Hazel looks between us, her eyebrows arched sadly.
My heart sinks. It was fun living with her for that short time—like it was the way things were supposed to be, the two of us in a new city. My chest tightens over the thought of abandoning her. I wish I could be a better friend right now, especially given all the trouble she’s going through for me.
“I’ll see you every time we catch a chimera,” I say, turning to her. “But we have to admit that this is my best shot at learning how to trap them.”
“While being surrounded by people who want to imprison you,” Hazel mutters.
“They’ll have to go through me,” Natalie says, the same dangerous glint in her eyes that appeared when she unleashed her worst on Sophia.
“She’s lucky to have you, Natalie,” Hazel says softly.
Natalie frowns, looking down at our entwined fingers. “I don’t know about that.”
I squeeze Natalie’s hand, wishing she would understand how true that is. The air between us feels thick with all the things we haven’t had time to say and the quality time we haven’t spent together since my return. There’s always been something in the way, or someone with us, or pure exhaustion holding us back.
But as hard as we’re fighting…it’s tough not to feel the clock ticking on the time we have left.
From the Journal of Hazel Okada
I can’t stop thinking about her.
Or texting her.
Since meeting Oaklyn yesterday, I’ve checked my phone approximately 2958 times, and it’s only lunch. Every time it buzzes, my heart does this ridiculous little dance, and I catch myself smiling as I read her texts.
I haven’t felt this way about anyone before—not Sean, not Devon, not any of my crushes. This is different, exciting, and a little scary.
When she asked me about my job, I unleashed a rampage about environmental impact algorithms…and then immediately regretted showing so much of my nerdy side right away. But when I apologized for boring her, she called my passion sexy. SEXY! I nearly slid out of my desk chair.
I love how forward she is. How she knows what she wants and goes for it. Her flirty texts, the way she acted in the cafe… Compared to my past relationships, which took weeks to get moving, it’s exhilarating to be openly flirting and to have a date lined up within a day of meeting her.
I told her as much, and her response caught me completely off guard: “I don’t usually hit on random girls in cafes. But there’s something about you that’s…refreshing and genuine. In the middle of all that chaos outside, you were just doing your own thing, calm and confident. I like that. You’re like a light in the darkness. Sorry if that’s too deep or whatever—I’m just really looking forward to our date. I want toget to know you.”
God, who talks like that? It’s like she stepped out of my dreams and promised a deeper connection than I’ve ever had with my emotionally stunted exes.
And honestly, I can’t wait to find out who she is under that leather jacket and black makeup.
I’m already stressing over what I’ll wear on our date tonight. My closet is suddenly woefully inadequate. Shopping after work? What’s the best store for clothes that give off an “I like girls” vibe?
The anticipation has me vibrating in my chair. Is this what Katie felt when she first met Natalie? This electric current, this feeling that something amazing is about to happen? I understand now why she chased after a mysterious woman who might have kidnapped her cat.
I’ve always been practical, the one with plans and safety nets. The one who calculates risks and writes pro and con lists. But something about Oaklyn makes me want to leap without looking. And it’s kind of intoxicating.
Chapter 11
Cue “Eye of the Tiger”
Thegoldennetglintsin the dim light of the Alchemy lab as I throw it at the book Natalie lobbed at me. I only manage to swat the book out of the air, and it lands on my toes with a heavythwap.
“Ow!” I hop on one foot as pain shoots up my leg.
Natalie winces. “Sorry! Try to anticipate where it’s going, not where it is.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I rub my tired shoulder.
She summons the book back. It’s dense and leather-bound, one of several we borrowed from the coven’s library. It probably holds something important, but it’s hard to care when my freedom is on the line.
Natalie catches the book and shakes out her arms. All the throwing and catching has left the veins in her forearms standing out beneath her rolled-up sleeves. The purplish-green bruises from yesterday’s fight are stark against her pale skin.
