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Autumnpointed at her. “That’ssome falls magic right there ifIever saw any, because not that long ago you were pretty uncertain about men and dating and now look at you, mooning over the local innkeeper.”
Hazellaughed. “Iknow,Iknow.Itsounds like something out of a movie or a book.ButI’mstarting to think that there’s more to theGossamerFallslegend than just a good story.”
“Really?” askedSienna, eyebrows raising. “Youbelieve in the whole ‘kissed by the mist’ thing?”
“I’mstarting to thinkImight.Idon’t know,” she added hastily, then took a big gulp of wine.Itwarmed a path down the center of her chest, and she eased back into the seat.
“Andhow’s the book going?” askedAutumn. “Youseem to be working away every timeIsee you in the sunroom at the inn.”
“It’sgoing,” she said. “Imight have some news to share soon.It’sgone in a…a different direction thanI’dplanned, but a good direction.”
“You’rewriting withAdam, aren’t you?” askedAutumn, eyes narrowed atHazelas she seemed to scrutinize her for evidence of co-writing. “That’swhy the book’s going well and you’re with him all the time and he finally seems like himself again.”
“Whatdo you mean, he seems like himself?”Hazelasked, stepping aroundAutumn’squestion.
“Well,” she said, tracing her finger up and down the stem of her wine glass, “Afterhe wrote the trilogy and then stepped away from publishing and writing, it was like he’d lost a piece of himself.Hewas stillAdam, but we could all tell that something was missing.Thatsomething is back, and at firstIthought it was because he was dating you, but there’s more to it than just dating someone.”Hereyes metHazel’s. “Yougave him back a part of himself that he’d probably thought he’d lost forever.”
Hazelbit her lip, not wanting to betrayAdam’strust. “Ican neither confirm nor deny that we’re co-writing, butI’mglad to hear that he seems happy.Thatmakes me happy.”
Theyall sipped their drinks, and thenAutumnleaned in closer toHazel. “Sothen…what happens when your stay here is up?Aren’tyou technically supposed to go back to the city in a few days?”
Somethingcold and hard took root in the center ofHazel’schest at the thought of leaving, not justAdam, but the town and the people in it, behind.
“I’mextending my stay for another couple of weeks,” she said.She’dpromisedAdamthat she’d stay to work on the book, and she meant to keep that promise.
“Andafter those couple of weeks are up?Adam’slife is here.”Autumneyed her with a hint of wariness, andHazelknew she was worried about her brother getting hurt.
“Thenmaybe my life will be here, too,” she said, and as soon as she spoke the words out loud, the cold, hard knot in her chest dissolved into something warm and soothing.
“Thatwould be amazing if you moved here!” saidLaurel. “Like, seriously.Amazing.”
“Itwould,” saidAutumn. “Itkinda feels like you belong here, you know?”
Hazelgrinned, watching the way the firelight reflected off of her wine glass. “Iknow what you mean,” she admitted, even though a part of her still felt like all of this was crazy.Butmaybe crazy was what she needed.Afterall, it felt as though her life had spiraled out of control over the past couple of years.Hell, she was still stuck working forSethbecause she’d felt powerless to do anything about it. “Questionfor you,” she said toAutumn, who cocked her head. “Notto change the subject, but do you know ifFionamight have anything for taking your power back?”
Aslow smile spread acrossAutumn’sface. “Ibet she does, if you believe in…”Hereyebrows went up. “Youknow, magic and witchcraft and new agey stuff.”
“Youknow,Autumn,I’mstarting to thinkImight.”
* * *
Thenext morning,Hazelwalked the four blocks from the inn toTheMysticMuse, getting there just after it opened at eleven.Awindchime tinkled softly above the door as she entered, and it appeared that she was the first customer of the day.
“Goodmorning,” she called out to the empty shop, her voice seemingly dampened by the sheer number of items in the shop.Asthough they absorbed all sounds from the outside world, shutting it out completely.
“Bewith you in a minute,” cameFiona’svoice from behind a door that was slightly ajar.Hazelcould hear the rustle of papers, the scrape of a cardboard box over the floor.Fionapopped her head out after a moment and smiled instantly.
“Hazel,” she said warmly. “Whatbrings you by on this crisp fall morning?”
Shetwisted her fingers together in front of her, feeling suddenly self-conscious. “Um, well,Iwas hoping you could help me with something.”
“Ofcourse.Whatdid you need?”Sheblinked at her through her thick glasses, studying her. “Aspell,Ithink.Yes.Butabout what?Hmm.”
“Iwant to reclaim my power,” saidHazel, her voice coming out stronger than she’d anticipated.Asthough the simple act of speaking the words was already getting her closer to her goal.
Fiona’seyebrows inched up over her glasses, but she nodded, her frizzy curls bouncing around her shoulders. “Yes.That’sit, of course.That’sit.Come.Ican help.”Shewaved her toward the back, to the same table where she’d had her cards read not that long ago. “Tellme about the power you wish to reclaim,” she said onceHazelwas seated at the table.Shelit a large candle in the middle and placed several pointed crystal towers around it.Theywere beautiful, catching the glimmers of light from the flickering candle.Onewas a silky white with jagged ledges, pointing upward in a gentle circle.Anotherwas smaller and almost perfectly clear, save one small imperfection near the base.Anotherwas white with whorls of a soft peach color.
“I’mtired of feeling like a bystander in my own life and having everyone else make decisions for me.Myagent, my editor, even my former friends.Somewherein the mess of my collapsing marriage,Iseemed to have lost my voice.”
