“I’mfluent, but I don’t understand the magical significance of the code-switching.” Zara’s gaze was steady. “That’s your expertise, not mine.”
Ramona sipped her coffee, grateful for its warmth and for a moment to pause in thought before speaking. “I’ll look at it later. After I do some more online research.”
“You haven’t opened your laptop yet.”
“I just woke up.”
Zara returned to her reading. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Ramona sat back on her bed. She did open her laptop eventually, around eleven, but somehow she ended up readingan article about the different personality traits of air signs versus fire signs, and then a quiz about which celestial body she was most aligned with (Jupiter, apparently, which felt wrong), and then…
“Lunch?” Zara appeared in the doorway. “Felix is making sandwiches.”
“Sure.” Ramona closed her laptop quickly. “That sounds good.”
After lunch, Zara tried again. “I’ve been thinking about the timing. The new moon is on the twenty-eighth. But we need to gather the materials before then — moonstone dust, blessed salt, hawthorn branches.”
“Right. We should make a shopping list.”
“I started one.” Zara pulled out her notebook. “But I’m not sure where to source some of these items. The moonstone needs to be charged at a convergence point. Do you know where we could find that? I know you said most of the shops have closed down, but…”
Ramona shrugged. “There are still specialty shops over near Thornwood. I can look some up.”
“That would be helpful. And the hawthorn branches have to be cut at midnight. Do you know where hawthorn trees grow around here?”
“Not off the top of my head. But I’m sure the internet knows.”
Zara’s patience was starting to fray, just slightly. “We need trees that are magically active. Which requires actual botanical knowledge, not internet searches. We need to ask Posey.”
“We can figure it out without dragging my poor roommates any further into it than we need to.” Ramona stood up, clearing her plate. “I need to get ready for work anyway. My shift starts at two.”
Zara didn’t say anything. But Ramona could feel her disappointment through the tether.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I talked to Marcus today,” Ramona said as she and Zara walked into the bedroom later that evening. “Told him I need the twenty-eighth off. He was surprisingly cool about it.”
“Good.” Zara sat at the desk again. She pulled some books out of the pockets of her suit again. She’d insisted on taking five or six to the coffee shop with her. Apparently she’d told the baristas she was studying for the bar, and they’d given her free coffee all day. “Did you have time to look up those supply shops?”
“Not yet. It was busy at work,” Ramona lied, trying to conceal it by keeping her heart rate even and her emotions neutral.
“Of course.” Zara’s tone was careful as well. “Maybe this weekend?”
“Maybe.”
Before the awkward silence could settle too heavily, Felix knocked on the open door with Gerald on his shoulder and a bag of microwave popcorn in each hand.
“Movie night!” he announced. “Mandatory fun time. Everyone’s been too serious lately and it’s killing the vibe.”
“I should really—” Ramona started.
“Nope. No excuses.” Felix was already setting up the TV. “Kashvi’s bringing candy. Posey’s making her special brownies — the regular kind, not the fun kind, before anyone asks. Cammie’s closing tonight but she’ll be here by eight. We’re watching the worst horror movie I could find, and I will not be taking questions. It’s calledHex of Kin.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” Zara said from the dining table.
Felix’s eyes lit up. “Even better. It’s fantastic. You’re going to hate it.”
Ramona sighed, but she could feel the tension in her shoulders loosening slightly. Maybe a break would be good.Maybe they both needed to stop thinking about severance rituals and medieval languages for a few hours.
“Fine,” Ramona said. “But I’m not sitting through any torture porn.”
