She blew out a breath and took a moment to bring up the memory of this morning, held in Uriah's strong arms, his voice rumbling in her ear.
Picture it in your mind, not as it is, but as it could be.
The little bush was struggling, and she'd been babying it for weeks. She looked at the beautiful green leaves and imagined them waxy and shining in the sunlight. The branches thick enough to support enormous white flowers that would give off an intoxicating perfume.
Before her eyes, the small plant shivered and grew. It grew and grew until the terracotta pot shattered in her hands, and she had to walk out into the yard to put down the bush that was quickly growing.
She'd have to re-pot it, but for now, the three-foot-tall tree burst into bloom, and the palm-sized flowers burst open dramatically.
When Ivy stepped back and looked at her coven, Rowena had her hands pressed together at her mouth, tears of joy trickling down her cheeks, practically glowing with pride.
Callie was the first one to start screaming, then Juliet started, and soon they were all dancing and jumping and shrieking around the gardenia tree, celebrating Ivy's new-found surge of power.
Ivy had dreamed of this for so long, fearing she would forever be a witch unable to do magic. For the first time in years, she felt like she truly belonged.
She picked one of the blooms and offered it to Rowena, because without Rowena's steadfast love and loyalty, Ivy would have been out in the world alone, believing she was powerless and unwanted.
Rowena took the flower and cradled it in both hands, lifting it to brush the silky petals against her cheek and to inhale the fragrance.
“It's perfect,” Rowena murmured, while the rest of the coven settled down and once again surrounded them. “How?”
Wasn't that the question of the day? “I have no idea.”
“Come inside. Tell us everything,” Rowena said.
Kerrigan giggled wickedly, smacking a kiss on Ivy's cheek. “Especially the naughty bits.”
“Yeah.” Callie chortled, looping her arm through Ivy's. “Is Uriah really a bear? Cause he looks like a fox.”
CHAPTER SIX
Ivy sat at the dining room table, working on her fourth glass of rich red wine. Avia and Brickkle, the house Brownies, outdid themselves and made a spread of cakes and cookies in no time at all, only allowing themselves to be seen when Ivy called them by name and thanked them for decorating the bathroom at Uriah's and for delivering her things.
At only a foot tall, the two creatures with spindly arms, needle sharp teeth, knife blade shaped ears, chocolaty brown skin, and squashed features, smoothed their twiggy hands down over the frilly dresses they'd made out of 'scraps' Rowena left out and claimed she no longer wanted.
The Brownies shared a look with one another, and Brickkle reached into her pocket to come forward with a tiny little seed cupped in her hands.
“This is for you,” Brickkle told Ivy in her shrill little voice.
Ivy accepted the seed with a smile. “Thank you.”
She got up to grab a pot from the solarium and brought it back to the table, poking her finger into the soil to drop the seed inside, sprinkling it with water.
It was a challenge to think about what the plant would look like, because Brickkle hadn't said what it was, or where it came from. So, she imagined the green shoots waiting to unfurl from the seed, gently stretching up through the soil, hoping to get a better idea of what it could be as it grew.
It happened so much easier than before; the vibrant green leaves sprung up almost instantly, unfurling with a soft hiss. The leaves had a shimmer to the surface, like dragonfly wings.
A pair of stems continued to grow, the tops rounding to marble size buds. It was fascinating to watch them split, and the soft silvery petals open with the grace of a ballerina's arms.
The petals were so thin they were nearly transparent, the centers crowned by a sapphire blue filament and pistil. A male and female flower born from the same seed. How neat was that? It was the most beautiful flower she'd ever seen, and the smell was somewhere between honeysuckle and roses.
“Sweet Mother of Earth,” Callie whispered, leaning forward to stare with wide, hungry eyes at the flowers. “Do you know what that is?”
Ivy shook her head, twisting the pot to get a complete view of Brickkle's gift. “No. I've never seen anything like it.”
“Evlinkuin. It's a rare fairy flower that’s prized in all kinds of alchemical recipes because it embodies male and female magical energy, especially for fertility and healing spells.”
The hunger on Callie's face made Ivy pick up the pot and cradle it in her arms like a baby, turning sideways to protect it from her crazy coven sister.
“You're not using my flower in some whacky experiment!”
Callie gave a glum pout, pouring herself another glass of wine and promised to keep her dirty paws off while she watched the others pass around the pot to ooh and ahh over the beautiful blooms. When Rowena passed it to Astrid, she gave Ivy a salacious wink and left the table,
“I'm going to get you another birth control charm, just in case. I have a feeling you'll be needing some extra coverage now that your magic is online. Unless...?” Rowena stopped in the doorway to give Ivy a suggestive waggle of her eyebrows.
Ivy shook her head hard enough to make her dizzy. “Hook me up! Baby factory is shut down until further notice.”
Rowena gave her two thumbs up and disappeared into her stock room, reappearing with a thin gold chain in her palm, the green stone winking in the light. It matched the ring on Ivy's left index finger, and Rowena smiled as Ivy offered her wrist.
“You know the drill. It won't come off or lose potency until you verbally make the decision to start trying for babies.”
“Got it,” Ivy confirmed, letting the light catch the stone when Rowena finished clasping the bracelet around her wrist. Practical magic at its finest. “Thank you.”
“Of course. I'm really happy for you,” Rowena said genuinely.
Kerrigan carefully set the pot of Ivy's fairy flowers down on the table. “I'm really happy for you, too. And really jealous. That is one sexy beast.”
“So hot,” Juliet agreed, fanning herself as she curled around the glass of wine she held.
“And so kind,” Astrid sighed wistfully.
Ivy opened her mouth to confess she was struggling to adapt to so much change in so short a time, but the loud slap of the broom positioned by the front door made all of them jump and flinch.
“Company!” Astrid sang, lifting her glass with a loud whoop.
Kerrigan snorted into her wine, her eyes a little glassy. “Whatever it is, we don't need any! Unless your care bear is bringing friends for us to play with.”
They were expecting a physical person to come down the drive, not for the huge crystal shard on the table to light up.
The flat piece of clear quartz looked like a decorative, artistic centerpiece on the table, but it was the flat-screen of crystal balls used to communicate with other covens around the globe.
Rowena kept the crystal under a constant security spell, allowing an outsider to contact them, but not be able to hear or see them until the password was spoken. Like a pleasant alarm, the crystal gave a rhythmic chime to alert them of an incoming call.