “Johanes? Think about what might happen if you ran into him?”

I looked away. “No. Not since he betrayed us.” Betrayed me. “And it’s a good thing because if I ever see him again, I’m not sure he’ll survive the encounter.”

We’d been together for two years. We met when I was twenty-two, when I was young enough that I convinced myself we could be like everyone else, that if someone just loved me enough, they’d understand why I didn’t have magic. That they’d see past that and love me anyway.

We’d been living in the same village we had all our lives at that point, trying to find ways to break the curse, keeping it a secret from everyone around us. That’s when I’d met Johanes, and I’d kept the secret from him for two long years before finally deciding to open up.

“Johanes is in the past.” I scrubbed harder, my hands red and raw. “I’m focusing on the future.”

“Right,” Adelaide said. “Is that why you were so hard on that man—Draven—the other night?”

I winced at the reminder of the rude tavern owner. “He was an ass.”

“Maybe.” Adelaide bobbed her head. “But you really let him get to you. I’ve never seen you riled up like that before.”

My jaw clenched. “Well, I didn’t like the way he was grabbing that young girl and speaking to her.”

“He’s not Johanes,” Adelaide said.

“I know that,” I snapped, then sighed. “Sorry. I’m just feeling a little stressed about everything going on right now.”

“I know. But maybe you could look at staying in Thistlegrove as an opportunity.”

My brows furrowed. “An opportunity for what?”

“To make some friends,” Adelaide suggested. “Get outside your comfort zone. Maybe we could all do that.”

I straightened on my knees. “And does getting out of your comfort zone include a certain Elm Kingsley?”

Mama choked, coughing. I turned around to see her perched on the top of a chair and leaning her ear toward us. She quickly straightened and turned around.

“Mama,” Adelaide said with a mischievous grin. “That cough sounds terrible. Do you need to see a healer?”

Mama cleared her throat, banging her chest. “No. Not at all. Just a tickle in my throat.”

Mama couldn’t help herself. She and Auggie were expert eavesdroppers. Actually, all the Moonflower women were.

I moved to another space on the floor and started scrubbing. “So?” I whispered. “Are you interested in Elm Kingsley?”

“Maybe.” Adelaide leaned forward, her wavy golden hair spilling over her shoulders. “He’s not like anyone I’ve ever met, Elspeth. I know you don’t trust him, but if you just gave him a chance... ”

“Adelaide, just be careful. We won’t be here long, and Elm isn’t even from Thistlegrove. Treat him like you would any other fling.”

The light in Adelaide’s eyes dimmed. “A fling. Right.” She scrubbed the floor harder.

“What do you even know about him?” I asked.

“I know that he’s nice.”

“So was Johanes,” I said, remembering the way he’d changed so suddenly after I’d revealed the truth about the curse to him. That calculated look that had overtaken his eyes. And I’d been stupid enough to not see any of it until it was too late.

“I know that I like him. That I could see a future with him.”

Mama gasped, and we both turned right as she whirled around, coughing harder and reaching up high onto some shelves to dust.

I licked my lips, having a difficult time forming words. “But... you’ve known him for two days.”

“There’s just something about him. He’s different, El.”

“Getting that close to someone comes with risks.” I swallowed. “Promise you’ll be careful.”

Adelaide’s shoulders slumped. “Then how are we ever going to get our magic back?”

“I told you that we’ll figure it out,” I said. “There has to be a way to break the curse. Curses are cast every day in the Witchlands.” I threw my arm out, some of the water from my sponge splattering Adelaide. “There are witches whose entire jobs are dedicated to breaking curses.”

The cursebreakers. They were some of the most powerful witches in the Witchlands. They also all worked for Witch Superior, and going to any of them for help was out of the question. Witch Superior was not kind to those who didn’t have magic, no matter the reason. She was known to be harsh, inconsistent, and temperamental. Not the kind of leader I wanted my fate to depend on.

“And have you made any headway?” Adelaide asked.

“Well, we’ve been a little busy.” A defensiveness edged my voice. I hadn’t been trying as hard as I could have. Not because I didn’t want to break this curse but because all my energy went to keeping us safe.

It was hard to even know where to begin. Cursebreakers went through extensive training that took years. And even then, they weren’t able to break all curses, some so complicated they couldn’t be undone. I swallowed. But not this one. Prue had been reading up on curses, and if anyone could figure it out, it was my younger sister.

“Now that we’re here in one place, maybe Prue will have more time?” I suggested.

Adelaide smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Well, I can help too. We all can.”

I lay a soapy hand over hers. “You just focus on this new business venture of ours. I’m glad we have a roof over our heads, and we’ll see what Auggie says when she comes back from foraging, but it seems like this forest might be a haven for different plants and herbs we can use in our potion mixes. That’s all good news. But we still have to find a way to make money.”

Adelaide worried at her bottom lip. “We’ll figure something out. I’ll go into town today. Maybe with Elm. Maybe he can help me.”

“Just—”

“Be careful.” Adelaide sighed. “I know.”

“Sorry.” I dropped my sponge in the bucket, the water now black with dirt. We’d need more.

“It’s okay. I know you’re trying to keep us all safe. And you do a good job.” Adelaide leaned over and nudged me with her shoulder. “Now go get us some more water because we still have a lot of floor to clean.”

She looked at the rest of the wood floors, still covered in dirt, grime, and forest debris.

“Addy, Addy!” We both came to a stand as Mama waved wildly.

“Mama, be careful!” I called, right as she lost her balance and fell.

Adelaide and I both screamed as she hit the floor, but Mama just popped up, her cheeks flushed.

She pointed out the window. “Look who’s here for a visit!”

I turned to see Elm Kingsley walking toward the cottage. And he wasn’t alone. Draven Darkstone was marching beside him.