Page 24 of Potions & Prejudice


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“Ugh.” Adelaide lifted her hand from the floor, some kind of brown substance covering it. “This is disgusting.”

“I think it’s tree sap,” I said, nose wrinkling.

I grabbed the nearby bucket of water and slid it toward my sister, who dunked her hand inside and attempted to wash the sticky mess off.

I dunked my sponge into the bucket and continued scrubbing the floor, the sponge coming away with thick layers of dirt and dust each time. I was going to have to change out the water soon. Luckily there was a little stream right outside the cottage, so it wouldn’t require a long walk.

“If only we could spell some of these items,” Adelaide said, her blueeyes bright and full of excitement. “Get the broom to sweep for us, the sponges to scrub, the duster to catch all the cobwebs.”

“You mean if only Mama could spell the items.” I pushed the sponge harder against the floor, trying to scrub away the spot Adelaide had just stuck her hand into.

Adelaide bobbed her head. “Yes, I suppose that is what I meant. Now that we have a home, it might be worth doing some of those types of spells.”

“Maybe Mama has a few of them in the Moonflower grimoire.” I took a deep breath. “And this isn’t our home.”

The cottage shook, dust and dirt falling from the overhead beams and onto our heads. This place was so temperamental.

Once the cottage had finished its tantrum, Adelaide swiped the dirt from her cheeks and hair. “That’s not what you said yesterday.”

“I just meant this is our temporary residence while we’re here. We can’t get too comfortable.”

“I know.” Adelaide sighed and reached over, plunking her sponge into the bucket. “Don’t you ever wish we could have a home, though?”

Prue squealed from upstairs. At least someone loved this place.

“Of course I do. But life isn’t so bad on the road.”

Adelaide raised an eyebrow.

I flung some water at her, and she shrieked. “It’s not.”

Or, at least, it hadn’t been. Not until our cart broke, and all our plans broke down along with it.

“Just because it’s not bad doesn’t mean it’s good.” Adelaide scrubbed the tree sap, then flicked water back at me.

I laughed.

“Do you ever think about him?” Adelaide peered at me. “Johanes? Think about what might happen if you ran into him?”

I looked away. “No. Not since he betrayed us.” Betrayed me. “And it’s a good thing because if I ever see him again, I’m not sure he’ll survive the encounter.”

We’d been together for two years. We met when I was twenty-two, when I was young enough that I convinced myself we could be like everyone else, that if someone just loved me enough, they’d understand why I didn’t have magic. That they’d see past that and love me anyway.

We’d been living in the same village we had all our lives at that point,trying to find ways to break the curse, keeping it a secret from everyone around us. That’s when I’d met Johanes, and I’d kept the secret from him for two long years before finally deciding to open up.

“Johanes is in the past.” I scrubbed harder, my hands red and raw. “I’m focusing on the future.”

“Right,” Adelaide said. “Is that why you were so hard on that man—Draven—the other night?”

I winced at the reminder of the rude tavern owner. “He was an ass.”

“Maybe.” Adelaide bobbed her head. “But you really let him get to you. I’ve never seen you riled up like that before.”

My jaw clenched. “Well, I didn’t like the way he was grabbing that young girl and speaking to her.”

“He’s not Johanes,” Adelaide said.

“I know that,” I snapped, then sighed. “Sorry. I’m just feeling a little stressed about everything going on right now.”