Page 56 of Spell Ya Later

“What?”

“Oh, sweetheart.” She leans back to smile at me, choking on a sob. “You’ve found your soulmate.”

Grandma’s words reverberate through my head for what seems like hours.

Soulmate. Soulmate.

Soulmate.

It doesn’t even sound like a word anymore. But it is. It’s the word to describe Noah.

Soulmate. Mate of my soul.

Grandma brushes a lock of auburn hair from my face. “My joy is truly indescribable, Hazel. You deserve a world of happiness.”

“Sorry, Grandma, I’m still kind of wrapping my head around this whole thing,” I reply, a hysterical screech in my tone.

I think my brain may explode. I think my brainhasexploded, because there is no way this is actually happening.

Grandma meditated me into a coma and this is some sort of magic-fueled hallucination.

I could really use a fuzzy blanket right now.

“You’ve read some of our history—is this really that much of a surprise to you? How did Elizabeth Pruitt, her daughter Abigail even, describe their relationship with their husbands? They described their bond asbuzzing like bees’ wings, sweet girl, for a reason. And that’s because electricity hadn’t been invented yet and it was the closest description they had. It’s a unique blessing Elizabeth passed on to her line, along with her magic. We are able to find the person who fits us like a puzzle piece.”

The paragraphs I read come swirling through my mind like a windstorm. It was there, for me to see, all this time. If only I had paid attention.

“I’ve been drawing his eyes for months,” I blabber. “I only just met him, but I knew his eyes already.”

Her smile is kind, eyes full of tears. “That doesn’t surprise me. You have always had such a beautiful connection with your art. It makes sense that your magic would speak to you through it.”

She’s got a way with words sometimes. The urge to flee lessens as I absorb some of her joy, her glee.

“A unique blessing for our line?”

She nods. “Something you’ll learn as you submerge yourself in our world is that the Pruitt line is well respected for a reason. We are the only ones who can find our soulmates through the electric touch.”

“Was Dad...” I gulp down the lump in my throat. “Was Dad Mom’s soulmate?”

I know the answer before Grandma can nod her head. “Their bond was special. It was a blessing watching them grow in their love for so many years.”

“Grandpa. He left when Mom was so young...He couldn’t have been?”

“No, Grandpa wasn’t my soulmate. While I loved him with my whole heart, I have not been blessed with finding mine.” The sadness in her eyes pulls fresh tears to my own. “He came quite close, though.”

My arms are around her before I consciously decide to hug her. Her embrace is a balm on my frayed nerves.

“Don’t be sad for me, sweetheart. I mourned long ago, and I can find joy in watching my beautiful girls finding their love. Now, you must tell me all about Noah. I also expect to meet him shortly.”

I chuckle—it’s a watery, happy, emotional thing. “It may be a little soon for meeting everyone.”

“Nonsense.” She shakes her head, wiping a tear from my cheek with her thumb. “He’s family now.”

Jesus. That hits me like a gut punch. I would love to have Noah in my life for as long as I can, of course. It’s not the concept of forever with him that scares me...It’s the fact that I could lose him. Just like Mom lost Dad.

“Here is your homework for the next week,” Grandma says, drawing my attention back from that destructive line of thinking. “You’re coming with me to the market tomorrow, but in your free time you should connect with your element. Work on what that looks like to you. Spend some time in nature. Listen to the wind. Come back on Tuesday and we’ll take another step forward.”

“Yes, ma’am.” We stand and a wave of fatigue rolls through me. I turn toward the back of the shop, toward my bed.