Southern Secrets: Book 2 in Southern Charms Series

Chapter Thirty-Six: Reunion

Rose

As soon as the declaration passed my lips, the spell broke, and the room was once more a broken place filled with dirt and ghosts. But it didn't seem so dismal anymore. Not knowing how hard Abuela tried to make this place a safe haven for her children. A place where the world couldn't reach them. It didn't matter that it was too late by the time they moved in. What mattered was that she tried.

I found Ash slumped against the wall. His long lashes rested on top of bronzed cheekbones, and when I squatted down to wake him, I studied him. A fine dusting of freckles covered his nose, no doubt a result of our time on the island. He was always handsome, but right now, he took my breath away with his sun kissed skin and features relaxed in peaceful sleep.

"Wake up, sleepy head," I whispered. I pressed a kiss on top of his nose, pushed his hair behind his ear, and sat back on my heels to wait for him to wake.

Lashes fluttered, then his eyes shot open, and he jolted upright. Silver flecks swam in the dark espresso depths of his irises, and they did not go away as he blinked at me in sleepy recognition.

"What happened? One minute we were together, and the next, I was having tea with my Abuela."

So she had visited with him in his subconscious, too. I suspected their visit was far more personal, and I was happy for him. Ash's first stop upon returning to Black Brier had been to visit Southern Charms for an affection charm to help heal the rift between him and his grandmother. It wasn't my place to ask, but I was curious about what caused it. Surely, she knew they banished him to the boarding school on trumped-up charges. Even without the Gift of Foresight, she wasn't a woman who missed much.

"Funny you mention that," I said, helping him to his feet and enjoying the warmth of his hand in mine. "I had a little chat with her too."

"And did you figure out what we needed to learn here? Because all I got was a lecture on self-confidence and dat-"

"And what?" I pressed when he bit off the last word and flushed an adorable pink.

"Noth-"

His mouth twisted as if he'd bitten into a lemon, and the brown in his irises receded, replaced by silver so bright it almost hurt to look at him. I blinked and winced, wondering at the change. Before the argent gleam had been sinister, now it was almost... cheerful wasn't the right word, but it was close.

"She gave him a lecture on dating," Malphas wheezed as he wrestled control from Ash. "I had to watch through his memories since the spell focused on the subconscious and not the physical form, but it was priceless."

"Malphas," I hissed, ushering him out of the house and down the path to the portal. "You can't just snatch control like that. Not anymore."

The sorcerer sobered a bit, but a cheeky tilt lingered on his lips. "I would say I'm sorry, but I'd be lying. I might not be the villain you..." There was a moment's hesitation and then a sigh. "We thought I was. But I never claimed to not be a- hold on, Ash is giving me the appropriate word right now. Asshole? Bastard? All the above?"

I slapped him on the chest and laughed. The action almost made the muscles in my face seize up- it had been so long since they'd been properly used to smile or laugh or do anything but fret and frown. This ordeal was far from over, but for the first time in weeks, I didn't feel hopeless.

"It's probably best that I'm talking directly to you right now anyway," I said, more for Ash's benefit than his. Ash was much more at peace with the body sharing situation than he had been before, but he wouldn't like being shoved to the backseat so abruptly. I hoped what I had to say next would help.