The air between them might’ve been electric in that moment. They were far away from the other partygoers, and there was nothing around them but the October night and the curl of distant woodsmoke in the air.
Onny’s heart raced faster as she shook her head.
Byron’s smile slanted again. He exhaled loudly and said, “I wantyou,Onny.” In the dimness, his eyes looked molten again, and goose bumps clambered up her spine.
She stared at him, a mixture of heat and confusion prickling through her.“What?”
He laughed, but it was without joy.
“Trust me, I didn’t want to like you. And I tried not to from the first day we met. Tarot cards, horoscopes—all that stuff,” said Byron, shaking his head. “It’d destroyed our lives. And then, just when we’re trying to make a new start,youshow up. And you’re… beautiful. And funny. And really fucking smart and also kinda weird with your backpack full of crystals and magic stuff, and I just thought that if I let you, you’d ruin my life, too.”
Onny felt rooted to the spot even as her thoughts turned back, as if resifting through every time they’d ever interacted. Byron stuck his hands in his pockets, rocking a little on his heels.
“I thought maybe tonight I could convince you to see me differently for a change, but that was ridiculous. I never had a chance if I was competing with the stars.” He cast a mocking glance at the night sky before looking back down at her, before his voice dropped to above a whisper: “Did I, Onny? Did I even have a chance?”
Onny tried to open her mouth, tried tospeak,but she felt caught, trapped between the things that she’d thought she wanted. The things that had felt so safe and all that felt so unknown. For her, walking a path outlined by the stars meant that she was alwaysin the light. That’s what pursuing Alexander the Great-Looking felt like: as if she were reaching for some cosmic night-light. And then there was Byron. Infuriating, beautiful, sharp-tongued Byron Frost, who felt less like a starry point and more like the fathomless dark between the stars. Even standing this close to him made her feel like she was peering off the edge of an abyss.
“Thought as much,” said Byron softly.
He turned and left her alone in the dark.
So much for the universe being on her side.
It was now half past ten and Apollonia Diamante had no love potion, no cosmically ordained kiss, and no clue what she was doing. She sat on the edge of her bed, herlola’s love potion recipe clutched tightly to her chest. Tucked away inside her room, it was almost quiet. Here, the sounds of the partygoers and the pulsing music couldn’t reach her. Onny checked her phone:
Ash:Where r u guys? Igor got tired of the Mystic Woods. Is there somewhere quiet inside I can bring him? He doesn’t like the DJ’s music.
Onny almost smiled. Igor was the black cat that lived in the abandoned house behind Ash’s. And Ash—being Ash—probably hadn’t wanted Igor to feel lonely on Halloween, so he’d brought the ornery cat to the gala.
For a moment, Onny considered going out to the Mystic Woods to find Ash and Igor. But what would she say about everything that had already happened tonight? Once or twice earlier, Onny had almost attempted calling True and Ash, but hadn’t for the exact same reason: What would she say? She’d gotten exactly what she wanted, only to find out that… maybe… it wasn’t what she needed? And where was the role of the stars in all this?
Every time she blinked, she couldn’t stop thinking about Byron’s beautiful face in the half shadows.I never had a chance if I was competing with the stars.
All this time, Onny had always thought of horoscopes and magic as a kind of safeguard, a language spoken by the vast universe that promised her a safe place within it. Nothing about Byron Frost felt safe. She didn’t even know when his birthday was, which just seemed…wrong.But then, so did the thought of going on a date with Alexander. She hadn’t felt a single spark. With Byron it was something else. When they were arguing, it was like an inferno. And when they weren’t? It was like a low, living flame deep in her belly that had always been there whether she liked it or not.
It felt—if Onny was being honest with herself—like magic.
And it scared her.
It scared her because it felt out of control, and she wasn’t sure whether it would end up hurting her.
Onny stared at the cardboard square, tracing her fingers over her grandmother’s words for the spell:
To summon joy and love in another’s soul
For a connection that makes two people whole
For laughter and a smile that one can never miss
Sealed before midnight with a truehearted kiss
“I messed it all up, didn’t I?” she said softly. “I wish you were here, Lola.… I wish you could tell me what to do.”
Onny had only just closed her eyes when she felt a shift in the room. Like a cold, gentle wind curling around her ankles. She jolted upright. Sometimes if she got up too fast, the blood would rush to her head and she’d see spots and lights. Butthis…,this was different. At the foot of her bed, there and gone, Onny could’ve sworn she’d seen the silhouette of a woman in a long white gown. Onny didn’t have to see her face to know immediately who she was: the Lady of Moon Ridge.
The only thing Onny could be sure of was that she saw translucent fingers grazing herlola’s letter. Time slowed. Onny’s thoughts felt like they were racing. Part of her wanted to yell: “SPIRITUAL VISITATION! I AM MAGIC!” And the other part was too stunned, too breathtakingly hopeful about what it might mean. Onny reached for the cardboard square, touching the same spot the ghost had marked.
Onny gently ran her finger along the edge of the cardboard letter, when the pad of her thumb snagged on a corner and slipped into a space she hadn’t noticed before. She looked down, shocked when the piece of cardboard cracked down the middle and fell open like the leaflets of a book. How had she missedthat there was another part of the letter this whole time? Onny reached out with trembling fingers as she touched her grandmother’s fragile handwriting, and the words seemed to dance off the page and spin through her heart:
