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“He’s going to kill us! I told you, you were insane.”

“I know,” I said, nodding. “You did. Did you have fun, though?”

Max paused, then considered. His fear turned to a slight smile. He nodded. “Yeah… I did.”

“That’s all that matters,” I said. “When dad comes down on us, I’ll take the hit.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“And you don’t have to get in trouble on your birthday. Just say I’m a terrible influence. Or better yet, say nothing.”

“Mom is going to bind your magic for three months, this time. You know that, right?”

“If I’m lucky.” I swung an arm across his shoulders. “C’mon. Let’s get you some water and a breath mint.”

Chapter

Four

Max and I both settled ourselves into the back of my father’s sleek, black sedan without saying a word. For a while, no one spoke. In silence I watched my father’s eyes in the rear-view mirror. They were fixed firmly on the road… until they weren’t.

He had these piercing green eyes that seemed to take up the entire space of that mirror. I felt like I was falling into them, like they were stars, and I was a rogue planet without an orbit. I couldn’t escape them.

“I’m s?—”

“—don’t,” he cut me off, then paused. After a deep breath, he asked, “Are you alright?”

“I’m… okay. Why?”

“And your brother?”

I waited for Max to speak. When I glanced at him, I realized he was asleep with his head against the car window. That was probably for the best.

“He’s in for a hangover,” I said. “But he’s okay.”

Another long, drawn-out pause. “Why?” he asked, the gravity of his eyes increasing.

“Why what?”

“Why did you do this?”

“Dad—”

“—don’t think about lying to me, Beatrice. I want you to tell me why you did this, how you did this, and why I’m the one picking you up right now.”

I swallowed.

Hard.

His tone was curt, and sharp. He hadn’t told me he was disappointed in me, but I could hear it in his voice, I could feel it in the air. My father wasn’t the kind of man to get angry. I had never heard him raise his voice at me, my brother, or my mother. It just wasn’t his way.

Which made these conversations so much more difficult.

I sighed. “It’s his birthday, dad.”

“And?”

“Not that I don’t appreciate everything you guys do for me, but my twenty-first was kind of boring. I wanted Max to enjoy his.”