I nod. “We’ll have to break into the coven.”
Ambrose grins behind me. “I like your style. Do you know the perfect time to engage in covert activity?”
Surprisingly, it’s Piper who responds. “When a snowstorm has everyone staying at home.”
“Brilliant and beautiful.” Ambrose winks, and Piper looks like she wants to disappear into the floor.
“Alright then. Let’s make a plan,” I say.
Our plan sucks.
“Shouldn’t we put on some burglar outfits or something?” Ava asks, squirming in her winter gear. We’re all crammed into Ambrose’s Sequoia, since he has the only car that can fit all of us.Although that’s questionable. Stellan is a fucking lumberjack, so he’s sitting shotgun. Ambrose refuses to let anyone else drive his car, which means that Bram, Ava, and Piper are in the middle row, and I’m squished in the back with Josephine and Odie. We left Penelope at the chateau with strict instructions to call for any reason.
“I’m sure some lady has left a black unitard back at Ambrose’s house that you could wear.” Bram is pressed up against the window, his arm slung on the seat behind Ava.
“That’s a pass. If I bent over, there’s a good chance my ass would pop out like a can of cinnamon rolls.”
Bram stares at Ava in bewilderment.
Stellan turns around from the front seat to glare at his sister. “Thanks for the visual, Ava. Can we go over our plan again? Or lack thereof?”
“We’re going to walk inside the Lumen coven. Go up to the library and grab the book. Wash, rinse, repeat at the Tenebris coven,” Ambrose pipes up with too much enthusiasm.
“Fuck it. Why not.” Stellan shrugs and settles back into his seat, closing his eyes like he’s about to take a nap.
The streets of Mystic Hollows are empty. Anyone who has a lick of sense is safe and warm in their homes. There’s a peaceful quiet to our town with the heavy snowfall. It’s the complete opposite of how I’m feeling on the inside. We’ve learned so much in the last few days. Lives have been turned upside down, and we’re getting ready to double down. I won’t say we’re going to war, but change is in the air.
Ambrose pulls up directly in front of the Lumen coven house. Any cars on the street are already buried in snow.
“No one lives in here. Anyone who may have been here earlier should have left because of the snow.” Piper looks out the window, her eyes searching for any sign of life.
“I don’t think we all need to go in.” Josephine frowns as she looks around the car.
“Which one of us do you think is going to stay here while you go inside?” Bram arches a brow.
“Safety in numbers, I guess.” Ava shrugs, and we begin the disembarking process from Ambrose’s car.
Stellan uses his magic to smooth out our footprints in the snow as we huddle at the front door of the coven house. Josephine grabs the door handle and murmurs. The slight whip of her magic buzzes around her and sparks against my skin like a glowing kiss. Fuck, that’s getting stronger. The door opens in the next moment. We rush inside, gusts of snow blasting in with us. I turn and shut the door, leaning my shoulder into the wood to combat the wind.
The main hall is dimly lit by one lamp in the far corner of the room. It’s enough to see a sweeping stairway that leads to the second floor.
“I feel like we’re sneaking into the enemy’s lair.” Ambrose cackles.
“We are.” Stellan claps him on the back, launching him forward with the force of it.
“This way,” Josephine whispers, heading toward the stairs. The rest of us follow, leaving puddles in our wake. Once again, Stellan uses his magic to clean up after us.
“I didn’t know I’d be the maid in this heist,” he grumbles under his breath.
“Better than being the fall guy,” Odie signs. Ambrose translates, and Stellan chokes on a chuckle. Piper shushes our group, and we hurry up to the second floor.
“Where is it?” I ask as soon as we walk into the domed library. Josephine turns on a lamp on a reading table. No sense in turning on all the lights and letting the town know someone’s inside.
Sitting on top of a pedestal, open to a page in the middle of the book, is the grimoire. There’s a glass enclosure, but it doesn’t appear to be locked. I look up to the ceiling, wondering if a set of silver bars will come slamming down if someone touches the book. There’s nothing but the snow-covered windows of the glass dome above us.
“Should we just grab it and run?” Ambrose stares at the book like it’s a bomb about to go off.
“Is anyone good at checking for hexes?” Bram grumbles.
