Page 16 of Moth to a Flame

“Yeah, and you’re stuck here with me too.”

“Been stuck worse places. Plus, you can fix this, right?”

She kept her eyes on my arm. Her cheeks went pink under the freckles. “Hold still.”

“I am holding still. You’re the one who’s⁠—”

“Hawk.”

“Yes, boss.”

Her hand paused on my wrist. She couldn’t shove down the hot flush that bloomed somewhere behind her ribs this time. She could not hide from me, as much as she was trying to.

She yanked the glass out of my palm, and we both hissed. Swiftly, she placed the poultice over the wound, and the pain immediately vanished.

“Thanks,” I murmured, taking it from her hand to hold it in place myself.

“Of course.”

She yawned, and I felt how exhausted she was. After all, she probably wasn’t nocturnal like me.

“Hey, let me grab a few things from my bike, and then let’s get to bed.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Redundancy

Iwalked with him out to his motorcycle, and he flipped open a saddlebag, rooting through it while I examined the machine. I’d had a lot of time alone these last few years, and, well, I’d gone down a bit of a hole on motorcycles after watching one too many hot biker videos on WitchTok on late, lonely nights. The men had been mediocre, but the bikes had held my interest.

“Triumph, right? A Bonneville?”

He lit up. “Yeah, older model with the smaller engine, but she gets the job done. Bought her off a Sasquatch in Washington. Had to go across the country for her, but it was worth it.”

He stood, holding what I assumed was his go-bag, a wide smile on his face as he gazed at his steadfast companion. After literally feeling how hurt he had been by my curse-words in the greenhouse, I wanted him to keep smiling like that. It wasn’t his fault I poisoned everything around me.

“All original parts?”

There it was. Even if I couldn’t read his emotions, his antennae flicking excitedly gave him away.

“Mostly. Had to do a few upgrades, plus, you know, some charms for safety.” He motioned to his head. “I have a helmet, but it gets uncomfortable on long rides. Magic can be useful sometimes, right?”

“Less often than you would think.” I ran my hand over the smooth leather seat. “But whoever did this charm did a good job. Your head is safe.”

“Yeah, a witch friend did it for me.”

My heart sank.

“A witch girlfriend?”

He went red hot and embarrassed right away. “Uh, no—no, an old friend of my mom’s, actually. Don’t have a lot of time for girlfriends on the road.”

He rubbed the back of his flushed neck, and it was adorable. Why did that bring me so much relief? Because it meant I wasn’t about to have another curse placed on me by a jealous girlfriend. Obviously.

I turned my attention back to the bike—safer territory.

“Well, I’m glad it keeps you safe. Got everything you need?”

“Yeah, all good.”