“Max,” I hissed, “what are you doing?”
“Teaching your little friend here a few things.”
Shit, shit, shit.
People had already gathered to watch. I had flashbacks to losing control of my Magic all over again. I tugged his arm. “Stand down,” I hissed. “I’ve got it under control.”
He yanked his arm out of my grasp, and I got a whiff of the liquor on his breath.
“Are youdrunk? It’s the middle of the day. What is wrong with you?”
“Don’t worry, Cel. I’ll only hurt him a little.”
“You’re out of your depth, cowboy,” Basile growled. His hair was in disarray, pieces falling from their perfectly set position.
Max’s eyes rolled back as he laughed. “Wanna bet?” The leather wound its way around his wrist as Max reached for his Magic. I could almost hear the pound of horses’ hooves on grass.
He’d pulled a lot of Magic—way too much.
I gasped as the Magic ripped out of me. Max’s shoulders sagged like he’d been hit with a boulder. He gritted his teeth and straightened, but I knew it had drained him. It was not only his life he was being reckless with.
In response, Basile closed his eyes, whispering quick and harsh under his breath. I could feel the Magic rising all around us, hissing and twisting in the air.
“Stop! Stop! You’re going to kill yourselves,” I cried. “Look, you’ve proven how tough you are. Happy?”
Max tipped the bottle he held into his mouth and shrugged. “Not particularly.”
“You’re not worth my time,” Basile said as he turned to walk away. “Cella, you should get a better handle on your dog.”
Max tipped the dregs of the bottle into his mouth and smashed it on the ground.
Alright, he’s gone now, you can all go home, I thought furiously, wishing the crowd would dissipate. I turned to Max. “What is wrong with you? Did you and Julia have a fight or something?”
He laughed a cruel laugh I’d never heard before. “Julia and I broke up days ago because she couldn’t handle how much time I was spending with you. I told her there was nothing to worry about until I was blue in the face. She didn’t believe me.” He crunched the last of the bottle with his boot.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I didn’t want you guys to break up.” The lie spilled out of my mouth.
“You know what the funny thing is? I’m relieved. What girl would want to be with someone who has some mystical other half?” He laughed, that same mean laugh. I could barely look at him.
I’d been jealous of him and Julia, there was no denying that, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see him miserable. I didn’t want to see him like this.
“Is there … anything I can do? Do you want to talk about it?”
“Don’t worry about it.” He looked at me suddenly, and I could see all the hurt swirling up in his eyes, such a dark blue they were almost black. “You know, sometimes I wonder what the hell I’m doing, chasing after a woman who doesn’t want a damn thing to do with me. I don’t even know why I brought you here.”
I frowned. “The school brought me here.”
“Forget it.”
“Max, what do you mean ‘you brought me here’?” I asked, catching the twist of his mouth, how he could barely look at me. “Dr. Robetresse requested my help on this case. The council—the council wanted my help. You found me because they asked you to. Right?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Wait.” I paused, started shaking my head. “Max, you didn’t.” This whole time—forcing me to relive every single traumatic memory of my brother and Max and setting Luce’s car on fire, and the fallout afterward, slowly and inevitably becoming a pariah, watching as my reputation went up in smoke—this whole time, he’d let me think I’d had to come back because Dr. Robetresse and the school needed my help.
He wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“Tell me you didn’t float our names for this investigation.”
