Page 8

Eight

ELSPETH

T hunder boomed and lightning flashed as the five of us huddled in our tent. We’d found a spot to camp right outside Thistlegrove, though we’d had to walk in the pouring rain. Now we were all soaked and shivering, trying our best to dry off before we laid down to sleep. We hadn’t had time to grab our food or bedrolls, and even worse, after we’d gotten the tent set up, we’d discovered a huge rip in it, which meant the protection spell that shielded us from the elements was broken.

Mama flipped through our family grimoire, looking for any spells that could help us fix it. But the Moonflowers had never been powerful or wealthy witches. None of our ancestors attended the revered Coven Institute, where witches learned powerful magic, magic like the one used to spell this tent.

Prue looked over Mama’s shoulder, brows furrowed. “Maybe you could try this spell?”

Mama pursed her lips. “That is a drying spell, but it’s not permanent. I can dry all our clothes, but the rain will just soak them again. To make it permanent, I’d need... well I don’t know what I’d need to do. I never learned that from my mother.”

The Moonflowers had a long history of potion making. Mama might not have attended the Institute, but she learned how to make potions from her own mother, and she inherited this grimoire full of family spells. Many of them were useful for small things like drying clothes, heating up soup, making a fire, mending a tear, cleaning a wound, commanding a door or window to close, but I doubted any would help us in this situation.

“Well, just try something.” Auggie’s teeth chattered. “I’m freezing.”

Mama picked up her wand and pointed it at Auggie, saying the words of the spell. A golden glow erupted from Mama’s wand and spiraled through the air toward Auggie. It surrounded her, then disappeared, Auggie’s clothes now dry.

My younger sister breathed out a sigh of relief until a gust of wind blew open the tent flap and brought rain with it, soaking her all over again. She groaned.

Mama snapped the grimoire closed, a crescent moon on the earthen-green cloth cover—our family crest.

The wind battered the tent, whistling through the flaps as we all sat with our knees drawn, shivering.

Auggie pursed her lips. “We could be in an inn right now with a luxurious bed and a warm bath. And space.” She glared at me. “Lots of space.”

Prue sniffed, a pile of books beside her that she shielded with her body as droplets of rain splattered inside. “I agree with Auggie. I can’t believe you turned down Elm’s offer. He was willing to let us stay in a nice inn at no cost.”

I sighed. “I didn’t feel comfortable with that.”

Adelaide sat by Mama, looking out the crack in the tent flap, face drawn and mind distant. She hadn’t said hardly anything since I’d stormed out of The Brewhouse earlier. I bit the inside of my cheek, guilt bubbling up at how I’d acted. My intentions might have been good, but I’d been harsh on Draven, too harsh. I’d made a scene and drawn attention to us, which was exactly what I was trying to avoid.

“And who says you get to decide anyway?” Auggie asked. “Who put you in charge of making decisions for all of us?”

“Auggie, I know you’re upset,” I said in a calm tone, “but I’m doing my best to protect us from any harm.”

“Oh yes, the scary inn.” Auggie wiggled her fingers menacingly. “The beds that are so soft they could swallow us up. The baths that are so warm they might scald our skin.”

“The man who we’d owe a great debt to for giving us those rooms,” I snapped before she continued.

Adelaide looked at me for the first time since we’d gotten into the tent. “It wouldn’t be like that.”

“Addy,” I started, but Mama cut me a look, and I closed my mouth.

“I don’t want to argue. Let’s just do our best to get a good night’s rest, and then we’ll figure everything out tomorrow.”

“Oh no.” Prue held up a soggy book, ink bleeding from the pages.

“Oh no,” Auggie mocked, rolling her eyes. “What will you do without one of your precious books you’ve already read countless times?”

“For your information, it’s a book on curses.” Prue sent Auggie a scathing glare.

Some of the color drained from Auggie’s face.

“A book on curses?” I asked in a hushed tone, even though we were on the outskirts of town in the middle of a storm and no one was likely eavesdropping.

Mama’s lips pressed into a thin line. Of all of us, she hated talking about the curse the most. After all, it had been her mother who’d cast it. It was an accident, of course. A blessing gone wrong.

Grandmama had been on her deathbed, and she’d wanted to see her four granddaughters one final time to bestow us each with a parting gift—something witches often did for loved ones before they passed. It was usually a little charm for safety or protection. Something small but meaningful. The magic was bound to their death, so it was forever.

Prue looked at us down her nose, glasses perched on the edge. “Well, how else are we going to figure it out? We have to read more about curses if we ever want to lift the one that keeps us from being able to use our magic.”

If anyone could figure it out, it would be Prue. She was smarter than all of us combined.

Auggie sniffed. “I still don’t understand why Grandmama wanted to ‘bless’ us with marriage and magic.”

Mama let out a sob. “You know she loved alliteration.”

“Well her love of alliteration got us cursed.” Auggie’s jaw locked .

Mama wailed harder, and I rubbed my temples. “Grandmama meant well. She wanted us to all be blessed with happy marriages and good magic.”

She hadn’t realized her blessing had somehow gotten twisted, turned into a curse, one where none of us could use our magic until we got married.

I still remembered standing by her bedside, eighteen years old and feeling like I had my entire life ahead of me. Then Grandmama said the words of the blessing, and I felt a shift inside of me. An emptiness I’d never felt before. By the time we realized what had happened, Grandmama was already gone.

At least Adelaide and I had gotten through Academy, had gotten to use our magic for years before it was taken. Auggie and Prue had been much younger, neither having a chance to really use their magic in any real capacity.

That was twelve years ago. Twelve years we’d been illegally living in the Witchlands without magic.

I shook away the painful memories.

“How are we going to pay for the repairs for this tent or the cart?” Prue asked, pushing her round spectacles up her nose. “We don’t have that kind of gold.”

“We’ll do what we do best,” I said. “Sell our potions. Surely we can find a spot outside Thistlegrove or maybe in town if they’ll allow it. And we can build a little stand or something.”

“But there’s already a potions shop in Thistlegrove,” Prue said. “I passed it on my way to the bookstore.” She perked up. “Maybe we could stay at the bookstore. Think how amazing it would be to sleep among all those books.” She pressed her hands against her cheeks.

Auggie cut her a look. “You might be more delusional than Elspeth.”

Prue made a face at her. I mulled over her words. Of course there would be a potions shop here. I should’ve expected that.

“So what if there’s another potions shop?” Mama waved her hand. “No one can beat my potions. They’re superior in every way. We’ll put the others out of business. Auggie can sell the potions. Adelaide and Elspeth can get the ingredients. And Prue can research new types of ingredients and combinations we could use. ”

“We can’t risk that,” I said. “We’re the outsiders, here. We can’t afford to make the townspeople angry, to step on any toes.” I bit my lip. “We’ll have to think of something else, a way we can use your potions affinity to our benefit, fill a need this town has.”

“But this town has everything,” Auggie said. She threw up her hands. “So basically, we’re screwed.”

“No, we’re not,” I said firmly. “We have been through worse.”

Everyone quieted down, no doubt thinking about the worse situations we’d been through. How we’d almost been brought before Witch Superior, forced from the Witchlands. I wouldn’t ever let that happen again. We would get through this and out of this town as soon as possible.

“That’s everyone’s homework.” I glanced from face to face.

Auggie wrinkled her nose. “Homework? Really, Elspeth? I haven’t been in school since we got cursed, and I have no desire to go back. Especially not if you’re my teacher.”

I raised my chin, ignoring her. “Tomorrow, we visit town, talk to the residents. Be polite, inconspicuous, find out what’s missing here. A need we can fill.”

Auggie lay down, turning her back to me. “Great. Can’t wait.”

Prue shifted. “I guess I can do some reading, see if I can get any ideas.”

A gust of rainy wind blew in, and I shivered. If we didn’t figure something out, this was going to be miserable. Not just tonight but every night.

Everyone else lay down, all of us still soaking wet. My damp clothes stuck to me, and I stayed huddled with my knees drawn up to my chest, wondering how I was going to get us out of this mess, and for the first time, I wasn’t confident I actually could.