Page 25 of Of Magic and Murder

I peer at the wisps that serve as Riordan’s second shadow and very delicately do not point them out. “Yes.”

“That’s why she came to you? Because she thought you could help her?”

“More like she knew I could see her if she appeared to me, and since I’m a witch, I’d be honorbound to help her cross over if I can. She told me that she would only be able to after I figured out who killed her.”

He thinks about that. “Can you talk to her now? I have some questions I’d like to ask her.”

“I can only do that when she decides to show herself,” I answer. “Ghosts aren’t summoned like people think. If Olivia doesn’t want to appear, I can’t make her. And if I’m close to this,” I add, holding up the wormwood, “she won’t be able to.”

“Okay. We’ll table that for later. But since you’re the only one who can talk to our only witness, that means you’re going to have to work with me to solve this case.”

Excuse me?

I squeeze the potted plant. “I don’t know about that. If you have questions that we haven’t already asked her, I can pass them along. Not like I trust her. I actually don’t. But no one deserves to die like she did.”

By a wolf.

Something hits me at that moment. As nervous as I am to be so close to Riordan, I’m not as afraid as I was when we first met. I think I know why, too. In Moonburrow, every wolf shifter is technically a suspect in Olivia’s murder. But Riordan… he was locked out of the town, blocked by the words.

In fact, he’s probably the only wolf in town that I know for a fact isn’t her murderer.

But if I want to figure out who killed her so that I can send the witch to the other side, having a professional investigator with an alpha’s skillset is probably the best way to do it. And if that means I might have to spend a little time with Riordan to do so…

Part of me is curious. Another part is nothing short of relieved. When I first heard from Roxy that Riordan was back in Moonburrow, my track record with backfiring spells had me wondering if I somehow yanked him back. Why else would he show up so suddenly after staying away for so long?

And then it hit me. I finally understand. Riordan himself told his brother that he wouldn’t return to Moonburrow while Olivia was on the loose. Now he knows exactly where she is so he came back—and I foolishly believe that it wasn’t my twisted magic that dragged him home for a few glorious moments before he turns those gorgeous gold eyes of his on me and says, “I need a seer. You need a protector. And that’s going to be me, Pen,” and I know that something is very, very wrong.

“No, no. That’s okay. You don’t have to⁠—”

“I do,” he says firmly, cutting me off. “I won’t leave your side until the murderer is caught.”

“Riordan—”

He turns on his brother. “Max. You told me witches are the targets. That one of our own is killing magic users like Penelope. You can be responsible for the rest of the coven. I brought her to Moonburrow to help Ash. You can’t ask me not to protect her now.”

Maybe Max can’t, but I sure can.

Except I don’t.

It’s not his fault. If the locator spell messed up and my magic made it so that Riordan not only came running back to Moonburrow, but now he has this need to be my protector? I’ve seen something like this happen before. Instead of just helping Honey find Riordan, the spell boo-booed and now he is finding it difficult to be separated from its caster.

Who just so happens to be me.

Does that mean I’m going to hold him to his ‘stick by your side’ promise? No. If I want the spell to wear off, I can’t allow him to fall any further under it. But I think he does have a point. He has his own grudge when it comes to Olivia’s machinations. He’s also a protective alpha wolf who wants to keep his pack—and his town—safe. Of course he’ll have this need to solve the mystery of her murder and send her packing.

And I’m his best shot at accomplishing that. As long as I act as a translator for the dead, I can help Riordan and Olivia.

More importantly, I can accomplish the one thing that’s kept me in Moonburrow for the last two months.

Which is why, to both Max and Honey’s—and, okay, probably Gus’s, too—surprise, I take a hesitant step toward the Beta and tell him, “I don’t need a constant guardian. I can protect myself. But if you want me to help you solve this crime, there’s something I want to do first.”

Riordan dips his head. “Anything.”

He might come to regret his easy acquiescence. “I want you to let me get a good look at your curse.”

CHAPTER 7

CURSEBREAKER