Enchanted Love

By Tabitha Rossi

After meeting Ella and Raven, you'd think I'm the responsible one. The one who can do no wrong. The one who gets every job right. But you don't know the real me, the one who fell in love and paid for it with someone else's life.

 

Morgan has mentored her fellow faerie godmothers in Winslow, Arizona for the past forty-five years, and lived among the humans for a century. She should be proud of her work, despite her current apprentices breaking the unspoken rule that all faeries learn at the Academy: Don't fall in love, not just with the humans assigned to you, but any non-fae creature.

 

But what if the non-fae was produced because of an egregious mistake on Morgan's part when she first arrived in Winslow?

 

In December of 1975, Jane Byrne was Morgan's charge and the one person she'd ever fallen head over heels for. Unfortunately, she also became a banshee, something Morgan was supposed to stop from happening.

 

Four decades later, Jane is back in town, and she still takes Morgan's breath away. Jane is looking for someone to help her untangle the web that led to her becoming a banshee, and Morgan is the only person she trusts to help. Eager to find out what could possibly be more powerful than faerie godmother magic – and alleviate four decades of guilt over failing Jane – Morgan agrees to investigate… even if it means opening her heart again to the only person capable of breaking it.

 

The magic of love heals two broken pasts in this short novella.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Two Muses
• Release date: May 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201179328

Book preview

Chapter One

Morgan Swiftwood knew none of this boded well for her. She felt it in her bones, with the rising and setting of the sun. Ghosts of the past flashed into her life like badly-timed red lights. Even her waking moments brought her back to a time when she was new to Winslow, holding up a shot glass, and singing Take it to the Limit at the local dive bar as loudly as she could, thanks to the song playing now on the radio.

December of 1975. Of the entire century Morgan had spent on earth, that was the time that stood out most vividly in her memories, because she had, indeed, taken it to the limit. It was a time when the mortal world was undergoing such an intoxicating change, that it pulled her in, right into the arms of the very person she should have avoided. 

There was no turning back the clock, but the universe seemed intent on bringing the past into the present. Back then, she’d come to Winslow for her new assignment, and gotten drunk and sung, and fallen in love.

In the here and now, Morgan snapped her fingers and the radio went silent. It made the cottage too quiet. Her students were gone for the day. Ella was at her girlfriend Addison’s shop, and Raven and her girlfriend Tori were on the other side of the world in search of Tori’s mother. Tori’s younger sister, Meri, remained holed up in her room, working on college applications.

Oh, to be young again, whatever that meant.

Morgan grimaced down at her tea. It didn’t have the same kick as tequila, let alone the joy of a jukebox and a warm woman at her side. One particular woman, with strawberry-blonde hair and a devil-may-care attitude. Morgan would loop her arm around the woman’s shoulders and tug her close as they crooned drunkenly. Until, one day, the woman stopped singing altogether, because Morgan had failed her.

I couldn’t stand singing either, after that, Morgan murmured, running her finger around the edge of the teacup. She tossed her hair and glanced around the living room. This moping around wasn’t doing her any good, but it was the first time in years that she’d had the freedom to do it wherever she chose.

Having roommates made it difficult to surrender to her instincts to mope all day. It didn’t help that she hadn’t received a challenging godmother assignment in some time. Most local cases were given to Ella, as part of her ongoing training, and Raven, to keep giving her experience. Soon, both of them would move on to bigger and better things, and Morgan would be given new godmothers to train.

Of course, Morgan was proud of both of them. They’d achieved wonderful things, despite following in her footsteps and falling in love with their charges. How had she led them so far astray without even meaning to?

She glared down at her tea, resisting the urge to manifest a tequila shot. Been there, done that, I’m supposed to be the responsible one, now.

Instead, she picked a pen up off the table and twirled it between the fingers of her right hand. There was something soothing about the motion. Something that blurred the edges of her thoughts and kept her from picking up the phone to dial a number that still stood out in her mind over forty-five years later.

Morgan blew out a breath and shook the layers of her dark brown hair back off her face. At least she had other things to think about today, like her meeting with the Head Office. The funny thing was, she’d been considering asking for a meeting for the past few months. There must have been something in the air, because they’d sent her an invitation for an appointment at the Academy last week.

It was almost time to leave and she rose to her feet to smooth out her tea-length floral dress. It seemed appropriate to wear for a meeting with the people who were, in essence, her bosses, her HR, her payroll, and so much more.

Morgan knew these reminders of the past had to be a sign that she was ready to move on in her life, to step away from the mortal world and to take on a new challenge. She went to her meeting positive that they would see the same things she now saw.

That Ella and Raven were meant to be the last students she mentored in the real world, and she was ready for a promotion.

****

Your activities among the mortals and as a mentor have, of course, been impressive. Nectar? Blue held up a teapot, and Morgan nodded. It would have been rude to decline, even though she’d lost her taste for faerie food. She could blame Raven for the taquitos she tended to force on anyone who crossed their threshold but, in reality, a hundred years among the diverse human cultures on Earth would make anyone glad to leave otherworldly fare far behind them.

The Head Office was attached to the Academy where all faerie godmother students attended school. It wasn’t the only thing they taught, but it was the most sought-after course of study. It also remained exclusive, open only to particular students. Morgan couldn’t even begin to guess the criteria for admission, especially if her current roommates were any indication. Ella and Raven were two opposite ends of the faerie godmother spectrum.

Thank you. Morgan accepted the cup and took a sip of the overly sweet, syrupy stuff. That would do for now. Once Blue finished this review or interview, or whatever it was, Morgan could go back to drinking mortal tea. She would see to it that it was always available in whatever new position the Head Office found for her at the Academy. Professor Swiftwood had a nice ring to it. So did, Please come to my office to discuss your assignment.

Raven is, of course, now a full journeywoman faerie godmother and subject to the direct oversight of the Head Office for the next seven years. That leaves you with just one mentee, Ella Sunheart. There were two open manila folders on Blue’s desk, and she was glancing at them, her azure curls somehow not moving forward even though her head was bent slightly. Magic, Morgan supposed, to keep the First Faerie Godmother always looking her best.

That is correct. They’ve both done... well, that is... Morgan hesitated, not sure what to say. Blue knew all, so it didn’t seem like Morgan’s input would matter. Still, she couldn’t help but give feedback on her students. Ella is ever the prize pupil, if a little stubborn, and Raven’s unorthodox ways seem to be effective. I think they are both wonderful faerie godmothers.

Blue nodded. And they also have both fallen in love with their charges, like you. I find that an interesting pattern, don’t you?

I do and I realize I’ve failed you. Morgan set the teacup down on the desk and lowered her gaze. So. It was going to be that kind of meeting.

On the contrary, my dear, even a faerie godmother cannot stand in the way of true love. We made that mistake with you and look what happened.

There was no not looking at what had happened. Morgan had thought about it every day since 1975. It was, perhaps, the biggest failure of her career.

In light of that, we feel it’s time to make some changes in your duties, Blue continued.

Of course. Morgan perked up a little at the idea. If I may, I’ve been thinking that perhaps I’ve been in the mortal world too long. Maybe I should come home and work for the Head Office or at the Academy once Ella completes her apprenticeship in two years. Perhaps I could teach Mortals 101, if you have a need, or assist in that class in some way.

Blue laughed, a light sound like the tinkling of bells. "My dear, I know that you had the great privilege of being mentored by me, but now I must look at your past with a certain degree of professional detachment. And that means I must consider what is