alleviate my blood-pumping desire, with Grandma Verda in residence, I only had one choice.
Turning the kitchen faucet on full blast, I splashed cold water over my face. When I felt more normal, I pulled out the recipe and the spell I was going to use for Marc and Nate. Two different cakes for two different men. Hopefully, I’d see two different results. For Marc, I wanted his feelings to revert back to normal, so he could focus on his new life. And Nate? I wanted the spell to prove Nate’s feelings for me were real. I wanted that more than anything else.
After getting the ingredients measured and ready, I made sure the bedroom door was closed tight. Grandma Verda was a heavy sleeper, so I doubted she’d hear me, but I didn’t want to chance waking her. I knew she’d had a difficult time sleeping with worrying over Vinny, Miranda, and, well, me.
Switching on the mixer, I began.
“My wish is simple! I’ve cast spells in the past that might have altered people’s emotions and actions. This wish is to erase any of these effects on anyone who eats these cakes, but most specifically on Marc and Nate. I want the truth to come out, and only the truth. I wish for all previous enchantments to be removed!”
I repeated the wish a couple of more times as the magic bounced through me, around me, creating a maelstrom of colors, wind, and electricity. This time, I felt everything explode from the center of me, from my heart, like I never felt before.
All the anger of the prior year, the fears, and the desperation flew out of me. Quickly following, all the hopes and dreams I’d begun to have for Nate filled me, surrounded me, and pushed me forward. My knees trembled, and my arms shook. I sucked in air but held on tight, my body rippling with energy.
The power of it almost brought me to my knees, but I forced myself to remain upright until it all slowly died down. Then I released my grip on the mixer and, folding my arms on the counter, cradled my head in them. Raw emotion from letting go of the last of my fears and anger collided with my worries and hopes over Nate, of what would happen.
“Liz? What the fuck did you just do?”
Oh no! I turned to face Nate, my heart in my throat. “Er, that’s a long story.” I tossed him a weak grin, the trembles beginning all over again. He stood in the entry of the kitchen, his body ramrod straight, his eyes narrowed. But what scared me was the frigidness of his expression. “Why are you here? How did you get in?”
“I left my pager here. When I knocked on the door, you didn’t answer, but I heard you yelling. I got scared, tried the door, found it unlocked.” His gaze swung around the room. “And found you doing something that I, no matter how hard I try, can’t find a reasonable explanation for. I need you to explain this to me. Now, please.”
“Chill out, Nate, she’s not a devil worshipper. There’s a reasonable explanation, and you’ll hear it,” Grandma Verda said, emerging from the bedroom. She focused on me. “Sweetie, that was incredible. Now I understand why Miranda tried to connect with you. Even my mother’s power wasn’t that strong.”
“Power? What? Hell, do I even want to know?” Nate backed up against the wall.
Me? I had no clue what to say. My mouth was glued shut. Yeah, I know. A new concept for me.
“If you’re interested in my granddaughter, you do. If you’re not, because of something like this, then she’s too good for you, young man. And if that’s the choice you make, I’ll have severely underestimated you.” Grandma Verda pointed a finger at Nate. “I thought you were a pomegranate, not a lemon. Don’t let me down.”
I was seriously going to have to talk to her about her fruit thing.
And then, while I was still trying to figure everything out, a kaleidoscope of color washed the room. Goose bumps coated my skin, like before but also different somehow. The scent of flowers filled the room. And I knew, from the bottom of my toes to the top of my head, that I was finally going to meet my great-great-great-grandmother.
The swirl of colors grew brighter, pulsating to the beat of my heart. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a woman stepped out of the rainbow. She wore a brightly