He replied instantly. Was he waiting for me to text?

Kellan: I thought you didn’t believe in Mystics.

Bethan: Just come here.

Kellan: Is this grimoire related?

She didn’t bother replying. She knew he would come for her. He always did.

***

Agatha stood outside the shiny greenhouse dressed like she belonged there; Bethan could see the afternoon sun’s rays bouncing off her blondish curls. Agatha wore denim overalls paired with a white bell-sleeved top. Clearly, Agatha didn’t feel the cold, and neither did Bethan; she only wore a skirt and an orange-knitted sweater. On the other hand, Kellan dressed like he was ready for an oncoming blizzard. His raven hair hid beneath a beanie, along with his fae ears. He was sick of people gawking at him because of them.

Agatha saw them approach and waved them over. She watched Agatha’s eyes darken when she addressed Kellan; even the prince, who held the power of fire, wasn’t able to thaw the Green Witch’s feelings. Perhaps he never will, but Bethan knew Kellan hated to fail. And he wasn’t going to give Agatha a genuine reason to despise him.

‘Agatha, you look absolutely divine today,’ he said, going as far as grabbing her hand and pressing a soft kiss onto it.

‘Stop that,’ Bethan said, tugging Kellan’s heavy coat. His charm turned off immediately. All he did was merely glare at her in return when Agatha was no longer looking.

‘Maybe we should go inside,’ Agatha murmured awkwardly.

She opened the glass doors; the smell of the earth and fertiliser greeting them.

All three walked through the many aisles of exotic greenery. Flowers turned and followed Agatha as she walked as if watching her. Kellan marvelled at every plant.

‘This place is exactly how I imagined Gaea to look,’ he whispered in Bethan’s ear. Bethan pretended the closeness didn’t please her. After the dinner at the Rennigans’ and their almost-kiss, they both played a dangerous game of Will They, Won’t They, and it drove her insane. The other day, he had walked into her apartment without a shirt, asking to borrow some milk. Bethan couldn’t find words that day and wordlessly handed him the carton in an attempt not to drool over his statue-like body. It didn’t help she was still furious at him for not listening to her about Canden.

‘My mother’s in the office out back; I’ll tell her you’re here,’ Aggie said before she disappeared behind a curtained partition and likely into a hall.