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Losing my job wouldn’t be the end of the world, but Sterling? He loves what he does, and I love seeing him do it: planning youth sports games and events and helping the community. The sense of community in Starbrook is one of the many reasons I’m in love with this little town.

“I wasn’t worried about that. I was worried about… well, the cottage.”

Somehow, that’s the final straw.

I sit upright, banging my stupid, tiny fists on the coffee table. “What the hell is going on with this cottage? Like sure, whatever, it’s haunted, but why—why would that⁠—”

Why is that getting in the way of us?

Her expression softens; Jewel seems unaffected by my frustration, as calm as ever. “He hasn’t told you about what happened?”

I shake my head.

“It’s his story to tell, but the one who haunts that cottage was close to him.” She tilts her head to the side. “Ghosts don’t only haunt places, dear. They haunt people, and the cottage may be haunting whoever lives in it, but it’s haunting him.”

Ghosts.

I’ve never known about ghosts. Some witches work with the dead and undead, of course, but I’ve never met one—not even a medium, which are quite common. Now, it feels like the ghost runs up my spine, goose bumps erupting across my skin.

A million questions dance in my mind.

Is the ghost haunting me?

Why is it haunting him?

That’s not what comes out.

“It… she doesn’t feel like a ghost,” I whisper. “She becomes real, like she is the house.”

“That happens sometimes. It’s how the spirit’s desperation to have their life back manifests.”

How did she lose her life? Who is she, and why is she haunting Sterling? That’s what I want to ask, but none of those questions are right—Sterling needs to give me the rest of the answers. Jewel has already said too much.

So, what I say next is different—and equally something I should keep to myself.

“I’m not a witch anymore,” I blurt, my eyes widening as I realize what I said. “I haven’t used my magic in years—I mean, aside from one time—and… and no one knows. Except Sterling. And now you.”

Jewel is, as always, unblinking.

I continue. “And the weird part is, I used to use my magic for everything. I relied on it. It was a part of me. Something at school is going wrong? Check the astrology. Love life boring? Cast a spell with Venus. But for a long time, I didn’t even miss my magic. Sometimes, when I think about it, I don’t feel anything.”

Or I didn’t until I met Sterling.

Until I started falling for him.

I feel everything now, and he’s left me dangling in the air, and I feel it all, a choking sensation at my throat as I wait for her to dismiss me. For good.

That’s how my dad left me, too. Suddenly. How could I have missed my magic when I was so busy missing him? Now, I miss it. I want to be a witch. I want to be me.

“I know,” Jewel says simply, setting her teacup down.

Finally, I remember to catch my breath. “You… know?”

“I began to suspect it shortly after we started working together, but I had a good feeling about you. And about your future in this coven. So, I let it continue. You’re still a witch, Aurora.”

I let out a breath, blowing my bangs up. “You have a good feeling about me because of my father⁠—”

“No, dear.” Her eyes sharpen. “It’s always been about you. That’s why I’m mentoring you. Not because you’re ready to be the perfect leader tomorrow, but because you need people like me—like Sterling—to help you find your way back to your gifts.”