After dropping off Ash and Willow, my afternoon crawled by at a glacial pace. Mama gave me the stink eye when I walked in the house. No doubt, she'd known the moment I left the city limits, but she didn't say anything about it. I didn't know what I'd done to earn the free pass, but I wasn't about to confess my sins on the off chance what I took for knowledge of my disobedience was really just irritation over the dirt I tracked in on her clean floors.

The house was abuzz with females getting ready for the evening's festivities. Witches or not, there were certain beauty routines common to every woman, and I hadn't made it to my room good before Caly was asking to borrow my curling iron and eye liner. Harmony's door was shut, and I threw my fingers to my lips as I handed the requested items to my sister.

"I'd really rather she not know I'm home."

Caly tightened the sash of her pale, pink robe. "Oh, she knows, but right now, her moisturizing routine takes precedence over turning you into a toad."

"Did she say she was gonna do that?" Caly smirked and walked away. "Caly, you're supposed to be on my side. If she said that, you need to tell Mama. She'll believe you."

If I thought that would appeal to my eldest sister, I was wrong. She marched back to my room, a streak of red staining her pale cheeks. "I don't know that she wouldn't let Harmony do it."

"Where is this coming from?" I demanded. It was hard to keep the hurt out of my voice. Caly and I usually got along.

"Ash Goodwin? Really? After setting Clemmy after Harmony over that boy, you're gonna go after him yourself. He's bad news, Rosey. At least if you were a toad, you'd stay away from him."

"Weren't you agreeing with Harmony the other night that we shouldn't judge him based on rumors?"

"No boy is worth you fighting with your sister. You knew Harmony liked him, and you went after him."

"Oh, that's what this is about?" Bless Caly's heart. Knowing she was trying to protect Harmony made her anger towards me hurt less, but I was still irritated with the situation.

"I'm just saying, I thought you were better than that. Stealing another woman's boy is low, Rose."

"Oh good grief," I shouted, throwing my hands up for dramatic flair, "Harmony hasn't laid eyes on Ash Goodwin since he went away to school. He was shorter than all of us and resembled a turtle."

I circled my eyes and blinked owlishly through them, earning a snicker from my sister. That was all it took for the anger to fade, but the worry was still evident in her expression.

"I just don't like it. Besides..."

She bit her lip. Whatever she was about to say had tears brimming in her eyes, and I knew that couldn't be a good sign. I braced myself. Caly may not be intentionally mean like Harmony, but when she spoke her truth, she did so with little regard for feelings.

"He's not really suitable for you." Panic flashed in her eyes as my face crumpled. "I mean, you know I'm not some magic supremacist, but the Council will never allow it! I'm just trying to save you heartache."

"First you're worried about Harmony's heart and now mine? How touching. Get out." I pointed at my door, hoping she would obey immediately because I didn't want her to see me cry. And the tears were there. Hot and rising.

"Rosey-"

"Just go, please."

I counted to ten after she left. No point in letting her get me all riled up. She wasn't saying anything I hadn't heard before, in one way or another. Funny how I kept expecting the sting to lessen. Instead it grew sharper, hitting with better precision. Especially when thrown by the few I trusted most.

I hopped in the shower, sighing as hot water sluiced over my body, carrying away any tears that managed to sneak out. The party was hours away, but I wanted to take my time getting ready. Maybe a cleansing mask while I painted my nails. Pretend for once I wasn't being left behind.

The shower ran until the water turned cold, and my skin was red all over. Condensation swamped the mirror, so heavy in some places tiny droplets formed and slid down the glass. I ran my finger through the mist, tracing meaningless loops across the surface, each swipe revealing more and more of my form.

Staring at the reflection, I frowned. This is how I felt most days. Parts of myself were hidden, shrouded by the secrets I was forced to keep. I was beginning to think I'd never understand what I was capable of because I couldn't see the bigger picture.

I dried off and dressed. My sisters were donning evening gowns of silk while I tugged on denim. Magic would dry their hair in perfect waves while I had to blow dry and straighten. They would have faces with runway makeup while my foundation would be slightly off color because I picked it up at a drugstore.

"Stop it," I screamed, tugging on the damp ends of my hair. This type of wallowing wasn't like me. I didn't focus on what I didn't have now- I focused on what I would find in the future.

"Talking to yourself now?"

"Clemmy!"

My grandmother stood in my room. The door was closed, but I didn't know if she'd shut it or popped in unannounced. Mama had a rule about wards around our bedrooms-Harmony skirted that by targeting just me. Not that it would matter as I couldn't create one if I wanted to.

"Why did you leave town today? With Ash Goodwin no less?"

"B-b-because," I spluttered, searching for a good excuse that wouldn't involve too much of the truth. I was already in hot water with Harmony for ratting her out the other night and hanging out with Ash. Adding another offence wouldn't do me any favors.

"Don't bother lying to me child. I already know the answer."

"Then why the heck are you pestering me?" I snapped. The words poured out before I could throw my hands over my mouth. Clemmy gave me a look so fierce I almost ran down the hall and begged Harmony to give me green skin and warts.

"I don't understand what has gotten into you lately, and I'm not going to try to."

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

Clemmy's short hair swung about her face as she sniffed. "You're lucky I need something from you child, or you'd be spending the night in your daddy's hammock. I know about this party you're planning on going to."

"How?" I asked, once more before I could stop myself. Had someone put a spell on my room? One that made me prone to word vomit?

She waved away the question. "Same way I knew you left town. Clemmy knows all."

Since when did Clemmy start talking about herself in the third person?

"Have you ever wondered why your mother doesn't allow you to spend the night outside of the town?"

"Well, of course, but-"

"You won't be able to get back into town after dark."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly be coming home at dark if I was staying the night with someone," I snapped, grabbing my towel and rubbing it against my hair. It would make tonight difficult for sure, but if that was the entire reason for forcing me to say no to every invitation from Flannery, then Mama had some explaining to do.

Clemmy arched a brow and pain exploded across my scalp, like someone had pulled my hair. My treacherous mouth fell open, but a slight twitch in her other eyebrow shut me right up.

"You spend a night out of this town, and the next day you'll find yourself running for the city limits like all the other impotens. The few times y'all have gone on vacation required Council approved passes."

I rubbed my head and sat on the edge of my bed. Even though I hadn't wanted to go to the party in the first place, I couldn't help but pout a little as I said, "I guess I'll call Willow and Ash and tell them I won't be able to go."

"You'll do no such thing."

"Clemmy, you're giving me whiplash here."

My grandmother thrust a necklace me. A silver locket, with my initials monogrammed in diamonds on the surface, hung on a fine, glittering chain. The trinket was warm against my palm, and it hummed as if it were alive. Bespelled. All its beauty faded as my mind imagined all the ways it could make me uncomfortable.

"Clemmy, it's beautiful, but I can't wear this. It'll make me sick."

"Fiddlesticks. I know you've had reactions in the past, but the amount of magic in that necklace is minute. Just enough to function as a key to the wards. It'll give you enough of a magical signature that the wards will let you come and go."

"Why haven't I been given this before?"

"It was supposed to be a present for your seventeenth birthday, but it suits my purposes for you to have it now."

Of course. Her purposes. Just thinking about what she wanted me to do caused me to cringe, and the woman hadn't even explained it yet. But I knew Clemmy. If it was something she couldn't do herself, it was bound to be bad.

Clasping it around my neck, I asked, "so are you gonna tell me why you're so gung ho about this impoten party?"

"It's not the party I care about, but the company you'll be keeping. I want you to keep an eye on Ash. Tell me what he does and who he talks to."

"I am not spying on Ash," I shouted, my arms going around my middle. Just thinking about doing something so underhanded made me feel like I was covered in Willow's spell all over again.

"I am not asking you to do this, child. I'm telling you to do it."

Clemmy raised her hand, her fingers forming a 'c' shape I knew well. She was casting a deafening spell. Only the person being spoken to could hear the words she said. A shiver went down my spine, all the way to my toes, making them curl in the plush carpet as I waited for the elder witch to speak.

"Someone is causing trouble around this town, and that trouble is spilling over to the human world. I don't think it's any kind of coincidence Ash Goodwin showed back up when he did, and if it makes you feel better, think of this as an opportunity to clear his name once and for all."

"What kind of trouble?"

"That's for me to know."

"Well, how am I supposed to know what I'm looking for then?"

"You just do what I asked. Everything he says or does. I want to know it. Understand?"

Clemmy's speech hadn't convinced me to spy on my new friend, but the distress whirling behind her eyes did. "Yes ma'am."

"Good girl." She winked at me. "Have fun tonight. Some of the best parties I ever attended were human parties. They sure know how to get creative without magic."

She vanished, and my ears popped as her spell went with her. I touched the locket on my neck. Besides the heat, I felt fine. No itching. No nausea. No turning into an animal. Physically, I was fit as a fiddle.

But my heart was a whole other matter.