Spells (Bayou Magic 2)

“What is it?” I lean over to have a look. “A coin?”

“It looks like a silver dollar,” she says with delight. “It’s from 1902.”

“Must be mine, then.”

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Finder’s keepers and all that.”

She tucks the coin into her pocket and then returns to picking beans.

“Have you talked to Dahlia today?” she asks.

“No, but I spoke with her last night. Her blood matches, Millie.”

Her head whips around to look at me. “Matches what?”

“The blood on the bloodstones. He was cutting Dahlia and coating the stones with her blood.”

“Which is why I saw the cuts on her arm that day,” Millie says and props her hands on her hips. “You know, you mentioned that with all of the protection spells we cast, there was no way that Horace would be able to go into Witches Brew, even with a host.”

“You’re right.”

“And it occurred to me that Dahlia hasn’t set foot in the Brew since the day I found the blood on the mirror in the bathroom. She came to the door but never went inside. Even the night of the Halloween street party, she suggested I read her cards outside.”

“What did her cards say?”

Millie sighs. “Nothing. They were a mess. They didn’t make sense at all.”

“But knowing what we know now, that makes sense, after all.”

“Oh, Lucien, I feel so bad. I should have known. Dahlia was acting strangely, and I didn’t see it. She had good excuses for everything. Instead, I blamed my friend.”

“And you apologized.”

“I don’t deserve Esme. She accepted my apology so quickly and said that she would have suspected everyone around her, too. I’m going to give her a raise, and a week’s vacation.”

“You’re sweet,” I murmur and kiss the top of her head. “I know she’ll appreciate that. We’ll check in on Dahlia later today. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Why did he target her?” she asks. “I’ve been trying to figure that out.”

“Because of her history with the dark coven,” I reply. “He most likely knew her from that coven and remembered that she left. She would be vulnerable to possession.”

“That’s so messed up.”

I tug her to me and hold her tightly, unable to hold off any longer.

“You’ve been a little clingy lately,” she says. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“It’s relief,” I admit. “I was so scared that I’d have to watch you die again. I just couldn’t bear it, a stór mo chroí.”

“Did you think we’d lose?” she asks in surprise.

“I didn’t know, and that was the hardest part. I didn’t know if we’d defeat him, or when he’d strike. I certainly wasn’t expecting it to go down the way it did, but I’m grateful because we had an army of people on our side.”

“I suspected it would happen there,” she admits.

“Really?”

“Yeah, because I still suspected Esme. But also because he likes to show off, Lucien. He likes an audience. And what better audience than a circle of witches?”

“Very true. I’m sure he’s pissed that he failed.”

“He’ll try again.”

“Yes.” I sigh and bury my lips in her hair. “He will.”

“My baby sister needs to get her shit together, or we will lose again.”

“She will,” I reply with confidence. “I have faith in her. You need to, as well.”

“Yeah, well, I believe in her. I also believe in the power of Brielle’s nagging. She’ll badger the poor girl into being with Jackson if it’s the last thing she does.”

I laugh and drag my thumb over her forehead. No headache today.

“Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. She can’t be nagged into it. It has to happen of their own free will.”

“Then we might be doomed.” Millie grins. “Does this mean we get to grow old together, a mhuirnín?”

“It means we’re one step closer. I honestly don’t know what happens from here. We’ve never gotten this far before.”

“Wow,” she breathes. “No pressure or anything.”

I grin and tip up her chin so I can kiss her sweet lips. The love I have for this woman brings me to my knees. My chest aches with it. And I’ll do everything in my power to keep her and those we love safe.

“No pressure at all.”EpilogueDaphneSix Months Later…The wedding was absolutely stunning. Millie was radiant in her long, flowy white dress. We talked her out of wearing the one she wore a hundred years ago. I still can’t believe she found it in a trunk in one of the empty bedrooms.

The whole something old is fine, but sometimes you need something new, for a fresh start. And this dress with its little forget-me-nots embroidered in the veil was just the right thing. And when Lucien saw her for the first time, well, let’s just say there wasn’t a dry eye in the field.

We’re back in the same place we held the Halloween ritual, but I was relieved to see that all remnants of that scary night were swept away with cleansing spells and magic.