Chapter 9
O utside the library, flowers wilted on the windowsills. Lucy’s gut told her not to try and use her element after what she had done to the toaster, but she needed to know if there was any trace of her water element left. She ran her fingers over the petals, expecting droplets to appear.
Her breath caught in her throat as the petals withered and crumbled to ash.
This can’t be happening. She opened the library door quickly, wanting to hide before anyone saw what she’d done. The smell of old books and melted candles hit her, and she hesitated on the threshold. How could she open the library and have a normal day when something was wrong with her element?
If there was one person who would know if fire emanated from her, it would be Benedict.Finding her phone, she tried to call him, but it went straight to voicemail. Quickly, she left a note on the door of the library stating she’d be back soon.
“Answer your damn phone!” Lucy tried again, hurrying across the quiet street. She kept her head low to avoid any small talk, but as she rounded the corner at the butchers, she nearly crashed into Mrs Crawford opening the awning of her flower shop. Muttering a half-arsed apology, she failed to stop. She was far more worried about what was wrong with her element than offending Mrs Crawford.
When she reached the Manor gate, she decided Benedict was either ignoring her calls or had turned off his phone. There was no way he wasn’t awake at this hour, which didn’t make her feel any better, since she had left him without a word and apparently somehow taken his element with her.
Benedict will be able to sense if there is any fire within me, she thought, making her way down the gravel path to the ivy-covered manor she’d fled only hours ago. What if he sabotaged my element on purpose? The same way Grams and Mum cast a spell to stop the binding ritual? She wanted to believe he wouldn’t go that far. Such a move went way beyond any pranks they had pulled in the past, and elemental magic was dangerous if messed with, because it was tied to a person as much as their soul. It took years to master. Fire was the most volatile of the elements, and she didn’t want to believe he would put her in danger like that.
“I believe congratulations are in order, Ms Hawthorne.” Rodney, the doorman, tipped his top hat as she reached the revolving door.
“Thank you. How’s the gout?” Lucy asked, trying to divert the conversation away from her engagement. She should’ve known word would travel fast. Rodney had worked at the Manor for as long as she could remember– longer than most could remember.
“All cleared up, thanks to your Grams,” he said, his broad smile enhancing the lines around his eyes.
“I’m delighted to hear it, but I thought you were supposed to be taking some time off?” Lucy knew Grams had advised some time off his feet. She tried to recall whether he had a family or not, but all she knew about him was that he lived and worked in the manor. His whole world revolved around the Mathersons.
“Mr Matherson, the young master, gave me some time off while they were fitting the new chandeliers in the lobby a while ago and that was plenty. Like his father, he has a kind heart, even if he doesn’t like to let others see it,” Rodney said, straightening his tie.
In this case, Benedict’s kindness wasn’t a surprise. Sadly, Rodney had been in his life longer than his father.
To Lucy’s relief, Rodney was distracted from further questions by the arrival of some guests checking out. As he took their bags, she stepped into the expansive lobby with its new low-hanging chandeliers and high-beamed ceilings. A rich navy carpet led from the entrance and up the grand staircase to the guest rooms. The back entrance she’d escaped through this morning wasn’t nearly as pretty or grand.
Behind the reception desk, she was surprised to see Suzy, a vampire, was working the morning shift. Then again, the ceiling let in no sunlight, and the revolving door was the only entrance. As all the promotional material boasted, the Manor was inclusively designed to suit the needs of all magical folk. Benedict had even updated the interior and gone to bat with the historical society so he could put ramps and elevators in. She wondered if a bribe had helped sway their decision; they very rarely allowed changes to the oldest buildings in town.
“Hi, Suzy, I need to see Benedict… Mr Matherson, please,” she told the day manager.
“I’m afraid Mr Matherson is dealing with a crisis,” Suzy said, with a forced smile that exposed her vampiric canines.
Lucy wondered if the crisis was code for wanting to be left alone. However, she wasn’t taking no for an answer, even if they were busy with morning checkout.
“Please, if you could call up to his room?” Afraid she’d set the hotel on fire, she couldn’t help pulling her sleeves over her hands. She doubted she’d be appointed High Priestess if she destroyed one of the greatest sources of income in their small town. With the interior riddled with wooden beams and long tapestries, she didn’t doubt the place would light like a match.
Suzy shook her head. “It’s out of the question.” Her pale skin was highlighted by the dark navy uniform, white shirt and flawlessly tied black tie, matching the Manor’s interior.
“I’ll forgive your late returns for the last few books you borrowed,” Lucy bargained.
“It’s not my fault you aren’t open at night. Otherwise, I would’ve returned them on time,” Suzy argued quietly, so the guests checking out beside them wouldn’t notice.
The library had a night return box, but Lucy didn’t have time to be petty.
“Okay, forget about the late fees. Please can you try to call up to his room? I wouldn’t bother you, or him, if it wasn’t urgent,” she pleaded. If Suzy was telling the truth, what emergency was he dealing with? She hoped it had nothing to do with his element. The thought caused her hands to simmer. She desperately needed to get out of the lobby.
Suzy smiled at the guests behind her. “I’m sorry, but there is nothing I can do. Please move aside so I can check in the next guests.”
Lucy glanced at the family. They looked like magless, but she couldn’t be sure, and she didn’t want the coven to hear she was causing a scene at the Manor, again.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she told them. “I’ve just got one more thing.”
Suzy sighed.
Lucy leaned in close. “The new monster romance came in yesterday. There’s a waiting list, but I could let you have it first.”
“I can’t call him. I like my job, and Benedict lets me sleep in the basement so I save on rent while I’m saving for daylight protection on my cottage. I’m not risking it,” Suzy said, tapping her nails on the counter.
“I don’t want to cause any trouble. How about you tell me where he is? In his wing? Has he gone out?”
The family behind started to huff about the wait. Suzy smiled politely at them, but Lucy could see she was weakening. She put her hands together in prayer and pouted.
“Fine! You didn’t hear it from me. Mr Matherson was by the fountain, and since he hasn’t checked the guest count for the day, he’s probably still there.”
“Thank you, thank you!” Lucy patted the counter, delighted. “I’ll make sure you get your hands on the book first.”
Suzy beamed, letting her professional mask slip. “You’d better! I need to know if the princess rescues the count from the demon king.”
“You and me both. I’ll leave it in the pickup box tonight,” Lucy promised, before thanking the family for their patience and heading out.
“Benedict?” She found him pacing by the old fountain, his back to her. She wondered if he’d kept Gram’s koi fish; it had been a rather expensive prank. Damp grass squished under her feet as she approached him. She couldn’t believe he still hadn’t noticed her.
She paused, watching as Benedict placed his hand on the old fountain. Instantly, the water stopped flowing. When he pulled his hand away, clear water flowed from the statue of lovers again.
Water. He has my element! Her heart pounded, and heat throbbed in her hands. Benedict looked as startled as she felt. She opened her mouth to call to him, but then she saw the dark clouds forming above them.
“Lucinda?” he asked, finally seeing her. “What’s happening to me?” She’d never heard him sound so frightened.
“I don’t know,” she stammered, clasping her hands tightly, trying to calm down. The more her mind raced, the harder they throbbed. Could the spell have done this? Words flooded out before she could stop them. “No, they said my element would only call to another. There’s no way the spell could have switched them. Why would the spell even affect you?”
But Grams used the wrong ingredient. Black pepper instead of bat’s blood… Lucy’s skin burned as if flames were trying to crawl out of her to get back to Benedict. Squeezing her eyes shut so she wouldn’t have to see his panicked expression, she tried to focus on slowing her heart rate.
“What the hell are you talking about? What spell? Did you do something to us?”
The smell of burning wood made Lucy open her eyes again. Bright red flames ate up the lush green hedgerows surrounding them despite the rain suddenly cascading from the stormy sky. Benedict stared at the flames, his hands on his head. Heavy droplets landed on her scorching skin and sizzled.
Transfixed with horror by what she had done, Lucy barely felt it when he grabbed her shoulders.
“Stop the storm, I’ll put out the fire,” he pleaded, tightening his grip on her. “What the hell are you thinking?”
Lucy glanced up at the emptying dark clouds. Her element had caused the storm, but it was emanating from his emotions. The cool water against her skin snapped her back to reality, and the flames began to reduce before finally extinguishing.
“You can’t put it out!” she yelled over the rain, which was growing heavier by the second. “It’s your storm, I’m not doing this!”
“That’s not possible!”
Lucy stepped into his space, forcing him to listen to her. The burning within her subsided, but the storm continued to rage, confirming her worst fear.
“I set the hedgerows on fire, but you started the storm to put it out,” she explained, but her words only caused the rain to pelt harder. It was probably his desire to protect the manor and the grounds from the flames that had started the storm, whether he had meant to summon it or not. Elements tended to react impulsively.
She placed her hands on his chest, feeling his heart race. “I can explain, but you need to calm down or you’re going to flood the whole town.” She kept her voice level and calm, trying to put aside her own confusion and fear before the storm turned nasty.
“I don’t understand. How could I be doing this?” He was staring at the sky like it would answer.
“Just breathe, and close your eyes,” she ordered, hoping he would listen to her for once.
Benedict’s jaw clenched, but he hesitantly obeyed. With each breath, the rain lessened until the dark clouds cleared and the blue sky returned. Lucy loosened her grasp on him as she felt his heart rate settle beneath his soaking black shirt.
“What the fuck is going on with my element?” he demanded, looking down at her for answers. “ Our elements.”
“Can you let go of me first?” she pleaded, staring at his hands.
His expression softened. Muttering an apology, he released her.
“We need to remain calm. Getting worked up will make you lose control again,” Lucy told him. He grimaced defensively. “Make us lose control again.”
His shoulders dropped a little as she split the blame, though preventing a fight was more for her benefit. Getting upset risked starting another fire and harming the guests, who now felt far too close for safety’s sake.
“Calm? I’ve got your element, and you started a fire. Why would our elements trade places? What spell were you babbling about? Did you do this to us? Is this payback for what Gwendoline did at the meeting? I had no idea she was going to suggest a binding ritual.” He kept his voice low, but the weight of his words chilled her.
“This isn’t my fault. I didn’t cast any spell,” she said, telling a half-truth.
His eyes narrowed. “Why are you so calm about this? If you didn’t do anything, then why are you here?”
His panic told her he hadn’t done anything to their elements. Lucy’s stomach flipped. That only left one possibility.
There’s no way Benedict is the man Grams’s spell called to! It must have gone wrong. Between the wrong ingredient and our agreement with the coven, we’re technically destined to be together, but by choice. Perhaps both clauses caused the spell to divert from its course. This is why you don’t mess with love magic!
She couldn’t explain her thoughts to him, but she was afraid that if she left him in the dark it would only put them in more danger. She needed to get the Hawthorne grimoire and see what ingredients were in an element swap spell to compare it with what her family had cast.
“Our elements have switched,” she admitted.
“Switched? How? I’ve never even heard of such a thing!” Benedict ran his hands through the damp hair sticking to his temples.
“I don’t know.” Unable to meet his accusing gaze, she pulled at her sleeves. She was terrified that if she revealed the truth, he’d drag her before the coven and reveal what her family had done. If he did, she wouldn’t be the only one banished from Foxford.
His eyes narrowed, scrutinising her guilty expression. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not.” She was, but she wasn’t ready to tell him about the spell. Not when his reaction could get not only her kicked out of the coven, but her mother and Grams as well. She wasn’t going to let their mistake ruin the Hawthorne legacy. They had done it to protect her, and she was going to protect them.
“We’ve known each other since we were born. I know when you’re lying, pumpkin.” He drew closer, and her heart began to pound.
“Don’t come too close! I don’t want to start another fire,” she begged, thinking of the toaster. Even if setting him on fire would solve a few of her problems, she didn’t want to be stuck with his element for the rest of her life.
“You’re not leaving these gardens until you confess.” Benedict folded his arms.
Lucy backed away to the burnt hedgerows to make her escape. “Just give me some time, and I’ll fix this!”
He blocked her path. “You can’t leave me like this without any explanation! Start explaining, or I’ll go to the coven right now! Regardless of whatever the hell caused this, we’re a danger to not only ourselves but the town.”
Lucy knew she couldn’t outrun him, and even if she did it’d make her look guilty. Taking a deep breath, she prayed he wouldn’t use what she was about to say against her. “Grams cast a spell.” She left her mum out of it. If he went to the coven, she didn’t want to see her mum stripped of her position for trying to spare her daughter a loveless life.
Benedict’s gaze darkened. “What type of spell?”
Lucy stumbled through the explanation. “Grams meant well. It wasn’t supposed to swap our elements…You shouldn’t have been affected at all. If anything, it was meant to keep us apart—”
“Pumpkin, stop stalling!”
“I’m trying to explain! I’m only making sense of it myself, so stop yelling at me!” she snapped, trying to ignore the hateful nickname. “Grams heard about the binding ritual. She thought casting a harmless little spell would spare us both from a loveless marriage. The spell was meant to call out to my soulmate so neither of us would have to go through the binding. She figured that if we couldn’t be bound, and with so much time having passed for us to make up for past indiscretions, they’d forget about voting one of us out and we could get back to our lives.”
Benedict stood frightfully still. She’d expected him to yell, pace, or storm out of the garden. Hell, he hadn’t even blinked.
“In other words, our souls wouldn’t bond during the ritual because you’d have already found your soulmate. Essentially, forcing an election.” He sounded far calmer than he should.
She nodded at the unveiled truth.
“Are you crazy? Love magic can be lethal, unpredictable—” He paused and turned sharply. “When was the spell cast?”
“After the coven meeting. Why does that matter?”
“Last night, I burnt my running shorts… it doesn’t matter. In the woods, I was dizzy just before I came across you…” His disjointed thoughts made it difficult for her to keep up. “I could barely create a flame when we went through the wine cellar. The spell must have been starting to take effect. The timing fits, and it explains my lack of control.”
She considered that. “When I woke up at the manor, I couldn’t summon my element,” she admitted. She should have known the tea could never have had such a profound effect.
“I can’t believe you would be daring enough to get mixed up with love magic! Love is one of the most powerful forces – you can’t trick or entice it. Now we’re stuck like this, our elements trapped in the wrong body!”
“But it wasn’t meant to swap our elements. Grams used the wrong ingredient, which must’ve altered the spell. I’m going to go through the love spells in the library and see how the ingredient altered the potion’s chemistry. There were some mentions of elemental spells in the grimoire I recently received from the Order. I can double-check and see if I can fix this before anyone finds out,” Lucy told him, hoping that all would be sorted before the day was out.
Benedict’s glower told her he was unconvinced. “The spell worked. It called to your intended.”
“When I agreed to the binding ritual, I became your intended. Even if there was a mix-up in the ingredients, the spell did what it was meant to do, bring you closer to your intended. What’s a better way to do that than to swap our elements!” He paced back and forth, his hands on his hips. She had never seen him so flustered.
“But our agreeing to be together can’t hold the same weight as those who are fated to be together, surely? Like you said, love is a powerful force. I don’t think an agreement could alter our fate, just like that.”
He stopped pacing. “If anything, it could hold more weight. We decided against what our fate might be, and chose for ourselves.”
“But we chose out of necessity, not out of any true desire to be together!”
“We’re going round in circles,” he huffed.
“Let’s simplify this. How about we focus on the wrong ingredient for now? I’ll do some research and see if I can find a reversal spell,” Lucy said. She couldn’t take any more of his ands, ifs, or buts.
He arched a brow. “And if it wasn’t the wrong ingredient?”
“Then maybe our elements have a sense of humour and decided to pull a prank on us,” she quipped, trying to ease the tension.
His scowl erased her smile.“There is nothing funny about this. We’re both ill-equipped to handle each other’s element. This is dangerous.”
She’d have been entertained by his discomfort if she weren’t so terrified about setting the town on fire.“I’m only trying to lighten the mood! Yelling at each other isn’t going to make getting through this any easier. Our other magic doesn’t seem to be affected by the swap. We just need to try and refrain from using elemental magic.”
“That’s not going to be easy, but I suppose we have no other choice,” he sighed.
The ensuing silence could have lasted five minutes or fifteen, both getting used to the idea of being stuck with each other’s element until further notice.
“If you were willing to go this far to stop our binding, why did you agree in the first place?” he asked eventually.
“I didn’t cast the spell! I’d never have gone so far.” Lucy squished a soggy leaf under her foot, avoiding his gaze. “I hate the idea of the coven thinking I was trying to deceive them.”
“Doesn’t explain why you agreed to the ritual.” He tilted his head so she’d look at him.
Lucy wanted to ask him the same thing, but she had agreed first. She didn’t want him to suspect what her family had– that she had some love for him buried deep, deep, deep down somewhere.
“I thought we could buy ourselves some time. Push out the vote so that the coven would’ve time to see that the town needs both of us, and to see who’d make the best leader,” she reasoned.
He nodded, but stayed silent. She would have given anything to know what he was thinking.
“If anything, my agreeing helped both of us. There’s no way of knowing which of us they’d have picked if there was a rash vote that night. Now we’ve time to prove ourselves,” she added, needing him on her side.
His sudden low laughter unnerved her. It wasn’t the reaction she had expected.
“Only a Hawthorne could look on the bright side right now. We might have time to prove we deserve to stay, but that’s only if you don’t set the town on fire, and I don’t flood it.”
Benedict sat on the edge of the fountain with his elbows on his knees; the weight of her admissions had drained the colour from his cheeks. Defeat wasn’t a good look on him. Lucy blamed herself.
“Could we try and undo the spell?” he asked, looking up at her. His hope only added to the weight on her shoulders.
“It depends. There are only two ways to look at this,” she began, standing in front of him. They’d both calmed down enough to talk rationally. “If what you said is true, and the spell worked and swapped our elements because we agreed to be together, then it should wear off once the ritual is over.”
“And the other way?” he asked, staring at the grass.
“If the wrong ingredient altered the spell from its natural course, then I might be able to reverse it. Theoretically, performing the correct spell might switch our elements back.” It was a gamble, but she didn’t want him to freak out even further by admitting that.
“Our options are: to be bound to get our elements back. Or to perform the corrected spell, which will reverse our elements, but it might stop you from being bound to me?” he summarised, finally meeting her eye.
“We might not have to complete the binding ritual to get our elements back. The spell was set to last until All Hallows’ Eve; we should switch back anyway. If the corrected spell works, and I find my soulmate, then we’d be spared from spending an eternity together.” She hoped her logic was sound; she couldn’t imagine his fire coursing through her veins for the rest of her life. It felt far too… intimate.
“Either way, our elements might be stuck like this until All Hallows’ Eve?” He didn’t sound as pleased as she thought he’d be about their not being bound. She’d thought he’d be jumping for joy.
Lucy nodded.
“In that case, let’s assume we’ve got to wait out the spell effects until then. If casting the correct spell doesn’t work, we can reassess. In the meantime, we need rules to protect ourselves.”
She had to respect him for thinking ahead. If the Mathersons were good at anything, it was a cover-up.
“We can’t tell anyone about our elements switching. If the coven learns of this, neither of us will be appointed.” It seemed obvious, but she wanted his word.
“Goes without saying. I won’t tell a soul,” he promised. “The last thing I need is another blot in the Matherson ledger.”
Lucy’s phone rang, making her jump. Rosie’s name lit up the screen. She answered, not wanting her friend to sniff her out.
“Why am I getting calls about the library being closed? Caffeinated students worried about their potion exams are not the best people to talk to first thing in the morning,” Rosie grumbled, clearly suffering from her late night.
“Sorry. I’m running behind. Don’t worry about it,” Lucy said quickly before hanging up, not wanting her friend to hear Benedict in the background.
“I was thinking… we were both so worried about being cast out that we agreed to the binding. And now, if the coven finds out about our elements, we’d be cast out. Together.”
“Your point?” She folded her arms.
“Maybe we are destined to be together,” he said, his voice edged with uncertainty rather than humour.
“I’ve got to go. If I don’t open the library, Rosie is going to know something is up,” she said, putting her phone in her bag. Now was not the time to unpack whatever he was trying to get at.
“I can come with you, help look for a spell,” he suggested, clearly forgetting he looked like a drowned rat. A strikingly handsome drowned rat.
“It’s probably best if we avoid each other as usual, so we don’t make our elements worse.” She didn’t want him breathing over her shoulder as she tried to fix the mess her family had created. “Rosie will be suspicious if we’re suddenly hanging out, and it would give the town the wrong impression of our relationship.”
“Didn’t you say the spell was meant to bring us closer together? Our elements might act out if we stay away from each other.” Benedict followed her to the breakfast terrace. Luckily, the rain had sent the guests inside.
“It was intended to find my soulmate, not the person I agreed to be in a political marriage with. I still think it’s the wrong ingredient that did this, and not our agreement,” she said as they reached the doors. She didn’t want to entertain the idea that they might be soulmates.
“Fine. Call me if anything goes wrong, and try not to set the library on fire. We should refrain for using our – your – my element as much as we can.”
His calm demeanour troubled her. “I can control your element, don’t worry about that,” she scoffed, wondering if he was willing to let her leave because any loss of control would reveal their secret to the coven. She didn’t like feeling paranoid, but it was easier to think the worst of him than imagine he might trust her. Even the thought made her shiver.
He smiled at her retort.
“Get into some dry clothes – you look like a drowned rat,” she snipped as she headed down the grand staircase, feeling him close behind. At least in all this chaos, the topic of last night hadn’t come up.
“Pumpkin?” Benedict said as she reached the last step. His soft tone made her uneasy.
“Yes,” Lucy hissed, wondering why he had to ruin such a civil conversation.
Glancing over her shoulder, his eyes lingered on her back like he knew something. “I never knew you got a tattoo.”
Lucy flushed. He must have seen the crescent moon between her shoulder blades last night. Well, he’d seen pretty much all of her.
“Looks good.” He winked, standing at the end of the staircase.
“Hope you enjoyed the view,” Lucy said, trying not to let him see that he’d caught her off guard, “because you’ll never see it again.”
As embarrassed as she was about his discovery, she was relieved he didn’t say anything else about last night’s events. They had enough to worry about, and their night beneath the stars wasn’t one of them.