Breathing a sigh of relief, I pulled into the driveway, stopping well back from the house so that I didn’t accidentally run over any glass shards that I might have missed when I hastily shoved the box of broken potions off to the side that morning.

  It took two tries to get a sleepy Finn up and moving towards the house again, especially given the fact that he had homework waiting for him. He doubled back to hug Ouire goodbye before shuffling inside. I lifted the hair off the back of my neck, hoping the night air would help cool the heat of my skin.

  “Would you like to come in?” I asked Andre. “I can get you something cold to drink.”

  Coffee was the last thing on my mind now. I wanted water. And a shower.

  “Ah, I’d better not,” Andre said, regret in his voice. “I’d best go home and get cleaned up.”

  He gestured to the front of his turtleneck, and I saw the darker black of an oil stain there.

  “Oh, no, I’m sorry. Can I drive you the rest of the way home?” The night couldn’t have gone worse if I’d planned it. I wanted to make something up to him, anything, really.

  But Andre just waved me off with a tired smile. “Think nothing of it. And I’ll be fine, I’m just up the road, and I’m hoping the little walk will give me a chance to cool off.”

  “Well… alright. If you’re sure.”

  He was. And with a smile and a last wave, he was gone, trudging up the road to his house, while I stood there awkwardly with guilt gnawing away at my stomach. There was definitely something there between us and we both felt it, but I didn’t seem to want to acknowledge it. And I had to wonder how long would Andre be okay with that? I mean—a handsome man like him wouldn’t be single long, I was sure. And yet... yet, there was still fear inside me that almost seemed crippling. When I thought about all the most recent relationships I’d had—Roy—something that had crashed and burned. And then Marty... that was one that really bothered me, because though Marty had said he understood how I felt and he’d forgiven me for breaking his heart, he’d also kept his distance. And there was nothing that bothered me more than the fact that I was pretty sure we were no longer friends. Or, not the tight friends we’d once been.

  And I just... I couldn’t imagine another relationship, this time with Andre, failing.

  Maybe it was better never to enter into another relationship, so it couldn’t fall apart.

  ***

  After a night of tossing and turning, filled with fitful dreams I couldn’t seem to remember, I practically needed toothpicks to prop my eyelids up. The dark circles under my eyes weren’t just bags, they were a full set of luggage, and I was chugging back Zest potions just to stay upright. The potion, which Finn jokingly called ‘super coffee’, wasn’t as helpful as it usually was, but at least it left a nice citrus taste in my mouth.

  I passed the day in a gray fog, but at least it went by quickly. Though I was pretty sure that was only because I kept nodding off between the few customers I had. It was a couple minutes after sundown when the bell above the door jingled cheerily and had my head snapping up as Wanda stalked into the shop.

  Wanda Depraysie, High Witch of the Scapegrace Coven, and also my closest friend in Haven Hollow, looked cool and confident in wide legged charcoal pants and a sleeveless silk blouse in a rich red. The heels of her open toed heels clacked against the wooden floors, announcing her presence, and showed off her toenails that were painted a deep scarlet.

  She paused just in front of the shop counter, and her hands dropped to her hips.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  I blinked at her, struggling to focus. “Go? Go where?”

  Wanda, never the most patient of people, tightened her lips. “Earth to Poppy—we have the meeting for the Solstice Festival planning, remember? The one that I had absolutely zero interest in attending until you begged and pleaded with me ad nauseum until I finally agreed just to make you stop?”

  That wasn’t quite how I remembered it, but Wanda didn’t like appearing enthusiastic for anything, least of all festivals.

  I blinked out at the windows, at the streetlights coming on along the main strip of town. “Is it that time already?”

  I felt silly the second after I said the words. Of course, it was that time. The meeting was set for tonight, after sunset, so that Wanda would be able to attend. She’d been sticking to nocturnal hours for months, ever since a group of vampires decided that they didn’t like her being a Blood Witch, and were trying to force her vampire boyfriend Lorcan to finish the job. But vampires don’t have magic, and Wanda wasn’t willing to give hers up, so together, Lorcan and Wanda had pulled off a bit of a ruse, and Wanda went around pretending that she’d really been turned. It kept the vampires and the witches from kicking up a fuss, and it didn’t seem to bother her any, since she had Maverick to help with running the store in the daylight hours.

  “Shoot, I forgot,” I said, shaking my head.

  Wanda squinted at me, her arms folded across her chest. “Are you drunk?”

  My head whipped back to her, suddenly a lot more alert. “No!”

  “Are you sure?” Wanda tilted her head to one side, her long dark hair spilling over one shoulder. “I might actually be impressed if you showed up to work drunk. It would certainly make you more interesting and less... perfect.”

  Blood rushed into my face. “I’m not drunk and I’m hardly perfect!”

  “Pity about the drunk part,” Wanda sighed and then shrugged. “What’s wrong with you, then?”

  “I just haven’t been sleeping well.” I scrubbed my hands over my face, hoping that would do something to wake me up. “Just too much on my mind, I guess.”

  “Well, there’s your first problem.” Wanda waved a dismissive hand at me, turning towards the door. “You worry too much. Maybe try worrying about yourself for a while, and don’t take on everyone else’s problems. I find it very relaxing to ignore the rest of the world.”

  I had to laugh. Wanda always put on a big show about how she was ruthless and cutthroat and didn’t care about anyone, but underneath it all, she was beyond a good person, and she was the best of friends. Not that I could tell her that to her face and avoid being hexed.

  I grabbed my purse and keys to lock up, heading for the door. “I’m still kind of surprised you went along with all this. You don’t strike me as the kind of ‘summer carnival’ type.”

  “Did you miss the part where I said I finally relented to get you to stop flapping your gums at me?”

  I frowned at her. “We both know you relented a lot faster than you normally would.”

  She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I don’t give a spell about some silly human festival. But witches have been celebrating the solstice for centuries. There are bonfires, and dancing, and ceremonies that can bolster spells for months. And if someone else is willing to set it all up and pay for it, I don’t see why we shouldn’t let them.”

  Wanda set off, and I struggled to keep up with her brisk pace. My legs felt like I had lead weights strapped to my feet instead of Converse. “I guess that’s true.”

  “Besides,” Wanda said, shooting me a toothy grin. “I’m looking forward to hexing all the games so I can win.” It was true that she was a sore loser.

  “Wanda.” I tried for disapproving, but just ended up laughing.

  She sniffed, shooting me a look. “What? Most games are rigged anyway. I’m just going to tip the scale in the other direction. That’s practically justice.”

  She was trying really hard to keep up her attitude of ‘I am a witch and not troubled by your silly mortal things’, but I could see that Wanda was fighting back a smile. I had a sneaking suspicion I knew the real cause of her good mood, and it had nothing to do with bonfires, cotton candy, or easily rigged children’s games.

  “So, things are going well with Lorcan, I assume.” I kept my voice so casual that I might have been making a comment on the weather.

  Wanda tripped, her head whipping around. Her eyes narrowed. “Certainly not. He’s as insufferable as ever, constantly in my space, and just... a bloodsucker. And once a bloodsucker, always a bloodsucker. I don’t know why I even put up with him.”

  I laughed. “That good, huh?”

  She pointed at me dramatically, one long crimson nail six inches from my face. “Now, you listen to me, Poppy Morton, I’m not any fonder of Lorcan than I ever was.”

  “Mmm hmm.”

  “I mean it.”

  “You have the hots for him and then some, but you just won’t admit it.”

  She made a face at me. “Slanderous lies, and no one would ever believe you, so don’t go spreading them around. What would people think?”

  I pretended to think about it for a second. “That you’re happy?”

  “Ugh, you’re the worst.”

  I just kept smiling. Lorcan and Wanda were sweet together, even though I knew Wanda would rather eat garbage than ever admit as much. She was still unpacking a lot from her upbringing, since witches were a pretty fiercely matriarchal society, which was backed up by the fact that magic tended to prefer women over men. Warlocks like Maverick were rare, it was way more likely for a son of a witch to just be human, or whatever species his father was.

  Traditional witch covens were pretty cutthroat, nothing more than a bunch of powerful, ambitious women jockeying for position. They didn’t do long term relationships with men, and they certainly didn’t marry them—actually, that was unheard of.

  I knew Wanda still struggled a lot with being in a relationship, especially with a vampire, since historically their people didn’t get along. There’d been two Blood Wars throughout history, and no one walked away from them better off. I was glad she was making it work, though. Being with Lorcan was clearly good for her. I’d never seen her so happy.

  And maybe, if I was honest with myself, I was a tiny bit jealous. I made sure to bury the feelings down, because I really was happy for her. I just hadn’t had the best track record with relationships, and while I wasn’t interested in Lorcan in any way, I was just a bit green around the edges over how they were together. They fit like puzzle pieces, and I wondered if I’d ever experience the same.

  Could Andre...

  But I bit back the thought before it could fully germinate.

  Wanda waited for me to catch up before we crossed the street. “What do we still need to go over, anyway? I thought we were done with this mess.”

  I glanced at the notes on my phone, clutching it with both hands. I wasn’t risking dropping it after the week I’d been having. “We still need to figure out where everyone is going to be, especially the food stands and trucks, so we can figure out traffic flow.”

  Wanda gave me an incredulous look, and rolled her eyes. “You just like to make problems for yourself, don’t you?”

  “Well, the trucks need the higher part of the field so they don’t sink into the grass, and we don’t want too much foot traffic on—”

  I stepped up onto the curb after Wanda, just as my trailing foot slipped, sending me staggering back into the road. Oncoming headlights blinded me, sending my heart rocketing up into my throat. A horn blared.

  “Poppy!”

  Chapter Four

  Wanda’s nails dug into my arm as she yanked me backwards and out of the path of the car.

  I stood there, suddenly wide awake, every muscle shaking from the near miss. My pulse was slamming so hard, I could feel the jump of it in my throat, and my mouth was so dry that I had to swallow twice before I could squeak out a ‘thank you’.

  Wanda still had a death grip on my arm, long nails pressing against my skin like claws. She was white-lipped and wide eyed, her dark hair tangled around her face. “What is the matter with you?” she snapped. “Watch where you’re going!”

  It sounded harsh, sure, but I knew she didn’t mean it. Wanda didn’t do soft and cuddly—it came out pissed off and angry. And that meant she was worried.

  “Sorry, sorry.” I tried to slow my breathing.

  She breathed in deeply and shook her head. “You need to be more careful! The last thing I need is my best friend getting taken out by a car! Do you think I’d be able to handle that?”

  “Sorry.”

  “What would I do without you in this godforsaken town? And who would I buy my potions from?”

  “Wanda, I’m okay.”

  “Yeah, because I saved your sorry ass!” She shook her head again. “Sometimes I think I should just lock you up somewhere to make sure nothing bad ever happens to you.”

  “That sounds a little stalkerish and weird.”

  “Well, it can sound however it wants to! It doesn’t change the fact that you are going to give me a heart attack one of these days.”

  I breathed in deeply as I thought about all the bad stuff that had been happening to me lately. And then I started to wonder... “Say, you’d tell me if you cursed me, right?”

  “Cursed?” she repeated, frowning.

  I nodded. “That would sure explain why my luck’s been so bad lately.”

  Wanda’s eyes narrowed, her nostrils flaring. “If I cursed you, Poppy, you would absolutely know it.”

  “I didn’t mean that you cursed me, silly.”

  “It’s not so silly, considering you drive me insane sometimes.” She shook her head and breathed out. “You’re almost as bad as Lorcan, I swear.”

  “Back to the subject...”

  “Right,” she looked at me and gave me a subtle, magical once-over, just to make sure there was no curse or hex clinging to me. When she was done, she dropped her hands to her hips again. “Nothing. You’re just clumsy.”

  I hadn’t really thought there was a curse on me, but it made me feel better to know that Wanda had now confirmed as much. It was just the lack of sleep that was making me a bit noodle-legged. A good night’s rest and I’d be good as new. With any luck, my dreams wouldn’t involve screeching brakes or horns.

  When I finally got my breathing back to something normal instead of desperate gasping, Wanda gave me a sharp nod.

  “Alright then. Let’s go, before you decide to cross another street and get hit by a truck.”

  That at least got a laugh out of me, and I felt a little better as we headed down the sidewalk. And if Wanda kept herself firmly between me and the road, well, I didn’t mind so much.

  ***

  Everywhere I looked was fire, walls of scarlet and gold reaching up to the sky. Wood crumbled to ash, and glass shattered. Every breath I pulled in was scorching hot and filled with smoke, and I doubled over to choke, dizzy and light headed.

  It was spreading faster than I could track. The flames roared like a dragon, sending waves of sparks and embers shooting up into the sky. Everywhere I looked, there was no escape—I was engulfed. The world was on fire and I was stuck right in the middle of it.

  I shot upright, my eyes opening as I realized I was still in bed. Relief coursed through me as I sucked in a breath, telling the panic to subside. Sweat had stuck my nightgown to my chest, and I kicked off the comforter, not able to bear it touching me.

  My heart kicked painfully against the inside of my ribs, feeling like it could bruise the bones with each pulse. Raking my hair back from my damp face, I tried to force cool air into my lungs.

  The scent of acrid smoke hit me then, and I froze for one terrified second before I threw myself out of bed and headed for the door.

  Dear God it hadn’t just been a dream! But as I strode into the hallway, I didn’t see any signs of smoke or fire. So, where was the smell of smoke coming from? Was the farmhouse on fire? Oh my God, where was Finn?

  There was no sign of anything wrong in the upstairs hallway, no heat or smoke or flickering lights. No fire alarm blaring. Nothing at all. I checked in on Finn, only to find him sound asleep. Still not convinced that I’d just dreamed everything, I thundered down the stairs to search the kitchen and living room. I even checked the basement, even though the old fieldstone was kind of creepy in the dark, and I had to be careful of the open-backed stairs.

  But there was nothing. Not a spark, not a single curl of smoke—not even a stray match left unattended. I couldn’t even smell the acrid scent any longer. It must have just been a holdover from my nightmare. Something which was... very strange.

  I managed to get back up the stairs somehow, even though my knees were shaking badly and threatening to give out with every step. I closed the basement door and half-fell back against it, letting the cool of the wood soak into my feverish skin.

  “Mom?” Finn poked his sleep-tousled head through the kitchen doorway. “Are you okay?”

  I straightened up and pushed a smile onto my face. “Everything is okay. I’m sorry I woke you up, buddy. I just... I guess I just had a nightmare. Go back to bed.”

  He hovered there for a second, probably testing what I’d said for the truth, but eventually Finn nodded and stumbled back off the bed.

  At least I made it the two steps and managed to grab a chair before my knees gave out. It had been so real: the dream, the smell of smoke, the heat of the flames. I could still feel the tenderness of my skin, like a really bad sunburn. I glanced at the clock on the stove. Three-forty-seven in the morning. There was no way that I was getting back to sleep.

  I sighed, and when the trembling in my arms and legs finally stopped, I got up to make some extra strong coffee, spiked with a zest potion. I’d have to make a mental note to bring home some Dreamtime Oil from the store—well, depending on how much I had. I needed a decent night’s sleep, and that would at least ensure no nightmares creeping in at the edges.

  I just had to make it through the day, first.

  ***

  I wasn’t sure if it was owing to the fact that I’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, or if it was combining coffee and a zest potion, but once I dragged myself into the shower, I actually felt pretty awake. Though chugging the coffee and the Zest potion had left me with indigestion and a concerningly quick pulse.