Prologue
Ariaâs irritation was a tangible thing as she entered Belladonna, the apothecary that she owned and ran with her twin sister Lorelai. The heat of the paper cups in her hands scalded her skin as the bell hanging above the door jingled merrily.
âWhatâs wrong?â Her sisterâs voice was immediately colored with concern.
Though Aria was certain that not all twins were like Lorelai and herself, the fact remained that they had always been acutely attuned to one anotherâs moods and thoughts. And no matter how much Aria wasnât in the mood to talk about it, today was no different.
She tried to school her face into nonchalance as she set the cup of Lorelaiâs orange blossom tea and her own triple-shot latte on the counter. From the expression on her sisterâs face, she suspected that the effect wasnât quite what sheâd hoped for.
âI donât want to talk about it.â Denying that she was upset was useless around the woman with whom sheâd shared a womb. Lorelai might have been sweeter and softer than Aria, but she could be ruthless when she wanted something. âItâs nothing new, anyway.â
Hoping to change the subject, Aria nodded to the dried chamomile and lavender, the fresh sprigs of rosemary and spearmint. âAre you making more salve?â Wandering to the back room where they prepared their concoctions, Aria inhaled the aroma into her lungs, hoping the familiar scents would relax her a bit.
With the herbal smell, she caught an edge of something elseâthat burnt sugar smell of magic.
Turning, she raised an eyebrow at her sister. Though Belladonna did indeed provide magical services to those who knew to ask, they never added anything extra to the stock on their shelves.
âMr. Garrison was in. His arthritis has been bothering him with all of the rain weâve been having. He asked if there was anything else I could add to the salve to help.â
Aria watched as, flushed, Lorelai spooned the warm salve from the pot into a small tin. Though humans wouldnât have been able to see it, Aria saw the faint blue glow emanating from her sisterâs fingers as she added one final charge of magic to the salve.
âThere.â Nodding, Lorelai set the tin aside to cool, then turned back to Aria. âNow. Whatâs going on?â
âI already told you, I donât want to talk about it. Donât be nosy.â Crossing her arms defensively over her chest, Aria tried to glower at her sister. Lorelai simply tapped her foot on the floor with impatience.
âIâm waiting.â
âFine.â Scowling, Aria raked a hand through the sleek strands of her glossy chestnut hair. It swung back around her chin as if sheâd never touched it.
Wondering how to phrase it, she opened her mouth, then closed it again. Wetting her mouth with another sip of coffee, she finally blurted it out.
âI havenât had sex in almost a year.â
Lorelaiâs expression didnât change as Aria spoke, but Aria thought she caught the faintest flicker in her sisterâs eyes.
âI see,â Lorelai spoke slowly, as if she didnât really see at all. âUh... Iâm sorry?â
Aria couldnât help but quirk the corners of her lips up in a smirk. âIâm just setting the stage here. Anyway, you know I have a hard time with the men in town.â Her smirk faded as she thought further.
Surely there was one man out thereâjust oneâwho wouldnât be scared of her. It wasnât as if she was a gorgon, or anything. And any idiot with half a brain knew that a witch was probably a safer bet than a human, bound by the threefold ruleâany harm done would be revisited upon herself times three.
And there had been one manâone vampire, to be exact. But Declan Steele, her vampire lover, was long gone, and it was her own damn fault.
She shook her head to clear it of the thought. The past was the past. She just needed a man with enough balls to get her naked, scratch this itch and let her go back to normal life.
âContinue.â Aria was pleased to hear the frost that had entered her sisterâs tone, irritation on her behalf. Still, she knew that Lorelai didnât understand, not fully. They were twins, they made no secret of their magical heritage and they were co-owners of Belladonna, but Lorelai didnât have quite the same troubles with the locals as Aria did.
Her sister was sweet of nature where Aria was fiery. Lorelai liked to please people, and Aria could not have cared less. Her sister even had the golden good looks of an angel, while Aria frequently changed her hair color and style. She also preferred torn denim, red lipstick and her ancient leather jacket to her twinâs floaty skirts and cardigans.