Chapter 1
“Itisatruthuniversally acknowledged that a single man with a lot of money will also be looking for a love potion.” Mom winked at my younger sisters, Lydia and Kitty, while steam curled around her face like ghostly fingers. The soft glow of the fire under her cauldron cast shadows on the basement’s stone walls.
“More like a non-committal relationship,” I mumbled, dumping the pouch of phoenix feather ash into my veritas potion, which hissed and bubbled. Despite Mom’s faith in love potions and her ridiculous declarations, it was highly unlikely that a rich, single man needed help to get women, especially not with online dating.
“If you remember nothing else from tonight, remember that men need to be told what they want,” Mom said with a pointed look at me. “It doesn’t matter if they’re fae, human, or any other race they are; they’re all the same.”
“Don’t forget the mermaid’s tear for your potion, Lizzy.” Jane, ever the reliable older sister, rummaged among the shelves filled with mismatched bottles of spices and dried herbs. More plants hung from beams cutting across the ceiling, and the air was thick with the scents of mugwort and eucalyptus.
Jane squinted at a vial, trying to read the label in the candle’s flickering light. Mom believed that technology interfered with witchcraft and banned anything as convenient as electricity in the basement, so whenever we came down, it was like stepping into the medieval era.
“Thanks.” I accepted a small vial from Jane, then stirred my veritas potion four times counterclockwise.
Jane returned to flipping through her photographs, her golden hair bent over the prints.
As my mixture started to boil, I hurried to add the mermaid’s tear. The potion spewed cerulean bubbles, so different from the pale pink shimmering love potion inMom’s cauldron, and filled the room with a briny smell that made me wrinkle my nose.
“Do you mind?” Lydia glared at me, her expression strangely similar to the glowering jack-o’-lantern someone had brought downstairs with a box of fall decorations.
“Not in the slightest.” I kept stirring.
“Some of us are trying to work, and you’re going to taint my clothes with that stench.” She gestured to her expensive jeans and lacy top.
“You know better than to wear nice clothes while we make potions.” I plucked at my old T-shirt and leggings. Not only were they more practical in the cold basement, but they were also easier to replace.
“Whatever, Lizzy. Don’t be jealous.” Lydia stuck out her tongue, then turned back to watch Mom.
I rolled my eyes at my youngest sister, who, after graduating from high school last year, somehow grewintobeing more obnoxious instead of out of it. Lydia and I were as different as sisters could be. I had chocolate-brown hair and blue eyes, while she had light-brown hair and hazel eyes. She was impulsive and frivolous, more focusedon her next boyfriend and completely happy to stay in Austen Heights, while I was focused on my future and making a name for myself outside our small town. Or at least I had been.
Lydia whispered something to Kitty, and they giggled. Those two were thick as witches in a coven. With both of them now working in Cupid’s Confectionswith Mom, they were even more inseparable than usual. I needed to find them jobs out of the family bakery before Mom filled their heads with any more nonsense about how we needed to hurry and get married before we were too old to attract a man.
“Is it ready?” Kitty peered into Mom’s cauldron, her braid swinging dangerously close to the love potion.
“Yes, now don’t mess me up. I have to finish this batch for tomorrow’s orders.” Mom pulled a glass flask from the desk and added three drops of moon water, making the liquid shimmer white and the room smell like apples and cinnamon.
Kitty coughed—a common enough occurrence while brewing potions, especially considering her asthma and the dank basement air.
“Please stop coughing, Kitty.” Mom shot her an annoyed look. “You’re making it difficult to concentrate.”
“I’m not doing it on purpose. I—”
“And where’s Mary? She should be down here.” Mom steamrolled over Kitty’s defense.
Jane and I exchanged looks, but neither of us was about to rat out our middle sister. She hated practicing our witch magic. If I had to guess, she was either doing work for her internship with the church or holed up somewhere in the house with her nose in a book. Although considering it was already almost nine, probably the latter.
“Let’s do it without her.” Lydia linked her arm through Kitty’s. “She doesn’t even like being down here.”
Mom sighed, her green eyes narrowing in a familiar scowl that hinted at an incoming lecture. “Learning to make love potions is no joke. It’s our duty as Bennets and witches to make sure everyone finds their happily ever after—”
“Even if they only last as long as our potions,” I muttered to Jane.
Mom gave me a withering look and continued. “And with your father sick, we all have to pitch in to care for this family. My poor nerves can’t take the strain of providing for everyone on my own.”
“You know we all care, Mom, and we’re trying our best,” Jane said.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I shoved my spoon toward Jane. “Will you watch my potion for me? It needs to be stirred until it turns violet.”
“Of course.” Jane gave me a sweet smile and took over, leaving me free to fish my cell phone from my leggings with another glance to make sure Mom wasn’t watching.
