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Juniper stared at the burner where the pot for the tomatoes and a pot of water sat. Without gas or wood, she would have to hold the flame herself, all while maintaining the constant weight of the protection spell she’d been carrying since they left the woods.

“Maybe we should just use the stove.”

“You’ve got this.” Dane nudged her toward to range. “Just focus and say the right words.”

She grimaced, her attention on the base of the empty pot. She held up her palms, embarrassed when they shook. The added pressure of having an audience made the chance of screwing this up all the more embarrassing.

With a trembling breath, she whispered,“Insignia.”

Nothing happened. Not even a spark. She doubled her focus and tried again.

“Insignia.Damn it. It’s not working.Insignia!”Frustrated, she dropped her hands and rose to her full height. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

Adriel and Dane came to the stove to look atthe boring sight. “Maybe you’re missing something.” Dane inspected the surface and pots. “On the farm, you had all the elements, remember?”

He was right. The tomatoes were of the earth, and there was water in the pasta pot, but they were still missing a few crucial ingredients. How had she overlooked something so simple? This was Magick 101. “I need an offering for air and fire.”

“You’re making the fire.”

“Oh, right.” She was not good at this. “Then a feather. Something to represent air. There has to be an offering.”

“Wouldn’t the air we’re breathing be enough?” Adriel asked.

“I’m not sure.”

They went outside to look for a feather. Dane searched the hedges while she and Adriel searched the driveway. “Can’t you manifest something?”

“I can try.” Juniper closed her eyes and stepped out of her shoes, pressing her bare feet into the grass. Once she felt grounded, she envisioned the universe providing what she needed.

“Will this work?” Adriel held up a long feather.

“Holy crap,” Dane said, his shock mimicking Juniper’s. “Did you do that?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll braid it into your hair, so this element is always with you.”

Juniper smiled and nodded, feeling not onlysupported by the elements but also by her friends.

Adriel sectioned off a thin strand of hair and got to work. A shiver skipped down her spine when Adriel’s breath teased her cheek. Juniper froze, remembering when an immortal had been that close and ripped into her.

“Did I hurt you?”

“N-no.” Adriel would never hurt her. She truly believed that now.

When she tied the braid off, the feather secured and hanging over Juniper’s shoulder, she stepped back and admired her work. “There. Now, you’ll always have it with you.” The braid and feather slid through her tapered fingers, and she smiled. “Pretty.”

Juniper ducked her gaze and mumbled a thank you, unsure why her face was suddenly hot. “Let’s try this again.”

They crowded her as she faced the stove.

“I need a little space.”

She took a deep breath and channeledAether,the primordial god of light. “Insignia.”

Adriel gasped, and Dane laughed when a little flame came to life, but it quickly disappeared.

“Shit.”