Page 56 of Extraordinary Quests for Amateur Witches

That night, as the poison worked its way out of Kieran’s system, he found himself lying in bed in a cold sweat.

Something told him he just needed to get through this like a bad hangover, except instead of a headache, it was a full-body ache, as if he’d been rattled around in a cocktail shaker like a loose ice cube. If he could sweat it out, he’d be fine.

He did, however, really need something to quiet the grumbling in his stomach.

With an exaggerated moan, he pulled himself out of bed and made his way down to the kitchen. It wasn’t terribly late—most of the other crew members were still awake—but after the day they’d had, everyone had squirreled away in their separate corners of the ship in anticipation of tomorrow.

Kieran shuffled into the kitchen, yawning, and went to the pantry.

There were plenty of ingredients, but he didn’t know much about cooking.

He’d learned some basics—making toast and pasta—since leaving his family’s estate, but for the most part he just leeched off whatever Delilah prepared back at their apartment.

They’d made a deal early on that if he took on some of her cleaning duties, she’d cook for all three of them. It had worked swimmingly.

Kieran’s chest ached. We’ll get her back. We have to.

Ultimately, he elected to throw together a sandwich, which he wrapped in cloth to take back to his room. He took a few bites as he made his way down the hall.

As he was passing the study, though, he heard the phone start to ring.

He let it go for two rings. Who could possibly be calling them? Could it be Elias, hoping to discuss the hostage exchange? Something personal for Ariel or Santiago?

It rang again, and no one was rushing to pick it up. Realizing he was the only one hearing it, Kieran swallowed the bite of sandwich he’d just taken and went inside. He took the phone off the receiver, uncoiling the cord as he did.

“Hello?” he said.

The voice that responded felt like a punch to the stomach.

“Kieran?” Ash asked, his voice as clear as it had been that day back in the noodle shop. “H-hey, um. It’s me. I was hoping you’d pick up.”

“Ash? Wait—can you hear me ?”

“I can.” Ash paused for a moment. “Loud and clear.”

Kieran’s heart felt as if it was about to beat out of his chest. How in the world could Ash hear him? Hadn’t the curse made it so Kieran was completely imperceptible to him? Using a phone wouldn’t get around that, unless…

There’s no way. I haven’t even gotten the panacea yet. How could it have…? Maybe the phone is a loophole?

Unsure of what else to say, he whispered, “Wow, um. Huh. It’s…been a while.”

Sounding a bit unsure, Ash said, “I tried phoning your apartment a few times. When no one answered, I figured I should make sure you were all okay. Klaus was the only person I could think of who might know where you were, so I tracked him down. He let me know you were back on the aeroship doing your Calling with everyone.”

“Y-yeah, I am.” Kieran felt like he was about to throw up. How was this even possible? “Did he mention the, um…the goal of my Calling?”

“He did,” Ash said. “You’re finding a panacea, right?”

Kieran opened his mouth to confirm when Ash added, “I assume you wanted it to break the curse you put on me.”

Kieran froze. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as his heart hammered in his ears.

Over and over, he’d told himself that Ash had no way of knowing he’d been cursed.

The only thing it impacted was his ability to perceive Kieran, so theoretically, he never had to know what Kieran had done.

Kieran had hoped that it was a secret he could keep longer, only admitting to the shame of it when he had a solution.

He’d spent nights turning over in his head how Ash would react, and every option had been terrible.

The fear and guilt around it had felt like an infection he couldn’t shake, always there lingering bitterly in the back of his throat.

It occurred to Kieran, as the seconds ticked by, that Ash was waiting for him to speak.

All he could think to say then was “I’m so sorry, Ash. Truly.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ash asked. Kieran had expected him to be more accusatory, but really he just sounded…hurt. Kieran couldn’t blame him.

“The curse made it so you couldn’t perceive me. I tried to find you at the library the day after I accidentally cast it, but no matter how hard I tried, you couldn’t hear me. I—”

“So that’s what it was,” Ash said, mostly to himself.

“Yeah,” Kieran said, wincing as he admitted it. “It was an accident, I swear. After you said we should take a break, I went home and wrote a poem about it. I wound up accidentally channeling magic into it, and the next day I went to find you and…Well. You get the picture.”

“But you could have sent a letter,” Ash pointed out. “Or had Briar or Delilah tell me. If you’d wanted to, you would have found a way.”

Kieran went quiet again. As much as he wanted to make another excuse, Ash was right. He’d been trying so hard to keep this under the rug that he hadn’t even considered finding a way to admit his mistake to Ash.

“Yeah,” Kieran finally admitted, voice thick. “I would have. But I was too much of a coward to admit I’d made such a big mistake. I thought if I could just fix it without your ever knowing, it wouldn’t be a big deal. That was wrong of me.”

Ash exhaled, seeming to mull over Kieran’s words. Faintly, he said, “Do you know how I found out?”

“Klaus told you?”

“No, actually. Which was part of why I was so surprised this afternoon when I felt the curse break.”

For a moment, so many emotions rushed through his mind at once that all Kieran felt was numb. He thought back to the poem he’d written weeks ago. It had highlighted his insecurity, his self-hatred—all of it. He’d just needed somewhere to put his worst thoughts, and it had manifested into the curse.

Those same thoughts he’d so fiercely rejected in his vision with Adelaide.

“I suppose you didn’t need a panacea after all,” Ash finally said after a long pause.

Kieran’s breath caught in his throat. This whole time, all he’d been focusing on was finding the panacea to fix his mistake. He hadn’t even considered trying to break the curse without one. That wouldn’t have worked to fulfill his Calling, so he’d put all his efforts into finding the panacea.

What had he written in that poem?

Maybe in a different time…

When I’m worthy of your tender heart,

When I’m confident, sure, and skilled,

You can see me again.

Huh. I guess I am a lot more confident now.

“I guess not.” Kieran twisted the phone cord around his finger, then untwisted it, trying to think of what to say. Finally, he settled on “Are you…angry?”

Ash hummed softly. Then, gently, he said, “It was an accident, wasn’t it?”

“Very much so,” Kieran confirmed, nodding even though he knew Ash couldn’t see him.

“After my curse? I would never, ever do that on purpose. I think that’s part of why I was so ashamed.

I never wanted someone to have to deal with anything like that.

The thought that I had done that to you, even accidentally, was probably the most horrified I’ve ever been with myself. ”

“That’s…good to hear. And considering I didn’t even know I was cursed until it was broken, I suppose I really can’t be too mad. I only wish you’d told me.”

“You’re right. I should have found a way to.” Kieran sighed. “You know, I…I realize now I wasn’t a very good partner to you. Even before the curse. I think I was just so desperate for love that I didn’t want to let you go even when things weren’t working, you know?”

Ash was quiet at the end of the line. Kieran had spent night after night wondering where he was at with everything. Had Ash gone home and felt instant regret after that night downtown? Had he been relieved? Kieran had no way to tell.

Finally, Ash said, “I…think I was the same, honestly. And I still like you a lot, Kieran. Just…”

“Not as your partner?” Kieran guessed. “It’s okay, I feel the same way. Maybe…maybe we could agree to just be friends?”

This time, there was no hesitation on Ash’s end. “Yes—absolutely. When you get back, I’d love to hear about whatever it is you did to break the curse, and about your Calling too. It must have been quite an adventure so far.”

Kieran almost wanted to laugh. Ash didn’t know the half of it. “Maybe we can get coffee when I’m back in Gellingham? I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Yeah—that would be great.” Ash paused, then added, “I’m…really proud of you, Kieran. I hope that’s not weird to say. But you just sound…better, I guess. And I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you. That means a lot. We’ll be in touch soon?”

“Sounds good. Good luck out there, Kier. Bye.”

“Bye, Ash.”

The line went dead, and Kieran put the phone down.

Part of him had expected to feel worse talking to Ash again, but it had been…

nice, in a way. He’d spent so long worried about what would happen when Ash found out about the curse that he hadn’t even considered it could go that smoothly.

It was like a weight off his shoulders that made it possible to take a deep breath for the first time in weeks.

Simply put, he’d done it. He’d fixed his mistake—which left only three more things to do.

Save Delilah. Get the panacea. Keep my magic.

Well, maybe four:

Live happily ever after.

Sebastian opened his door to find Kieran standing outside, breathless from having sprinted up the stairs as fast as he physically could.

“It’s broken,” he burst out before Sebastian could even ask. “The curse I cast—it broke this afternoon. I—I don’t know exactly how, but I think it had to do with my realizing I’m not completely useless as a person.”

Sebastian blinked. He’d pinned back the longer parts of his hair, and his hands were covered in sawdust. He wore a little apron over his clothes, and he held a whittling tool in one hand. The room smelled of aromatic cedar.