“Kind of.” Nora didn’t really think it was.
Soraya was still keeping her distance from the evil book of spells. Nora watched her for a long moment and experienced the first stirring of true sympathy for her. Whatever Nora thought about Soraya’s beliefs, Soraya was genuine. She was afraid. And she was on the verge of losing her entire support network.
Nora had been raised by wolves, basically, so she hadn’t had a lifelong network of support. But Soraya did. Now, because she was doing what she had to do to keep her sanity, to respect herself, they were all on the verge of turning their backs on her.
That must feel lonely. The girl who had told Nora things happened for a reason back in high school was a girl who hadn’t been through hard things yet.
Though Nora’s lifetime of previous disappointments hadn’t prepared her for the one she was currently experiencing. For the clawing despair and uncertainty that hit her when she imagined how it might be if Ben didn’t come home. If he didn’t want to be with her.
Daisy turned the page in the grimoire. “Spellwork,” she whispered. “Love spells. Spells for revenge. Spells for prosperity. Manifesting.”
“None of that is real,” Nora said. Both Daisy and Soraya looked at her. “Well, I just don’t think it is.” But something in her wanted to believe it. Something in her that had always wanted to discover that she was a secret princess or a secret fairy or, of course, a secret witch.
What teenage girl didn’t want to have secret magical powers?
She had needed those fantasies, those hopes, when she was young and hadn’t felt like she had any control in her life. She didn’t need it now.
Except . . .
She felt like she was standing on the edge of that chasm again. Maybe she did need it now.
A steady stream of people came into the apothecary for readings. It surprised Nora. She hadn’t imagined there was that much of a demand for an old lady to tell you about your life. But then, she supposed she kind of needed it. Why shouldn’t everybody else?
Soraya learned how to refill the loose-leaf tea jars and how to make individual portions, then started going through recipes for drinks. Nora worked the cash register, and Daisy began to peruse the financial records for the business.
All in all, the day went relatively quickly. It was definitely a business mostly supported by Aggie’s readings, but Nora wondered if that would change once there were food and beverages on offer.
When it was time for the store to close and the streetlights outside had come on, Aggie walked to the door and turned the sign. “I think today went well,” she said.
“How do people find out about your readings?” Nora was curious.
“The people who need me find me.”
Nora wanted to roll her eyes. She also wanted to believe in something.
Not that belief seemed to be giving Soraya any peace in this moment. Nora was half surprised Soraya hadn’t bolted out the door as soon as the sign was turned.
Daisy picked the grimoire up off the counter and held it to her chest. “And you do spells for people.”
“Yes,” Aggie said. “Though not as often. At least, not yet.”
“Do you teach people to do their own spells?” Nora asked.
“Oh yes,” Aggie replied. “In fact, I am going to begin hosting spell and tarot nights. For people to learn how to do their own readings and to cast their own spells. To tap into their own magic.”
“Everyone?” Nora could think of half a dozen people off the top of her head who were definitely not even a little magic. So she doubted this point of view.
Aggie nodded. “Everyone is magic. But we forget about it as we grow older, so we have to look back and dig deep, find our young self, and find our magic again.”
“I was definitely not magic when I was younger.”
“Something took it from you. Not the magic itself, but your belief in it. It can happen when you’re very small. Something makes you afraid, or it makes you think you have no control. It makes you think your intuition is wrong or that it can’t be trusted. But everyone has magic. They just have to relearn it.”
Nora felt a lot like she had when she’d found that Ouija board. When she had really, really wanted to make it work. To get it to tell her that things would be okay. To get some assurance that her whole life wasn’t going to be as a driftless foster kid who didn’t have anyone.
Then Sam had made her feel embarrassed. Because he had been standing there looking at her, and she had been talking about love and ...
“What if I wanted to learn to do a spell?”
