Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 65042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
I spent the day making a comprehensive list of all the things I’d need to open my own knitting store right there in the cottage. I had big plans for the evening.
First, I was going to go to the edge of the bubble that surrounded the town right at sunset. (I spent some time around noon going out to look for it. Luckily, it wasn’t far—just about fifty feet past the edge of my own backyard.) I planned to cross through it and find the wishing tree the moment the sun set.
Then, as soon as I had placed my order with the tree, I was going to go straight back home and make love with Shadow. I was going to let him knot me and bring him into the real world permanently so that we could spend our lives together.
After that, I was going to set up my own knitting store and sell yarn and equipment and offer lessons. Shadow and I would live happily ever after in Hidden Hollow and the rest of my life would be peaceful and bright and sunny.
I had it all laid out in my mind—how happy we were going to be together and how perfectly wonderful the future would be.
But if I’d had any idea of the trouble I was about to land in, I wouldn’t have felt nearly so happy…or so safe.
33
DANNI
The edge of the magic barrier shimmered like a giant soap bubble stretching from the earth to the sky. I could see the rainbow swirls running over its translucent surface, gliding and warping like oil in water. In some places it looked a little thin—patched or worn, maybe. Like it really did need shoring up, just as Goody Albright and the others had said at the meeting in Goldie’s Diner.
And here I was, supposedly one of the witches called to help reinforce it.
Except I wasn’t sure I belonged.
I’d had magic once—at least, I thought I had. I must have, if Shadow could come to me when I was a little girl. And since the cottage had opened to me and the bubble had let me through into Hidden Hollow in the first place, presumably I still had at least a little.
But I didn’t know how to call it anymore—didn’t know how to make anything work magically, as I had when I was a kid.
Still, I wasn’t complaining—at least I’d had enough to get here. Hidden Hollow was the first place that had felt like home in years. And once I had the supplies for the knitting shop I was going to open and I was bonded to Shadow, I wouldn’t just be visiting—I’d belong.
For good.
The last curve of the sun dropped below the horizon, and the golden twilight dissolved into true dusk. The temperature dipped, a soft breeze brushing my cheeks.
I drew in a steadying breath and stepped forward.
The bubble gave a bit of resistance, like walking through warm Jell-O. And then it slipped gently around me, letting me through without a fuss.
I found myself in the woods just behind the cottage. When I turned, I could still see the faint outlines of my grandmother’s garden—the tomato plants heavy with ripe fruit. I really needed to harvest them. Tomorrow, I promised myself.
Right now I had other business.
I squared my shoulders, raised my chin, and spoke into the gathering dark.
“Wish I may, wish I might, find the Wishing Tree tonight.”
The moment the words left my lips, the world around me changed.
A cold so sharp it stole my breath slammed into me, sinking straight into my bones. The trees I’d been standing among disappeared. So did the garden, the cottage, and the soft protection of Hidden Hollow.
Everything went black.
Not dark, but black—a thick, suffocating absence of light that pressed on my eyeballs and made the air feel heavier. There were no stars. No moon. Hell, when I looked up, I didn’t even see the sky. It was scary.
For a long, frantic moment, panic bloomed in my chest.
Why had I done this? Why had I thought I could just walk out here and find some magical tree like it was as easy as placing an Amazon order?
I didn’t even have any real magic. If something came for me, I wouldn’t have a clue how to protect myself!
But then I saw something—far ahead in the distance—a faint gray shimmer like a low fog bank on the horizon.
There was nothing else to do but move toward it.
I walked. Dried leaves cracked underfoot and invisible branches brushed my cheeks. Apparently the forest wasn’t gone—just rendered invisible because of the darkness. I kept a hand out in front of me to be sure I didn’t run into anything.
The biting cold clawed up my legs, right through my thin leggings. My breath came in little white puffs I could barely see in front of my face.