“It was built by my family in the mid-nineteenth century, many decades after they founded the town. There’s so much history here, and I love every inch of it.” I sigh, and my smile slips a little. “But it’s a lot of house for just me, if you can’t tell. And upkeep just got a little morehands-on,” I add wryly.
“You mentioned it at academy, but I guess I didn’t pay enough attention. At the time, if it didn’t revolve around New York City, I wasn’t that interested,” he confesses with a chuckle. “Clearly I wasn’t at all a snob.”
“Well, if it’s hands you need, we’ve all got them. You didn’t think we were going to make you slave away cleaning up after us?” Aurelia accuses, pretending to look offended.
“No, no. You’re all guests. You wouldn’t have to do much if you were staying at the inn. Besides, I’ve considered hiring a housekeeper since everything… happened. It’s the smart thing to do.” It’s a serious consideration I mulled over while getting the house ready. Staying on top of everyday upkeep will be too much, even after everyone leaves.
While refilling everyone’s coffee after we make our way to the kitchen again, Aurelia suggests we sit outside. After bribing the cats to stay in the house with some treats, I take us to the front porch in case new guests arrive. Aurelia and I sit on the porch swing and Niven stretches out on a nearby chair.
“Why the light blue on the ceiling? It doesn’t match the shutters,” Aurelia questions as she points out the two different shades of blue.
“Haint blue,” Niven replies.
“Exactly. It’s the color of water, something feared by haints, as some called them. This isn’t warded, but it’s a nod to thelovely tradition that some regional witches developed to protect their neighbors’ homes. The enchanted paint tricks some of the lesser Malefic into thinking they can’t cross into a house. Maybe I needed to splash more of it around the carriage house.” My gaze wanders to the plot of dirt where the carriage house used to be.
“I don’t think the fae cares about shades of blue,” Niven notes.
“No, it didn’t care about much,” I confirm.
“Ashes, they sound like vicious buggers. I’m glad they’re rare. I’ve never seen one before and I want to keep it that way,” Aurelia remarks with a wince.
“I hadn’t either. It was the single scariest thing I’ve ever seen. A real-life bogeyman. I don’t think I could stand to look at it again,” I divulge. I rub my forehead, as if I could scrub the image from my brain.
“You won’t have to,” Niven assures me.
“Thanks for looking out for me.” I reach over and pat his arm.
“How long have you known each other?” Aurelia asks, eyeing me and Niven.
“We met at the Sparklight Academy in Maine, where it’s too cold most of the year to do anything but study. Or find your own mischief. We’re the same year, so we were stuck in a lot of classes together. Friendship was sort of forced on us,” he jokes with an impish smile. “Once we began our apprenticeships there, our studies diverged but we still socialized. Not as much as we should have, but that’s how it often goes.”
“I’m convinced the thing he liked most about me was that I had so many pretty friends he could impress with party tricks,” I quip.
“Absolutely. It’s what made those early years at academy tolerable,” he declares.
“Do all witches go? Doesn’t your coven help you train your magick?” Aurelia asks.
“Covens do work with young members to teach them how to use their magick, and eventually most do attend one of our academies,” I clarify. “Not all apprenticeships take place there. I have an apprentice in my shop currently and she is about to surpass me in almost every skill we use there. But intensive specializations require guidance from experts. My parents encouraged me to complete my apprenticeship at the academy. It was the closest place I could study transmutation, which is turning one substance into another. Plus, I already knew most of the faculty.”
“I thought my life was over when mine forced me to leave New York City for Maine. I was such a little terror because my magickal ability manifested at a fairly young age. They were in over their heads with me. But they were right. I needed to go. To be humbled a little. It opened a lot of doors and put me on this path,” he recalls.
“You? Humbled? Mother Earth bless your heart,” I chide him with a grin. “But I wholeheartedly agree it was the right place for us.”
“Don’tbless your heartme! I remember what that means,” he grumbles, faking a scowl.
“Ooh, she’s pulling out the big guns,” Aurelia goads.
“You’d never believe she was the shyest of our cohort when she first arrived,” he teases. “I was trying so hard to impress her to get her to like me, but I quickly realized that there was no need for pretense with her. She’s one of the most genuine witches I know. Maybe I can appreciate that more than most, given my… talents. The rest of her friends, on the other hand, they were a tough crowd.”
“I didn’t really know how to make friends when I first got there. Everyone already knew who I was in this town, being aMayweather and all. Not that I wanted that extra attention and automatic acceptance. It put me at a disadvantage when I left since I never quite needed that skillset here,” I reveal with a self-deprecating chuckle. “I think that put you at ease with me almost instantly. I was also fumbling at making friends, so I wasn’t being too picky at the time.” I punctuate my affectionate burn with a wink.
“Fumbling!” he repeats incredulously. “Neither of us were fumbling, exactly. That’s rewriting history. You made a close circle of friends right off the bat. And then sometimes you’d deign to hang out with me.”
“You dated enough of them that you were a pretty regular fixture, if my memory still serves,” I deadpan.
“Were you two ever an item?” Aurelia cuts in.
“No, I saw right through his best pickup lines,” I answer with a sly grin.
