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Her smile was as bright as the sun. The only daylight I would ever need.
21
Dazedly, I walked through Honey Farm's orchard, scooping apples into my small basket. The weather over the past few days had dropped low enough that I needed a warm beanie and a scarf twisted around my neck like a blanket. My emotions were in similar upheaval, fluctuating wildly with the revelations from last night.
One persistent and terrifying thought remained: Despite the lies I once told myself, Alexei was a good male. No creature who suffered so viscerally for their past mistakes deserved to remain in purgatory forever. Though he would surely despise my perception of him.
Alexei was not innocent, but neither was he fully culpable. It was Alistair Vasyliev, the tyrannical Vampire King who deserved to endure eternal anguish for his evil.
And Blanca’s haunting sorrow reminded me of my true purpose here. With my spirit magick, I could do more than just tinker with talismans. I could help people find peace and move to the Beyond with their families.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
I turned to Elaine with a guilty expression. “Sorry for being spacey. I’m a bit out of sorts today.”
“It wouldn’t have anything to do with the vampire you were canoodling last night, would it?” She waggled her brows.
“Canoodling? Are you a tabloid from the early two thousands?” I kicked a pile of rotted brown leaves, hiding the blush staining my cheeks as I leaned down to pick another apple.
After I woke with a marginally less terrible hangover than the girls, we had met for brunch at a local spot, giggling over mimosas and brioche French toast, before we joined the rest of the Coven at the orchard for a last hurrah before the Winter Solstice.
Elaine snorted and playfully knocked her shoulder into mine, making me lose my grip on the basket filled to the brim with fruit. “Just because some of us are desperately celibate with a house full of children under the age of thirteen, doesn’t mean I can’t live vicariously through my friends.”
Pleasure filled me at her casual mention of our burgeoning friendship.
I softened my tone as I said. “I’m sorry you’re struggling with carving out personal time for yourself. It can be a bitch to release the reins you hold over yourself to be the best caretaker you can for your siblings.”
The truth of my words hit me as I realized these past few weeks with Alexei had been the first time I’d allowed myself to have something entirely my own, without permission or approval from my grandmother or sisters. I had never truly taken time to reflect on how lonely I had been since my parents’ deaths.
“No kidding. I can’t imagine anyone would look at my life and willingly attach themselves to me.” She picked up a half-eaten apple, her nails digging indentions on the browning skin before she tossed it with impressive force. “The Goddess can be strange and unmerciful. Though, it’s easier with Sara and Genevieve. I don’t know how I would survive without them and the rest and the Coven keeping me sane.”
My lips twisted uncomfortably at the familiar pain I saw mirrored in Elaine.
“But you’ve given me hope, Jade.” She laughed, her quiet sorrow disappearing as swiftly as it arose on her cherub-like face. “Maybe one day I’ll find a vampire lover with a sexy accent and dark, smoldering eyes who loves me exactly how am I, no matter my baggage.”
I gasped, tripping over my own feet.“Alexei doesn’t love me.”
Remembering Alexei’s husky confession the night before, right before he bent me over a garden bench, my face flamed.
Elaine looked heavenward with a groan. “Goddess, you cannot be that dense, Jade. He’s obsessed with you. It’s quite sickening to watch the two of you together. The other night, the glowing love hearts you two shot back and forth nearly blinded me.”
I sputtered indignantly, but Elaine’s gloating expression never wavered as we caught up to the rest of the Coven.
They lounged in Adirondack chairs around a small fire pit. Sara and Genevieve looked up and waved, glasses of wine already in hand. Genevieve downed her drink before trudging over to me.
“Elaine.” Genevieve smiled broadly, giving her a teasing pat on the cheek. “Sara wanted to go over some new tincture ideas with you. Jade and I haven’t had a chance to explore the other side of the farm yet, so we’ll meet up with you all later.”
My stomach turned at the reminder of our plans tonight.
The Amulet of Davorina was stowed in my bag, but it wasn’t the talisman that had my thoughts in tumult. It was revealing the participant of our séance to Alexei after cowardly choosing to keep it secret the night before.
We wandered through the thicket of blackberry bushes surrounding the barn, quietly taking in the beauty of nature as the sun fell from the sky. Fishing Liliane’s car keys out of my pocket, we jumped into the beater car and drove to the small café at the edge of town, thankfully empty. Only one familiar car sat in the lot, and when I squinted through the frosted glass, I could see the vampire, a mug poised to his lips, though he never drank from it.
“Are you sure you want to do this? With your history with his family?” I asked Genevieve for the third time.
She rolled her eyes and pulled her dark mane into a low bun at the base of her neck with a clip. “This is bigger than all of us, Jade. And I don’t fear a vampire sweet enough to help three drunk witches to their home in the middle of the night. Don’t worry so much.”
With a wink, she shot out of the car and entered the small café, leaving me to rush after her.
