The Banshee’s Unmistakable Love (Spice-tember #7)

Chapter 1

WHY DID I DO THAT?

brIAR

There’s a cool breeze in the air today, one that slides over any bit of exposed skin like silk. Fall is here, various shades of orange contrasting against the lilacs of the wisteria trees. The tips of my pointed ears have a tenderness to them from the chill.

It might be time for a hat soon—I can wear the one that’s crocheted in the same colors as the beautiful trees around me.

Gods bless the witch who created the eternal wisteria saplings. I can’t imagine only seeing them bloom for a few weeks. The park is my favorite place to be, if I had to limit my time…that would be tragic.

The wisteria woods that surround town encase us in their elegance. We have trails through the innermost part of the forest, but they don’t go very deep. If you go too far off the trails, the satyrs who guard the woods will come see what you’re up to.

Usually, they don’t tell us townsfolk to leave—kids like to play, families go for picnics—but if you’re up to no good…

I wouldn’t want to fight with a satyr. Especially one who’s imbued with power from the eternal wisterias, and whose job is to protect the sacred trees.

The place I like to sit and tuck myself away won’t register on the satyrs’ radars. Besides, in the bounds of town, there’s a committee that protects the trees so the satyrs can focus on the woods exclusively.

I flip the page of my book and slink deeper against the base of the tree. It blocks a lot of the breeze, letting me enjoy the story without shivering too much. Soon, I’ll have to break out my jacket, but I’m not mentally ready to do that yet.

As I get more engrossed in the story between my fingers, the world around me feels as if it’s fading away. All the noises seem to quiet—the rustle of tree branches, gravel crunching beneath the shoes of people walking along the path, even the pages turning.

Hours go by, the sun beginning to set above me. The only reason I even notice that so much time has passed is because I’m finished my book, so the real world comes back into focus.

Maybe the way my stomach growls also has something to do with my realization.

I stand from my little nook in the tree, my body tense from holding the same position for so long. Definitely in need of a hot bath tonight. I take a step and my knee cracks, letting me know it’s a bubble bath kind of night.

The park is rather empty now, not as many people walking the wisteria path. Most have likely gone home for dinner, and I’m going to do the same.

Rounding the bend ahead of me, a person comes into view. Not some random person. Oh no.

The one, the only, Zander Henworth.

My twin sister’s longtime childhood friend, and my longtime childhood crush.

A crush that hasn’t ever fully disappeared.

All I want to do is dive off the path and hide, but it’s too late, his eyes have locked onto me and he’s grinning wide. Why didn’t Blair tell me he would be back in town? Surely, she would’ve known—he’s one of her best friends.

She’s not even back until next week, so I can only get mad at her through texts that she’ll probably ignore. If she even bothers to open them.

My heart races as Zander raises his hand to wave, calling out, “Hey Blair!”

There’s a sudden tightness in my chest. My lungs feel smaller, my heart as if someone’s gripping, squeezing, and twisting it around. Seeing just how much it can take before it explodes.

Can he really not tell the difference between Blair and me? After all these years?

Instead of using common sense and correcting him that I am in fact not my twin sister, I do the opposite. “Hey Zander—I, uh, didn’t know you’d be back in town.”

He stops a few feet in front of me, his grin faltering. His eyebrows have dropped, eyes narrowed as he looks me over. Just watching him scan me sends my body into overdrive, but he thinks he’s looking at Blair.

And it’s my fault for not correcting him.

“I texted you this morning,” he says, as if it’s a reminder. Except this is the first time I’m hearing it because I’m not who I’m pretending to be.

Bringing my palm to my forehead, I laugh it off and hope he can’t sense my nervousness. “You know how bad I am at texting, I—I must’ve missed it.”

Please tell me she didn’t respond to the text. Blair, if I’ve ever needed your poor texting habits, it’s in this moment.

He smiles again as he lightly shakes his head. “I figured as much since you didn’t respond. Hey, how’s your sister?”

My heart somehow simultaneously drops to my stomach while also doing backflips in my chest. He cares enough to ask about me?

And I care enough to pretend that I’m my sister…super great of me.

“She’s the same as always.” It’s as truthful as I can be in this situation.

Gods, why didn’t I say, hey, it’s me, I’m Briar, actually. My brain is working against me as always, I swear. How do I fix this? Do I just go, ha ha, I’ve been kidding all along?

I’m so stupid. So very, very stupid.

He narrows his eyes again at me, tucking his hands into his pockets. “That’s good to hear. You have time to catch up, or are you off somewhere?”

Oh, how I desperately want to catch up—but as myself, not my sister. It’s only been a few minutes, but it already feels too far to turn back. The longer I stay in her persona, the worse it’ll get, but I can’t seem to control my tongue long enough to force out the truth.

All I have to do is get through this week until Blair is back, and then I can go back to being me…so long as she’ll keep this secret for me. After all the secrets I’ve kept for her over the years, she owes me this one.

If I can even manage to maintain this facade.

“I was just going to get some dinner.” My stomach growls—loudly—and my cheeks warm as embarrassment floods me.

He turns halfway, as if getting ready to walk away. He gestures toward the path with a head tilt. “I’ll come with—unless you’re meeting someone. We don’t have to catch up today.”

“No.” I say it a little too quickly, too eagerly, so I calmly add, “I mean, no, I’m not meeting anyone.”

He gives me a grin. “Great. How about our usual?”

The answer leaves me quickly, one I wish I didn’t know. “Suki’s Sushi?”

Another opportunity to come clean botched.

I could’ve told him I don’t know the usual place because I’m not Blair.

Added a laugh and teased him for not being able to tell us apart.

If I’d done that, I’d be out of this mess right now.

Instead, I think I’ll need to fall off the face of the earth for a while after Blair is back in town.

For now, I’m stuck pretending to be my twin sister, all because I couldn’t correct him. Can’t correct him. My heart longs for time with him, and it’s controlling my brain in ways that my willpower can’t seem to take over.

Oh, how I wish I could disappear into one of my books right now.