Page 4 of Not Your Ex's Hexes
Now that Rose had a little extra time on her hands, she was… lost… and had evidently taken Vi’s former position as the Bad Idea triplet. Except this this wasn’t a bad idea. They’d load those two sweet mares into the trailer and get them the help they needed.
Harper got behind the steering wheel and flashed them a thumbs-up. “Go get it done, witches. I’ll be right here waiting to make a clean getaway.”
Rose and her sisters walked as quietly as possible to the dilapidated barn. The only sound other than their breathing was the distant traffic and the soft huffs of the animals inside.
With Olive shining her phone flashlight on the door’s rusted slide-latch, Rose yanked on the lock, unsurprised when it didn’t budge. She tried again, giving it a little more oomph. It moved an inch before sticking. “Damn it…”
“Remind me why this has to be a magicless operation?” Vi asked.
“Because unless these animals have been around Magic before, they could have a bad reaction to it. Getting a hoof to the head isn’t on my list of things to do.”
“See, I didn’t know that.” Vi shot her a pointed look. “Which is why I need a wing-witch with this whole Prima thing. Honestly, how long once I get the title do you think it’ll be until I offend someone by calling them by the wrong name? It’s not only a huge faux pas in the bedroom, you know?”
Rose sighed. “We’ve had this discussion.”
“Discussion implies back-and-forth communication. We didn’t have that. It was me begging, and you flat-out saying no. Adrian isLincoln’s Second-in-Command. There’s no reason why I can’t have a wing-witch. We could even get you a little button… or a sash. No one wears sashes anymore.”
As flattered as Rose was by the offer, it wasn’t happening. For the last six months, she’d been content living in Vi’s Queens studio apartment while she searched for her ownthing.Thatthingmight be a little elusive, but she was determined to find it.
Maybe it was what brought her to this run-down farm in the middle of the night and about to horse-nap two sick mares. Who knows?Shewouldn’t if she let herself take the easy route.
Harper hung her head out from the Jeep’s open window, and hissed, “Less chitchat and more breaking-and-entering, please. My spidey senses are tingling and not in a good way.”
Vi grumbled, putting her hands over Rose’s on the rusty latch. “Fine… but we’re not done with this conversation. On the count of three, yank with everything you’ve got.”
As they hit their count, they each threw their weight into the pull. It finally released with a heavy groan. The second Rose opened the barn door, they were hit with the scent of horse and hay… and a few more unpleasant smells.
Vi gagged, covering her nose. “I have never been so glad to be a cat owner. Even Mr. Fancy Pants’s most volatile poops don’t smell anything close to this, and they’re pretty damn putrid after he eats turkey breast.”
Rose sniffed, failing to hide her smirk. “I don’t smell anything.”
Vi threw her a glare because it was common Magical Triad knowledge that while Rose had inherited their father’s mountain-lion shifter eyesight and Olive called dibs on amplified hearing, Vi, unfortunately, had acquired his augmented sense of smell.
Rose chuckled as she aimed her flashlight into the interior. Four stalls lined each side of the barn for a grand total of eight, and all but the two on the end were empty. When the light beam flickered over their resting spots, a chocolate-colored horse and a vanilla-coloredhorse poked their heads over their doors, shifting their long-lashed stares their way.
“Hey, girls,” Rose purred, glancing at the blond mare’s wall nameplate. “Let’s get Butternut into the trailer first. We’ll come back for the chocolate one when she’s settled.”
Rose’s chest ached as she unlatched the gate and got her first up-close view of the horse’s state. Her hips stuck out at sharp angles, and if there’d been better light, they’d be able to count every single rib through what little hair patches remained. Whatever this poor creature had been through, she’d suffered through it for a damn long time.
What Rose wouldn’t give for a few minutes alone with the owner.
A rush of anger—and Magic—swelled close to the surface, and as if sensing it, the horse shifted anxiously in her stall.
Violet’s hand squeezed hers. “Maybe Olly should lead Butternut to the trailer.”
“Why?” Rose asked.
Olive glanced to where Rose’s fingers still emitted a soft pink magical glow. “She’s obviously been through a lot and you’re a bit… supercharged at the moment.”
Rose took a deep breath, one after another, until her Magic slowly receded. “There. All good. Butternut and I will get along famously.”
Rose didn’t miss the look her sisters shared as she slipped into the mare’s stall.
Showing the horse the soft lead in her hand, she gently rubbed the white diamond on the center of Butternut’s nose, letting her fingers glide over the ears until she slid the lead into place. The horse huffed and shifted, burying her nose into Rose’s hair and making her giggle.
“I think she’s ready to get out of here.” Rose handed the rope to Olive and gave the horse a gentle rump push. “Let’s get you to Equine Disneyland, Butternut.”
The mare didn’t move except to swing her head sideways, herbig brown eyes looking at her as if asking her what the hell she was doing.
