Chapter Seven
“Good morning, Stella.” I stepped into the tea shop and let the warmth and familiar aromas wash over me.
The wall sconces illuminated the cozy interior and danced across rows of glass jars crammed with colorful tea blends.
This was my happy place. Between the cottage and the tea shop, I could just bounce between them all day and feel like the world's problems didn’t exist.
I couldn’t help but smile at the shop's comfortable, lived-in feel. A scattering of tables, colorful chairs, and plush cushions provided little corners for customers to enjoy steaming mugs of tea.
But Frank, my dad, was missing. He’d become the staple of this shop for me. I would never forget the moment Skye had brought me here, and the dog winked at me.
The dog!
My dad never left my side when I entered Stella’s shop.
I slid into the seat across from Stella and shrugged off my jacket.
Despite everything that had happened from romping in other realms, my father’s kidnapping, a potential teacher for the Academy, and the battle to protect Stonewick, a rare peace settled in my chest.
Stella glanced up from a magazine. “You slept hard last night.”
“I needed it.”
“Your tea is steeping on the counter.” She marked her place in the magazine, set it aside, and tapped the table. “Figured you could use something calming.”
I let out a small laugh. “You don’t say.”
Stella combed her silver hair back, twisted it into a bun, and anchored it with an ornately carved wooden stick, revealing a faint swirl of protection etched on her neck.
“What is that?” I asked softly so the other customers didn’t hear. “I haven’t seen it before.”
“Just a little ink,” she said with a wink.
I laughed and shook my head. “No, it’s not. I’m not falling for that.”
“You don’t see me getting a sleeve? Maybe some intricate pattern with bats and other creatures of the night?” She chuckled. “Can you imagine in my circumstances trying to pick out something that would stay with me for centuries? I can barely keep a purse around more than six months.”
I smiled. “Well, you do look pretty edgy riding your scooter around town.”
She chuckled and lowered her voice. “This little sparkly thing is a subtle vampire mark that now keeps me safe.”
My eyes widened. “Is that where you were bitten?”
“Indeed, it is.” She sipped her tea and stood. “Nova added an ancient spell of protection over the scar. I feel better about it that way.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said softly.
“Beauty can come from very ugly things if we choose to look for it.”
I smiled at my friend and nodded slowly. She always had a wonderful way of looking at life.
She turned from the table. “Let me get your tea. Drink it up, and then I could use your help rearranging the window displays now that Yule is ending.”
Midnight and Yule would be over.
Gideon would be here before we knew it.
“Any word from Keegan or Nova?” she asked, walking over to the counter.
“I talked to Keegan this morning about some developments, and he went to chat with Nova about it all.”
She returned and handed me a delicate teacup with a golden handle and silver vines entwining falling pink petals. The vines on the cup moved as she handed it to me.
“I haven’t seen this one before.” I held it up and took a sip. “So good.”
“It’s from my private collection.” Stella smiled as a group of customers came in.
I glanced at the leftover window displays from Christmas and Yule until she spoke again.
“It might give you a little extra something.”
My eyes widened, and I chuckled as I quickly put the cup down.
“Stella, you promised no more magical tea without me knowing.”
“Right, but it’s not the tea. It’s the cup. Oh, and the box for winter décor is in the corner behind the rocking chair. I think we can do a quick swap.”
“Sounds good.” I chuckled as she wandered off.
The soothing liquid went down my throat, and I looked around the tea shop, waiting for something to happen.
Nothing did.
Stella glanced over her shoulder at me and smiled, and I realized a two-hundred-year-old vampire had just played me.
Neither the tea nor the teacup held magical powers. I drank the rest, walked over to the rocking chair painted in varying shades of purple, and grabbed the box from behind.
Stella had labeled it as Winter Goodies . I lifted it over to the windows where she’d had a Santa and Rudolph hanging in the window, along with some snowflakes and snowmen. The Christmas mural painted on the windows remained, and I just worked around it, dismantling the figures.
Most customers cleared out as I swapped out the décor when Stella came over.
“Looking beautiful. Might as well keep the snowflakes dangling. We have a solid three months of winter weather around here.”
“Maybe more,” I said in agreement.
When the last few customers left, Stella laughed and shook her head. “Thank goodness.”
“What?”
“Time to switch the mural.” She grinned.
“You painted that?”
“Well…define painted.” Stella took a step back. “So, what do you envision instead of poinsettias?”
Feeling nostalgic for Celeste, I thought back to what she loved most about winter.
“How about a sweet winter scene where kids are playing outside?”
“That I can handle.” She snapped her fingers, and the reds, gold, and whites swirled off the glass instantly as a new block of colors appeared before my eyes.
“Wow.” I shook my head in awe. “Things about this village never cease to amaze me.”
The window’s mural depicted a tranquil winter scene with pastel blues and whites capturing timeless winter marvels. Delicate strokes reminiscent of older times whirled with falling snow and drifted across rolling hills blanketed in shimmering frost. The image looked nearly alive as the snowflakes glittered on the window. Children with ice skates and rosy cheeks spun circles on a frozen pond, while evergreens and fir trees stretched tall, dusted with glittering powder.
Stella reached for a few candlesticks to put along the windowsill from the box and glanced at me. “Now that the tea shop is quiet, why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind?”
“I spoke with Gideon,” I said solemnly.
“Ah, Nova thought you might venture to do that.”
The knot in my stomach tightened to a burning sensation. “I just can’t sit idly by while he’s using my dad as a pawn. It’s not fair.”
“Your father is strong, like you.”
I gave her a faint smile. “Doesn’t make it any less painful.”
She covered my hands with hers and nodded. “It wouldn’t, but he will be fine. He’s a Bellemore. So, fill me in.”
“I’m setting a trap. He’ll be here with my dad at eleven to mark the end of Yule.”
“Maeve, that’s tonight.”
I nodded, swallowing down the worry. “I know.”
“And Keegan went along with this?”
“I don’t think he had much of a choice. The invite already went out.”
So to speak.
“Well, the return of light is coming,” Stella said with a grin. “Very fitting to choose this moment in time, Maeve.”
“Well, I surprise myself sometimes.” I chuckled. “And I just can’t bear my dad being away any longer.”
“How did you convince Gideon to come here?”
“I offered him a trade.”
I didn’t say anything more.
I didn’t need to.
Stella’s gaze darkened, and she shook her head. “I wish it hadn’t come to that.”
“He won’t know what hit him,” I said, waving my hand in the air, wishing I felt nearly as confident as my words.
Stella grimaced. “You’re braver than I’d ever be, darling. But I’m sure we’ll pull it off. At least you’ve got a knack for protection spells now, yes? Miora and Nova both said your incantations are quite something. Miora was impressed that the cottage wasn’t in total ruins and attributed it to your handiwork.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Yeah, I kept it just partially ruined.”
“Take all the wins you can in this world, Maeve.”
I started responding, but a faint bell sounded near the door, drawing our attention. Bella Sandro stepped in, shutting out the cold wind behind her.
She paused to scan the shop, eyes bright as she spotted us. The golden color of her hair caught the lamplight, giving her a near-ethereal glow, and she walked with her signature fox-like grace. Tucked under one arm was a slim volume bound in worn leather.
She caught my eye and grinned.
“Oh good, you’re both here.” A mischievous undertone wrapped her words. “I thought I’d try this place before the cottage.”
“Surprise, surprise.” Stella motioned for Bella to sit with us.
I smiled, realizing how nice it was to have my friend circle growing.
“Maeve’s addicted to tea, me, and this little shop. Aren’t you, Maeve?” She snapped her gaze to me, and I nodded.
“More than you know.”
Bella giggled softly and slid into the chair.
“An excellent habit to have.” She set the leather-bound book on the table with a gentle thud. “I come bearing gifts.”
I cocked my head. “Gifts?”
“Well, a book. The sprites insisted. They nearly pushed me out the door to deliver it to you.” She patted the cover. “I was rummaging in the library, and they nearly tackled me, whispered your name, and yanked me around until I agreed to bring it.”
“They spoke to you?”
“In not so many words, and it’s one of my many talents.”
“You speak sprite?”
“I’m well-versed in many languages, cascading the mortal and immortal plains. It’s not necessarily about language, more about meaning.”
My eyes narrowed on her. “So, you could actually teach quite a few courses at the Academy.”
“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.” She grinned.
“And the book sprites gave you this for me?” I looked up at her. “Did they tell what I needed inside or…”
“They didn’t give me those kinds of details. Mostly, they were just frantic.”
Stella rolled her eyes. “Book sprites. They’re more chaotic than a roomful of hungry new vampires, but usually, they know what they’re doing.”
I stared at the book, and the faint glow of runes danced along its cover.
“It’s from the Academy’s main library?” I asked.
“It was in a locked section, too. Bizarre, because the sprites guided me right through.” She shrugged. “I guess they trust you with the secrets.”
I chuckled. “And obviously you, too.”
It felt like another good sign about Bella. The Academy already trusted her with private matters.
Things were going to be okay.
I just needed my dad back in the tea shop.
“Thanks,” I whispered, resting a hand on the worn leather. “I wonder why they think I need it now.”
Stella drummed her red-painted nails on the table. “Open it, darling. See what’s inside.”
I exhaled, letting the comforting smells of the shop wash over me, as I took a deep breath in.
Aside from my newly repaired cottage, this tea shop had become my second refuge. It felt as if I were flipping through a magic book at a casual tea party, not planning how to outmaneuver Gideon in a few hours, but that was all that had consumed me since I revealed to Keegan everything that happened.
Sure, I invited Gideon to Stonewick, but I didn’t exactly have a plan to distract him or make a trade go awry.
I carefully undid the little buckle on the cover and opened the book. The first page depicted moving glyphs. They were reminiscent of Miora's incantations for stone.
Flipping further, I spotted spells for illusions, incantations for weaving protective charms, and even references to cunning deceptions to conceal one’s aura.
This wasn’t exactly beginner-level material.
And I was very much a beginner.
But I needed to find something to ensure my dad’s safety and mine. It needed to be a wild distraction where Gideon would lose himself for a second.
A split second.
That was all I needed.
“So,” Bella asked, leaning forward, “anything jumping out at you?”
I shook my head just as I saw it.
The answer to the question I didn’t even know to ask.