Chapter Nineteen
“ D o you want cream and sugar in your coffee?”
I laughed as I sat in my high-backed chair, warming my hands in front of the roaring fireplace. “Of course I do. That’s a silly question.”
A few minutes later, Rowena scooted into the chair next to me, placing a tray with two cups on the end table between us.
A coffee mug for me, and a teacup for her.
I’d offered to make the coffee myself, but Rowena had insisted she do it.
I secretly wondered if she wanted the practice, in case she ever did decide to serve coffee in her café.
It had been thirty minutes since we’d arrived back in Wisteria Grove. It was still early, so the village was quiet and devoid of any wandering witches. Which made it easy for us to slip into the café and enjoy some time together.
A warm fireplace, a piping hot cup of coffee, and my favorite woman in the world.
I sipped the steaming brown liquid, letting the slightly bitter, nutty flavor run over my taste buds.
This was perfect. Exactly what I needed.
“So, what are your plans for today?” I asked Rowena as she took a long sip of her tea. Earl Grey, as usual. I noticed the bergamot smell didn’t bother me as much anymore.
“Gosh, I’m not sure,” Rowena exhaled and closed her eyes, her teacup steaming in her lap. “I need to go through my bookshelves. Find some to trade in at the general store and Juniper’s shop so I can get new ones. We really need a proper bookstore in this town.”
“I can help you with that,” I replied. “In fact, I’ve been building a collection of my own books since I got here.”
“Oh, what kind?”
“All sorts of witchy books. Mythology, spellcasting… everything I can get my hands on. I’ve learned so much.”
“That’s wonderful.” Rowena smiled. “In fact, maybe we can trade. I’ll see what you have, and you can look through my old stuff, and–”
The front door burst open.
Rowena and I both startled so badly that we nearly spilled our scalding hot drinks into our laps. The high-backed chairs faced away from the front door, so we couldn’t see who had entered. I shot Rowena a panicked glance, and noticed her eyes were as wide and white-rimmed as mine were.
The café was closed on Mondays. But I had been outside adjusting the Halloween decorations earlier, and I hadn’t bothered to lock the front door behind me when I was finished.
At the time, I didn’t think I needed to.
It was a small town — I certainly hadn’t expected for someone to nearly break the door down when the café was clearly closed.
Rowena and I slowly placed our half-empty cups on the end table and rose to our feet, turning to face the door.
It was Juniper. She was wide-eyed, frazzled, and had the most venomous expression I’d ever seen on her face.
“J-Juniper?” Rowena exclaimed. “Is everything okay?”
Juniper huffed, regaining composure as she crossed her arms over her chest. The fury in her eyes never dimmed.
“No. It is not. Where have you two idiots been all morning?”
My blood froze in my veins. Oh no.
“Um, we’ve been… here, in the café,” Rowena lied. “We came in about half an hour ago, just to have some coffee and tea. We’re not open.”
“I’m aware,” Juniper hissed. “Are you aware of what’s been going on all morning?”
Dead silence. I thought I was going to faint.
“The werewolf pack,” Juniper continued. “They’ve gone mad. Charging into the barrier, over and over again. Big Red keeps breaking through, and the whole town is struggling to hold them off.”
The werewolf pack . My mind flashed back to the night before, when I’d fought Rowena’s father.
In my wolf form.
Oh no. I had revealed myself not only to Rowena, but also to the pack.
How could I have been so stupid?
“They’re looking for something, and whatever it is, it’s clearly within this village.
I didn’t know what they wanted at first, until–” Her blonde eyebrows narrowed until they were nearly diagonal.
“–Nina came back from her trip to Otter Creek, not long after the werewolves showed up. And she saw the most curious thing on her way home…”
I struggled to swallow. I noticed Rowena’s hands slowly clenching and unclenching into fists.
“Two wolves, near Acadia National Park. Clearly outside of pack territory. One black and one red.”
Gods, no…
We’d been spotted. I’d been so certain we’d be safe outside the village, far away from both witch and werewolf territory. But I hadn’t stopped to consider any witches traveling outside of Wisteria Grove.
Naive. Foolish. Stupid .
I could feel my pulse throbbing in my temples, and I begged my body to calm down. To breathe. But nothing helped. My stomach felt as if it had just taken a tumble off the side of Cadillac Mountain.
Juniper then turned her attention toward me.
“Is there something you haven’t been telling us, Nettie?”
My damp, clammy palms curled into fists. In addition to fear, I was feeling a bunch of other emotions. Frustration. Hopelessness.
Anger. But not at Juniper.
At myself.
I knew exactly what was going on. Since the Mount Desert Island werewolves had the closest pack to Hollenboro, my father had likely been in touch with them about my disappearance. Telling them to keep an eye out for a runaway female werewolf with bright red fur.
And Rowena’s father had seen me in my wolf form, in the middle of a witch village where I clearly didn’t belong. He would’ve known I was the Hollenboro Alpha’s missing daughter. My red fur was a dead giveaway.
I didn’t know what my father had told them – or hell, offered them – in order to get me back. But if they were desperate enough to attack Wisteria Grove in broad daylight, there was little I could do to change their minds. To persuade them I wasn’t worth capturing.
I was what the werewolves wanted.
Which meant I was doomed.
“That’s what I thought,” Juniper growled. “Well, I’m here on Mayor Mariah’s orders—” She extended her hands, fingers spread wide. Sharp, clear crystals bloomed on her palms, growing and expanding like never-ending fractals. “—to retrieve Nettie and bring her to town hall.”
No .
Juniper leered in my direction, taking a step forward. The crystals looked like sparkling daggers in her palms.
Please. No.
There was nothing I could do. I could run. Fight. Hide. But as long as I stayed in Wisteria Grove, my fate was inevitable. I didn’t belong here, and my father would do whatever it took to bring me home.
And once I was there, I’d never be able to leave again.
Every step Juniper took toward me felt like an eternity. Crystals dripped from her hands, shattering against the hardwood floor like glass. It was as if in her disgust, in her anger, she was overextending her powers. Leaving a beautiful, deadly mess in her wake.
I scrambled backwards, frighteningly aware of how easily she could pin me to the ground with those crystals. Rendering me immobile. Helpless.
Then the ground began to shake.
My feet quivered as the hardwood rocked beneath them with some sort of ethereal energy. At first, I assumed it was an extension of Juniper’s crystal powers, until I looked up and realized she was just as horrified as I was.
A few feet away, Rowena’s gaze dripped pure anger and fury. She unclenched her fists, bending her fingers into claws, and two giant vines burst through the floor, sending wooden splinters spraying in all directions.
“Like hell you’ll take her,” Rowena hissed.
Juniper stumbled backwards, nearly falling onto the floor as the vines grew in length and thickness until they were nearly as tall as the café ceiling. Then, they sprung in Juniper’s direction, entangling her feet in finger-like protrusions that spread up her calves and thighs.
“Six years,” Rowena continued in her deadly tone.
Even I was terrified. I’d never seen her like this before.
“You ignore me. Hate me. Barely acknowledge my existence. I loved you like a sister, and when I needed you most, you abandoned me. You know Aster’s death tore me apart.
She was my second mother. And yet you acted as if I was the one that killed her! ”
Gods, this was bad. This was worse than Juniper trying to kidnap me. If I didn’t get Rowena to snap out of her rage, she was going to do something she’d regret. Something no amount of magic could undo.
“I can’t change what I am, Juniper. And neither can Nettie,” Rowena continued. The vines were now all the way up to Juniper’s chest, and she was completely immobile, her limbs and torso locked in place. “You, and the rest of this village, will leave us alone. Or else you’ll–”
“Rowena, stop!”
Her head snapped in my direction. It was enough to quash her fury for a few seconds, and the vines stopped spreading up Juniper’s body. Rowena’s gaze was still full of rage, but I could see the softness lurking in those eyes. The softness she always reserved for me.
“Please. I’m begging you, let Juniper go. We’ll figure something out. This isn’t the way–”
“Why are you telling me to stop?” Rowena snapped. “Juniper was going to steal you away! Bring you back to your father, where you’ll be forcibly bonded to a male you don’t care for, stuck on that island for the rest of your life! I’m trying to protect you!”
I exhaled sharply through my teeth. Even if she did have a point, imprisoning Juniper in vines wasn’t a viable solution to our problems.
The vines continued their journey up Juniper’s body, scrabbling across her flesh like a herd of spiders. My insides twisted. If Rowena covered up Juniper’s nose and mouth…
I had to stop her.
Now.
And clearly, words weren’t going to work.
But there might be something else…
The whole time, I had been able to feel Rowena’s rage, burning through my body as if it were my own. I’d been able to mask it with my own concern, my own inner stability, in order to keep my sanity. It was a technique I’d used since I was young.
But what if I transmitted that stability to her?
I had only done it once before, when my sister Alice was having a temper tantrum at five years old. It worked like a charm, but I’d felt so sick and guilty about it I never repeated the process again.
But now I had no choice. I had to stop Rowena.
I waited until I was certain she wasn’t looking, that her focus was entirely on Juniper, and grabbed her waist from behind. She let out a faint squeak of surprise, and the vines crawling up Juniper’s neck began to falter, curling in on themselves like rotten fingernails.
“What are you–”
I pressed my hand against the back of Rowena’s head, digging my fingers into her scalp before she could sputter out another word. I hated doing this to her. It felt like a violation of our relationship. Our trust.
But then I took a deep breath, steadied myself, and began to think.
I thought about our time together. Two women, wayward souls sitting in a cozy café, sipping coffee and tea by a roaring fire.
Two women opening their hearts to each other, revealing their deepest secrets, declaring their feelings for one another.
Kissing, touching, exploring… all of it ending in our unclothed bodies wrapped up together in bed.
Most importantly, I thought of the sunrise, just a few hours earlier, and how it felt like we were on top of the world. Like no one could stop us.
Happy things. Peaceful things.
Calming things.
Calm, Rowena . I breathed in through my nose, and out through my mouth. Calm down.
You can do this .
I believe in you.
I believe in us.
With my arms still wrapped tightly around her waist, I could feel the rigid tension of her torso relax under my grasp. Her outstretched fingers shook, her posture growing softer and looser until her arms began to lower.
And, finally, the vines began to recede from Juniper’s body.
Once I was convinced Rowena was calm, that she wasn’t going to immediately resume her vicious spellcasting once I let go of her, I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the kitchen door.
She understood what I was doing. We had limited time until the vines receded from Juniper’s body. And we needed to be far away from the café by then.
Rowena threw the back door open so swiftly its hinges rattled. She closed it with a similar frantic motion, her metallic keys fumbling in her fingers as she locked the door.
Then she was the one to grab my hand. She pulled me away from the café, and we ran.
And ran.
And ran.
We were much slower in our human forms, but we still managed to bolt across the village and back to Rowena’s cottage without anyone noticing us.
A deep, unsettling ease crept into my belly when I realized Wisteria Grove was likely silent because the witches were off fighting the werewolves at the border.
Holding back the battle I’d caused.
I panted as we burst through the door, resting my palms on my knees and taking deep, heaving breaths as Rowena locked up the cottage. First the front door, then the back. She checked every curtain to make sure they were drawn, and checked every light to make sure they were turned off.
Once my pulse had returned to normal and I stood up, I noticed Rowena running her hands across the front door. I heard dry snapping sounds, like twigs rustling, on the other side.
Rowena was covering the door in vines. So no one would get to us.
She finished the front door, then went to cover the back one. I timidly perched myself on the couch, unsure of how to help. Rowena seemed to be a master at barricading her house, ensuring no one knew she was home.
I knew why. And it broke my heart.
Finally, the sounds of vines twisting up the side of the house ceased, and Rowena took a seat next to me on the couch.
“We need to talk,” she stated flatly.
Oh gods . My stomach dropped. She’s upset.
“I’m so sorry,” I sputtered, my apology pouring out like a burst pipe. “I shouldn’t have done that. I was just worried. I didn’t want you to hurt Juniper. I didn’t–”
“Nettie. Calm down. I’m not upset.”
“You’re not?”
“No. But we need to talk.”
“About what?”
“Your witch powers.”
“My what? ”
I shot Rowena a quizzical look. But then I studied her face, the way she stared at me with the intensity of the burning sun, and I realized she truly wasn’t upset.
She was shocked. In disbelief. In awe.
“Rowena,” I frowned. “We’ve talked about this. I don’t have witch powers. At least, not any I’m aware of.”
“Nettie,” Rowena scoffed, nearly rolling her eyes. “You foolish wolf. What you just did… those are your witch powers.”
“They… they are?”
“Yes.” The fiery intensity in Rowena’s eyes grew brighter, and she leaned in close, as if she were about to let me in on a deep, dark secret.
“You’re an empath, Nettie. One of the rarest and most powerful witches of them all.”