The sponges were otherworldly delicious, so I shook my head, polishing off a third. I couldn’t stop eating them. Not only did I hope the moist cake would fill the anxious void in my stomach, but I was also trying to calm the nerves buzzing beneath my skin, worried about how they’d all react.
So far, they hadn’t given much of anything away, not even how terrible they must’ve thought I was. In fact, the only look most of them had on their faces was pensive.
“Did you uncap the bottle and do everything backward?” Faith asked.
The rest paused, minds likely spinning as much as mine was. After I’d relayed the entire story, they’d been offering their own ideas of what simple remedies could possibly be done to fix the mess I had made. But I’d already tried them all—or at least most of them. I didn’t want to tell them after my few attempts that their first ideas were witchcraft child’s play.
“I don’t have the bottle anymore.” I cringed. So stupid.
I wanted to curse my past freaked-out self, who definitely shouldn’t have been doing magic while intoxicated, but then, well, we’d be right back in this position all over again, wouldn’t we? Cursed.
“What do you mean?”
“After the spell, I could feel something different. Everything was so still.” Powerful. Magnificent. Frightening. I still couldn’t put my finger on it, let alone describe the feeling.
Gertie waved her hand, as if manifesting something then and there for us, a sense of ease settling in at how calm she continued to be the entire time. If only she could get rid of my stupid mistake that easily. “The spirits were waiting on your next move.”
Apparently, my next move had been to panic and smash the entire thing against the rocks of the Barnett riverside. There was no coming back from that.
I told them all as much.
They all nodded their slow agreement. This spell was one that couldn’t simply be undone. Though it had started out with a physical conduit of manifestation, it had now turned into something bigger than that—as much as the air of life we breathed in.
“We’ll figure this out. Don’t worry. We’ve all made mistakes in our lives, both in magic and not. If we haven’t, we will eventually,” said Gertie.
Essie remained silent. The entire time, she continued to stare at me with her seafoam blue eyes, an expression bordering somewhere between shock and as if she were listening to me talk about the new romantic comedy in theaters.
“I’m really sorry to bring this kind of stuff to you all.” I ran a hand through the front section of my hair, braiding and unbraiding the ends.
Lu shook her head, focused completely on me.
Gertie followed suit. “The only thing we would’ve wished for is that you had brought this to us sooner. We would never judge you, Ana. We’re your family.”
Please. Who wouldn’t think I was a complete idiot?
* * *
“I don’t feellike I need to say this, but tonight feels particularly apt to remind us all that what happens in the coven stays between sisters, correct?” Gertie looked between all the women crammed into the kitchen.
“What happens in the coven stays in the coven.” Lu snickered with agreement.
Faith, eyes still wide, stared at me with a look of confusion for most of the evening. “’Course.”
“Good.” Slowly, I pushed back my mug of tea I’d drunk most of before it turned cool and the small plate of cakes that now only held crumbs. I stood. “Now that I got all that out, I think I need to just take a second, if you don’t mind. Get some fresh air.”
My hand skimmed the edge of the table. I couldn’t have even touched Gertie’s cup across from me. Yet the teacup shattered into more than just a few pieces, as if I’d shoved the porcelain off the corner and onto the floor.
I froze, looking at the broken shards. My lips parted to apologize, but truly, I thought I had done enough sharing with the group tonight. My mouth opened. A sort of whine was the only thing that managed its way out.
When I pulled my attention back up, everyone stared.
Everyone, but Lu.
“I know no one wants to say this since we are dealing with an actual curse and all has gone awry”—Lu continued to stare at the pieces between the small kitchen table and the starburst tiles before turning her attention back to me—“but it is pretty freaking cool.”
* * *
I didn’t makeit outside. I was such a coward. I wasn’t sure what I’d do when I got out there. Maybe I’d run back home or away completely—even though that really wasn’t an option, no matter how much of a clusterfuck I had created. Dom was still at my apartment, and I had to fix this for him.
