Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

WREN

T he Pixie's Perch is busy despite the odd afternoon hour, patrons lounging in the little mismatched tables while Piper packs orders with a smile behind the main counter.

A low baritone voice trickles through the sounds of quiet conversation from the back kitchen, and I blink in surprise as I realize the orc, Ga'Rek, is the one singing. A singing orc. Who is making pastries.

Will wonders never cease?

"Wren!" Piper's voice pulls me back to my purpose in coming here, and I march up to the counter, hoping I haven't waited too long to be able to snag the scones for my new brownie friend.

"You're busy," I tell her, then wince at my needless observation.

"It's been steady today," Piper agrees. "What can I do for you?"

"Do you have any blueberry cheeriness scones left?"

"The ones with the spiced walnuts?" she asks, already heading to the shelves weighed down with sweets. "You're in luck, we've got three."

"I'll take them all." Luck. That's what I need. "Do you have anything with luck spells?"

She glances up at me, her brow wrinkled. "I do, actually. I baked a tray of lucky lemon squares on a whim this morning. We have two left. Do you want both of those?"

I nod. Two is better than one. "Yes. Yep. I want both."

"Five pastries, good for you. I'll wrap up an extra cookie for an even half-dozen. This one has an alluring charm on it. Perfect if you have an admirer in mind."

"Oh, that would be perfect," I gush. Just what I need. To be alluring and have luck? That's exactly what I need—exactly.

Dragon sapphires, come to mama.

Something in my expression must give away my thoughts, because Piper's face screws up, and she raises her eyebrows.

"Should I be worried?" she asks, her tone hushed. "What's gotten into you? I saw you walking back and forth early today, and then there were all those dwarves outside your shop…"

"I have a plan," I say testily, rummaging some coin from my pocket. "Oh, do you have any of Nerissa's favorites? I'll take three of those, too."

I flinch as Piper claps her hand three times, startling me.

"The bakery is closed!" she yells, the whites of her eyes showing. I grab for the package of sweets she's been putting together, but she clucks her tongue at me and pulls them away.

Frowning, I cross my arms over my chest. "It's nothing to worry about," I tell her, and my voice sounds whiney even to my ears.

"It's nothing to worry about, is it?" she says, her voice rising steadily.

The few patrons who've been sitting and having peaceful conversations gather their belongings post-haste and wisely scatter.

"Nothing to worry about," she seethes. "I had to hear second-hand from Ruby about how you've been cavorting with brownies, and then you come in here all," she makes a flustered sound, waving her hand at me. "All worked up and ordering enough charmed sweets to set anyone's witchy senses tingling."

I huff, annoyed that she's pegged me so easily.

"Can I get another almond croissant to go?" a centaur interrupts, looking between us hopefully.

"Go away, Edward!" Piper yells. "Now is not the time for almond croissants!"

She points at the door, and it flies open.

Edward sullenly clops towards it, and Piper slams it after him.

"That was rude," I tell her, trying unwisely to change the subject.

"Rude is you acting like you're being entirely unsuspicious when you know I know you better than that. What in the moon's name is going on?"

I blanch. Not the moon's name.

Ga'Rek peeks his head out from the kitchen, lavishing a broad smile on Piper. "You need any help, boss?"

"No, and stop calling me boss." She pushes her hair off her face, still glowering at me furiously. "It's Piper, please. Just Piper."

I squint at the blush rising in her cheeks, but she points a finger at me, and I immediately raise my hands in the universal gesture for giving up.

"Are you sure I can't help?—"

"No," we both tell the orc at the same time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see him shrug, and then back away.

"What are you up to?" Piper hisses, her palms smacking on the counter.

Thunder rolls, shaking the windows of her shop, and our staring contest breaks as we look outside.

"That's an omen," Piper says, now pointing that same dangerous finger at the sky outside.

"It's a storm," I say. "Probably."

"It's an omen, and you're going to tell me why you've got a brownie around and why you're headed to Nerissa's."

I pinch the bridge of my nose, annoyed but not really seeing a way out of it at this point.

That's me, slick as can be.

"Maybe you can help me," I finally say. "Hand me a lemon bar."

She sniffs, untucking the paper flap and pulling one of the yellow sugar-dusted squares out.

"It smells heavenly."

"Don't try to butter me up," she retorts. "The charm only lasts two hours so whatever you're planning better be quick."

"I bought two," I say around the bite. "It's really delicious."

"Of course it is. I made it."

"She's the best," Ga'Rek shouts from the kitchen. "I want to know too, for the record."

"No," we both yell back.

"Come on," I say to her glumly, despite the deliciousness on my tongue. "I'll tell you while we walk."

"We're picking up Willow on the way." Piper lifts the counter and dusts her hands on her apron before untying it.

"Good idea," I say meekly.

"What do you need for whatever spell your casting?"

"Who said anything about a spell?"

"You're a bad liar, so just stop. It's insulting me."

"Fine." I throw my hands up and nearly tell her exactly what I have planned before I remember the nosy green orc in the kitchen.

Piper follows my gaze, and her eyebrows shoot even further up her forehead. "Oh no."

I roll my eyes and make my way from The Pixie's Perch onto the street.

"You can't tell him," I warn her as soon as she appears. "You can't breathe a word of it to him."

"What kind of coven sister would I be if I told?" she asks, highly scandalized.

"We're not a coven," I tell her.

"Oh, please. The only thing we're missing is the stamp of approval from those dusty bigwigs who think they have the right to limit us."

It's my turn to be scandalized, and I stare at her open-mouthed. She's never said a bad word about the High Coven, but here she is, looking ready to shoot sparks from her eyeballs.

Thunder rumbles again, and we both glance up at the billowing grey clouds overhead.

"Come on then," I tell her, and we set off at a brisk pace to Willow's greenhouse and apothecary.

"Well?" Piper asks, injecting a world of meaning into the single syllable.

"I have a plan," I say grandly.

A rain drop spatters against the tip of my nose, cold and wet.

"And it involves Nerissa? And closing your store early? And something my new employee can't hear?"

"I am going to bind Caelan to me using a demon trap." The words come out blithely and unbothered despite the fact actually voicing them makes me feel sick.

"Why?" She rounds on me, her eyes huge. "Why would you do that?"

I ignore the censure in her voice and walk faster. I also take a massive bite of lemon square to give myself time to consider how I'm going to answer.

"If you think you can get away with eating instead of answering me, you've misjudged my willingness to knock that lemon bar out of your hand."

I glare at her and swallow.

"Because I need an Unseelie fae's help in finding a rare vein of ore, and he's the Unseelie fae I have on hand."

"You could have picked the other one," she says, narrowing her eyes at me. "The one with the wings."

I shrug a shoulder. "I know Caelan better."

"How?" she scoffs.

"We had dinner together last night."

"Oh, and now you've decided you're just going to bind him to your will? After one dinner? He must have been good with his mouth."

"Piper!" I stare at her, aghast. "That's not at all what this is about."

"So he is good with his mouth." She smirks at me.

"That's not what I—no. I mean, I don't know. I don't know! We walked around and he was clever and he has the ability to find the damned gemstones and that's all I need him for, so I can find them, we can mine some, and I can finally get in the goddess-damned guild and make a real go at living my life the way I want." A sharp pain hitches in my chest, and I suck in a breath, suddenly fighting back tears.

"Right," Piper says, nodding her head like she expected nothing less. "Well, in that case, we definitely need Willow."

"And I'm not sorry for it," I continue. "I'll only bind him for a few weeks, you know, temporary, and then I'll unravel the spell and he can be on his merry way doing whatever Unseelie courtiers do."

"He's a courtier ?" Piper asks, her nose scrunching up.

A flash of guilt sparks in me as I realize Caelan might not have wanted me to tell anyone that.

Another drop hits my cheek, then another, and before I can answer, we're running in the quickening downpour towards Willow's shop.

Panting, we finally tumble through her door, the musky scent of damp earth and vegetation clinging to the humid air inside.

"Oh, you're here," Willow says cheerfully. "I just sent Kieran on his way to avoid the storm."

A dark-haired woman walks into the front of Willow's apothecary from the back room, mist curling around her.

Piper snorts, and I stifle a laugh.

"There you are," Nerissa intones, ignoring Piper's reaction to her dramatics. "I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up at all."

"Right," I say, plunking the box full of pastries down on Willow's counter, ignoring the clear jar of what appears to be rodent feet next to it in favor of taking another lemon square. "Here's what we're going to do."

I launch into my explanation, getting as far as explaining the temporary nature of the binding with Caelan only to see Willow's scowl growing increasingly dark.

"Couldn't you just ask him for help?" she finally interrupts. "Doesn't this seem like a lot of effort when you could just ask?"

"He's an Unseelie fae," I say, my gaze darting around to my friends' faces. "You can't trust their word."

Piper tilts her head, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Willow throws up her hands. "Right. Goddess forbid we treat them like they are capable of a full range of emotions. We'll just bind them to our will!"

Nerissa smiles. "Exactly, Willow. What must be done must be done."

"Oh, stop it, Nerissa. We're all witches. There's no reason to be pointlessly theatric with us." Piper crosses her arms in irritation.

"I'm just saying, there's something more going on here—" Nerissa starts sharply.

"Right, right, and you're the only one who knows about it, as usual." Piper rolls her eyes.

"We don't have all day," I finally blurt, ready to get this show on the road before my willingness to actually carry out my hasty plan disappears. "Let's get this binding started."

"Right." Nerissa rubs her hands together gleefully. "It's spellsmith time."

"I have the spell already," I tell her, trying not to be annoyed. Trying, and failing. "I don't need a new spell."

"I'm just not sure that this is a good idea," Willow hedges. "They're powerful, and it might be nicer just to ask Caelan if he wants to help you."

I swallow the urge to let out a shriek that would make a banshee proud. "Your critique has been noted," I tell her.

"Willow has a point." Piper says, not meeting my gaze.

A disappointed whuff of air sails out of me. "Fine. I can do it by myself."

"Absolutely not," Nerissa says, her voice thick with power. "We do this together. We do this together and we accept the consequences of the magic."

Piper covers her face with her hands, clearly unimpressed by Nerissa.

"Isn't this kind of like a coven thing?" Willow asks, cringing.

"Well, put ‘establish a coven' on the to-do list, Willow!" I bellow, out of patience.

That's what I get for waking up early from a brownie invasion and trying to be extroverted all day. An absolutely spent capacity for peopling.

"Oh, I can do that," Willow says brightly. "I'm so glad we're going to start a coven."

I rub my temple, a headache starting to form.

"Hands," I say crisply, and we all link hands and I begin weaving the beginnings of the binding spell that will call Caelan to us… and hopefully keep him under control.

And then I'll get my damned dragon sapphires and finally, finally prove I'm good enough to be in the goddess-damned guild.