“Oh, and you’re telling me you don’t look suspicious, Slouchy McShuffleson?”
“You told me to walk like this!”
“Just act natural! You couldn’t be any more obvious about not being obvious right now.”
I groan and straighten up. “This is a bad idea. Let’s stuff me into a suitcase and—” The words die in my throat as magic crackles across my skin again. It’s different this time—warmer, gentler, like a caress. Heat blooms deep within my chest and radiates out to the rest of me. My lips tingle, my whole body humming.
It’s like I can sense her the same way I can sense the presence of magic—like my soul has a compass that points to her. Maybe it’s whatever force pulled me to her in the first place. Or that sixth sense in me is growing stronger, knowing she’s nearby before my other senses catch up.
I look around, and there she is.
She’s standing a few strides away with one hand tucked into the pocket of her dark jeans, the other fidgeting with the top button of her black shirt. Her mane of dark hair tumbles over her left shoulder, and her eyes… God, I’ve missed those brown eyes.
“Natalie,” I whisper, all my fears melting away.
She sees me, and though there’s a flash of confusion on her face as she takes in the cinched hood around my face, it quickly dissolves into a smile. The world narrows to just her—the soft look in hereyes, the flex of her strong arms as she holds them out to wrap them around me… My body aches with the need to feel her against me after all this time apart, to breathe in her scent and taste her lips again.
I start toward her, ready to throw myself at her and give her the hug and kiss I’ve been dreaming of.
But before I can reach her, another figure emerges from the crowd, steps away. Fiona. She’s in a shimmering red traveling cloak with her raven hair pulled into its usual bun. Her fists are clenched at her sides, and her narrowed gaze pins me in place.
Her low voice slices through the noisy airport like a blade. “Did you think we would forget what you cost us by freeing all that power, Miss Alexander?”
Natalie’s expression transforms in an instant, hardening into something dangerous. Purple bleeds into her irises like spilled ink. She pivots, becoming a barrier between Fiona and me.
“Stay behind me.” The words rumble from her chest.
A jolt of panic shoots through my veins, and I clench my fists. But while Natalie stands tall and confident, I can only hide behind her, powerless, wearing this borrowed sweatsuit that suddenly fits all wrong.
My nails dig into my palms. We were fools to think I could slip back into the coven as if I belong. No matter what exists between Natalie and me, the gap remains—she’s a witch with an inborn place in the coven and years of service as a Guardian, and I’m just an outsider who can sense magic but never wield it. A human metal detector.
“Step aside, Natalie.” Fiona’s lips curl into a nasty smile that sends a chill through my bones. She raises her hands, earth magic crackling in the air. “The coven has waited long enough for this.”
From the Journal of Hazel Okada
I’d like to report a bug in my life’s code. On paper, everything looks perfect: I’m starting my dream co-op job at a renewable energy company next week, maintaining my grades, currently on a plane to Vancouver with my bestie… Amazing, right? Yet somehow I’m stuck in an infinite loop of emptiness. And I desperately hope this four-month escape to a new city can fix it.
Katie’s fallen asleep beside me watching a rom-com, snoring with her mouth open while the characters kiss in the rain.
Ah, the passion in that kiss. What would it feel like to be so consumed by someone that you don’t care about catching pneumonia? Like what Katie has with Natalie? I’ve seen the way her whole face changes when she talks about her…that sparkle in her eyes reserved specially for her girlfriend. Must be nice.
Meanwhile, Sean canceled our two-month anniversary date so he could get ahead on the next assignment, and I spent that night alone in my dorm reading a textbook—which, looking back, was probably more enjoyable than dinner with him would have been anyway. Ugh, what a waste of time he was.
My carefully plotted life trajectory didn’t account for getting dumped by someone who chose studying over me. But I guess this time apart has helped me realize I deserve better—especially when I look at Katie’s love life and see how good things could be.
If—and that’s a big if—I ever date again, I want someone who is the total opposite of Sean. Someone who makes me feel special instead of treating me like a program to be debugged. Someone with an exciting side, or who at least doesn’t want to spendevery Saturday night optimizing code. Someone passionate and intense and unafraid to make the first move.
I still remember Katie’s expression when she told me about Natalie at the Christmas market. She looked so excited and alive, even in the face of something as terrifying as curses. That’s what I want: a partner who makes me feel that kind of zest. One who might introduce me to a world I never knew existed—metaphorically or literally.
Maybe that’s what’s missing. I’ve collected achievements like gold stars, but there’s no fire in my life outside academia. No one who makes my heart race when they walk into the room.
Hm, nothing like having a personal crisis at 30,000 feet while a pretty flight attendant offers me pretzels.
PRIORITIES
1. Get settled in my new apartment
2. Start new job
