A Sip of Magic by Swansea Kate

Author:Swansea, Kate
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-12T00:00:00+00:00

Two hours into their date, Serena was beginning to worry Jared was growing bored with her.

She glanced around The Labyrinth as Jared checked his watch for at least the sixth time since their dinner had arrived.

It seemed to her that the date — was this a date? —had been going well. At least at first. When all the pool tables had been full, a witch couple insisted Jared take theirs. She and Jared chatted through appetizers and dinner, their conversation pleasant and filled with inside jokes about the places they’d gone together, and the things they had learned about each other. Copious complimentary drinks were sent to their table from other witches at the bar, but they didn’t drink irresponsibly. All and all, it should have been a lovely evening.

And yet toward the end of dinner, something in Jared’s demeanor shifted — a shadow of unease draped itself across his otherwise confident facade. He started to fidget, his fingers drumming on the table or adjusting the silverware just so.

Royce caught onto it too, raising an eyebrow when he swung by their table. “Everything alright there, Jared?” he’d asked, voice threaded with genuine concern.

Jared shot him a look, a silent “not now,” and Royce took the hint, nodding subtly, and disappearing.

“Do you want to head out early?” she ventured, as they finished dessert.

He hesitated, then gestured for the waiter. “One more round,” he murmured.

He seemed distracted the entire walk back to the teahouse, too. When they neared her street, she sighed sharply and turned on him.

“I can make it the rest of the way on my own, thanks.”

Brow furrowing, Jared halted. “What? No, come on, let me walk you home.”

“Why? You’ve been out of it half the evening; clearly there’s somewhere else you’d rather be.”

Jared’s face fell. “I—Serena, no, that’s not true. Just let me walk you to the teahouse, and we can talk there, yeah?”

She crossed her arms, but didn’t put up a fight. “Fine.”

He escorted her down Bailey Street in silence, Serena scowling to herself all the way, while the space between them seemed to grow.

When they at last reached her building, she saw movement through one of the darkened windows. Her posture went board-straight.

“Someone’s inside,” she hissed. Her mind was still on high alert from the crow drawing earlier in the day, and she was already forming a plan of attack in her head.

To her immense confusion, Jared simply smiled, and pulled the door open.

The moment she flipped the light on, she barked out a laugh of delighted shock. Twenty people, including her coven, Aaron, Judith, and Zoe, along with new friends and her best customers jumped out of various hiding spots and yelled, “Surprise!” Across the far wall near the Goddess Corner hung a large, festive banner.

“Welcome to Pembrooke?” she said, reading the sign and looking up at Jared with bemused interest.

He shrugged in an approximation of innocence. “We never really gave you a proper housewarming,” he explained as her friends rushed forward. “It only seemed fair. Take it as thanks, for everything you’ve done.

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