Page 45 of Hexed & Hazy

“Ready for anything.” Anticipation and excitement come off him in waves, a big smile brightening his face. No matter how many times I’ve failed him—and I have—Seth believes in me.

It’s more than I deserve.

The weight on my shoulders presses me into the floor. Harder. Harder.

His texts, as lighthearted as they were, must have been a lie… or at least, he was holding something back. Now that we’re together, there is a decided tension between us, and I’m unsure what it is or what it can mean. It could be the hex; he mentioned it was affecting his mental health. Or maybe he’s going to be awkward around me for the rest of our lives. Perhaps I should speak about the moment, the one where we almost kissed, but I don’t have it in me.

It’s clear he doesn’t want to talk about it, either.

I take my things out of my bag, keeping my back to him. Blue cleansing water, a potion of renewal, and an obsidian the size of my fist.

“This was one of my mother’s spells,” I say, “and even though it’s not within my specialty… I think I can do it.”

I’ve had good luck with ancestral spells ever since we learned about them a few years prior. This should be no different.

“Sounds good.”

I turn to face Seth. His smile, the one that so often moves me to joy, fills me with nothingness now.

Fake. He’s faking it, and the shadows around him are heavier today.

Maybe he doesn’t trust me at all. I’m trying to help him, but is there a chance he’s going along with this to appease me? He already suspects I’ll fail, doesn’t he?

There’s no reason to jump to such assumptions, but I do.

“Where do you need me?” he asks.

My jaw tightens. “Lie on the floor, please.”

It feels like a cliché when I draw a circle around him, place the crystal, and splash the water. But it’s how my mother wrote the spell; I intend to follow it to a T, and I do. Each step. Each action. She says to splash the water counterclockwise for banishment, and I do. The words, written in ancient Greek rather than the language of spellcasters, I read to perfection.

And the energy rises, powerful and chaotic. The energy of a hex.

I chant louder. My fingers tingle, the magic channeling through my head down to my fingers, and then… into him. The circle around Seth lights up, vibrant and scarlet.

The look in Seth’s eyes, his pupils growing so big they take up the entire iris, tells me he can feel it too.

“Ro,” he whimpers. “Is this normal?”

I look up from where I’m at his feet. “Is what normal?”

“I—” He gasps, moving for the first time since he lay down, and holds up his hands. They’re covered in a bright red rash.

“No.” I yelp, my heart running a thousand miles a minute. “No… no…”

How could this have happened? Did I speak the wrong words? Use the wrong crystal? Is his hex truly that powerful?

What is wrong with me that my magic is backfiring?

I break the line, and the energy leaves the room. Seth seems to relax, but the burn remains on his hands.

“No. No. No.” My throat closes, and when I inhale, it’s ragged, forced.

I don’t want Seth to see me like this. Don’t want anyone to see me like this. I need to leave.

He sits up, his brows furrowed. “Ro⁠—”

“Stop!” My voice shakes. “Just give me a minute. I’ll figure it out.”