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“There isn’t a ‘ton’ anymore,” I pointedout.
“You know what I mean,Rose.”
I did. There was a reason that for all my diverse literary interests, about half of my collection was romances both historical and modern. I was three months shy of twenty-five, and I’d never even kissed a guy. On the lips,anyway.
That kind of intimacy was supposed to be reserved for my consort, to kindle the spark inside me that would bring me my power. But I was hoping that Derek and I could generate other sorts of sparks once we were finally allowed to get down to it. The witching men were discouraged from much physical intimacy with any witch until the consorting was complete. We women would have a lot less incentive to settle down if we were getting our spark lit wherever wewanted.
Until our time ran out, atleast.
“I can have plenty of fun still, when the time comes,” I said to Philomena, and waved the bad boy billionaire romance I was racing through again. “This is research as much asentertainment.”
“Hmm,” Phil said as if she wasn’t totally convinced. To be fair, I wasn’t either. The couples in these books always seemed to be blown away by their attraction just looking at each other. Derek, well… He’d been the most appealing of the options I’d had. So I would make the best of it. This was real life. Passion could take time tokindle.
It wasn’t as if I had a lot of choice in thematter.
Thinking about that, about seeing him tomorrow and starting the preparations for the consort ceremony, made me feel twice as tired as I’d been from the drive. I set down the book on the arm of the chair and turned off thelamp.
“All right, you got your wish. I’m leaving Claudia and her domineering lover behind for the night. Now shoveover.”
Phil scooted over to the far end of the bed, where she sat primly propped up against the headboard. I crawled under the feather duvet and buried my head in thepillow.
The tension inside me unraveled with each slow inhale and exhale. I was drifting away when a branch of the oak tree rapped right against the window. The wind must have picked up evenmore.
Then the rapping came again, more insistently. My heart skipped. That wasn’t abranch.
I sat up and turned to the window. The pale moonlight outside caught on a hovering face—and the line of my white ribbon pressed against theglass.
Chapter Two
Rose
As I stared at the window, my heart lurched again, harder this time. Then a smile slid across the face in the night. Its eagerness struck a chord of recognition inme.
I’d left a message, and that message had beenanswered.
“Well, this is certainly an exciting turn of events,” Philomena said as I climbed out of the bed. She squirmed withanticipation.
“Shut up,” I said—only in my head, of course. You look crazy if you start talking to your imaginary friends in any way other people can hear. There really wasn’t any way to turn off Phil. I’d spent so long picturing her with me that she popped up automaticallynow.
The figure outside the window leaned back when I approached, taking my ribbon with him. He was perched on one of the oak’sbranches.
I pushed up the pane. Cool night air washed over me, seeping through my thin pajamas. My pajamas with cute little black cats printed all over them. Witch humor,okay?
Rather than let myself get embarrassed about my clothes, I focused on the guy outside my window. “Hello.”
The guy’s smile had grown wider. “Rose. You’re really back. I mean, I knew you had to be when I saw this.” He held up the ribbon. “But I couldn’t help checking to makesure.”
Up close, I could make out the rest of his features better. Tawny waves framing an angular face, clean-shaven. A slim frame I could tell was tall even when he was crouching. It was too dark to distinguish the color in his light eyes, but they’d be a soft gray-green.
I’d actually known two boys who fit that description, way back when, but only one who’d approached every situation with upbeat enthusiasm. “Kyler?” I said. His name felt rusty on my tongue. It’d been too many years since I’d last saidit.
Ky outright grinned. “Bonus points for correct twin identification even after elevenyears.”
His balance wobbled. He dropped his hand with the ribbon to brace himself against thetrunk.
Tree-climbing hadn’t been one of Ky’s strong points even when we were kids. I reached to detach the screen. “Here, come in.” Dad didn’t go overboard with security, but there’d still be a few guards patrolling around the grounds. Better if Kyler didn’t fall out of the tree, and even better if we weren’t caught atall.
Ky scrambled in. I went to turn on the lamp. “Close the curtain,” I said. The light would draw attentiontoo.
