Spelled Kiss | Coven Corner #2

Chapter Sixteen

Bryony made her announcement on Friday morning at breakfast.

"I've decided to move out," she said.

The chaos of the kitchen went silent. Everyone froze and turned to look at her.

"I'll wait until after Samhain, of course," she added. "There's too much to do—"

"You're leaving?" Olive whispered in a trembling voice that made Bryony's heart clench.

"Just to the other side of town probably," Bryony replied. "I'll stay in Wildemoor. I won't be very far away."

But it was too late. The damage was done.

Poppy started to cry. Seline slouched in her chair and crossed her arms. Basil, who had been practicing levitating his spoon into his tea and stirring it, broke his concentration and the spoon clattered to the floor.

Worst of all, Sean kept staring at her. He had arrived early that morning and he hadn't stopped stealing glances at her, as if he was...waiting for something. Expectant.

But now his expression had changed. Closed off with frustration.

"This is the worst Samhain ever," Seline said and shoved away from the table, stomping through the house to her room. She slammed her door shut so hard that the entire house rattled.

Bryony sighed. She had known the news wouldn't go over well. She just didn't think her family would take it this hard.

The rest of breakfast was silent. There was no customary chatter or jokes passed back and forth. Basil hardly touched his food and pushed to his feet.

"I'm not really hungry," he mumbled and darted out the door before Bryony could convince him to stay.

"Bryony," Naomi ventured in a careful tone. "I know I talk about wanting you to have a life of your own and I'm happy that you've decided to make this decision. It just seems...so sudden. You haven't mentioned it before."

Bryony shrugged, poking at her food.

"It feels like the right time. With the twins coming, you could use the space my room would offer."

Naomi placed a hand to her stomach. "Available space isn't a problem, Bryony. You know that."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sean was still staring at her hard. The muscle in his jaw twitched and he gripped his spoon like it was a weapon. Almost as if he was...angry.

She had never seen Sean angry before.

Bryony volunteered to clear the breakfast dishes and Sean slid in beside her. She could feel more than see the rigidity throughout his body, the heat boiling off of him. Neither of them spoke, standing side by side as they cast spells to plunge the dishes into soapy water and scrub them dry. It wasn't until the last person had finally filtered out of the kitchen before Bryony said something.

"Go ahead," she said.

"What?" he replied in a tight voice.

"You've clearly got something on your mind. Spit it out."

Sean huffed and let his hands drop to his sides. His enchantment snapped and the towel he'd been using to dry dishes landed with a plop on the counter.

"Are you leaving because of me?" he said.

Bryony scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself. It's my decision and my life. I've needed a place of my own for a while now. It's long overdue."

"But you don't seem like you really want it. Like you're just doing it out of..." He floundered for the right word, hands spread wide and palms open, helpless and empty.