“Don’t,” Cassie said.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were thinking it.”
“I was thinking that you smell like apple pie and regret.” Luna’s whiskers twitched. “Also that you should shower before you do anything else stupid.”
Cassie showered. She stood under water hot enough to scald and tried not to think about the look on Liam’s face when she’d pushed him. The sadness. The resignation. The way he’d walked away like he’d finally given up on something he’d been holding onto too tightly.
I can’t make you trust me, Cassie. You have to choose to believe it.
She pressed her forehead against the tile and let the water run over her.
He’d chosen to stay. For days. Knowing he could leave. And she’d repaid that choice by literally shoving him away with magic she couldn’t control.
By the time she emerged, pruned and no less miserable, she’d made a decision.
“Absolutely not.”
Margaret stood in Cassie’s kitchen with her arms crossed and an expression that suggested shewas reconsidering every life choice that had led her to mentoring this particular disaster of a witch.
“It’s the only way to know for sure,” Cassie said, flipping through the grimoire with desperate energy. “If I break the binding completely—not just loosen it, butbreakit—then there’s no question. No magic forcing him to stay. No connection pulling at either of us. Just… free will.”
“He’s already exercising free will. He told you?—”
“But how do Iknow?” Cassie’s voice cracked. “How do I know it’s not residual magic? How do I know the binding isn’t still influencing him in ways neither of us can feel? If I break it completely, then whatever he chooses after—that’s real. That’shim.”
Margaret pinched the bridge of her nose. “Child. You’re not doing this to give him freedom. You’re doing this so you can stop being afraid.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Because you’re not ready. Breaking a binding spell requires precision, focus, and emotional clarity. You have none of those things right now.” She gestured at the walls, which had shifted to an anxious yellow-green. “Look at your house. Look atyou. You’re a mess.”
“Thanks for the pep talk.”
“I’m not here to coddle you. I’m here to keep you from making things worse.” Margaret moved toward the door, then paused. “The binding is already thin as gossamer. It’ll dissolve on its ownwithin a week, maybe less. You don’t need to force it.”
“I can’t wait a week.”
“You can. You’re choosing not to.” She sighed. “I can’t stop you, Cassie. You’re a grown woman with enough power to make very large mistakes. But I’m asking you—as someone who’s made those mistakes before—don’t do this tonight. Sleep. Let things settle. Talk to him in the morning.”
“And if he’s gone by morning?”
Margaret’s expression softened. “Then you’ll have your answer, won’t you? Without risking your magic or your safety.”
She left. The house groaned softly behind her, like it agreed with Margaret but was too polite to say so.
Cassie looked at the grimoire. At the pages filled with her great-aunt’s careful handwriting. At the spell she’d found for “Severing Bonds and Breaking Ties,” which required midnight, a silver blade, and the willingness to let go of something precious.
She had all three.
Luna jumped onto the counter. “You’re going to do it anyway, aren’t you?”
“I have to know.”
“You already know. You’re just scared of the answer.”
“When did you become a therapist?”
