“So what if there’s another potions shop?” Mama waved her hand. “No one can beat my potions. They’re superior in every way. We’ll put the others out of business. Auggie can sell the potions. Adelaide and Elspeth can get the ingredients. And Prue can research new types of ingredients and combinations we could use.”
“We can’t risk that,” I said. “We’re the outsiders, here. We can’t afford to make the townspeople angry, to step on any toes.” I bit my lip. “We’ll have to think of something else, a way we can use your potions affinity to our benefit, fill a need this town has.”
“But this town has everything,” Auggie said. She threw up her hands. “So basically, we’re screwed.”
“No, we’re not,” I said firmly. “We have been through worse.”
Everyone quieted down, no doubt thinking about the worse situations we’d been through. How we’d almost been brought before Witch Superior, forced from the Witchlands. I wouldn’t ever let that happen again. We would get through this and out of this town as soon as possible.
“That’s everyone’s homework.” I glanced from face to face.
Auggie wrinkled her nose. “Homework? Really, Elspeth? I haven’t been in school since we got cursed, and I have no desire to go back. Especially not if you’re my teacher.”
I raised my chin, ignoring her. “Tomorrow, we visit town, talk to the residents. Be polite, inconspicuous, find out what’s missing here. A need we can fill.”
Auggie lay down, turning her back to me. “Great. Can’t wait.”
Prue shifted. “I guess I can do some reading, see if I can get any ideas.”
A gust of rainy wind blew in, and I shivered. If we didn’t figure something out, this was going to be miserable. Not just tonight but every night.
Everyone else lay down, all of us still soaking wet. My damp clothes stuck to me, and I stayed huddled with my knees drawn up to my chest, wondering how I was going to get us out of this mess, and for the first time, I wasn’t confident I actually could.
Nine
DRAVEN
The last of patrons trickled out of the bar as the storm finally abated, the rain now a soft patter on the roof. I scrubbed a table, maybe a little rougher than necessary, but I was still boiling from that interaction earlier. I couldn’t believe the nerve of that woman to judge me, to come into my business and insult me so thoroughly. It had left a bad taste in my mouth.
The door clicked open, and I yelled over my shoulder, “We’re closed.”
“Even for a friend?”
I stiffened and turned to see Elm. He’d left shortly after Elspeth and her sister had.
He was tall and wide, muscle cording through every inch of his body—and because he was only half werewolf, he was actually small compared to full-blooded werewolves. He walked toward me, hands in his pockets. “That was something earlier.”
My jaw locked. “Where in the hellfire did you find those women?”
Elm rubbed the back of his neck. “Their cart broke down on the side of the road, and I simply wanted to be of service.”
I gave him a look as I flipped the rag over my shoulder.
He heldup his hands. “Okay, I might have an interest in Adelaide.”
“Elm,” I started.
“She’s not like anyone I’ve ever met.”
I’d heard this before. Elm loved to fall in love. He flitted from woman to woman but eventually got bored and left.
He tucked a spiral curl behind his ear. “I really think this might be different, Draven. Adelaide is so... sweet. Kindhearted. Humble. When I spotted her in the market, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.”
I tapped a foot. “What do her looks have to do with being nice?”
“That’s my point. I’ll admit, my interest in her started as physical, but then I noticed how gentle she was with her younger sister. How patient she was with her. How she consoled her when they didn’t have enough gold to buy a pretty scarf she was eyeing. Most people would’ve been annoyed with the younger woman, but not Adelaide. She was so empathetic.”
Nothing like his father, who’d always been self-centered and hard on Elm.
