Chapter 122

Agnes

A few days passed after that, and I never located my letter. When I asked Evelyn and Gertrude about it, they said they hadn’t seen it. I wondered if one of the staff had picked it up and tossed it out, thinking that it was trash.

Either way, I supposed it didn’t really matter at that point; Elijah already knew my true feelings, and we had come to the difficult decision to cool off our romantic relationship.

In a strange sort of way, though, this time didn’t hurt as much as the first time he rejected me. Maybe because this wasn’t a rejection, but rather a matter of mutual understanding. We had to do what was best for Thea, and what was best for her right now was keeping her safe until something could be figured out in regards to Olivia.

Olivia.

Just the thought of her name pained me, and all I could think about was those moments leading up to the poison ivy, when she had just ‘happened’ to lose me in the woods. I still didn’t believe that it was as unintentional as she was making it out to be, and Elijah didn’t entirely believe it, either.

But as for the poison ivy, I didn’t even know I had the same allergy. Perhaps Olivia cruelly wanted to humiliate or frighten me because of what happened between me and Elijah, but it wasn’t as if it was her goal to get me infected with poison ivy and hospitalized.

Over the following days, however, I tried to push thoughts of Olivia from my mind. The doctor recommended that I take a week off of work to fully recover, and during that time, Thea and I spent a lot of our waking hours together.

Eventually, after seeing an advertisement in the local paper, I decided to sign Thea up for violin lessons. When I asked her if it was something she’d be interested in trying, Thea seemed excited. Elijah was surprised when I told him what we’d done.

“I just think it will be good for her,” I said one night as we were cleaning up after dinner. “She needs more things to do that don’t involve ruminating over… well, us.”

Elijah glanced at me over his shoulder as he was putting a cup away. “I guess you’re right,” he said, furrowing his brow. He turned to face me, crossing his arms over his chest, and leaned back against the counter. “I’ll pay for her to have her own violin. Although, right now I’m not sure if I have the time to take her to lessons.”

I simply shrugged. “I’ll take her. It’ll be our thing.”

To my surprise and relief, Elijah smiled. “I like the sound of that,” he said, pushing away from the counter and brushing past me.

The way his shoulder lightly bumped mine as he passed sent a pleasant rush through me that wasn’t entirely unwelcome, and the subtle look he gave me just before he disappeared around the corner made my cheeks flush.

Sure, we were cooling off our relationship. But every so often, we would have these brief moments of connection—these silent promises that, despite everything, we still felt the same for each other. And the night we shared together, weeks ago by now, was looked upon with fondness rather than regret.

But at the same time, knowing that we still had those feelings for one another but couldn’t act on them made the separation hurt that much more.

The next day, we took Thea to the music store, where she picked out a child’s size violin and all the necessary accessories. We signed her up for private lessons as well as the local children’s orchestra, which I think excited me and Elijah more than her. It was a good chance for her to make friends her age, even though she was nervous to play an instrument around others.

And so our days went on, peaceful but more distant than before. We didn’t see or hear from Olivia, and Elijah handled the media attention, publicly stating that the kiss was nonconsensual and that our marriage was solid.

By that Friday, however, Elijah arrived home with a strange look on his face. Thea was at her first orchestra meeting, and I was waiting for her to finish before I went to pick her up. Elijah didn’t even bother taking off his jacket as he strode up to me in the living room.

“Grab your coat,” he said, already turning toward the door. “I’m taking you to see that psychic.”

I frowned, rising from my chair, and followed him out to the foyer where he was waiting. “I didn’t know you still planned on that,” I mused as I grabbed my jacket from the hook by the door.

Elijah simply shrugged. “I hate to see you suffer from losing your wolf. Besides, what happened in the forest was just proof that you’re weaker without it.”

My lips parted. Of course, I recalled the way I’d stumbled blindly through the woods that night, unable to see properly without my wolf’s superior night vision. But the reminder felt a little harsh.

Elijah’s face paled slightly. “I didn’t mean—”

I shook my head and pulled my jacket on. “It’s fine. Let’s go.”

We drove to the psychic in silence. I wasn’t upset with Elijah for his words, but rather not trying to get my hopes up. I was often skeptical when it came to witches and psychics, as many of them were phonies who were taking advantage of people who, for example, had just lost a loved one.

But at the same time, I couldn’t help but shift excitedly in my seat. Would it really be so simple as paying a witch to help lift the alleged curse that was keeping my wolf away?

I hardly dared to hope that would be the case.

We pulled up to the psychic’s shop, a small storefront situated on the first floor of a nondescript house along the main road. When we headed inside, I was hit with the scent of sage and patchouli, the sound of bells tinkling softly above the door.

“You came,” a dreamy voice said from seemingly nowhere.

Elijah and I both turned to see a small, beautiful woman emerging from a back room. She wore a long, flowy white dress, her wrists and ankles adorned with beads and bangles, and she was stirring tea in a delicate teacup in her hand.

Elijah nodded, and without a word, the woman gestured for us to follow her into the room she’d just emerged from. I shot Elijah a wary look, and the woman said without even seeing me, “It’s alright. I don’t bite.”

Taking a deep breath, I followed her into the room with Elijah on my heels. She gestured for me to take a seat at a small, round table with a crystal ball in the center. She took a sip of her tea as she sat, and I settled in, suddenly feeling claustrophobic in the small space.

For a long time, the woman said nothing. She just… stared at me and drank her tea. I opened my mouth to speak on more than one occasion, but found no words, and she never made any attempts herself.

Finally, she finished her tea and set the cup down. She gazed into the empty cup for a few long moments, still silent, and it took me a second to realize that she was reading the tea leaves. I glanced up at Elijah, who was leaning against the wall, and he simply shrugged.

After what felt like an eternity, the woman nodded and looked back up at me.

“I believe the curse that’s weakening your wolf is ancient and powerful,” she said. “But, I also think it could be lifted with the correct ritual.”

My eyebrows shot up, and I let out a disbelieving laugh. “That simple?”

She shook her head. “Anything but, my dear. The ritual I have in mind might be dangerous, and even then, it may not ultimately be able to lift the curse.”

“Dangerous how?” Elijah asked.

The woman looked up at him. She said nothing, but the dark look in her large eyes spoke volumes.

Elijah suddenly shook his head. “If Agnes is going to get hurt in any way, then—”

“I’ll do it,” I cut him off.

They both blinked at me. “You’re sure?” the woman asked.

I nodded, genuinely wondering how bad it could possibly be. After a moment, the woman sighed and dug into a small pouch attached to her hip, withdrawing what looked like a handful of bones and crystals. She scattered them across the table and held her hands out for me to take. Her palms were warm and dry as I took them.

“Close your eyes,” she said, her voice low. “This should only take a few minutes.”

Casting one last glance at Elijah, who looked like he was about to burst, I did as she said. The woman began to chant in a language I didn’t understand. The room began to feel cold, far colder than it should have, and I could have sworn I heard the table tremble between us, the bones and crystals rattling across the surface.

I began to grow worried as I heard thunder roll outside, my heart pounding. This wasn’t right. I changed my mind and opened my eyes, only to find…

That the room was gone.