Chapter 15
W hy is it that whenever you’re trying to be quiet, the floorboards and doors decide to greet you extra loudly? Lucinda wondered as she closed the door to the brewing room behind Benedict. Thankfully, her mum and Grams were in bed, so they shouldn’t be caught.
“The dimmer is on the wall,” she said, pointing to the light switch as she went to gather the ingredients.
“I know. Grams taught me in this room too,” he reminded her.
“Only because you were failing potions in the first year.” Lucy let out a sigh of relief when she saw there was just enough damiana root for one more spell.
“We all can’t be Hawthornes. It’s not exactly a fair competition when you’ve got Grams in your back pocket,” Benedict grumbled, looking over the ingredient list she’d placed on the table. Thankfully the base of the potion was only blessed water from the coven temple, and they had plenty bottled.
“Why can’t you admit that I’m better than you?” She took one of the glass bottles from the cupboard while Benedict began to dice the chickweed and chilli.
“Not at all things,” he whispered at her back, and Lucy nearly added too much rosewater to the cauldron.
They collected the ingredients from the shelves, this time making sure to grab the bat’s blood. Together, they watched the cauldron sizzle and bubble, both too nervous to discuss what they were about to do.
“Almost finished,” Lucy finally said, taking the knife he’d used to dice the other ingredients and pressing the point to her finger. Alarmed, he grasped her wrist.
“Relax. It’s only a drop of blood,” she said, and he reluctantly released his grip on her.
“Is that necessary?” He winced, watching her prick her finger. “We could’ve used mine.”
“Yes– the original potion contained my blood.” Lucy wrapped some tissue around her finger. “If this is going to work, we can’t change anything except for the wrong ingredient.”
Speaking of … She added the bat’s blood instead of black pepper. She’d expected something to change, but the glistening water remained identical to the first potion. She tried to conceal her disappointment, hoping that even if the appearance hadn’t changed, the meaning had.
“Rose petals?” she requested, and Benedict pulled them free from the flowers on the counter. They floated on the surface until Lucy dropped in the rolled list of qualities she’d written out from memory.
“Is that it?” His brows pulled together, but a sharp bang interrupted her response.
Their eyes snapped to the door, afraid the noise would alert the others. When no one came, they both took an audible breath. Benedict swished away the rising smoke and they peered into the empty cauldron, the piece of paper burnt to ash.
“What now?” he asked as she put away the ingredients and he washed out the cauldron.
“All we can do is wait. It only took a few hours before we felt the effects last time.” She opened the door to make sure the way was clear. Luckily, Grams was a heavy sleeper. “I think by tomorrow morning we should have our answer.”
“And if it doesn’t work?”
“We’ll try the curse--stripping potion, but it’ll take time for me to find the ingredients,” she said, hoping they wouldn’t have to use it. He nodded, looking equally uneasy at the prospect. “Or, we wait until after the binding and see what happens.”
“I should go before it gets any later,” Benedict said, heading for the stairs.
“Are you crazy?” Lucy grabbed him before he stepped on one of the creaky floorboards.“You’ll wake the whole house. There’s no way you can use the front door. Someone could see you, and what would I tell my family, or worse, the neighbours, if you were seen leaving the house in the middle of the night?” The thought alone made her shudder.
“We are engaged. Being alone together is hardly scandalous,” he drawled, closing the gap between them.
“Don’t try to be cute.” The cool glow of her element in his body felt like a balm to the heat emanating from her own.
He opened his mouth in mock outrage. “I’d never! How am I supposed to leave, then, or is this you inviting me to stay?”
Lucy smiled. “You can go the way you came.”
He groaned, following her back to the attic without argument.
“What if we’re wrong?” he asked eventually.
“About what?” She stilled in the middle of opening the balcony door.
He leaned against the doorframe. “What if the spell worked, and our element swapped to show us that maybe we’re meant to be bound?”
“Are you messing with me?” she chuckled. “Do you think we’re meant to be together?”
“Don’t make it sound like a life sentence.” There was no trace of humour in his gaze.
“It isn’t.”
He frowned, straightening his posture.
“Technically, it’s a soul sentence. We’d be bound in this life and the next.”
“Funny,” he said flatly.
Lucy followed him out onto the balcony. He was so tense that she felt relaxed in comparison. “You’ll get frown lines if you don’t lighten up,” she teased. “Do you think our elements swapping wasn’t a mistake?”
“Don’t you think it would be simpler if it wasn’t a mistake? If maybe our elements could have seen something we’ve been missing.” He flexed his hands as they rested on the balcony railing.
Lucy didn’t know what to say. She tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Ignore me; it’s late.”
“Tomorrow everything might be back to normal. No one will ever know about our elements, and we can make it to the end of the month in relative peace,” she said tentatively.
“About that… Peter came to the manor to congratulate me on our binding. Your uncle told him about our being bound,” he admitted, fidgeting with a splinter of loose wood.
“Oh gods, he knows about our switched elements?” Lucy guessed.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Lucy dropped her head into her hands, feeling a headache coming on.
“I didn’t plan to tell him, but he was waiting for me after we had our little storm in the garden. He spotted the matches in my room –something our family has never had any use for. If I wanted to stop him from asking around, I figured it was best to tell him,” Benedict reasoned. “You don’t need to worry about him telling anyone, and your family don’t know it backfired. We just need to make sure the new professor doesn’t find out… which might be tricky, considering how he was looking at you.”
Lucy glowered. “He wasn’t looking at me in any type of way.”
“Not your type?” he baited her.
“You don’t need to worry about who is and isn’t my type.”
“So, you wouldn’t go on a date with him?”
His question threw her so much so that a nervous laugh escaped. “He works for the Order!”
Benedict glanced sideways at her. “I suppose he’s better than the last guy you dated. What was he again?”
“A shapeshifter, and if you’re only lingering to discuss my love life, then please see yourself out. I’d like to go to bed.”
“Bed is exactly what I want to talk about,” he said, eyes going back to her room.
“Get that idea out of your head,” she snapped, thinking of the night they’d spent in the Manor.
“I was only going to warn you that sleeping with fire can be tricky.” He smiled, clearly enjoying her mistake, as she flushed. He tapped the wooden balcony. “This place would go up like a tinder-box.”
“Noted. I’ll drink some calming tea,” she said, embarrassed. “Off you go.”
He followed her back inside before she could close the door.
“If you aren’t going to listen to me, listen to them.” He nodded to her bookshelf. “‘Beware; for I am fearless and therefore powerful.’”
One of the books sat out of place. He found my favourite. “Don’t go through my things!”
“I had to do something to occupy myself while I waited for you,” he protested, “and you need more than calming tea. I set a few fires when I first got my element, and I don’t want you to hurt those you love because you don’t respect it.” He wasn’t joking around anymore.
“I picked this up from Myrtle’s.” He pulled out a silver chain with a crystal from his pocket.
“A carnelian crystal?” Lucy asked as he turned her towards the full-length mirror by her desk.
“Exactly. It’ll help draw out the excess fire. Mathersons have been using these amulets for generations to help us with our elements. We wear them while we’re maturing so we don’t lose control. Fire and hormones have never been a great combination.”
He placed the chain around her neck, letting the crystal hang at the base of her throat. The instant it touched her skin, the crawling simmer beneath her skin settled. His fingertips brushed the back of her neck as he clasped it, sending shivers down her spine.
“I’ve never seen you wear one,” she said, trying not to reveal the effect his touch had on her.
Benedict took off his watch and handed it to her.“Flip it over.”
The watch face had a crystal base with the same golden-orange hue. Unlike her crystal, which had grown warm against her skin, it was cold without his magic to control.
“When Dad and Peter died, my element grew stronger. Gwendoline had Mulligans’ Jewellers fuse the crystal to my dad’s old watch to keep it out of sight.” He secured the strap. “Keep this to yourself? I don’t want people to think I can’t control my element.”
“We’ll add it to the growing number of secrets between us,” she promised, understanding how much it must have taken to admit he needed help with his element.
“Just don’t let Grams or Wilhelmina see it– they’ll know what it’s for.”
She nodded, clasping the crystal.
“Now that Hawthorne house is safe, I’ll be going.” He backed up towards the balcony.
Lucy blocked his path, wanting to repay him for his help. “Water can be rather mischievous,” she blurted out.
“Any advice?”
“Try watering some plants to help relieve the pressure. It likes to be useful.” It was the most harmless thing she could think of.
“I’ll water the new hedgerows the gardeners planted in the gardens.” He smiled, something she was getting used to seeing. The loss of his brother and father had aged him, along with the weight of his responsibilities, but when he smiled, he looked much younger. “Since someone burnt the others to a crisp.”
She masked her wince with a chuckle. “How shocking.”
If it hadn’t been for their truce, she might have been tempted to shove him as he climbed off her balcony. Instead, she found herself clutching the warm crystal, grateful to him for protecting her family from his element. Hopefully, by the morning it wouldn’t be necessary.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Benedict asked, swinging himself onto the strongest tree branch that hung over the balcony.
“I wasn’t looking at you,” Lucy said, leaning on the railing. “I was just thinking that maybe you could’ve used the door after all.”
“And have Grams and your mum see me coming out of your room? We’d be bound by dawn.” He winked before making his way to the next branch. In his crisp suit and smart shoes, he looked distinctly out of place climbing a tree like a boy, but she guessed his fear of being caught by her family made it worth it. She chewed her blushing smile so he wouldn’t think he’d caused it.
“I’ve got to ask,” he said suddenly, hesitating below the balcony.
She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “What? I want to go to bed.”
“If Hughes asked, would you go out with him?”
She couldn’t believe this was what he wanted to discuss. I thought I’d already been clear.
“You aren’t going to leave until you get an answer?” Maybe she should let him spend the night in the tree.
He shrugged.
“Why do you even think I’d contemplate it?” What did he see at dinner that made him believe there’s anything between me and Emerson?
“I overheard Grams talking to you in the kitchen,” he confessed, dropping down to another branch. She winced as it crackled under his weight.
“Not helping me trust you,” she said dryly.
“At least I admitted it, and that’s still not an answer.”
She rolled her eyes, needing this conversation to end. “I’ve no interest in dating Emerson. You’ve complicated my life enough; I don’t need to add another man to the mix.” A small smile rose to the corner of his lips. “I answered your question. Now go before the branch breaks.”
Wait. He must have heard Grams suggest there’s something more between us as well.
“Worried about me, pumpkin?” He jumped to another branch. Lucy flinched; the tree was older than the house.
“I want to take over the coven by right, not because you broke your neck,” she hissed as he disappeared from sight.
There was a thud, and her heart stilled. She leaned over the railing and found him at the base of the tree, safely on solid ground. He gave a bow and left.
Rubbing her temples, Lucy thought of everything Grams had said. What if the spell did bring Emerson to me? If so, then why did my element swap with Benedict’s?
“This is why you aren’t supposed to mess with love magic,” she grumbled in frustration, locking the balcony door.
Placing her glasses on her nightstand, she rubbed the bridge of her nose. Tomorrow, she decided, their elements would be back in their rightful place, and the only thing she’d have to worry about was the binding.