Cresent Prophecy

I had to. Then there was the Boone factor.
Honestly, I wasn’t even sure he’d broken up with me yesterday or if it was just a fight. I had to convince him that he was the only man I wanted, and whatever was going on didn’t change what was in my heart one iota.
Whatever Boone was dealing with, I would help him. Not because I was bound by duty but because I cared about him…even when he was sulking.
Glancing out the window, my heart skipped a beat as I saw Boone walking into Mary’s Teahouse.
“Lucy?”
“Yeah?” She poked her head out from behind the bookshelf.
“Do you think you’d be okay minding the shop for ten minutes?”
“Sure!” Lucy smiled and nodded enthusiastically. “A chance to prove myself.”
Storming out of Irish Moon, I powered across the street toward the neon pink cottage with the thatched roof. Opening the door, I weaved through the tables, a woman on a mission.
“Good mornin’, Skye!” Mary said brightly from behind the counter.
Mary Donnelly was a sweet little Irish lady, with a perm and a blue rinse, that loved the color pink and feeding scones and clotted cream to tourists. Apparently, she also had a penchant for spring weddings, which was a problem considering Boone’s and my current relationship status.
When I first arrived in Derrydun, her accent was so thick I couldn’t understand a single word she said, then one day, it was like someone had turned on a switch inside my head and ever since, she was clear as a bell. I always figured it was a magic thing like someone had implanted a language chip in my brain, but maybe it was a cultural assimilation thing. I’d finally gotten used to the Irish.
“Hi, Mary,” I muttered, walking straight past her and into the back where I found Boone stacking boxes.
He glanced up when I appeared, raised an eyebrow, and went straight back to stacking the delivery of flour and molasses—whatever Mary needed that for—promptly ignoring me.
“We need to talk,” I said.
“We talked yesterday,” he said, not even looking at me.
“Boone. That wasn’t talking. Not proper talking, anyway.”
“Listen,” he said, turning to scowl at me. “I understand. Aileen explained it to me in a round about way.”
“Explained what?”
“The Crescent…callin’. Or whatever you call it. Destiny tore you away from Alex. Neither of you truly wanted to end things, but you had no choice. Magic screwed up your life and brought you here because of me.”
“Shut up!” I exclaimed.
He blinked, stunned by my outburst.
“Shit happens,” I went on. “You didn’t mean for Aileen to…die. That was her choice.” I sighed, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “I didn’t know about all this when Alex dumped me, but I’m here now, and I’ve accepted this is my life. I want it, Boone. Stuff destiny and magical whatever. I choose to be here with you. I choose it regardless of all those things.”
He didn’t reply, which vexed me even more.
“Look, I’m not dumb, you know. I don’t know what’s going on with you because there’s something that has nothing to do with Alex, but you don’t have to worry about me. You don’t have to worry about us, you hear? You and me, we’re solid. Right?”
Boone snorted and shook his head.
“You don’t believe me.” My heart sank. Maybe we had broken up after all, and I was just living in denial.
“You have somethin’ you need to work out with him,” he said, turning to finish stacking the pile of boxes. “So go, and work it out. I’ll still be here because I can’t leave.”
“Boone…”
“Don’t you have a shop to run? Or have you left your suspected fae in charge?”
I backed away, wanting nothing more than to slap him around the ear. Why were men so pigheaded?
“You’ll see,” I murmured. “When he goes the hell away, and I’m still here annoying the shite out of you, you’ll see.”
Spinning on my heel, I strode out of the back room and through the teahouse, much to Mary’s puzzlement.
“Skye!” she called out after me. “Skye, dear! How do you like lilies for the centerpieces?”

Chapter 8
Staring at the Three of Swords, I felt like tearing it up into little pieces and tossing it into the bin.
Leaning my elbows on the counter at Irish Moon, I squinted at the golden lines of the drawing and tilted it from side to side. Other than the metallic print shimmering in the light, the movement revealed nothing.
“What card is that?” Lucy asked, standing in front of me.
“The Three of Swords.” I flipped it over so she could see.
“What does it mean?”
“It means a world of pain, that’s what it means.”
The bell over the door rang merrily, causing me to glance up, and when I saw who it was, I wished I had a literal sword, not a metaphoric one.
Alex closed the door behind him, and then smiled when his gaze met mine.
“You’re unbelievable.” I was getting eye strain from all the eye rolling. I wondered at what point that became an actual problem. Would my eye pop right out of my head, and would I have to shove it back in there? I would probably have to wear a funky eye patch like a pirate. Thinking about the time Boone and I dug up the Crescent athame from inside the tower house, I snorted. Boone could turn into a gyrfalcon, but what about a parrot? A rainbow lorikeet… Yeah, he could totally be one of those.
“Skye,” Alex began, glancing nervously at Lucy. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah, we do,” I shot back.
“When?”
I sighed. “After the shop closes. I’ll meet you up the hill at the tower house. How’s that?”
He smiled, his eyes sparkling. “Great.”
“Until then, leave me alone,” I said, turning back to my tarot cards.
The bell rang, signaling he’d gone, and I sighed again. I was so over this whole debacle. Alex was going to get smacked down this afternoon, and hopefully, that would be the end of it, and things could go back to normal. Well, as