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“Romance,” Nym answered, her smooth voice like honey as she tugged Kirsi closer to her.
“No,” we shouted at the same time, dropping our hands. I couldn’t help but notice the way Atlas rubbed his palm on his pants before shoving it into his pocket.
“It’s just for traveling over the snow,” Atty added, shuffling past them.
He whistled low, swinging the door to Crescent Cottage open before stepping inside. I’d been here only once before when I was very young.
“Isn’t it incredible?” Nym asked as she gestured for me to follow.
“Rave’s going to lose it. I didn’t think Bash could outdo last year’s Solstice gift, but this one might do it.”
“It’s exactly the same,” Atty said, walking up a narrow aisle and pulling a small glass vial from the shelf. “Every detail.”
“He’s been taking her there in her dreams so he could get everything just right. And I’ve been helping, too… obviously,” Kirsi said.
“I bought my first elixir from this shelf.” I was speaking mostly to myself as I ran a hand over several charmed vials sealed with black wax. “There was an old woman who worked here then. She passed me a sweet when my mother wasn’t watching.”
“That was Vianna Moonstone, Rave’s grandmother. She was everything,” Kirsi said.
Atty clapped his hands, breaking the spell over my memory. “So, about this log.”
Kirsi and Nym shared a look.
“What?”
“You’re not going to like it, but… you’re a witch, and she’s a witch… You two have to make the salt circle. We can’t do it anymore.”
“Nope. No magic for me. I’ll just go find someone.” Atlas moved toward the door. “What was the baker’s name?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said, snatching three white candles from a shelf nearby. “Is it okay if we use these?”
“I’ll start you a tab,” Kirsi said with a sly smile.
“Great. Her name is Bastian Firepool,” Atty said. “Do you need me to spell that for you?”
Nym laughed as she gathered a few bunches of holly and set them on the counter.
Atlas crossed the room and rubbed his fingers along the stone surface, murmuring. “It’s so similar, it feels as if Tor could still be lying here.”
Kirsi slid a hand into his. “How many times have I told you not to dwell on the past, Pup? Things happen, and we have to move on. Even when they devastate us.”
He leaned into her, making her stumble, just to throw his enormous size around. “I wasn’t dwelling.”
Their close bond filled the room. I’d had nothing like that, and I hadn’t seen him so comfortable with someone. She poked him in the ribs for retaliation, and he mussed her hair. As she took a swing at him, I realized, if I hadn’t seen his past, they could have passed for siblings.
“I have the best idea.” Atlas straightened, his eyes brightening. “You guys should come with us.”
Kirsi snorted. “Not on your life.”
“Aw. Come on. There’s plenty of room.”
There certainly wasn’t plenty of room. Maybe for one of them, but the four of us crammed into that magically covered sleigh would be cramped. I stared at Atlas, hoping one of his hidden spells was mind reading. But as he nudged Kirsi again, I knew he was wholly unaware of my thoughts. I couldn’t decide if he was nervous to be alone with me or simply didn’t want me there at all. Probably both. He hadn’t signed up for this, but neither had I.
She paused, studying his face for several moments before looking back at me, and then dragged him off to a room in the back, behind a wall of floor-length ivy, creating a faux door.
Their voices were too quiet to hear anything, but as Nym approached with a few more things in her arms, she sighed. “Never mind them. Sometimes they live in their own little world.”
“It’s really great that he has a close bond with someone.”
