Garden of Dreams and Desires - Kristen Painter Page 0,1
to the woman in her head instantly. His mother. “You come from a powerful family.”
That shut him up. She went on. “One that you both love and hate. You love the power, the influence, the money, but you hate the comparisons, the standards, the expectations, but most especially the consequences if you step out of line.”
A plan unfurled in her head like the leaves of one of her sister’s plants. Lush and verdant, the idea grew so large so quickly that the perceived reward overshadowed any possible risk. She smiled at him, offering him a safe place. A friend. “You struggle with so much. You deserve to be your own man.”
“I do.” He nodded.
“You are so much more than your mother’s son.” She pushed a relaxation spell into her words to make him completely receptive to what she was about to say.
His mouth opened and his pupils dilated slightly. “I am.”
“But no one ever gives you the chance, do they?”
“No.” He shook his head slowly. “They never do.”
She whispered a few words to entrance him further, the alcohol in his system aiding her. “I can help you,” she said quietly. “I can give you that chance. I can make your heart’s desire come true.”
Eyes glassed over, he leaned forward. “How?”
She smiled sweetly. “I’m a good witch. I know a secret garden where all your dreams and desires will come true and your troubles will disappear.”
More nodding.
He belonged to her now. The plan branched into something greater. She pulled a scrap of paper and a pen from her bag and scribbled down an address while murmuring a disillusion spell over it so that he would see what she wanted him to see and not what she’d actually written. Then she held the paper up so he could read it. She spoke the address she wanted him to read three times, then folded the paper and placed it in his hand. “Come to this address tonight and I will help you. You must tell no one and when you return, you must burn this paper to finish the spell. Do you understand?”
He repeated what she’d said, eyes wide as saucers. “I go to this address tonight and you will help me. After that, I burn this paper to complete the spell.”
Not that he would ever get that chance. “Good boy. Now go back to your room and wait until dusk, then come to me. Leave all your valuables behind.”
With a final nod, he got up and disappeared into the crowd.
Her skin tingled with the sheer brilliance of what she’d just set in motion. She thanked the goddess for sending the senator’s son to her as she got to her feet and started packing up her things. She had to get to her sister Zara’s. They had another ritual to prepare for.
Augustine balled his hand into a fist, but kept it at his side. Smashing it through the bedroom door in front of him wouldn’t do any good.
Although it might make up for the last three days of hell. He’d spent seventy-two hours knowing the woman he loved was suffering but had been unable to do anything about it. All because three days ago, he’d drugged Harlow in hopes of finding out if the rekindled spirit of her dead twin, Ava Mae, had truly possessed her.
He’d gotten his answer. Harlow was, indeed, possessed.
And now, three days later, Ava Mae had yet to come out of Harlow’s room, claiming to be too sick to join him and Lally for meals. Or do anything else for that matter. Every time he asked, no matter what the reason, she refused.
He stood in the hall and stared at her closed door, his anger building. Had Ava Mae locked herself in there because she remembered that he’d drugged her and gotten her to admit she’d taken over Harlow’s body? Did she know he was wise to her scheme? Was she afraid? He pondered that a moment. If she was, it was the first smart thing she’d done as Ava Mae. And if she was afraid of him, studying up on Harlow so she could appear more like her sister and not her sister’s possessor was another smart move.
Whatever her reasons, he wanted her out where he could see her. Because while Ava Mae was essentially holding Harlow hostage so that Ava Mae could enjoy the pleasures of the corporeal world, that body still belonged to Harlow and he knew for a fact that Harlow was still in there.