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I stared over my shoulder at him as I managed to get out of bed and stand, giving him just a moment to admire my naked back before heading over to the closet to grab some clothes. I intended to get back to using my magic today, so I picked outa pair of jean shorts and a comfortable cotton tee. Even though it was early March, temperatures during the day often felt like April or May back in Tallahassee.
After cleaning myself up,I gave Fenris a kiss goodbye before grabbing my grimoire from the nightstand and heading out into the hall. I beelined for the room my Aunt Esme was recovering in, only to find none other than Cody King standing in front of the door to Val’s supply room.
I stopped. “Is everything okay?” I said, fearing the worst. “Did something happen to Esme?”
“Huh? Who?” Cody said. I scowled at him, and he blinked. “Ohhhh,” he said, as if he at last remembered what had happened or even who Esme was. “No, she’s fine. She’s in her room. I wasn’t waiting for her. Morgan and Val are working in there. I was waiting for Morgan.”
Obviously,I thought, biting my tongue as his blue eyes shifted back to the door, as if he couldn’t bear to tear his gaze away for more than a few seconds at a time. “Does your fated mate know you’ve turned into a low-key stalker?” I asked wryly. “Or are you just following her in the shadows?”
Cody looked mildly scandalized. “Wolf shifter or not, I wouldneverstalk anyone, Celeste,” he said. I’d rarely seen such a serious look on his face. “She knows I’m here. And I’m glad to see you here, too!” Just like that, his usual happy-go-lucky expression returned. “Abi told me what happened. I’m glad you’re doing better.”
Whatever hostility I felt soon faded away, touched by the genuine concern in Cody’s tone. But then, he kept talking. “I mean, I already have emotional blue balls, then my friend disappears comes back, looking like a train hit her! I mean, c’mon.” He made a face at me, and I smiled.
“I’ll put in a good word for you,” I said, shaking my head. Despite coming on too strong sometimes, Cody was clearly asweetheart, and if Morgan reciprocated, I suspected they’d make a good couple. She could use help getting out more often, and Cody would rescue her from any unwanted social situation. Morgan might also help him slow down and appreciate the things around him more.
If I didn’t survive beyond the eclipse, I wanted to do what I could for my friends. I reached for the door before I paused, glancing back at the shifter. “Wait. Why are you still out here?”
Cody shrugged. “Well, I’m not a healer. I wanted to talk to Morgan and didn’t want to interrupt her. Waiting’s weird, but sniffing her out when she’s doing magic with her aunt is even weirder, right?” He picked up even more speed. “Besides, she doesn’t even know we’re fated mates yet. I’m justdyingto tell her, but I don’t want to freak her out. That’s not a thing witches do! It’s a shifter thing. But…it really matters tome.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, processing everything he’d spit out. At least he’d realized blurting out that information wasn’t the best course of action. Even if Morgan wasn’t shy and reserved, announcing someone was your fated mate could feel coercive. Hell, I’d wanted to punch Fenris in his handsome nose for a few weeks when he’d told me that because I was so angry with him.
“Have you tried, you know, inviting her for a walk on the beach?” I asked. Isla Lobo was a particularly romantic location, I was coming to realize, and I wondered if Fenris had always wanted it to be one. “Let her get to know you a bit?”
“Well…”
I frowned. “Cody, I don’t know how shifter couples do it, but I know how weird it feels when a shifter starts going on about a ‘fated mate’ and you aren’t a shifter yourself, or you don’t know you are one.” I shook my head. “I think you’ll have a much better outcome if Morgan gets to know you asCodyfirst. I don’t think it would hurt for you to learn more about her, either.”
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You know, that’s a good idea,” he said. “It’s not like I’ve never been on a date before. You think she’d say yes if I asked her to go for a walk?”
I nodded. “I do, though don’t hover around doors, waiting for her to come out. Just be normal, charming Cody King. You know, like when you first met me and Abi.”
He laughed. “When you psychically knocked me out? Yeah, I must have made a real good impression.”
My smile returned. “You know that was nothing personal,” I said, shaking my head. “I had stuff to do.” Like finding my Aunt Esme, in fact. Back then, I’d just thought she’d gone globetrotting again, as she often had before.
How naive I was…
My smile fell when I thought of how I’d found my aunt. “Now, shoo. I want to talk to Val about Esme.”
“I’m going, I’m going,” Cody said, starting to retreat down the hall. “But if Morgan says anything about me, promise me you’ll tell me.”
“Promise,” I said as I turned around to open the door.
I crept into the room quietly, not wanting to cause a disturbance in case Val and Morgan were concentrating. Instead, the pair of witches were chatting quietly as they placed a few ingredients into the mortar in front of them. Though I couldn’t name most herbs by sight or smell alone, the potentgreenscent was particularly reminiscent of the healing tincture Val had given me before.
“Do you need some help?” I asked as I walked over to Val’s side, setting my grimoire down on the bench in front of me.
“I’m glad to see you up and about,” Val said warmly.
Morgan glanced up, looking like she was about to speak when her gaze fell on the large book. She inhaled sharply as herdark brown eyes widened. Setting a few leaves back down on the bench, she stepped around her aunt to join me. “Oh, Celeste! You have a Handmaiden grimoire. It’s beautiful!” She reached out before stopping herself, giving me a sheepish look. “Do you mind if I touch it?”
“By all means!” I stepped sideways to make more room for her as she ran her fingertips over the moonstone. I smiled at her awed look as she leafed through the pages. “Do you have a Thalassa one?” I asked her.
“Hmm? Oh, no, not me. Some of the coven elders do, though, and I’ve studied from it.” Morgan paused. “I’ve read so much about the Handmaiden witches, though, and I assumed all of their ancestral work was lost when…” She stopped herself as her cheeks turned red.
I bit my lip and tried to shake a distant, longing feeling. “Someone had saved this. It’d been sealed, but Fenris was able to retrieve it for me.” I paused, giving Morgan a thoughtful look. She was one of the most well-read people I’d ever met, and this included the professors I’d worked with back in graduate school—they just read about different subjects. “So, do all lines have books like these?”
“Well, for the most part, yes,” Morgan said, her eyes already back on the old pages. “Appearance and style differ, of course, but most keep a record to pass on from one generation of witches and warlocks to the next.”
