"Well, no. You were mean, and I've learned to trust my first impression of people. But," she looked over her shoulder at Jen and Judy laughing. Bess, Tess, and Eloise were handing out flowers and small pink cups of coffee from Ursula's floral truck. She didn't know where the others were, but watching them serve and talk with the townspeople, many of whom only a couple of hours ago were marching to run them out of town...there was a kind of healing when you allowed room for someone who didn't understand you to quiet themselves and learn. Maybe they would change and grow, and maybe they wouldn't. But Tilly stood there under the tired, sparkling sky and wondered if she wanted to live in a world where people weren't allowed grace.
She turned back to Freida, a softening in her heart blooming, and finished, "But I have also learned that it's rare to find people who are willing to admit a closed mind and then open it. So, the Crescent Inn could use you."
Freida's smile was so big that Tilly felt her heart swell. "Then I'll be there tomorrow."
"But I'm not changing the wallpaper."
"We can talk about it."
Tilly laughed. She finally made her way from the quieting celebration to The Lost Souls, drinking her warm mulled cider as she walked through the wooded walkway. Her body was tired, her mind cozying in that fuzzy place after a long mental fight.
She thought about Astra's accusations of Theo's intentions, and that fuzziness shifted. She wanted to throw out her words along with the entirety of her manipulation, but still...
When you spend your life questioning your rightful place in rooms and among others, it can become default to believe that someone does not authentically want you.
Her abusive ex-husband showed her that. Ronnie certainly did. Her mother and her sister started the cycle.
And where does that cycle end?
Jen would say it ends with deciding for herself where she belongs, forgetting feelings altogether, and asking for what she deserves.
One of the problems is that you believe you're an option and treat others like they are a priority. And then you get your heart broken by the uneven circumstances that you agreed to.
She smiled at the memory of those words from Jen on their cupcake walk. They were honest and didn't leave room for Tilly to side-step the part she willingly played for years.
And it took her a long time to dismantle the voices that would try to put a price tag on her worth. But, if this season were a lesson, it is that even after healing and growth, you will find yourself in a place that will test that.
She stopped walking when there was a break in the canopy of trees, the sliver of moon brighter than usual, and a soft shade of purple she suspected at the hand of Crystal's returned magic. She remembered making wishes on stars and the moon when she was younger.
Women never outgrow that phase, wishes, and dreaming. It was their charm, and perhaps part of their power.
She closed her eyes as a chilled breeze brushed against her face.
"I wish that I could let go and love myself enough to know when I'm being loved well."
"A witch's moon is a very powerful magic," a low voice whispered just behind Tilly's ear.
She startled and looked up into the chief's dark eyes.
He was so handsome that it did something to her chest. She was drawn to him. Could she trust herself?
Astra's voice and taunting words rushed to the surface. He could see them bubbling there, ringing her eyes in distrust.
Thoughts tripped over each other in her mind.
Before those thoughts spun too intricate a web, he captured her mouth with his in a kiss. It was dark and commanding, like him; quieting the voices, both Astra's and the ones she had been fighting. Her chest filled with light, and when her hands found his chest as she responded to his lips, she didn't have time to think. She could only feel, and what she felt was safe. She felt settled as his arms pulled her into him.
But he pulled back after a short time and slid the rough pad of his thumb over her cheek.
"We have things to talk about."
She eyed him, still feeling the effects of his kiss. "Just answer this - are you after my blood to sire vampires?"
He surprised her when his teeth flashed white in a brilliant smile. The man knew how to make her stomach dip. "Tilly, when I bite and drink from you, it will be for much more delicious reasons. Not to make more vampires."
She bit her lip. He watched the movement, and she saw the heat there in his gaze before his eyes slid back to hers. "We'll talk. But tonight your mind is tired and I'd like to walk you home."
It was simple and sweet. She felt a sudden kinship with this man, more than physical attraction and need, more than longing. She felt...taken care of.
