Spellcaster

They’d never kissed. This was the first time they’d touched like this. Had she rushed it? “Maybe—maybe you feel like it’s too soon—”

“I love you, too.” Mateo shook his head, as disbelieving as he’d been when he swore to fight to protect his own curse. “I knew from the visions that I would—when I saw you in danger, it didn’t just scare me. It ripped my heart out. So I fought how I felt about you. I didn’t want the visions to be true, not any part of them, not even the part that told me I’d love anyone as incredible as you. But no matter how hard I pushed you away, you just kept coming. You’re relentless, you know that? You wanted to understand me. You wanted to know me. You wanted to save me, and I think you’re the only one who can.”

And yet every time she’d wanted to give up, Mateo was the one who had given her the courage to go on. He was the one who saved her, not the other way around. Nadia began to tell him so, but even as she looked up at him, he leaned closer, and their lips met.

The night was no longer cold. The wind no longer tore at her hair, shivered across her skin. Nadia only felt Mateo’s mouth on hers, his arms pulling her close, and a deep, delicious warmth that seemed to glow inside her.

When they broke the kiss, Nadia had to catch her breath. He whispered, “So. Not too soon.”

She smiled at him—but the sadness in his eyes caught her. “What’s wrong?”

“Besides the witch who’s cursed me and come after you and already suspects we know too much about the upcoming devastation she plans to let loose on the whole town?”

“Okay, yeah, that’s enough,” she admitted. “But we’re together in this, in everything.” Elizabeth can’t take that away, Nadia nearly said, but stopped herself. Elizabeth could take it away … and had threatened to do exactly that.

By now Elizabeth had to realize that they were close. The only reason she hadn’t destroyed Nadia long ago was because Elizabeth didn’t acknowledge her as a real threat. But it wouldn’t be beyond Elizabeth to take Mateo away out of pure cruelty. To use his pain against Nadia, or to twist the curse into some new, unimaginable horror.

From his expression, she could tell he was thinking the exact same thing. “We have to be careful,” Mateo said. “I already tipped her off, but … we can keep from making my mistake any worse. Work separately and not together, so we give her less time to figure out what’s going on.”

“Right. We should.” And yet the thought of parting from him, even for the brief time remaining before Halloween, shook Nadia deeply. They could call; they could text. But still—“I don’t want to let her take you away from me.”

“Gage’s party. We’ll see each other then. Go over more of what we’ve learned,” Mateo promised. “And—be together. You and me.”

“You and me.”

Nadia was reading Mateo’s latest text message (Don’t know what’s glowing dark red around the city library, but it’s nasty—like barbed wire made of flame) when she heard Dad.

“Okay, we’re loading up the car.” Her father set Cole’s Buzz Lightyear backpack next to the door. “You’re sure you’re set.”

“Positive.” Nadia tried her best to smile naturally. “Groceries in the pantry, phone numbers for the neighbors, and all your info in the Big Apple.”

Dad put his hands on her shoulders. “You’re sure you won’t come with us, honey? It’s sweet of you to want to finish the group project so Verlaine gets full credit, but you know she wouldn’t mind if you took a couple days away with us.”

“I know. I just—I’ll feel better if I get it done.”

Was this the last time she’d ever see her dad? Her little brother? For the first time, Nadia asked herself how they’d feel if something happened to her—if they lost her as well as Mom—but no. She couldn’t even think about that.

Cole came downstairs with his jacket only half on his body. “Dad and I are going to do boy stuff,” he announced proudly. “We’re going to a Knicks game.”

“If I can get tickets,” Dad interjected. He smiled at Nadia. “No parties in the house while I’m gone, okay?”

She should have told him he was being ridiculous, or promised to be good and smiled as they went out the door. Instead Nadia wrapped her arms around her father and held him tight. Although he seemed startled, he returned the hug. When she thought she could talk without crying, she said, “I’ll miss you.”

“Honey, are you sure you’re all right here?”

“Just—being on my own. It’s weird. You know.”

“Yeah. I do.” And he would, wouldn’t he? “We can still stay.”

“No, we can’t!” Cole’s voice was almost a shout—and thank goodness, because it made her smile.

“Really, I’m good,” Nadia said. “Call me when you get there, okay?”

“You got it.”

And with that, Dad and Cole were out the door. Nadia stood at the window watching the car drive off until the taillights had vanished into the dusk.

“All right!” Gage held up both hands above his head; Mateo slapped them as he came in, pretending a cheer he didn’t feel. “Now we can get started.”

“Looks like the party’s started already,” Mateo said. There were a couple dozen people there, laughing and talking—including a couple of the Jerk Squad, even Jeremy Prasad, but maybe the fact that they were here early meant they’d clear out early, too.