Familiar Spirits

A powerful witch, Piotr Russell has resigned himself to loneliness, because ordinary humans can't know what he is, and other witches are intimidated by his abilities. Generations of Russells have lived and died with only their familiars at their side. The presence of a friendly familiar is enough to keep even the loneliest witch sane, and yet Piotr deliberately hasn't chosen one. He forces himself to keep busy instead, but the emptiness of his house haunts him even more the spirit of Great-Great-Aunt Elysia in the parlor. With Samhain and Halloween approaching, he'll have much to do, and knowing that, his concerned coven seizes the chance to intervene and sends help to his door in the form of Bartleby Dorchester.The rarest of rare jewels, Bartleby is a human familiar: a witch with no magic of his own, and a desire to find a strong witch to help and serve. In particular, he desires to help and serve Piotr, and everything in Piotr wants to let him. Bartleby was meant to be his familiar; Piotr knows it as surely as he knows when it will rain or when the apples in his garden will ripen. But what Piotr wants from Bartleby, all he's ever wanted, is for Bartleby to love him, something he thinks is impossible.Russells live and die unloved, and he won't allow Bartleby to feel obligated to spend his life with him as his familiar if he could be happy in love with someone else. But Samhain is a time for change, when walls come down and borders grow thin, and Bartleby isn't going to waste what might be his last chance to convince Piotr that they were meant to be. He might have no magic, but love is a power all its own.

and to finally ask for what he wants. Less Once a year, the town of Ravenscroft celebrates the winter solstice by watching the Oak King symbolically slay the Holly King to ensure the death of winter. To most people, it's a pagan ritual that has lost all meaning in the modern world, harmless fun during the week of Christmas. To the coven who founded the town, it's a magic so important they entrusted it to the two strongest witches in generations.Will Battle and Chester Sibley are opposites in every way, or so Ravenscroft residents insist. Quiet, polite Will is the town's beloved adopted son, popular and admired. Defiant, outspoken Chester is disliked and avoided despite being a direct descendant of the town's founders. It's no wonder Will is the embodiment of spring and life as the Oak King and Chester was given the cold, dark Season of Holly. No one in town seems to realize their nice, well-mannered Oak King has iron at his core and their fearsome Holly King only wants to make people happy. Perhaps that's also why not even the other witches suspect that Chester has been in love with Will for almost his entire life.That's how Chester wants it. He might dream of Will, but he's learned to keep his dreams to himself. The trouble is Will. For all that he smiles and nods, Will has started quietly rebelling against both the town and the coven. With only days until the winter solstice, he issues Chester a challenge-to finally ask for what he wants. If Chester tells the truth, he risks losing Will and upsetting the ritual that has made the town prosperous. But there is more between them than magic, no matter how powerful or ancient, and Chester would do anything for Will, even, just maybe, coming in from the cold.

Emery Elward returned to Trinity Creek with no intention of doing anything but repairing the farmhouse he grew up in, starting a business, and tending to the graveyard linked to his family's property. He has no interest in renewing past friendships. But one old friend is determined to get Emery out from behind the cemetery's iron gates.Crafty, delicate Ezra Bell, who tailors his coal-black suits, knits gloves to warm his cold hands, and couldn't make a plant grow if he tried, isn't someone Emery can ignore. Ezra was Emery's best friend all through school, his first crush, and his first kiss. Then Ezra stepped back without ever acknowledging that anything happened between them and Emery left town. But now Ezra is free to tell Emery the secret that kept them apart-the town is steeped in magic, the old families are witches, and some of them, like Ezra, are a little bit more.Amid gray skies, falling leaves, and the paper cutouts of skeletons that decorate the town in anticipation of Halloween, Ezra is going to woo Emery back to the land of the living. If anyone can convince Emery that he is wanted, that Ezra still loves him, and that magic is real, it's Ezra. Emery may be stubborn, but he is about to discover that nothing is more certain than Ezra.

Yule is the start of the new year, the midwinter festival for the solstice and the days afterward. Traditions are to burn logs and light candles to welcome the return of the sun, to celebrate with food and cheer and family, and to remember connections with the past. Robin Blessing never felt much need for that last part; he lives in his family's old farmhouse with the ghosts of his long-dead relatives. Anyway, he has no time for Yule. Alone, overworked, and ill, the holiday and any coven obligations that go with it are the last things on his mind. So he is not pleased to open his door and find Lucas Greysmith on the other side. Lucas is a legendary figure in Ravenscroft; marked by great magic, part of a powerful family, annoyingly tall and good-looking, and yet always asking after Robin when Robin is fine, thank you very much. Someone as important as Lucas should have better things to worry about than one little witch who won't use his Sight, and Robin usually wouldn't hesitate to tell him so. Instead, Robin faints right at Lucas' feet. When Robin wakes up, it's to find that the Greysmiths have decided that Lucas will stay with Robin for the duration of the Yule season to help him recover, and Robin is in no position to protest. The more rest he gets, the more he realizes that he's been lonely, that he needs the help, and that there might have been a reason Lucas has been asking after him all these years. If Robin had used his gift, he might have seen what Lucas has been patiently waiting for. Yule is both an end and a beginning, and for first time in years, Robin looking forward to what the future might bring.