Kieran had to stop himself from laughing—he hadn’t expected Sebastian to take this so seriously.It was strangely endearing.“Well, that makes one of us.Maybe you can show me a few things.Anyway, I’ll have to talk to the others, but I think it’s safe to say you’ve got the job if you want it.What do you think?”
Sebastian considered it.“I’ll…have to let you know.Perhaps I can call you once I’ve had a chance to think about it?”
Kieran smiled.“Sounds like a plan to me—we’ll be leaving Gellingham on Wednesday, so you have until then to decide.But I think you’d be a great fit.”
“I appreciate that.And…thank you again for today.I don’t know many people who would risk their own lives for a total stranger like that.”
Kieran shrugged nonchalantly.“All in a day’s work, I guess.I should get to bed, though.Talk soon?”
“I’d love to.”Sebastian coughed, as if he’d blurted the phrase out too quickly, and cleared his throat.“Er, anyway, ah—sleep well, Kieran.I’ll be in touch.”
Before Kieran could even say goodbye, the line went dead.
A few days later, Kieran, Delilah, and Briar returned to the airfield where they’d first landed in Gellingham six months ago.
Delilah and Briar had both been in good spirits as they’d gathered their travel bags in the living room that morning, seemingly unaware of Kieran chewing his lip and staring at the phone in the kitchen.He had been waiting for it to ring for days as heworked out the logistics of their trip, from putting in his resignation notice at the coffee shop to working out payment details with Klaus.Whenever he returned home, he’d ask Delilah or Briar if the phone had rung, and aside from Delilah getting a few calls from her cursebreaking clients, it hadn’t.It seemed that Sebastian had decided not to take the job offer.
Kieran told himself it didn’t matter.They’d be just fine with their usual crew—Delilah and Briar were capable witches, and they had a skilled pilot, to boot, but it would have been nice to have Sebastian’s insider knowledge.
And those diamond-cutting cheekbones,a traitorous voice in his brain offered.
Not that I care about those,he argued with himself.Ash’s cheekbones are just as nice, obviously.
“Hey!”Delilah said, breaking Kieran out of his thoughts.“There it is!”
Kieran looked up to find their old aeroship parked on the frost-covered grass.The aeroship was shaped like a traditional sailing ship, with two massive red balloons attached to the top.Its metal wings hung off the sides, with springy webbing between them that helped push air down during takeoff.The crow’s nest, Briar’s favorite former haunt, looked out over the airfield and miles beyond.
“There they are!”came a familiar voice from the top deck.A short, round-faced person with chin-length black hair and gold-toned skin waved at them.They wore an oil-stained vest over a rumpled white shirt—their usual uniform.“Long time no see!”
Kieran craned his neck to see the ship’s pilot—and new owner—Ariel Zhang grinning at him.After they’d broken the curse, Kieranhad sold Ariel the ship he’d initially stolen from his parents.While the sale wasn’t technically legal—Kieran would have needed the official paperwork for that—he’d had little interest in trying to maintain the thing after the curse broke, and Ariel had always wanted their own ship to travel the world.Ariel had paid him enough to help him start his life in Gellingham, then took off into the skies for a new adventure.
Kieran had been lucky they’d been willing to sign on as the pilot for this quest.Granted, he’d offered a sizable salary from Klaus’s money, but still.
“Ah, our little friends have returned!”cried a second voice.A tall, tan-skinned man with a carefully manicured undercut leaned over the edge of the ship, his big brown eyes bright and his smile warm.“Oh, how I’ve missed locking my liquor cabinet.”
“That was one time!”Briar shot back from below.
Santiago Luna, the Pelumbra family’s former personal chef and Ariel’s partner, let out a booming laugh.“Glad to see you haven’t changed, Briar.”
Shortly after, Ariel and Santiago extended the gangway, and came out to give their friends hugs and express how much they’d missed them.Ariel ruffled Briar’s hair, commenting on how it had grown out, and Santiago clapped Delilah on the back.Seeing them made the trepidation that had begun to churn in Kieran’s stomach subside somewhat.While Ariel and Santiago were only in their mid- to late twenties, they were as close to parents as he, Briar, and Delilah had had on their cursebreaking journey last spring.He’d found himself missing being able to ask them questions like how to make scrambled eggs or not shrink wool sweaters in the wash.
Santiago squeezed Kieran’s shoulder.“I heard you got yourself into a bit of a situation, my friend.”
Kieran sighed.“That’s one way of putting it.”
“Let’s head in—you can tell us more while I get us in the air,” Ariel said, gesturing toward the gangway.“I had Santiago set up your old rooms with clean sheets—”
“Kieran—hold on a moment.”
At the sound of the unfamiliar voice, the five of them turned just as someone crossed the frosty grass, headed in their direction.At first, Kieran didn’t recognize him.He wore a gray woolen coat, his hands in the pockets, and a pair of leather shoes that would have looked more appropriate at a business meeting.On his back was a large pack, clearly meant for travel.As he came closer, he brushed dark hair from his face, revealing a black eye and a bruised jaw.
“Sebastian?”Kieran said, taken aback by the boy’s sudden appearance.“You came?”
“Wait,theSebastian?”Briar asked.“This is the guy you saved?”
“Oooooh—now I get it,” Delilah said.She lowered her voice and leaned closer to Kieran, whispering behind her hand conspiratorially.“He’sverypretty.”
Kieran shot her a wide-eyed look as his cheeks flushed.“That’s not—”
