“What was wrong must be righted, what was taken must be relinquished,” Piper howled, and the air suddenly felt charged, like lightning was about to strike.
And then, with one more shriek and a sound disturbingly like something going down a drain, the rest of Piper was sucked into the Eurydice Candle.
The flame wavered once, twice, briefly glowing blue.
And then went out, leaving Rhys and Vivienne in the darkness.
Alone.
Chapter 23
It was nearly two in the morning by the time Vivi used her spare key to unlock Something Wicked. The Eurydice Candle was tucked in her satchel, and even though it just looked and felt like a regular candle, she didn’t want to hold on to it any longer than she had to, and she definitely didn’t want it in her apartment overnight.
The storage room at the store had seemed like the best place to keep it, and she made her way to that space now, Rhys close behind her.
They hadn’t talked much on the drive over, and they definitely hadn’t talked about that moment in the closet, much like how they weren’t talking about the kiss in the library.
Vivi and Rhys were getting really good at Not Talking About Things, which, she thought, was how it needed to stay.
And, she thought as she pushed back the curtain leading to the storeroom, she needed to remember that whole thing about not being alone with him in dimly lit spaces anymore.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she muttered to herself as she stepped into the storeroom.
She’d forgotten that Aunt Elaine’s spell made the room shift depending on time of day, even depending on the weather. If it was raining outside, there’d be a fire in a fireplace, candles glowing cozily on the walls. If it was sunny, there were windows letting in soft pools of sunlight.
And if it was the middle of the night, you got the fire in the fireplace, the candles and a sky full of stars overhead.
“Is your aunt meeting someone in here later?” Rhys asked, looking around him, and Vivi kept her eyes on the wardrobe ahead of her as she said, “No, this is just . . . the vibe.”
“The vibe,” Rhys repeated, clearly pleased. “I like it.”
Vivi didn’t say anything to that, just opened the wardrobe and gingerly took the candle out of her bag. It was still a little cool to the touch, colder than a normal candle would be, and Vivi was careful as she set it among a pile of plain white candles and several jars of dried herbs.
In the morning, she’d text Gwyn and Elaine to tell them about this, but for now, she just wanted to go up to her apartment and take a very hot bath, followed by several hours of sleep.
“Christ, it’s late,” Rhys said on a sigh, and Vivi nodded as she finished settling the candle in its place.
“I know. I’m glad I don’t have morning classes tomorrow.”
From behind her, she heard Rhys give a low chuckle. “Scheduling teaching around witchcraft. Or witchcraft around teaching, I suppose.”
“That’s my life.”
Except that Vivi hadn’t done this much witchy stuff in ages. And even though tonight had not exactly been a joy, there had been something a little exhilarating about it all. Creeping through the woods to a haunted cabin, summoning up the spirit of a long-dead witch . . . It was the kind of thing Vivi had thought of when she’d first learned about who—about what—she was.
Maybe that’s why she didn’t feel all that tired or worn out or stressed about teaching her classes tomorrow.
She’d gone into a haunted house, lit a magical candle and captured a motherfucking witch ghost.
And that felt pretty awesome.