Chapter 23
B y the second Saturday of October, Lucy hadn’t seen Benedict since she’d discovered his fruitless trip to the crone and collected the cloaks. She couldn’t believe he’d risked his life to help them get their elements swapped back while she’d waited for the curse-stripping potion ingredients to come in, which they finally had yesterday.
She closed the Hawthorne grimoire with a thud. She couldn’t delay handing it over to Emerson any longer, afraid he would start to grow suspicious. There was no reason to hang on to it.
Lucy placed the old grimoire in its protective case and sealed the latch for the last time. Pulling her lilac sleeves over her hands, she couldn’t help but feel proud of herself for not having set it alight in the past couple of weeks. It was a waste to see it locked away, probably never to be touched again, but her translations would help provide some insight into past magic practices, and the ingredients and their uses could assist modern medicine. It brought her some relief to focus on the positives, even if she felt like the rest of her life was going up in flames.
“I believe this is for you,” she said, handing the case to Emerson up in the library. She hadn’t wanted to interrupt his lunch with Rosie, but if she didn’t give it back, she feared she’d keep going over every page until she lost her sight or mind.
He stared up at her as though he’d forgotten about his orders.
“Are you sure you’re finished?” he asked, placing his hand on the case gently as if it would shatter. “I don’t mind waiting any longer. I’ve already told the Order that your delay was justified.”
“Thank you, but I’m afraid there’s nothing more to do. Everything they should need to read the pages is within the case,” she said, relieved to put it behind her. She suspected his wish to delay had something to do with Rosie. Even though he’d started work at the university last week, he stopped by every day to have lunch with her at the front desk.
Emerson reached for his bag to put away the grimoire, knocking a glass of water over onto the case files Rosie was working on.
“Shoot!” he exclaimed, correcting the glass.
“Just grab the original– the rest are just printouts,” Rosie said, jumping up and moving the files to the other end of the table.
“I’m so sorry! I should’ve been more careful around your work,” Emerson exclaimed, using the napkins from their lunch to clean up.
“Lucy, give us a hand,” Rosie said, expecting her to protect the documents from the water.
Her request was innocent, but damning. Lucy fidgeted.
“It’s just a bit of water, and I have the originals,” she said, picking up the sodden papers. “I’ll go make new copies in the office.”
She hurried off, but Rosie followed. Luckily, Emerson stayed behind to deal with the mess.
“What is going on with you?” Rosie opened the office door and stared at her best friend. “It’s not like Emerson doesn’t know about your elemental magic.”
“Nothing!” Lucy lied, turning on the printer. “It’s only water, and you know the coven don’t like us to flaunt our elements.” She had no idea what to print, but she needed to do something with her hands.
Rosie’s eyes narrowed.
“Fill this glass of water,” she said, handing Lucy Emerson’s empty glass.
A tense silence filled the space between them as she clutched it.
“I can’t,” she admitted, closing the office door. She didn’t want Emerson to hear their conversation.
“Why not?” Rosie demanded, taking the glass and putting it down on the desk. “Tell me what’s going on with you lately. You haven’t been watering the plants, and you’ve been avoiding me. Is this because I’ve been spending time with Emerson? You don’t approve?”
Lucy winced. She hadn’t meant to hurt her friend. Unable to hide it any longer, she inhaled deeply and explained about the spell, the wrong ingredient, and Benedict’s element, which she demonstrated by setting a piece of paper on fire. Rosie squealed at the demonstration and tossed the water from a vase of sunflowers over it.
“How the hell are you going to fix this? How could you keep this from me?! For weeks!” Her claws exposed themselves.
“Please try to calm down,” Lucy pleaded, careful to keep her distance just in case. They didn’t need a wolf roaming around the library.
Rosie shook out her hands, her manicured nails returning to normal, and waited for the answer.
“I’m sorry for not telling you, for avoiding you, but I promised Benedict I’d keep it a secret. I didn’t want you getting wrapped up in my mess,” Lucy said, pulling at the ends of her sleeves. “I’ve got to admit I feel a hell of a lot lighter now that you know.”
“Benedict hasn’t reported this to the coven?” Rosie asked, taken aback. “Is he blackmailing you? Is that why you’ve seen him so much recently?”
“No, nothing like that. Since it was the binding agreement that inspired my family’s stupidity, he believes he’s partially to blame; it was his mum’s idea in the first place.”
“That’s a small mercy. He could’ve done some serious damage,” Rosie said, sitting on the desk beside her.
“You can’t tell Emerson about this, as nice as he is,” Lucy pleaded. “He’s still a member of the Order, and we can only assume his loyalties lie with them first. They would love to hear that two of Foxfords founding families have got themselves into a right mess.”
“I’d never say a word – I only wish you’d told me sooner. When did this even happen? The coven meeting was the same night we went to the lake.”
Lucy nodded. “I came to find you after Grams and Mum had cast the spell.”
“And then later on… I tracked you to Matherson Manor.”
There was no point in keeping anything from her at this point. “One of the side effects is that our element draws us together. He found me half-naked, looking for butterflies or fireflies– doesn’t matter.” Lucy buried her head in her hands. “He made sure no one else saw me so indisposed.”
“Oh God, Matherson saw you naked?!” Rosie looked horrified, only to burst into laughter. “I don’t mean to laugh, but of all the people you could’ve run into—”
“Please don’t remind me.” She wished the tea had erased every moment from her memory. Then again, so much had happened since. She couldn’t even begin to explain her evolving feelings for him to Rosie.
“Luisa’s tea probably didn’t help.” Her friend turned her attention to the printer. “I’ll make new copies so Emerson doesn’t wonder what we’re up to. But please, no more secrets.”
“Agreed.” They shook on it as the printer buzzed.
“Any idea what you’re going to do about your elements?” Rosie asked, collecting the printouts.
“That’s why I held onto the grimoire. I had to make sure I wasn’t missing anything that could help us before I handed it over.”
“And did you find something?”
“There’s a curse-stripping potion that might help, but if it doesn’t work, the effects should wear off once All Hallows’ Eve passes, whether we’re bound or not.” Lucy decided not to go into details about the ‘perfect man’ clause.
“There’s still a couple of weeks to go before then!” Rosie gave her a reassuring hug. “To be without your element must feel like missing a limb.”
Lucy sank into her embrace, relieved not to fear burning her.
“It’s not easy,” she sighed into her friend’s shoulder. It felt nice to confide in someone other than Benedict. “I can’t believe how much I took it for granted. Fire is a whole different burden to bear. It’s true about not judging a person before walking a mile in their shoes.”
When she stepped back, Rosie was smirking at her.
“What?” Lucy frowned.
“Sounds like Benedict isn’t much of an enemy anymore.”
“More like a partner in crime now.” Though she still didn’t trust him as much as she wanted to, they’d come a long way in a short time.“We should get back to Emerson.” Lucy took some of the finished copies from Rosie. She wasn’t ready to answer any more questions about Benedict.
They returned to the table to find it already cleaned up, the files stacked in an orderly pile as though nothing had happened.
“Sorry again,” Emerson said, pulling out a chair for Rosie.
In her haste to get away, Lucy realised she had left the grimoire out in the open with him. She cursed herself for reacting emotionally and not considering how dangerous such a thoughtless action could be.She trusted Emerson, but with others in the library, it was best not to make careless mistakes.
“No harm done,” Rosie promised.
“Not like it was the grimoire,” Lucy added, “then we would’ve had to sacrifice you.”
The joke was met with a burst of nervous laughter that made her wish she’d kept her mouth shut.
“She’s joking,” Rosie said, leaning close to Emerson.
“Ah,” he said, before turning to Lucy. “I’ve got back-to-back lectures this week, but I’ve got a special warded case in my quarters at the university, if you’re comfortable with me keeping it until I can drive to the Order Institute on Saturday, and they’ll send it on to Rome.”
It was a relief to know his plan. Most of the time, couriers for the Order took her work and disappeared without explaining where they were going. She wondered where one of the institutes of the Order was. Then again, she hoped to never find out.Her kind didn’t tend to return from such places.
“My part is done; what you do with it now is up to you,” she said, trying not to let her desire to keep it show. “When do you expect to return? Will this affect your position at the university, if you miss a day or two after just taking up your position?” She’d noted Rosie’s expression when Emerson talked of leaving.
“I should be able to return Monday evening, if not Tuesday morning. Once the order verifies the authenticity of the grimoire, I’ll be allowed to return,” Emerson said, glancing at Rosie, who hid her expression behind her pumpkin mug. Lucy could tell she was hanging on to every word. Clearly, she didn’t want him to leave.
“Good. I’m glad it won’t affect your work too much.”
“It would be better if I didn’t have to go at all. I feel like I was just starting to get settled,” Emerson said sadly.
Rosie concealed a smile behind her cup. Lucy wondered if she was the only one with secrets. Has something happened between them?
“Anyway, I should put this in the university vault before my last lecture,” Emerson announced, leaving them to get back to work.
“What?” Rosie asked as Lucy caught her watching him go.
“You like him!” Lucy nudged her with a wicked grin.
“He’s an Order member. I would have to be insane! And he’s a good assistant.”
“Sure, an assistant ,” Lucy teased. “When has sanity ever stopped you from doing anything?”
Rosie growled at her in warning, returning her attention to the police file in front of her.“I have work to get to.”
“I told you my secret,” Lucy whined, leaning over the table.
“I found out about your secret– not the same.” Rosie started nervously organising her case files, avoiding eye contact. “Nothing’s happened. If it does, then you’ll be the first to know.”
“You know it’s risky. He would have to ask for permission—”
“I know. Our circumstances aren’t lost on me. That’s why nothing has happened, and it won’t happen until I’m sure he is worth the trouble.”
“You light up around him,” Lucy gently pointed out. She hadn’t even taken the time to check in on how her friend was feeling. She knew it wasn’t easy to have feelings for someone who was supposed to be your enemy.
“Like a bulb?” Rosie mocked. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“Nope. Now that the grimoire is out of my hands, I’ve actually got some free time!” A weight lifted from her shoulders. If it hadn’t been for the curse-stripping potion and her pending nuptials, she really would have nothing left to worry about.
“Well, I do.” Rosie grabbed her files. “They found a weird symbol at the site of a disappearance in Willow Valley last week, and I’ve been asked to consult. Lock up when you leave.”
“You’ll do anything not to talk about your love life?” Lucy followed her to the door. It was the first time she’d seen Rosie run away from her.
“Nice ring. Wearing it even when you aren’t around the coven or Benedict?” Rosie shot back.
Lucy’s smile disappeared, and she held her hands behind her back. “Thought you had to get to the train station.”
Rosie winked, all bundled up in her coat and pink beret. “I was just leaving.”