Chapter 21

Aurora

OSTARA IS BETTER THAN I could ever have imagined. The air smells of sage and sugar, and the sunshine on my skin is tantalizingly warm—so warm that I even pull my boots off to let my toes soak up the heat of the cobblestone beneath my feet.

Music twines around the market square from a troupe of musicians as they move through Faunwood. A horde of children skips along behind them, dancing and twirling to the beat of the drums and the rhythm of the lute. I clap as they pass, and one of the young girls pauses to hand me a flower. Kneeling, I press a kiss to the top of her head, and she flushes pink before hurrying away to rejoin the dance.

The cookies and bread are a wild success—and it's all thanks to Alden. If he hadn't helped me with the kitchen and the table and the bread baking, I'm not sure I would've been able to get everything done on time.

"I hope you enjoy it," I tell Welma, the elderly Faunwood librarian, as I hand a bread loaf over to her .

She lifts it to her nose and takes a deep breath before letting out a sigh. "Thank you, dear." She moves a few things around in her basket to accommodate the fluffy bread loaf. "You know, Lilith used to bake bread too. Best in the whole village."

Warmth blossoms in my chest at the thought of Auntie, and I stand straighter. "She taught me everything I know."

With a smile, Welma reaches out to squeeze my hand. "Then I know I'm going to love it."

As she shuffles away, I catch sight of Alden in the crowd. He's standing at one of the big buffet tables with a few other village men, a tankard of wine in hand, and he raises it to me with a quirk to his lips. I lift my hand in a wave, and just as Alden turns his gaze away, a shock of red hair steps into my view.

I tip my head back and look right into a pair of verdant eyes.

"Hello again."

My chest squeezes.

"H-hello," I squeak.

The red-haired man from the mercantile smiles down at me. He's dressed in gleaming armor, his cuirass reflecting the sunlight. A helmet is held under his arm, and the metal of his gauntlets clinks as he reaches out to snag a cookie from the display set atop Alden's cart.

Lifting it to his nose, he takes a sniff. "Lemon?"

I nod.

He smiles. "My favorite."

He takes a bite of the cookie, and I watch, almost spellbound, as the muscles in his jaw work, flexing under his pale skin. His hair is like fire in the bright afternoon sunlight, so vivid and warm that I almost wonder if I'd burn myself were I to reach out and touch it.

Not that I'm going to. Of course not.

"What do I owe you?" he asks after finishing the cookie.

Swallowing down my strange feelings, I say, "Nothing. Consider it reimbursement for the chocolate."

He laughs, and the sound is free and untethered and floating. I swear I can almost see his laughter drifting through the air, can imagine myself flying away into the blue sky with it.

"If you say so." He shifts his helmet to the other hip. "I'm Rowan Highcliff." His hair catches the light again as he bows his head to me.

"I-I'm Aurora. Aurora Silvermoon." And I can't seem to speak, apparently. "I hear you're Garland's replacement?"

He straightens and nods. "I am. Seems word travels fast around here."

My tongue ties itself again, and I just nod, unsure I'd be able to actually speak.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Rowan smiles and reaches up to run a hand through his long red hair, which hangs well past his collar. I'm not sure what it is about these men and their long hair, but I find it much too tempting. To keep myself busy, I begin moving the platters of cookies and baskets of bread around on the cart, trying not to wonder what it would feel like to touch Rowan's hair.

"Well, I imagine I'll see you around, Aurora Silvermoon."

I look up to meet his eyes just before he pushes his hair back and slips his helmet over his head. Then he turns on an armored heel and walks away, drawing stares and whispers as he drifts through the cobbled square.

Even after he's gone, it takes me a moment to catch my breath. I sell two more loaves of bread and half a dozen cookies, and the cart is starting to look a bit bare. I'm thinking about eating one of the lemon cookies when an arm wraps around my waist.

"Brought you something," Alden says in my ear, and my chest immediately warms with his proximity.

"You spoil me," I say as I turn to find him holding a plate of honey cake in his free hand. My mouth immediately waters. I've wanted a slice of cake all day, but I've been too busy with customers to grab myself one.

Alden stabs a piece of the honey cake with a fork, then lifts it to my lips. I open my mouth, and he holds my gaze as he guides the sweet honeyed delicacy onto my tongue.

And I'm suddenly very much looking forward to getting him home tonight.

A movement at my feet has me glancing down.

"Harrison!" I say, kneeling to draw a hand down his spine. He arches into my hand and immediately begins to purr. "I've been wondering where you got off to. Have you been down there the whole time?"

"I can see everything from there," he says, "but no one can see me. Especially the little humans."

Harrison has never been a fan of children. They're too squeaky and grabby.

Tickling his chin, I smile down at him. Alden stands over us, handsome and broad shouldered in the springtime sunlight, and I'm filled with a swell of possibility .

I've finally settled into Faunwood, Harrison at my side, and I've got my own sweet-hearted carpenter to dote on. Brookside is all buttoned up, the garden is ripe with potential, and everything feels right in my little world.

I'm not sure things could get any better than this.

Leaping up, I wrap my arms around Alden's neck, and he stumbles back with a grunt.

"What is it, little witch?" His breath tickles the shell of my ear while his free hand wraps around my low back, holding me tight and warm.

I say nothing, just breathe in his woodsy scent and the energy of Ostara all around us.

And I can't wait to discover what the summer will bring.

The End

The Witch's Rite Sneak Peek

Chapter 1

Aurora

brIGHT YELLOW SUNLIGHT STREAKS THROUGH the thin curtains hanging over the bedroom window. I left the window open last night, wanting to smell the summer rain as it soaked the earth and chased the heat from the air, and now, as morning bathes the world in gold, the smell of soil and honeysuckle fills the balmy bedroom.

A warm pressure at my back has me smiling sleepily, and I turn on my pillow to find Alden cuddled beneath the thin blanket beside me, still fast asleep. His dark brown curls have grown out a bit, and they're all mussed and rumpled, but he looks as handsome as ever. In sleep, the creases that usually line his face disappear, and he looks completely at ease, as if a trouble has never even thought to touch him.

With a gentle rustling of the mattress, I move closer to him. His tawny-brown skin is warm to the touch, and I press my naked body against his, cuddling my face into his neck so I can press kisses along his bearded jaw.

"Mm," he mumbles, one arm looping around my waist. "Is it morning already?"

"Mm-hmm." I press a kiss to his neck right below his jaw. "And remember what today is?"

He still hasn't opened his eyes, but as I trail my fingers gently up his broad chest, his cock twitches against my thigh in response.

At least someone is ready to wake up.

Still, he doesn't answer.

So I trail my hand down his chest and across his firm abdomen, then wrap my fingers around his hardening length.

Now he opens his eyes.

And I'll never not be mystified by how dark they are, by how flecks of gold shimmer in his irises when the sun hits his face just right. He's so beautiful, I'm distracted from the firmness still in my grasp.

But Alden hasn't forgotten.

Suddenly awake, at least partially, he grabs me around the waist and lifts me on top of him. My long green hair, still tangled from sleep, drapes all around us like a forest veil, and it casts shadows across Alden's face when I lean forward to press my lips to his. At the same time, I guide his cock to my opening, and we both sigh as I ease onto him.

"Today," I whisper as I pull away from our kiss and begin to slowly ride him, my knees rumpling the soft sheet, "is Beltane ."

And I've only been looking forward to Beltane for forever , or at least since I moved to Faunwood early this past spring. Alden told me they have a Maypole dance and everything. I've been preparing my dress for the big celebration for weeks, and today is finally the day!

Alden sinks a bit deeper into me than I was ready for, and I let out a tiny yelp.

"Sorry, little witch." He gives me a sleepy smile, thumbs pressing into my hip bones.

But I know he's not actually sorry. In fact, he looks rather pleased with himself.

I match his sleepy smirk with one of my own, then lift up onto my knees so Alden's length slips out of me.

His smirk vanishes. "What are you doing?"

"We have to get ready!" I say, already easing from the warm comfort of bed and grabbing a lightweight emerald-green robe from the old armoire that used to be Auntie's. As I pull it on and flip my hair over my shoulder, I give Alden a taunting little smile. "We can finish that later. If you think you can wait for me."

Grumbling, he bunches the blanket in his hand and collapses back into bed. "You're going to be the death of me, witch."

Leaving him warm in bed, I head into the tiny upstairs hallway and then down the creaking stairs to the first floor. I've been leaving the kitchen window opened as well, and Harrison has enjoyed coming and going as he pleases. He doesn't seem to be home right now, and I wonder what kinds of shenanigans he's been getting up to at night. All I know is that he always returns to the cottage with dirty paws and shining eyes.

He loves this time of year just as much as I do.

After starting a fire and putting the kettle on, I head out the back door, a platter of crumbly biscuits and apples balanced in my hands. Dew sparkles on the lush green grass growing all around the cottage, and it's refreshingly cool on my bare feet as I drift through the early-morning light and into the forest to the north. The trees are alive with birdsong and the scratching of little claws on bark as squirrels leap through the branches.

"Good morning, everyone," I say, smiling into the sunlight as it warms my face. I only make it another twenty paces or so before a snow-white cat leaps up onto a boulder and flicks his tail at me. "Well, good morning to you too," I say, pausing to lean down and draw a hand gently over his silky head.

Harrison jumps off the boulder and begins trotting alongside me as I move through the forest. "Is that your offering for the fairies?" he asks. We've been spirit companions for years now, and he knows my rituals well.

"It is. I hope they like rosemary biscuits." The smell of the biscuits drifts up from the platter, making my lips curl pleasantly. The fairies should consider themselves lucky; I almost had to wrestle these out of Alden's hands last night.

Harrison wrinkles his tiny pink nose. "Wispfish would be better."

His seriousness makes me laugh. "I'll keep that in mind should I ever need to leave you an offering."

"As you should." There's a playful lilt to his voice and a gleam to his vibrant green eyes. "Are we going to the fairy hollow?"

"Yup."

Immediately, he bounds ahead of me, vanishing into the thick greenery before I have time to even realize where he's gone. I keep up my slow pace, taking time to appreciate the beauty of summer all around me. It always goes by too fast, this warm time of year, and I try to take time every day to really look at the world around me, at the ladybugs spotting the leaves and the tiny white flowers growing in clusters along the river. There's always beauty to be found, if only one takes a moment to look.

When I step into the grove of oak trees a few minutes later, Harrison is already sitting in a patch of sunlight, tail wrapped around his paws, waiting.

This grove was one of Auntie's favorite spots, and she brought me here often when I was a child. She's the one who showed me the fairy hollow, a little depression in the hillside, surrounded by trees and wildflowers, with the babble of the river not far off. This is where Auntie always left her offerings for the fairies, and I intend to continue that tradition.

Harrison watches in silence as I sink to my knees in the grass before the hollow. Leaning forward, I transfer the rosemary biscuits and apples into the fairy hollow, then sit back with the platter resting in my lap. Closing my eyes, I speak the blessing Auntie taught me all those years ago.

"Gentle spirits of the land, I come to you with tokens in hand. With this gift I honor thee and seek your grace and harmony."

A gentle summer wind swirls around me, tossing my hair.

They're here.

With a smile, I continue.

"May this offering bring delight to thee, great spirits of beauty and light. Bless this place with joy and peace, and may this friendship never cease."

Another warm wind dances around the grove, and this time I can just faintly hear the sound of bells and laughter as the fair folk pass me by. In but a moment, they're gone, and when I open my eyes, the offerings I left in the hollow have vanished save for a few tiny crumbs. I guess they like rosemary after all.

Harrison blinks up at me when I look his way.

"Did you see them?" I ask, standing from my spot before the hollow. I've never seen one of them, but Auntie told me she once met a member of the Seelie Court. Perhaps I'll have a chance to ask her about it on Samhain.

"The fairies? Of course. I always see them."

Something in his voice gives me pause, and I arch an eyebrow. "You don't chase them, do you?"

"No," he says, but I'm not at all convinced. One of his favorite hobbies is chasing anything that moves—including Alden's feet when we're lying in bed at night.

"Harrison!" I scold.

With a purr of delight, Harrison bounds away once more, leaving me to chase after him the rest of the way back to the cottage.

Thank You for Reading!

Thank you so much for reading The Witch's Cottage , the first installment in Season of the Witch. If you enjoyed Alden and Aurora's story, I hope you'll consider picking up the next book, The Witch's Rite . You can purchase it by clicking this link .

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