I open my mouth to argue, then close it. I hadn’t thought about it that way. If bio magic is the ability to manipulate cells in living bodies, including mind control, then that could be exactly what’s going on.
The net is still in my hand, the weightless golden threads dangling off the chair and pooling on the floor. I need to make a decision: I can either master this net and secure my freedom, or I can listen to the voices and risk everything. What choice do I have?
I growl and rub my face. “Of course this is happening to me.”
Natalie’s brow pinches. “What do you mean?”
I wave my hands. “I’m already a total weirdo, so let’s add disembodied voices to the mix, shall we?”
Her mouth opens in surprise. “That’s not true!”
“It is! The coven treats me like an outsider, and why shouldn’t they? I can sense magic but can’t use it. I’m not a witch, but I’m not normal either. And now these voices…” I break off, struggling to hide my fear. “What if there’s something even weirder about me that none of us understand?”
Natalie takes my hand and raises it to her lips, pressing a kiss to my palm. The sensation shoots up my arm, pleasant and warm. “The fact you can sense magic is remarkable. It’s exactly what we need to trap it.”
I huff. “I just… I wish I were a witch. Then the coven would accept me.”
Her brow furrows. “Do you know what would happen if I gave you magic? The coven would never forgive either of us. There’d be no coming back from it.”
“Better than being dead or imprisoned for five years. I could actually protect myself—and I could be your equal instead of your burden.”
“Katie!” she exclaims.
I shake my head. “It’s true. Every time we run into trouble or go after a chimera, you’re the one doing all the work. You’re fighting the Madsens, manipulating the earth, protecting me…and what am I doing? Fumbling with a net I can barely throw.” I look down at my inadequate hands. “Sometimes I wonder if you’d be better off with another witch. Someone who understands your world completely, and who could fight alongside you instead of needing to be rescued all the time.”
The words spill out with more emotion than I meant to show. But it’s hard to tamp it down right now as everything piles up.
Natalie steps closer, her face clouding over. “I hope you don’t believe that.”
“How can I not?” My voice comes out sharp, and I drop my gaze, heat creeping up my neck. “Look at us. You’re throwing books for me to catch with a net because I can’t do anything more useful. Meanwhile, you could be with another Guardian or whatever—someone who wouldn’t be holding you back.”
“That’s not fair,” she says tightly. “To either of us.”
I shrug. “The coven has made it clear where I stand.”
Natalie runs a hand through her hair, frustration evident in the tense line of her shoulders. “Katie, I’ve never seen you as less than me. Not once.”
“I know you don’t… But that doesn’t change the reality.” I gesture between us. “There’s an imbalance here that we can’t ignore forever.”
Her eyes flash with something—hurt, maybe, or recognition of a truth she’s been avoiding.
My phone buzzes, and I step back to fish it out. A text from Mom asking how I’m settling in.
“Shit.” I drop onto a chair, overwhelmed. “I haven’t even bought my textbooks yet. Or called my family. Or—”
“Breathe.” Natalie closes her fingers around my wrists. “One thing at a time.”
“But there isn’t time,” I say, my voice rising. “I have two months to catch all these chimeras while somehow going to class and keeping my family from worrying and protecting this net from Sophia and—”
The words die on my tongue as Natalie drifts closer, her legs pressing against my knees. She looks down at me, her gaze steady and intense.
“Katie,” she whispers, cupping my face with both hands.
The room suddenly feels too warm. Neither of us moves, time seeming suspended between us. Slowly, she leans down, bringing her lips to mine with a gentleness that makes my heart so full it could burst.
I open my lips and pull her in, responding with all the frustrated energy that’s been building inside me—the fear of failing, the exhaustion, the longing for her during our time apart.
All the tension melts from my shoulders as she brushes her thumbs over my cheeks. Her lips are soft and comforting, everything I missed so badly it hurt since I fled the city in February. When she deepens the kiss and puts her arms on either side of my head to grip the back of the chair, my brain short-circuits.
