I kissed the Devil… and Imorethan liked it.
“Is everyone ready?” Althea asks, and we all join hands around Aggie’s statue.
Other Wayward Bay witches have also paid homage to our patron founder tonight, and the base of her statue is a riot of colorful candles and gifts. Non-magical folks tend to leave the offerings in place, believing that Agatha Wayward will curse them to a year of bad luck if they steal from her.
Which is probably true.
Throughout the courtyard, the maple leaves tumble and twirl, the sounds of mischief and merriment floating on the air as the older kids chase the younger ones through the trees and various bands of revelers call out, “Trick or treat!”
It’s easily my favorite night of the year, and being here with my aunts and sisters—with Devlin close by, connected by energy and magic and maybe something more—floods me with a sense of gratitude and peace.
Together, in a single voice, we quietly recite our prayer.
Magic above and magic below
Blessings in darkness and light
To witches we love and witches unknown
Blessings on Halloween Night
The magic gathers among us—a little something from each of us that combines into a powerful force of love and protection. It starts as a warm tingle in our fingertips and slowly travels up through our arms, straight to our hearts, connecting us to each other, and to Aggie, and to all the witches who’ve lived, loved, and died in the Bay.
After a few moments of silence, we each approach the statue, one by one, to leave our offerings.
Beneath Aggie’s skirt, Fiona leaves a deck of Tarot cards tied with a silk ribbon. Darla wrote a story—her favorite offering—and tucks the envelope into a small gap under a shoe. From Emmie, a slice of lemon pound cake and a batch of hand-dipped chocolate-covered strawberries. I bought her my Sweet Dreams tea, a peppermint and jasmine blend mixed with rose petals, mugwort, and cinnamon.
“Aggie’s having thebesttime tonight,” Olivy says, last to place her offerings—a bouquet of lavender and rosemary, along with a small bottle of whiskey, rumored to be Aggie’s favorite. “Saucy old girl.”
“All she ever wanted was a safe place for us,” Althea says, bittersweet tears in her eyes, and the other aunts nod, huddling in close. “A place where women—human and witch-kind both—could live our lives and do what we were born to do, whatever that may be. Nothing would please her more than to see how happy you girls are. How full of joy and love.”
At the L-word, all of them turn to look at me. Heat spreads across my neck and cheeks, and suddenly I can’t stop grinning. “Okay, okay. Yes, I like Devlin. Fine. But love? Come on! It’s not like this thing between us is going anywhere! It’s just… just some fun while he’s in town.”
“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.” Jos cups my cheek, eyes twinkling beneath the witch hat. “Either way, Violet. Don’t ever talk yourself out of being happy. Enjoy it, even if it’s just for one night.”
“Especially on a night like tonight,” Lorelei says softly, gazing up at the moon through the trees. “You never know what other kinds of mischief might be afoot.”
I follow her gaze and stare at that beautiful silver orb, and somehow, even struggling under the weight of my debts and past mistakes—andliterallychained to the Devil himself—I feel freer than I have in years.
“Thank you, Aggie,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to my fingers and leaving it at her feet.
Then, right there beneath my hand, a Tarot card appears.
Not The Devil this time.
The Lovers.
A choice is coming,my intuition whispers.Follow your heart’s true desire, and you can’t go wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Four
DEVLIN
The walk back to the café is silent, but not tense, and I try to enjoy it for what it is—a stroll on a beautiful Halloween night with a beautiful fairy princess by my side.
But no matter how much I try to convince myself it wasn’t a big deal, that we both just got caught up in the moment, I can’t stop thinking about that kiss. Replaying it. And wishing, above all else, it could happen again.
Ridiculous. Magical moments don’t come along that often. Here and then gone. That’s what makes them so magical. Appreciate it and move on.
