Page 2

Chapter Two

C lover’s pocket vibrated as her cellphone rang. She knew it was her best friend; Ari was the only one to call her at this time of day, especially when it was so late in the year and the sun was barely up. Hell, she and her parents were only up so early because they’d needed to prepare for an early delivery.

Clover shut the back door of the van and flipped her dumbphone open. “Good morning,” she said without looking at the screen.

“Good morning,” Ari answered in that sweet voice she always used when greeting her.

“How are you this morning?”

“A little sad to be honest. Another summer is over, and my magic is so weak with the season change that I could barely extend the hot water in my shower this morning even with Rhys there to help me.”

Clover frowned as she opened the driver’s side door and climbed in. “At least you have Rhys there to help you. I had to seal a good luck charm I’ve been charging for months on my own yesterday. I still don’t know if it’ll work. Maybe I waited too long. I probably should have sealed it when it was high summer and my magic was at its height. Then I wouldn’t have needed help.”

Ari tutted in sympathy. “Do you feel luckier?”

Clover sighed, pressing the speaker button and setting her phone on the center dashboard before starting the van. She looked down at the pendant that hung just above her breasts. She’d painted a three-leaf clover onto the flat side of a cabochon, then painted over it with glow-in-the-dark paint. She couldn’t see the glow now that it was daylight—it looked like a simple clover on a plain background—but she knew the specialty paint had worked because it had glowed bright green the night before. She could feel the sun’s magic faintly shimmering about the charm—mounting as she’d charged it in the sun over the last few months—but whether it would stick or slowly fade away, she didn’t know.

Clover pulled out into the street. It was still early, so there was hardly any traffic. “I guess we’ll see if it works or not. I could use a bit of luck.”

“Now that you brought it up… I haven’t said anything because you didn’t seem like you wanted to talk about it. But you’ve never done a luck spell before—not that I can remember. Are you all right? You’ve seemed out of sorts for a bit now.”

Clover sighed. Of course, Ari noticed . She’d tried to keep her feelings of unease to herself. She’d tried to be the same upbeat, carefree Clover she’d always been. Her parents, her brother, and even her sister hadn’t seemed to notice. They treated her the same as always. But her best friend obviously hadn’t been fooled.

“I don’t know. I’m fine. It’s not like there’s anything wrong . It just feels like something isn’t quite right. Does that make sense? Something needs to change. I don’t know what, but I’m hoping this good luck spell will shake things up a bit.”

“The gods of summer will provide as they always do,” Ari said with confidence.

Yeah, as they always do…for everyone else. Clover scolded herself the moment she had the thought. It was much too dark for her. That’s not fair. I have a job and a loving family. Everyone is happy and healthy. So what if I’m just the delivery driver? So what if Erie will inherit the business? It’s not like my sister will fire me. So what if I want more? We have food on our table and a roof over our heads.

“I’m grateful for whatever the gods of summer provide me,” Clover said humbly, stopping at a red light.

“Hang in there,” Ari encouraged. “Change is one of the only things we can count on in this life after all. So if it’s change you want, then you’ll certainly get it eventually.”

“I know you’re right,” Clover agreed. But it still felt like things had been the same for so long—not that she’d been unhappy with that until recently.

“You sound like you’re in the car. Are you out making deliveries already?”

“Yeah.” Clover started again as the light turned green. “Someone’s wedding.”

Clover could hear Ari’s scowl in her voice. “What kind of winter witch bullshit is that? Who gets married on Halloween? What did they order—black roses and funeral lilies?”

Clover chuckled. “You’re half right. But I don’t think it’s the winter witches. It’s on our side of the woods, and they never order flowers—at least not from us.”

“Ah, so some amagical ordinary playing up the witchy origins of Forest Haven, do you think?”

Clover shrugged. “Who knows? I just make sure the delivery gets there intact and on time.”

“Right. So actually, I called to see if you’re coming to the farewell-to-summer party out in the woods tonight. You’re not on social media, so I thought you might not have heard about it.”

Clover hesitated, her shoulder muscles tightening. She didn’t feel like partying, and she worried her mood might bring the others down. “Uhh… Isn’t it going to be really cold tonight? I heard it might snow.”

“You’re thinking of it all wrong. You’re focusing on the negative. It might be just what you need to reconnect and cheer you up. There will be food and a bonfire. We’ll play games and sing songs and give the summer gods a proper send-off. Maybe I’ll break out some lingonberry cordial. You love lingonberry cordial.”

Clover’s mouth watered as she thought of her friend’s homemade drink. She did love lingonberry cordial, and she wasn’t above taking a bribe in cases like this. Clover smiled. “Okay, fine. Text me the details.”

Ari squealed with excitement. “It’ll be fun, I promise. Oh, and don’t forget to wear a costume. Okay?”

Clover groaned. “But it’s going to be freezing!”

Ari’s chipper tone was unaffected. “Then wear something warm.”