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Chapter 1
SECRET SPELLS
Pumpkins. Small pumpkins. Large pumpkins. White, orange, and even black pumpkins. The town of Sanctuary is obsessed with them. Pumpkins, cornstalks, and barrels of hay decorate the corner of every street, while the restaurants serve pumpkin pie and pumpkin lattes. Even the herbal shop next to my bookstore has a special pumpkin scented lotion. A’ la Pumpkin Guts. Smell like a giant, seedy gourd at your convenience.
Carved or painted. Glittered or glowing. Sanctuary might as well throw a giant sign up on the courthouse that proclaims all hail the mighty pumpkin. Not that I’m complaining. I’ve always held a certain nostalgic fondness for the season. The crisp air compels the magic that brews inside of me to the surface. It stirs deep within my bones—a constant vibration itching to be released.
Autumn has stung Sanctuary in a big way, and Frog Hollow is no exception. The large double doors to casa de Thomas are open, allowing the cool breeze off the lake to brush inside along with a stray golden leaf or two. It causes the flames in the floor to ceiling stone fireplace to flicker and dance like opposing pieces in a rumba duet.
Actually, the spirited flames are Reid’s creation. He sits across from me, staring at the fire, his fingers moving in a rhythmic pattern matching that of the twirling glow. He’s been exceptionally quiet today. More so than the normal Reid Thomas kind of quiet. His feathered bronze hair is a mess. His fingers can’t seem to stay out of it. Like right now. His free hand absently rakes through the top.
I snuggle deeper into the extra-large cushion on the floor. My eyes are heavy, each blink a little more labored than the next. It’s a perfect afternoon for a nap, if afternoons are allowed to be perfect without the outside interference of everything else.
A ceremony waits for me tonight. The Declaration, they call it. I will be declared the leader of my family. The head of the line of Innocents whose powers derive from the moon. It’s considered an honor. It’s become more of a death sentence as of late. My grandmother Carolina and my mother Katherine were both killed by the Haunted because of their prestigious place in our ranks.
Mostly, I don’t want to go through the ceremony alone.
Reid still hasn’t told his mother or any of the other Innocents the truth about his powers. I don’t know what he’s waiting on, and I’m not sure if he knows either. It’s been two months since the Summer Solstice when my Sun did not present herself in front of the circle. Two months since Reid’s confession. Despite the rules of the legend that say only females in your family line inherit the powers of the Innocent, Reid is my matching half. That confession changed everything.
My hand eases across the large stones of the hearth toward his dancing fingertips. He glances up at the contact. His green irises flash a lighter color as the spark of electricity shoots between us.
Opposites.
Reid is the Sun, and I am the Moon. Opposing puzzle pieces that fit together so precisely that it makes it difficult to see beyond the spark that connects us now. Reid grasps my hand, his smile slow but magnificent. “What are you drinking?”
I glance down at the small yellow teacup at my feet. Steam billows out of the top. A cinnamon stick stirs itself around the chipped rim. “Pumpkin cider. One of Jade’s new concoctions.”
Reid scoots up in his seat, his lips turning crooked at the edges. “When did drinking cider before five become okay?”
I grin back at him. “It’s five o’clock somewhere. Besides, it has pumpkin in it. According to the new town rules, that makes it okay.”
Reid smirks, but then eyes the cup again. “What else did Jade put in this concoction?”
I scoot back and pick up my teacup. I lift it to my nose, breathing in the sweet aroma of the steam. Jade’s particular skill set is unmatchable. She could infuse any common drink with other special remedies based on the individual needs of the consumer. Reid asked his question because he wants to know what I told Jade I needed. He already knows the answer.
I need sleep. A dreamless sleep, absent of cold eyes and murderous intentions. I need one night without the memory of Julien Cote on that rooftop in Charleston. I need it more than I need the air in my lungs. Reid’s fingers catch the edge of the cup as it touches my lips. “What did Jade put in it, Wilhelmina?”
I take a sip. It’s sweet, the spice just right as it mixes with the cider. I close my eyes. Reid moves out of his seat to the floor next to me. His arms wrap around my waist, his face brushing the sheath of my long blonde hair cascading down my shoulder. His sigh is instant. “Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad?”
I bring the cup down to my lap, leaning back against his shoulder. “It’s not every night.”
“But it’s enough that you went to Jade. Why not come to me?”
Reid doesn’t understand. I go to him every day. He’s the single reason I step foot out of bed every morning. If it weren’t for him, the fear would cripple me.
Julien is out there. He knows where to find me. It’s only a matter of time. The curse consumes him now. It manipulates his once pure thoughts into something dark and twisted. It transformed the way he feels about me into something that compelled him to send a blade through my chest the last time I saw him.
The puncture still aches. It burns every time I think about Julien. The sting of the sharp metal returns, as do the memories of the night on that rooftop. The night I lost my friend.
It isn’t fair that my loneliness is eased while Julien’s is cemented forever. My Julien trapped inside himself by a monster. A monster that wishes to torture us both.
Reid touches my hand that clasps over the healed wound in my chest. I lean into him. “I just need one good night’s sleep.”
He opens his mouth to say something else, but I place my finger over his lips. I don’t want Reid to worry about this right now. Jade’s drink will help me sleep. It will help keep the nightmares away.
I rake my finger down his lips the same time a sound erupts in the small, back space of my mind. I glance over his shoulder toward the open doors. “Someone is coming.”
I sense it. The swift movement of bare feet in the wind. The soft crunch of dried leaves. It’s a new trick I’ve been honing. You can’t be too careful when your former friend’s only desire is to bring your life to an end.
Reid kisses my finger, pulling it down. “I know. It’s only my sister.”
I shoot him a quick glare. Reid, though his powers are still secret to the others, has spent years developing his skills in private. It still catches me off guard how much more advanced he is than I am. Sure enough, Abby barrels through the open doors only moments later.
Her chocolate hair is braided and wrapped around her head. The streaks that pepper the front are a rough, burnt orange. Reflective of the change in season, no doubt. She tugs at the bottom of the long, navy dress to drag it through the door. She grins at the sight of Reid so close to me. In this moment, Abby is Reid’s sister and not my best friend. She’s noticed the change between Reid and me lately, the subtle intimacy of his touch. They all see it. Abby slows down and tiptoes the remaining way into the room. “Am I interrupting?”
“Yes.” Reid shoots a fake smile back at her. “Leave.”
He absolutely hates when his sister interferes. Reid and I haven’t technically made anything official between us yet. Relationship speaking. Abby enjoys reminding us on a daily basis that it’s taking too long.
Abby rolls her eyes, but her smile doesn’t fade. I playfully pat Reid on the chest. “What he means is that you’re early. I wasn’t expecting you until six.”
She nods, swinging her long gown around. “Yet here you are at my house waiting for me.”
I stand up and adjust my dress. The fabric is thick and heavy. A golden thread embroiders an elaborate pattern throughout the chest and hemline of the plum colored material. It’s the handiwork of Reid’s mother, Sera. A dress gifted to me for the special occasion tonight. “I’m here,” I say. Then I glance around, my teeth inadvertently tugging on my lip. “It doesn’t mean I’m ready to go quite yet.”
Abby jumps down the step that separates the platform in front of the door from the wide space of the intimate family room that surrounds the glowing hearth. “I know you don’t see the point of going through with this without your Moon. The ceremony still holds meaning. We need a leader.”
I am no one’s leader.
The fear inside my head screams it at me. I’m not ready to take my mother’s place at the head of our line. I’m not her. I don’t possess the raw abilities that garnered such a prestigious honor to be placed upon her shoulders. Reid touches my back, but I don’t move. It’s his silent request. He knows I must go too. I’ve been chosen to lead the Innocent, but not because of my powers. I am still learning those every day. I was chosen because the spirit of Priscilla DeMarci chose me. I know the true secrets of the Innocent. I, Wilhelmina Daniels, know the true story of the Haunted. I must use this information to keep my family safe. They all must band together to keep me safe.
Reid’s hand leaves my back and he steps in front of me. “Would you mind if I drop Willa off at the circle later?”
Abby looks between us. “Is there something wrong?”
Yes. Everything is wrong.
I don’t want to do this.
I don’t want any of this to be happening to me.
“Nothing is wrong.” Reid stays in front me. He knows my face will tell too much. “Willa just started a cup of Jade’s cider. I think finishing it will help calm her nerves.”
I grip the back of his flannel shirt. It’s one of my favorites. He always wears it over a ridiculous black t-shirt with a giant picture of Pluto on it. The planet, not the dog. It’s his silent protest against its change in planetary status. Reid is quietly nerdy like that, and I love it.
He turns to me, and I immediately cup his face in my palms, squeezing his cheeks together until his lips make a squishy fish face. “I thought we discussed how you were to stop worrying about me so much?”
He grins, scooting close to me. The lopsided front of his hair falls in his eyes. “We did discuss it. However, I don’t recall us agreeing on the matter.”
I’m inches away from him now. He brings my hands down from his face, the same time his lips brush my temple. “Drink the cider, Willa. You need the rest.”
I need him. I need him to tell the truth about his powers. If he confessed to them that he is my Sun, then he could attend the ceremony with me.
Abby valiantly clears her throat as I see her step into view beside us. I give one slight glance in her direction, but then it goes directly back to Reid, who doesn’t waiver.
He isn’t ready to tell them.
Abby clicks her tongue. “Okay. I definitely interrupted something earlier.”
Reid sighs, his fingers reflexively gripping my hip. “Then take the hint.” He glances at the door and then back to his sister.
Abby’s lips purse. “Fine. Drop her off at dusk. No later.”
“No later,” he says, smiling at his twin.
Abby studies both of us again. She knows one of us is hiding something. She slowly makes her way back toward the open doors, glancing over her shoulder. She looks at me. It’s her best friend look. She expects me to spill my guts later.
When she’s gone, Reid crosses the room and pushes the heavy wooden doors together. “Grab your cider. You can drink it on the way.”
“Where are we going?”
Reid jumps back down the step toward me, grabbing my cup and placing it gently in my hands. “You want me there tonight. Yes?”
“I didn’t say—” “You don’t have to say it, Willa. I’m not just your Sun. I’m your—”
I raise my brow in interest. In fact, I almost laugh. It’s as if my dear, sweet Reid Thomas finally realized he’d forgotten to make this thing between us official.
I smile at him, and he returns it. “I’ll work on it,” he says quietly.
“Do that, guy who apparently isn’t just my Sun.”
His smile broadens. “My point is…I know me keeping this secret is a burden on you. You deserve to have me by your side tonight.”
“You’re going to tell them?”
Reid wrinkles his nose, his eyes rounding in that sappy wounded puppy way that melts the hard fibers of my willpower. “Not technically.”
“What do you mean? How can you be there with me without telling them you’re one of us?”
“I’m one of the Innocent, aren’t I?” He pulls his closed fist up between us and slowly opens it to reveal a small flicker of flame like the one from the fire he played with earlier.
He really is more talented than I am.
“You have a spell?”
He closes his fist and the flame disappears. “Of course I have a spell.”
I step back, rubbing my hand down my face. “And you waited until an hour before the ceremony to tell me this, because…?”
He shrugs, giving me that ‘please don’t be mad at me’ face again. “Because I’m spontaneous and you think that’s super attractive?”
When I don’t smile, he only laughs. He pulls me into his chest, hugging me close. “Because I didn’t realize how much you needed me there until today. Now grab your cider. We need to find someplace private.”
I grab my teacup and down it, leaving the empty shell on the mantel. I follow Reid out the door toward his truck. I have to heave the bottom of my dress into the tall cab before climbing in. I shut the door and grab my seatbelt, only to find Reid leaning over the steering wheel grinning at me.
“What?”
He eyes me a moment longer, as if engraving the vision of me next to him into his memory. “It still surprises me when you voluntarily go with me places.”
His voice. That smile. My heart sputters through the next several beats. “I always voluntarily went with you places.”
He leans back in his seat and starts the engine. The smile turns crooked at the edges as he glances in my direction again. “You were never happy about it.”
Okay, that was true. This thing between Reid and me definitely had its rocky start. “If I recall…you weren’t happy about it either.”
In fact, he asked me to leave town. More than once.
He smiles out the window as we head down the road deeper into Frog Hollow. Only the Innocent live in Frog Hollow. The piece of land secluded deep in the Appalachia mountains has been in the possession of the Innocent for hundreds of years. I’m not sure how far back this dirt road goes. I’ve never been to the end.
The road twists and turns as the trees grow thicker. When the sun vanishes behind the tall horizon above us, Reid pulls off into the high grass. I look around outside the window, unsure of his reasoning. The road is surrounded by dense trees on either side. He motions for me to follow him. “Come on. We don’t have much time. The spell needs to be performed at dusk.”
I follow Reid out of the truck, through the tree line, and down the bank. He helps me slide down the small hillside until my feet land on rocks. We are at the creek bank that feeds into the lake. I recognize it immediately. The creek in Frog Hollow flows directly beside the Circle where the ceremony will be performed tonight. Reid pulls a chain out of his front pocket, a golden circle dangling on the end.
Each of the Innocent has a pendant that represents their place in the Circle and to which family line they belong. My pendant is a circle of silver representing the moon. I had to steal the sun pendant for Reid.
I look skeptically at him. “How did you learn this spell?”
He absently runs his hand through his hair again. “My grandmother. I used to read her copy of the Book of the Sun when no one was around.”
“So, you’re performing a spell…by memory…from a book you read when you were a child.”
Reid chuckles. “Your confidence in me is so reassuring.”
I bite my tongue.
Reid sighs and takes my hand. “I know what I’m doing, Willa. Trust me.”
I take a breath and let it out. I do trust him. I trust Reid Thomas more than anyone in the world. “Okay, how does this spell work?”
He holds up his sun pendant. “I need to put this somewhere that no one can see.”
My hand reflexively goes to my hip. “Oh really.”
He grins, his gaze darting to the ground. “Please don’t give me a hard time about this.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “You can’t discuss our relationship status, but you can ask me to strip naked on a creek bank?”
“I never said you had to strip naked, and we are going to discuss our…” It’s as if he can’t even say the word.
“Us. We need to discuss us,” I say for him.
“And we will.” His hands are on my elbows now. That pleading expression is back. He really knows how to play me. “Willa, it’s getting dark. If you want to do this, we have to do it now. We’re running out of time.”
I look him straight in the eye and grab the edge of my dress. I hike it up my legs, all the way to my waist. He tries desperately hard to keep his eyes on mine. He can’t.
“Problem?”
“No—” he says, his voice breaking up two octaves.
I smile and he frowns at me. He drops to his knees and delicately places the gold circle on my stomach just above the band of my barely-there black lace panties. His breath hitches.
Score one for Wicked Wednesdays.
“Hold still,” he says quietly. “This might hurt a little.”
I brace myself the same time he starts talking. His voice is different. Deeper. “Sun to Moon as if one.”
He repeats it. Again and again. It’s on the third time, when Reid closes his eyes, that the metal on my hip starts to burn. I flinch, and Reid’s grip tightens. “Sun to Moon as if one.”
The pendant is like fire engraving itself into my skin. I grab onto Reid’s shoulder. Five times he says the incantation. Five times I have to keep myself from screaming and pulling his hair out. When he finally pulls the metal from my skin, it stings. The engraved imprint of the circle is on my skin.
“You marked me.”
He quickly stands up and pushes the hem of my dress back down. “It will fade away. I only marked you for the night.” He reaches up and touches the silver circle hanging from the chain around my neck. “Now it’s your turn.”
I remove the chain, slipping the pendant off the end. Reid takes off his flannel shirt and turns up the sleeve of his t-shirt, positioning his shoulder toward me. I roll my eyes at him. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“What?”
“After the peep show you just got, you actually think you’re going to get this on your shoulder?” I nod toward his shirt and smile. “Chippendales it.”
Reid bites the inside of his jaw. “You’re pushing it tonight, Wilhelmina.”
I throw my shoulders back, unwilling to negotiate. “Maybe you should heed your own advice and take a hint.” I glance back at his shirt. “Take. It. Off.”
Reid steps toward me, lifting the edge of the fabric. He pulls it over his head and tosses it down on the rocks at our feet. “Hint received. Now can we finish this before you’re late?”
I smirk at him, stepping closer. Reid’s skin somehow stays a perfect mid-summer tan color all year round. After Reid moved in with me, I expected to see more of him like this—maybe even a little less than this. He moved in the room down the hall from me, though. For the past two months, my Sun has felt more like a roommate than anything else. It’s growing old. Fast.
I run one single fingertip across the top of his jeans, and unclasp the button, jerking him toward me. Reid bites his lip and turns the other direction.
Damn that boy and his willpower.
I place the silver circle on his hip just beneath the denim. He finally looks back at me, his composure still intact but waning. “Moon to Sun as if one,” he says quietly. “And you have to think about me the entire time.”
I rake my eyes down his chest to the exposed waistband of his black briefs, then back up to his eyes. “Well, that shouldn’t be too hard now, should it?”
I place my thumb over the pendant to hold it in place. “Moon to Sun as if one.”
I close my eyes and think of him. I think about the first time I saw his face. I’d knocked him over the head with a flashlight for breaking unknowingly into my house. “Moon to Sun as if one.”
I think about the following days. All the time he spent pulling away from me, masking his feelings behind his I-don’t-care attitude. I especially remember the day he stopped. The day he kissed me in the middle of my kitchen with everyone we knew watching. Even Julien. “Moon to Sun as if one.”
Reid gasps. He feels the burning now.
I think about the night he confessed to me. The night he told me he was my opposite. My perfect counterpart in every way. “Moon to Sun as if one.”
I think of him now. We’re together every day, yet still too far apart. He pulls away from me, even when we have every reason to come together. Reid grabs my wrists. “Willa.” The pain is evident in his voice. “That’s enough.”
My eyes jolt open and I jerk the circle away from his skin. His chest heaves as he inspects the small imprint emblazoned on his hip. He buttons his jeans and grabs his shirt from the ground and puts it back on. His smile curves the corner of his lips. “You better be glad it’s not just Abby expecting you there tonight.”
He pulls the golden pendant back from his pocket and motions me to come to him. “We have one final thing before the spell is complete.”
Reid takes the hand holding my pendant and places our matching circles together before wrapping our fingers around them. “Think of us and repeat after me. Moon and Sun into one.”
I slowly close my eyes, following his instructions. I repeat the words with him, recalling that confession one last time. More importantly, the kiss that followed it. The kiss I thought cemented the ‘you’re more than just my Sun’ portion of our relationship. Then I see us sitting on my couch. A memory from just a couple days ago. We watched a movie before bed. Before Reid kissed my cheek and let me walk to my room alone.
Except…this time the memory isn’t accurate. Reid doesn’t kiss my cheek. He kisses my neck. My shoulder blade. His fingers pull the strap of the tank top I wore to the side, allowing his lips full access to every inch of skin.
I try to think of something else. To change this memory back to reality, but it doesn’t change. It doesn’t change because it isn’t my thought.
My eyes dart open and Reid’s staring at me. His eyes locked on mine. He smiles. “What was that?”
The spell.
My hand jerks away from him and I scramble back. His lips didn’t move, yet I heard him speak clearly. He cautiously guides me back to him.
Relax. This isn’t permeant. The spell will only last until dawn.
I gape at him. “I can hear your thoughts?”
Yes. And I can hear yours.
I instantly cringe. “All of my thoughts?”
He slowly places my pendant back on its chain and latches it around my neck. “No. I can only hear the thoughts you want me to hear.” His grin is crooked, and I know why. He wanted me to see that memory he changed.
I open my mouth to speak, but he quickly shakes his head. “Not now. We’ll talk about it all you want tonight, but if we don’t leave now, you’ll be late.”
I poke him hard on the chest. “Definitely tonight, though. No avoiding it.”
He stares at me hard, his fingers tipping the edge of my chin and then down to my shoulder. A gentle reminder of his altered memory.
No avoiding it.
It’s a promise. I know because he seals it with a kiss.
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