5. Roxy’s reveal #3
“Definitely not something I’d want to get out of bed before,” Roxy says, cocking her hip against the library counter after she placed the stack of books on top of it.
“And you know… I wasn’t gonna be the first one to bring it up.
” A glance over to Ash. “Someone said it might be ‘insensitive’ if I did, but since you mentioned the witch first… hang on.” Her yellow eyes dart around the library.
“She isn’t hanging around here, eavesdropping, is she? ”
I shake my head. I might not be able to see her, but now that I’m paying attention, I don’t sense any ghosts nearby, either. Wherever she’s gone, she’s leaving me alone, and I’m glad for as long as it lasts.
Something tells me that Roxy wouldn’t give a shit if Olivia was around or not.
One way or another, she was going to say what’s on her mind, and that’s exactly what she does: “What kind of nerve does she have, asking you to help after she tried to frame you for killing her when she wasn’t even dead? ”
“Roxy…”
“You know I’m right, Ash. And I know you’ve got a sore spot, seeing as how everyone thought you were a ghost, too, and I was the only one who could talk to you, but that’s because you’re my mate. Olivia tried to kill me, remember?”
That’s true. Not only did Olivia pretend she was dead with the help of some of her sister witches, but she was so desperate to get her hands on Morrigaine’s mirror that she tried to break into Roxy’s antique shop.
When that didn’t work, she fired a gun with silver bullets at the shifter.
She missed, obviously—the bullets went through Ash instead—but she made the mistake of throwing that into Roxy’s face when she revealed she wasn’t dead.
Roxy, it seems, holds a grudge. I don’t blame her, either. I’m not happy that the other witch was mauled by a wolf, but if she was still alive, I might’ve used a little backward magic on her to make up for how she tried to frame me and, in return, turned the chief deputy against me.
The stunningly handsome chief deputy…
I give my head a sharp shake. No. Not going there.
Not again.
Roxy taps her nails against the countertop. “Hey. That reminds me. Do you have something called”—she scrunches her nose—“wormroot? Something like that.”
Another distraction. Thank you, Roxy.
“Wormwood?” I ask. “It’s an herb. They use it in absinthe.”
The raccoon shrugs. “Maybe. I don’t know about that.
But when Olivia was bragging about how she shot at me with silver bullets and I pointed out she actually hit Ash, she moaned about not using worm-something because it would’ve gotten rid of the ghost. Joke’s on her ‘cause we all know that Ash had that needle in his foot—”
“Thank you again, by the way,” interjects Ash.
I wave him off. After all the curses I’ve broken and the unfortunate dead I’ve spoken to over the years, it was a relief to peel off Ashton’s sock and see the blackened skin.
Magical contamination to such a degree isn’t common, but that wasn’t the first case I’d had to deal with.
I’m just glad I was able to help him—even if Roxy and Ash did boot me from the room right after so they could…
My cheeks heat up to remember what they must’ve done in that bedroom after I left the antique shop.
Despite the handful of lovers I’ve had over the years, I can honestly say I’ve never had a male look at me the way that Ash looked at Roxy the moment he came back to life, took in her scent, and realized she was his fated mate.
Well, no. There was this one time when I could’ve sworn that Riordan—
Uh-uh. Can’t do it.
I clear my throat. “That’s right. I forgot. Wormwood is traditionally used to ward off or banish unwanted ghosts.”
Roxy sucks in an angry breath, her cheekbones so sharp, they could cut through paper.
“And she wanted to use it on Ash? Okay. I know he wasn’t a ghost and it probably wouldn’t have worked, but she basically told me that she would’ve killed my mate before he was my mate if she got the chance.
So if I seem a little giddy that she kicked it? Whoops.”
Ash reaches over the counter, trailing his fingertips along Roxy’s shoulder. “I’d take a bullet for you any day.”
Roxy lifts her hand, covering Ash’s with her palm. “Love you, babe, but if you get killed trying to protect me, I’m hauling your ass back to this side and asking Penelope here to translate as I rip you a new one. Got it?”
He smiles. “I’m not going anywhere without you, my mate.”
“That’s more like it,” Roxy says, sniffing slightly as she pats his hand. She turns her head, suddenly remembering that I’m still here. “Anyway, you might think about that worm stuff. Olivia doesn’t deserve your help. If that banishes her, oh, well. I don’t see a problem with that.”
Ash presses his lips together, trying not to laugh as he busies himself with closing his book and putting it to the side. With his mate around, no way he’ll be getting back to it anytime soon, especially when she’s this riled up.
Now, I understand why Roxy isn’t fond of Olivia. I’m not fond of the witch. Still, I have a duty as a seer, and while I’ll keep the reminder that wormwood is used by supernaturals to banish unfriendly ghosts and spirits in my pocket, it’ll have to be a last resort.
I nod, murmuring a soft thank you to Roxy, and that’s when I make a mistake. I basically ended that part of the conversation, leaving the feisty raccoon shifter to return to her earlier one.
Whoops.