A Roar for Magic (Mystic Hollow #2)

Chapter 21

TWENTY-ONE

T heir laughter mingled with the floating lantern light, and Clover felt something in her chest loosen. Here, surrounded by people who cared about her, sitting next to a man whose very presence made her magic sing... maybe this fated mates thing wasn’t so scary.

Now they just had to deal with Hudson’s attempts to destroy their bond, create unbreakable protection formulas, and somehow keep Romi from turning the entire town into a magical romantic comedy with her enchanted fortune cookie scheme.

But first – she was definitely going to hear about that karaoke incident.

“So there we are,” Xabir continued, barely containing his laughter, “at this uppity business networking event, and the enchanted karaoke machine starts playing ‘I Will Always Love You’ the moment Rook walks in.”

“It was rigged,” Rook muttered into his drink.

“Oh, it gets better.” Xabir’s eyes danced with mischief. “The machine wouldn’t stop until someone sang. And guess who had to take one for the team?”

“The big bad alpha tiger,” Romi laughed. “I wish I could have been there.”

“He belted that song out like it was written for him.” Xabir laughed.

“I did not belt.” Rook pointed his chopsticks at them accusingly. “It was a very dignified performance.”

“You hit the high note and everything,” Xabir assured him. “Half the room burst into tears. The other half burst into applause.”

“That might have been from relief that it was over.” Romi giggled.

Clover bit her lip, trying not to laugh at Rook’s expression of pained dignity. “Please, tell me someone recorded it.”

“Sadly, no.” Xabir sighed dramatically. “Though the karaoke machine did develop a crush on him. Started playing love songs every time he passed by for weeks.”

“Which is why,” Rook said with exaggerated patience, “we had to ban enchanted karaoke from all corporate events.”

“Spoilsport.” Romi stole a dumpling from Xabir’s plate. “Though not as bad as Clover banning magical party games after the Great Truth or Dare Incident of 2018.”

“We swore never to speak of that,” Clover warned.

“Oh, now you have to tell us.” Rook’s arm slid along the back of their booth, his fingers brushing her shoulder in a way that made her magic hum.

“Let’s just say it involved a dare, three different transformation spells, and Clover accidentally turning herself into a talking pink bunny for six hours.”

“A bunny?” His eyebrow rose.

“I was trying for a dramatic exit,” Clover muttered. “The magic got a bit... creative.”

“She was so cute! You had to see her hopping around and asking people to pet her,” Romi added gleefully. “I wanted to keep her in that shape, but Thane wouldn’t let me.”

Xabir watched their exchange with a grin. “And somehow you two ended up running successful businesses.”

“Terrifying, isn’t it?” Romi beamed. “Though not as terrifying as the time Clover’s experimental love potion made all the inventory in Spellbound Lights start singing to customers.”

“That was just last week,” Clover protested. “And it wouldn’t have happened if someone hadn’t distracted me.” She nudged Rook with her elbow.

“Are you saying I’m a disruption to your magical focus?” He offered an innocent expression that didn’t match the heat in his eyes.

“You knocked over four displays!”

“Three and a half. The last one was already wobbling.”

“Because you bumped into the shelf while trying to reach that ‘emergency’ tea light.”

“My grandmother needed it.”

“At two in the afternoon?”

“She’s very particular about her lighting needs.”

“You two are very stubborn about admitting being mates,” Romi grinned.

“Speaking of which,” Xabir cut in, his expression turning serious. “Any progress on tracking down whoever’s leaving those scorch marks?”

The playful mood dimmed slightly. Clover shared a look with Rook before explaining what they’d learned from Otis and Madame Zephyrine.

“A ritual to break mate bonds?” Romi’s face paled. “That’s serious dark magic. No wonder the marks felt wrong.”

“We’re working on protection formulas,” Clover assured her. “Combining my magic with Rook’s scientific approach. But...”

“But Hudson won’t stop trying to steal them,” Rook finished. “He’s already leaked one formula. We can’t risk him getting his hands on these.”

“So don’t let him.” Xabir’s tactical mind clicked into gear. “Create a decoy. Something that looks right but won’t work – or better yet, will backfire if he tries to use it.”

“Like those prank potions we used to make in school,” Romi mused. “Remember the one that made people speak backward for an hour?”

A plan began taking shape in Clover’s mind. “We could layer the decoy with detection spells. If anyone tries to corrupt it...”

“We’d know exactly who was involved,” Rook nodded. “And have proof of their interference.”

“Plus,” Romi added, “you two get to spend lots of quality time together creating the real formula. You know, for purely professional reasons.”

Clover tried to ignore how Rook’s fingers had started tracing patterns on her shoulder.

“Absolutely.” His voice carried that rumble that made her magic dance. “Though we should probably work late. To perfect the formulas.”

“Naturally.” She caught Romi’s knowing smirk and changed the subject. “So, about these enchanted fortune cookies...”

The conversation shifted to lighter topics, but Clover remained aware of Rook’s warmth beside her, the casual way he’d lean close to murmur commentary in her ear, how their magic wound together so naturally, she could hardly tell where hers ended and his began.

Later, after plans were made to create both real and decoy formulas, after Romi extracted promises to help test her “totally safe and definitely not chaos-inducing” fortune cookie idea, after Xabir paid the bill (dodging Romi’s attempts to sneak magical enhancement charms into the tip), Rook walked Clover back to her car.

The night air carried the scent of moon-blooming jasmine, and fairy lights strung between buildings cast a soft glow over the parking lot. Their fingers tangled together naturally, and Clover found herself reluctant to let go.

“So,” he murmured, turning to face her. “Still scared of being my mate?”

She considered the question, thinking of how easily they’d worked together, how their magic harmonized, how he could match her snark for snark while still making her feel precious and protected.

“Terrified,” she admitted. “But...” She rose on her tiptoes, pressing a soft kiss to his jaw. “Maybe being scared with you isn’t so bad.”

His free hand cupped her cheek, and the heat in his eyes made her breath catch. “I’ll take it.” He bent to capture her lips in a proper kiss, one that had her magic surging to meet his tiger energy in a display that made nearby streetlamps flare brighter.

A whistle from the restaurant door broke them apart. “Get a room!” Romi called. “Preferably one without magical lighting that responds to make out sessions!”

“Ignore her,” Clover muttered against Rook’s chest.

“Already am.” He pressed another quick kiss to her temple. “Have dinner with me tomorrow. You promised you’d let me cook for you.”

She sighed. “You drive a hard bargain. Okay.”

“It’s not a working dinner, little witch.”

She licked her lips and nodded. “I know.”

“Good. We should probably head back to Weaver’s Botanicals. Those protection formulas won’t make themselves.”

“Right. Formulas. Very important.”

“Crucial, even.”

“Nothing to do with Madame Zephyrine’s advice about spending time together.”

“Pure coincidence.”

Their laughter mingled in the night air as they separated reluctantly. For now, Clover let herself believe that maybe some things really were written in the stars.