Page 46 of Bring Me Your Midnight

My heart beats against my ribs so violently I’m afraid it might break free.

Wolfe is still on top of me, making it hard to breathe.

The clouds continue their march across the sky, and the moon comes out of hiding once again. It pours its pale blue light over Wolfe, over his disheveled hair and gray eyes, illuminating his expression. Illuminating the way his gaze finds my lips.

All I can think about is closing the space between us. I want to know what he feels like; I want to know how he tastes. I want to know all these things that are forbidden to me.

I almost do it. I almost close my eyes and touch my lips to his, but then I think of my parents’ expectations and Landon’s sea glass, my ancestors’ sacrifices and Ivy’s belief in me.

And I can’t do it.

I want it more than I’ve maybe ever wanted anything, but I can’t do it.

I clear my throat and roll to the side, but I don’t stand up. Instead, I stay on my back and look up at the stars.

Wolfe does the same.

“You’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you.” I turn to him, but he doesn’t look at me. He keeps his eyes on the waxing moon, on the sparkling starlight.

“What is it?” I ask, terrified of what he might say. I think about my early days in the perfumery, infusing feelings into scents. I never had to work at it. And I think about how nothing, not even making perfumes, has ever come as easily to me as pulling the wind from the sea.

“What you just did is impossible for a witch of the new order. You shouldn’t have been able to do it.” He pauses. “Do you know what that tells me?”

I’m silent. I don’t move, don’t breathe, don’t blink. I wait for his answer, afraid it might shatter my whole world.

“You’re practicing the wrong magic.”

And I’m right. It does.

sixteen

Main Street is bustling with tourists, a sea of scarves blowing in the autumn breeze and gloved hands holding warm beverages. The maples are changing, the green and yellow leaves morphing into shades of deep orange and bloodred. The cobbles are wet from the recent rain, but today is clear and bright, and the sunlight catches the raindrops that rest on the foliage and vines.

Ivy’s arm is looped through mine, and we follow my mother as she weaves her way through the tourists. I love seeing the paper bags dangling from their hands, seeing the way our island is thriving, the way our magic is being appreciated. I’m scared by how easily it could fall apart.

You’re practicing the wrong magic.

I shake my head and banish the words. The right magic is the magic that protects us. That lets us live freely and openly. That guarantees the safety of our children.

“Hey, where are you?” Ivy asks, bringing me back to the present.

“Sorry, I’m here.”

Ivy rolls her eyes. “Give my regards to Wolfe.”

“Ivy!” I say, hoping I sound harsh. “Don’t say his name anywhere near my mother. And I wasn’t thinking about him.”

“Whatever you say. Just…” She slows her steps, distancing us from my mom.

I look at her. “Say what you need to say.”

“This is your heart on the line, Tana. I just want you to be careful.” She doesn’t start walking again after she says it. Instead, she swallows and twists her hands.

“And?”

“And it’s Landon’s heart, too.” The words are so quiet I have to lean in to hear them.

“I don’t know about that,” I say under my breath, then instantly regret the words.