Ria frowned.Why would Lissa owe her anything?Ria was the one who screwed up the poor woman’s life with her witchy whoopsie.Maybe the spell was stronger than she realized if Lissa was so smitten she felt like she was to blame for everything.All the more reason to get it lifted and fast.
“Okay,” Ria said, pulling out her phone.“I’m going to text you an address.Meet me there, out front, at ten a.m.tomorrow, and we’ll get this whole situation fixed.”Ria hit Send on the message and watched as Lissa pulled out her own phone.
Lissa scanned the text.“I don’t recognize this address.Is this someone’s home?”
“Yeah,” Ria replied.“It belongs to…a friend.”
Lissa tucked her phone into her back pocket.“In that case, I’ll be there.There are still some things we need to talk about, but if this is what you need from me to believe that my feelings are real, then I’m in.I’ll do whatever it takes so we can be together.”
“Ichangedmymind,”Lissatold Ria the following morning as they stood outside Cordelia’s home.
Putting her hands on her hips, Ria gave Lissa a dubious look.“What happened to ‘whatever it takes’?Come on, this is way less painful than skinny-dipping.”
Lissa frowned at the small cottage as the sounds of laughter wafted through an open window.“Honestly, I’d probably rather take my chances with the ocean.”
“What’s so bad about a roomful of witches?”Ria asked, eyes narrowing.
“Oh, nothing,” Lissa replied, backtracking so fast Ria half expected her to trip.“Nothing wrong at all if you happen to be a witch.Which I am not.It just feels… I don’t know.Wrong, I guess?You all believe in this; it’s your religion.Would you feel comfortable going into a Hindu temple and taking part in a puja?”
Ria wrinkled her brow.“I guess that would feel a little awkward.Maybe even disrespectful.But it’s not the same.”
Lissa raised an eyebrow.“How so?”
“You won’t actually be doing anything.We only need you to be here.You can lie on the floor and take a nap if that would make you happy so long as you do it surrounded by a coven of witches.”
Lissa sighed.“I guess that’s a little less awkward.Definitely not the weirdest thing I’ve done.Remind me to tell you about the time Daria and I attended the Monkey Buffet Festival in Thailand.”Ria’s face paled and Lissa chuckled.“Don’t worry.They don’t eat the monkeys or anything.I think you’d actually enjoy it.”
Ria chewed on her lip for a second.“In that case, I’ll make you a deal.If you take part in this ritual, then I’ll visit Thailand with you and dine with the monkeys.”Ria blushed then added, “I mean, if you still want to even be around me.”
Lissa draped an arm over Ria’s shoulders.“This ritual isn’t going to change a single thing.”She paused, then added, “At least not for me.”
The phrasing seemed a bit odd, given Lissa was the only one whose emotions were currently altered, but Ria just smiled and guided her toward the front door.“I’d like to apologize in advance for the coven.Individually, they are some of the most wonderful women you’ve ever met, but all together they can feel like…a lot.”
Lissa grimaced slightly and twined her fingers through Ria’s.“Unless you have a room full of Daria’s in there, I think I can handle it.They aren’t going to hate me for not believing in witchcraft are they?”
Ria stumbled on the first step, but Lissa’s grip on her hand kept her from nose-diving onto the porch.She hadn’t even considered that.Would the witches be okay with Lissa?When asking for their help, she hadn’t exactly advertised that Lissa was a nonbeliever.Ria herself wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about that rather important detail, given they had met because Lissa wanted a spell done.She kept meaning to ask Lissa why she reached out if she was so firmly anti-magic.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Ria said.She raised her hand to knock when the door swung wide, and Cordelia stood on the other side grinning at them.
“We were wondering how long you were going to stand out here.We were about to start placing bets on whether you’d chicken out or not.”
The bubbly witch gestured for them to enter, and Ria squeezed Lissa’s hand tighter as she pulled her inside.If she had any idea what Ria went through to get the witches to agree to this, she might be a little less hesitant to participate, but Ria wasn’t about to guilt her into agreeing.
In all fairness, the coven had been fairly understanding about the situation.Apparently it wasn’t uncommon for spell snafus to happen after an extended absence from practicing.Almost like a little punishment from Hecate for turning your back on her.The coven’s price, however, had been less than pleasant.
As Ria stepped into Cordelia’s permanently autumn living room, Bootsy darted over to wrap her up in a hug.“Glad to see you made it.I cannot wait to see how you do next month!”
“What’s next month?”Lissa asked, hovering close behind Ria as if she still wasn’t sure these women weren’t going to try to sacrifice her.
“Ria agreed to lead one of our full moon rituals.”Bootsy winked at Lissa.“One of ournakedfull moon rituals.”
Ria cringed at the reminder, sending up a brief prayer to the Goddess for a dark and cloudy night.
Lissa nudged Ria’s shoulders.“Naked, huh?”She waggled her eyebrows, and Ria was unable to hide her blush.Memories of them in the water flooded her mind, and she needed to list the alphabetical herbs backwards in her mind to drown out the sexy images.
Yucca, Yew, Yerba Santa.Don’t think about her breasts.Yarrow, Wormwood, Woodruff.
“Hey, don’t I know you?”Bootsy asked, staring intently at Lissa, her head cocked to the side.
