“Ha!” She swatted a fern like it had committed a crime against foliage. “The only thing soul-sucking is your lame attempts to get under my skin. I’m immune now. The enchanted waterfall washed away my‘Let Grant Affect My Moods’meter.”
“Must’ve been some waterfall.” I shot back. “Guess you found the cure you were looking for, and it wasn’t about your magic.”
She bristled. “There’s nothing wrong with my magic. I’m perfect. I always have been, and I always will—” Valerie stumbled to a halt, her jaw going slack as the wall of greenery parted like a stage curtain.
A stone path cut straight through the undergrowth, leading to a pavilion strung with lanterns that flickered to life like possessed motion sensors. White rose petals blanketed the steps, their damp edges catching the last blaze of sunset. Filmy curtains tied with gold tassels fluttered in the breeze around a ceremonial altar. Not a soul in sight, just an endless stretch of remote beach as if someone had dropped adestination wedding venue out of the sky, Oz-style. And we were the witches who’d somehow dodged the landing.
Valerie hobbled up the petal-strewn steps and lowered herself gingerly into a folding chair. She dug her phone out of her pocket and held it up in the air, searching for a signal.
“I have a few bars. I’ll call Sage and let her know they can call off the search.” She tapped the screen, then frowned, shaking the phone as if there was water in the circuit board. “That’s weird. It won’t dial.”
I tipped my chin toward a wooden sign staked in the sand just outside the pavilion. Painted script rolled across it:Silence your phones, ceremony in progress.
“Mine doesn’t work either. I bet there’s a spell to stop rude guests from taking personal calls during the vows.”
“Okay, but where is everyone?” Valerie bent to rub her ankle. A pained breath slid through her teeth.
“They probably postponed because of the storm.” I flexed my fingers, my signet ring digging into red, puffed skin. The swelling was getting worse.
Valerie paused her ankle massage, eyeing my injured hand. “That looks bad.”
“I’ll live to see the sunrise, don’t worry.”
“I'm not worried. I don’t have that kind of luck.”
“Broke too many mirrors checking your makeup? That’s surprising. I’ve always considered you passably attractive—like a six. Not quite shatter-worthy.”
“A six?” She pushed out of her chair so fast it toppled backward. A flash of pain crossed her face before pride smothered it. “I’m a classic eight and a half, borderingon a nine, and you know it, Delaney.”
I shrugged, smothering my reaction. She wasn’t immune to anything, especially not me.
“Fine. If you say so.” I framed my hands. “With the sunset behind you, nearly blinding me, I’ll give you an extra point or two.”
She scoffed, then crossed her arms, but her gaze dropped to my hand again. “Sunset points aside, that ring looks like it’s cutting off circulation.”
“It’s stuck,” I muttered, trying to twist it off, setting off a sharp burst of agony. “Which is ironic because it has never fit right. The division heir is supposed to wear it. It was never sized for me.”
Valerie chewed on her lip, her features softening slightly. Then again, maybe it was the sunset, backlighting her in gold. She was an easy nine in cloud cover… but in the sunlight? The number rose by a digit. Not that I’d ever give her that ammunition.
“Here—” She limped toward the altar, plucking a bouquet of flowers from a vase sitting on a raised column. “Stick your hand in the water. It’ll help loosen it. You need to get the blood moving again, or you’ll lose the finger.”
“I don’t think I should take medical advice from the woman who orders an extra bowl of cherries with her cocktail.”
“Quit whining and dunk.”
I grumbled but slid my swollen finger into the cool water. “Happy?”
She crushed the flowers to her chest. “Ecstatic. Now twist.”
I pulled my hand out of the water and tugged at the ring. It slipped loose faster than I expected, popping free and vanishing into the carpet of petals at our feet.
Valerie was quicker than I was, bending to scoop it up. She twirled it once on her finger before sliding it all the way down. A sly grin curved her lips.
“Well, look at that. Does this make me the new head of Snowbelt? Do I get a raise? Stock options?”
I lunged for the ring, but she danced out of reach, gifted for a woman with a busted ankle.
“Give it back.”
