by Lola Dodge
“Morning. I was hoping I could find a ride. I’m supposed to register today.”
“No need.” She dangled a set of keys with the logo of an electric car company. An expensive one. Like I could buy my own vanilla plantation expensive. “Your car’s in the garage. Feel free to take it whenever you like.”
She handed over the keys and I cupped them like I’d hold a newborn kitten.
Not Fondant’s kitten, but still. “You’re giving me a car?”
“Would you rather take the scooter? You have that key too.”
“No, that’s not…” I took a breath. If I kept talking, she’d probably give me the keys for the yacht. I assumed they had a yacht. “Thank you.”
“Have fun. And don’t be afraid to give me a ring if you run into trouble.” She finger-waved and headed back downstairs, leaving me gaping in a cloud of apple-scented perfume.
A car. For me. Am I this lucky?
I had to see.
I sprinted down the stairs, passing Lonnie on the way. Except I wasn’t sure how to get to the garage without going through the shop. A bit of poking around and I found a second kitchen—a smaller, homier one, with a breakfast nook, although I’d never seen a home with black and purple tiles and vases of fresh black roses.
It was Agatha-homey.
With zero appetite for breakfast, I cut through the back door, booking it for the garage detached from the house. The garage door was lowered, but after fiddling through my new keys I found one that would open the side door.
Three cars were parked inside. The SUV that Lonnie had picked me up in, a metallic purple sports car that screamed Agatha, and a sparkling lavender sedan. When I clicked the keys, the lavender one chirped and its headlights flickered.
I had the key halfway to the lock when a presence appeared at my side. Expecting an ax murderer, I jumped three feet sideways, keys dropping from my terrified fingertips.
Wynn snatched the keys from the air.
“What are you doing?” I pressed a hand to my panic-thumping chest and tried to back away, but I bumped Agatha’s car.
Wynn’s eyes glittered in the dim garage. He was taller than I’d thought, and broader across the shoulders now that he was standing instead of sleeping in my kitchen. Shaggy hair covered most of his face, but I could still see his tight-pressed lips. I’d never seen a glower in real life before, but that was what he was doing. Glowering. I moved deeper into the garage, trying to put space between us, but I didn’t want him pinning me to the wall.
Wynn folded his arms. “Where you go, I go.”
But why? It wasn’t like I couldn’t drive myself. “If you’d give me back my keys…” I reached, but he was already opening the driver’s door. He slammed it behind him.
I doubted I could drag him out of the seat, and I was already running late. We’d have to argue on the drive.
I started to move around the car to the passenger’s side, but Wynn rolled down his window.
“Sit in back.”
“Why can’t I—”
And he was already rolling the window up. I’d been wondering what his deal was, but it was slowly coming together. He clearly didn’t want to babysit me any more than I wanted to be babysat. Maybe we could work something out?
I slid into the back seat on the passenger’s side. He opened the garage and took us out.
“I need to go to campus to—”
“I know.” He cut me off yet again.
Jamming my buckle into place, I tried to glare at him, but he never checked the rearview mirror. “You really don’t need to drive me.” Instead of responding, Wynn flicked the turn signal at the end of the driveway. I bit down. This was getting annoying fast. “I’m serious. I can go alone.”
“You can’t.”
I gripped the seatbelt so hard I started to choke. What is this guy’s malfunction? Just to make sure he wasn’t driving me to some abandoned killing lot, I double checked my maps. At least the little dot for our car was moving toward campus. Being chauffeured—especially by Wynn—wasn’t my favorite, but I could deal with it for one morning. Then Agatha and I had to have a talk because Wynn obviously wasn’t going to have a conversation.
As I watched the buildings fly past, butterfly-flutters of excitement built in my belly. When we pulled into the campus lot, I barely waited for Wynn to park before hopping out and speed-walking away. When I peeked over my shoulder, he was already following—not so close that it looked like we were together, but close enough that I could nail him with a snowball. Too bad it was summer.
But as long as he kept his distance, I wouldn’t let myself get too worked up. Tomorrow, I’d be rid of him.
My steps sped the closer I moved to the quad. Well, the “quad.” It was more of a triangle on the teeny campus. Three big adobe buildings surrounded a courtyard that only had tiny patches of grass. A fountain ringed by benches took up most of the space.
Big or small, it was a college campus, and I was a student.
A pastry student. I wouldn’t care if TCC was a one-room schoolhouse with one of those old-timey firewood stoves.
Enough people were milling around that I couldn’t spot Gabi right away. The skin at the back of my neck crawled with a spark of recognition every time I passed a witch. Almost every other person had magic.
A guy in skinny jeans brushed past me balancing his phone and latte, and the tell-tale tingle slipped down my back. I’d never seen a male witch in real life. Men were less likely to carry magic than women, and they didn’t usually pass their abilities down to their children, so they were sort of rare. But sensing around, I thought I spotted a few more magical dudes milling on the quad. It made them seem way more common than they were.
I’d never been around so many witches in general. With the drone of the vortex always at the back of my mind, the whole campus hummed with power.
I peered around, trying to find Gabi without looking like I was looking for someone. I should text her to make sure she was still coming. Then I caught sight of the bench near the tiny campus pond.
A girl sat with one arm raised. A row of birds perched along her forearm to chirp at her. When she trilled whistles, they whistled back. More birds fluttered down to land on the bench, crowding around her, and a bluebird landed in her tight, dark curls.
“You know better than that.” She plucked it off and set it next to the other birds on her arm. The bluebird spread its wings…in a bow?
Mom hadn’t said what kind of magic Gabi practiced, but if her parents owned the cryptid clinic, then an animal affinity made a whole lot of sense. I moved quietly, not wanting to scare off the birds. “Gabi?”
“Anise?” She smiled like a Disney Princess, her full lips parting, and the force of her personality warming me like a cozy sunbeam. “Shoo now.” Gabi swung her arm, sending the birds into flight. She brushed off her sundress before skipping over. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Did I interrupt?”
“No. I was just saying hi to the locals.” She shaded her eyes to look into the trees, where most of her birds had landed. “Someone’s not keeping their feeders filled. I have to figure out who to ask about it.”
“You can talk to them?” An affinity for animals was one thing, but talking to them? That was a whole ‘nother level.
“Not like that. I can mostly understand through magic, but I can’t speak bird and they can’t speak human. It really is nice to meet you, though.” She extended her palms. I stuck out my hands to mirror her. As soon as we were both in place, our magic flared.
Her power was cool, green, and sparkling, like an early morning walk through the fairy forest. It wasn’t plant green, though. I picked up flecks of brown like deer crashing through the woods at the edge of my vision. Definitely an animal affinity.
Gabi’s stomach rumbled. “Your magic. Now I’m craving a croissant.”
“Really?” You never knew how anyone else read your energy, and I’d never had much chance to ask. Mom never wanted to talk abou
t it.
“Your power feels like pink sugar. Or tapping a spoon through the crust on a really good crème brûlée. But there’s a redder, bready vibe to it, and—” Her stomach rumbled again. “I shouldn’t have skipped breakfast.”
“I’ll bring donuts next time.” I should’ve thought to grab something for us, but I’d been too excited to get out of the house.
She patted her stomach. “I definitely have to visit you at the bakery. We always get our birthday cakes from Agatha, but Dad’s diabetic so we try not to have too many sweets around.”
“Agatha’s been making a ton of sugar-free things. There are these cute little rainbow meringue puffs, and the dark chocolate truffles, and—” My voice choked off. Gabi doesn’t care about the menu, dimwit. “Um. I tend to ramble about desserts?”
Gabi’s laugh was so bright the witch we were passing lifted a hand to shade his eyes. “Better sweets than vet stuff. I spent all morning trying to force a familiar into a cone of shame.” She rolled up the long sleeve of her cardigan to flash a set of angry claw scrapes.
“Are all familiars like that?” I lifted the sleeve of the zip-up still tied around my waist. “Agatha’s said hello by ripping through my suitcase.”
“Fondant?” Her voice lifted a notch in horror.
“Yeah.” I smoothed down the sleeve.
Gabi slipped off the strap of her sundress to show the scar tissue lumped over her dark skin. “She jumped on my shoulder last time I tried to give her a shot. Clawed through my shirt and wouldn’t let go. I wouldn’t even call that thing a cat.” She pulled her dress back into place.
I shuddered in sympathy. “Maybe she’s rabid.”
“She definitely isn’t vaccinated.” Gabi started walking again, leading me the last few steps to the quad’s main building. The doors were propped open, letting a steady line of people pass in and out. The hall had a plastic smell that reminded me of high school—mostly that last day, running away—but Taos Community College didn’t feel like the same universe. A girl stepped past us wearing glowing silver pentagram earrings, with a thin white snake curled around her neck. I tried not to gape as it flicked its tongue at us, but the more I looked around, the more my eyes widened. A redhead reading tarot cards on the rim of the fountain. A guy not-so-stealthily slipping potion bottles into his friends’ pockets.
All in the open. Not that witchcraft was forbidden most places, but we could never just be.
Or could we?
Gabi led us into the long line that threaded through the admin building’s main hallway. Smaller lines broke off, heading into individual classrooms where letter ranges were posted to the doors. Aa to Ch, Ci to Do, all the way through the alphabet. Gabi split off at the S line. “Meet you back at the bench?”
“Okay.” I kept pushing until I found the W’s. It took a solid half-hour of waiting before I made it to the front. All the while, I kept wondering why we couldn’t avoid the mess and register online.
Finally, the woman at the table waved me up. She took the paperwork I’d brought along and assigned me to the classes I’d need for the first semester of the baking and pastry program. At least she emailed the final version instead of printing a paper copy.
On the way out, I stared at my phone in deep disappointment. Only two lab classes—Baking I and Food Prep. The rest of my hours were pre-reqs like composition and statistics. I could see comp, because maybe I’d write a cake blog someday, but statistics?
Miserable. I was still frowning at my phone screen when I stepped through the doorway.
And bumped straight into Wynn.
He was glowering again, with long pieces of hair falling over his cheeks and forehead. Something in the way he stood, tight with impatience, told me he wanted an apology for making him wait.
But who’d asked him to be here? Not me.
I might actually have told him that, but then I caught sight of the guy behind Wynn and all thoughts of my stupid bodyguard faded like baking soda tossed into the wind.
The guy wore jeans and a plain black T-shirt. Tattoos of runes and arcane symbols spread down muscular arms, but he was lean and swimmer thin, with gorgeously thick dark hair, and eyes a piercing royal blue.
My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I’d gobble him up like chocolate mousse.
Except I didn’t have the guts to talk to him, and Wynn stepped between us. Shouldn’t he be napping in the car? Unless he was registering, which I seriously hoped wasn’t the case, there was no need for another body clogging the hallway. I craned around him, trying to catch one last sight of my dream guy, but Wynn stepped even closer, backing me against the wall.
“Stop.” I lifted my hands, and Wynn froze, but he was still so close I couldn’t breathe without smelling him. He should smell like a tree or man cologne or whatever, but instead I caught a distinct whiff of lavender. I’d wonder about it if he weren’t already making me claustrophobic. “Can’t you just go?” Home? Wherever that was? “I don’t need a bodyguard with me to register for classes. Or at all.”
His eyes flicked to the ceiling as if he was praying for patience.
Heat steamed the back of my neck. Why would Wynn be frustrated? Shouldn’t I be the one frustrated?
I stomped past him, knowing he’d follow, but at least if he was behind me I could pretend he wasn’t there. I really needed to talk to Agatha.
My mood 180-ed as soon as I spotted Gabi on the quad. She stood and waved. For once I didn’t have to peek around to double-check she wasn’t waving at someone else, and my heart poofed up like I’d stuck it in the proofing oven.
A girl my age who I could talk to about evil familiars. Wasn’t that the basis of all friendship?
“You didn’t wait long, did you?” I asked.
“Nope.” She shook her head, making her curls sway. “I was just texting Blair. Do you want to meet us at the bookstore later? We’ve both been working so much this summer we haven’t seen each other, and I know she wants to meet you, too.”
Bookstore? I’d totally found my people. “Can I bring snacks?”
“Anise. You can always bring snacks.”
“What time?” And could I ditch Wynn before that? Because he definitely wasn’t invited.
“This afternoon. I’ll message you?”
“That would be amazing.” My smile couldn’t be stopped—it was so broad my cheek muscles stung. We chatted the whole way to the parking lot with me beaming like a lighthouse. We came to my car first and I moved to the driver’s side to wave her goodbye. “See you later?”
“See you!” She wound through the cars. I clapped a hand to my face, but my lips stayed turned up anyway.
A friend. Praise the gods and goddesses.
I felt Wynn at my shoulder the second Gabi disappeared around a minivan. My smile melted like chocolate on the pavement.
“Move.”
I had to tilt my head back to glare at him. Wynn almost managed a flat expression, but the tiniest twitch moved in his cheek, mostly hidden by his shaggy hair.
He was irritated? At me? “Do you have to be this rude?”
No answer.
Of course not.
He was already holding the keys, so I slipped into the back seat without bothering to say anything else. I’d have to flat out ignore the guy until I figured out how to get rid of him.
Agatha and Lonnie were nowhere to be found when we got back to the house, so I couldn’t ask about Wynn, but thankfully, he disappeared right after we pulled into the garage. Instead of falling in to bed, I spent the afternoon baking cookies. Agatha would probably blow a gauge if I tried to work in the big kitchen, so I used the tiny black and purple one in the house instead. She shouldn’t mind me baking as long as I didn’t put her name on anything, but even if she didn’t think my baking was “at the level” yet, I didn’t need her permission to make snacks for my friends.
Or potential friends.
I couldn’t decide between peanut butter or chocolate malt oatmeal cookies, so I made
both, stirring a little friendship magic into each dough. As always, I dropped in a teensy pinch of anise. As much as I wanted Blair and Gabi to like the cookies, I wanted them to like me more.
The bookstore was just down the street, so walking meant saving myself another annoying car ride. Wynn followed. I didn’t have the energy to glare at him. Holding the tray of cookies level required too much concentration when my palms were sweating waterfalls. I hadn’t hung out with a group since…sophomore year? But those girls hadn’t really been friends. How could they be when I had to keep the biggest part of myself a secret?
I tried to distract myself by checking out the other buildings on Warwick Street. The flat-roofed pueblo was an herb shop with bundles of dried peppers and flowers hanging outside. Next to that, a teensy cottage had its double-doors swung open, advertising enchanted soaps. A different smell hit me every step. Fresh rosemary. Sensual jasmine. The slightly bitter tinge of brewing potion.
I would’ve kept staring like a tourist, except I almost bumped into a pack of them. The family was too busy snapping selfies to notice me until the dad stomped my foot.
“Pardon.” He started to lift his phone for a picture. Then his cheek scrunched up to his eye as he took in my outfit. Ratty jean shorts and T-shirt, carrying a plastic-wrapped tray. Definitely not the exhibit he wanted on his visit to the witch zoo.
His wife tugged his arm, pulling him away. After a few more steps, I glanced back. They’d surrounded Wynn and were trying to pose their two kids with him. If I actually looked at Wynn instead of complaining about him, I could see why.
Wynn’s build drew eyes. He was one of those guys who was so broad and toned, you almost had to look at him. He was in a T-shirt and jeans, too, but his were fitted and not dusted with flour. If not for the leather gauntlets, he could’ve passed as a local bodybuilder. The hard leather covered in metal wrapped his wrists and forearms, making him look like a confused historical reenactor.
Because who wore gauntlets in the middle of town? In eighty degrees?
The little boy was tugging at Wynn’s boot laces and Wynn’s face was so red, he looked ready to toss the kid. I set down my cookies and backtracked to tap the man on the shoulder. “Can I take a picture for you?”