Page 31 of How to Charm a Coven (How to Flirt with a Witch #2)

Things That Don’t Make Sense

A s Sophia plummets thirty stories, Oaklyn’s car door flies open, and she jumps out and thrusts her arm upward. Dark roots extend from her dagger like living ropes, twisting and growing rapidly. They encircle Sophia’s body, cushioning her fall before she can hit the ground.

“God dammit!” Sky punches the wall. “First division, take the stairs! Now!”

“We haven’t lost her yet!” Fiona shouts, pivoting. “Get moving!”

Four Shadows sprint for the elevator. Panicked shouts break out when they spot Neil lying dead on the floor.

“Later!” someone roars. “We’ll come back for him!”

My eyes sting. My chest is so tight I can barely breathe. Ethel struggles in my jacket once more, and I wrap my arms tightly around her, refusing to let her get hurt.

Below, the car’s passenger door opens, and my blood runs cold as a second person steps out.

“Hazel,” I whisper, icy horror flooding through me .

Wyatt jumps out after her and looks around vigilantly, as graceful as a wolf.

I grab Natalie’s elbow and pull her back from the edge. “We need to get down there.”

We race for the elevator with the others while Sky directs an attack on everyone below—including Hazel.

“Sky, careful!” I shout.

She glances back, confusion plain on her face. “I’m sorry, Katie. This is my job.”

Bile rises in my throat. I stick my arm out to stop the elevator doors from closing and force myself in among the Shadows. Natalie steps in beside me.

“Try to see this from her perspective—” she begins, but I shake my head firmly.

“Don’t.” All I can think is that I need to get to Hazel before she’s killed.

At ground level, debris hails down on the car, stopping the Madsens from escaping. Dust chokes the air so it’s hard to see past the sidewalk—either from the battle or a wall created by the Shadows. I cough as grit coats my tongue.

Through the haze, Sophia stands defiant. Her white-blonde braid is undone, her silk robe is torn, and blood streaks her skin. A red river flows down over her clavicle. She inches toward the car as she fights, her eyes darting between the Shadows and the FJ Cruiser—her only escape.

The Shadows advance. She thrusts her palms forward, and concrete ruptures beneath their boots, sending them stumbling. She lunges for the car, but Natalie is quick, countering with a blast of magic. The two forces collide with a shockwave that knocks everyone off their feet.

I hit the ground hard, pain shooting through my shoulder. Wyatt barks, the deep sound coming from much too close .

Paws thunder. His breath makes a low huff-huff as he gallops toward me .

With a hiss and a painful scrabble of claws, Ethel bursts out the bottom of my jacket and blitzes away over the broken pavement.

Wyatt skids to a stop, strides away from Natalie and me. He looks from us to Ethel, his eyes huge. With a “yip!”, he changes course, chasing the fleeing cat.

“Thanks for the distraction, Ethel,” I grunt as I sit up, watching her disappear under a parked sedan. Wyatt barks and claws at the front tire, trying to get to her. Ethel yowls in response, swiping at his nose from the safety of her hiding place.

With Wyatt occupied, my top priority floods back to me. Heart in my throat, I search frantically for Hazel through the dust. Sophia is already scrambling to her feet, still trying to get to the car.

There. Hazel is on her hands and knees, coughing and spluttering. Oaklyn is at her side, helping her up. The protectiveness in her gesture is familiar, making my stomach twist.

The air crackles with energy as magic flies in every direction. A chunk of concrete hurtles toward me, and I roll in time to avoid being crushed. My chest spasms from all the dust, and I cough, my head swirling as not enough oxygen gets into my lungs.

“Katie!” Natalie’s voice pierces the chaos. She hauls me to my feet with one strong arm while her other hand remains outstretched, manipulating debris to shield us. “I’ve got you. Stay behind me.”

Maybe it was the sound of Natalie shouting my name, but Hazel and Oaklyn look over sharply. There’s a heavy pause between the four of us, though the Shadows have resumed their attack on Sophia.

Then, Oaklyn whips her dagger like a snake lashing out, ripping a parking meter from the sidewalk and hurling it at us. Natalie deflects it with a sweep of her arm, sending it into the FJ and denting the hood. With another sweep, she sends a wave of broken pavement back at Oaklyn.

“Natalie, careful!” I cry as jagged pieces rocket toward Hazel.

But Oaklyn shields her, using her dagger to unleash twisted roots. They link together like gnarled fingers, forming a protective wall in front of Hazel.

“That was shitty of you, Katie,” Oaklyn says as everything falls to the ground. “Using your bestie as a spy? Come on.”

My heart plummets into the cracked earth beneath my feet. She knows? But that means—

“Hazel, get away from her!” I shout. I try to move forward, but Natalie holds me back, her grip strong on my arm.

My breaths come fast, my chest constricting. I don’t understand. If she found out Hazel’s secret, then why is Hazel here? And why is Oaklyn protecting her?

Hazel’s eyes meet mine, something hard there I’ve never seen before. “I told you I wanted to talk first.”

“There wasn’t time! We were on our way to the chimeras, and I needed to—” I cut myself off with a wave of my hand.

This isn’t the moment to try and explain my decision to steer the witches away from the chimeras, and as Hazel and Oaklyn both narrow their eyes at the mention of chimeras, it’s clear I’ve already said too much. “Hazel, what’s going on?”

“I’ve learned all I need to know about what your coven does,” she says, her voice strange and cold. “They hoard magic, deciding who’s worthy and who isn’t.”

I step back as if punched. What?

Hearing those words come out of her mouth… It’s wrong, like Freddie Madsen is speaking through her. I’m transported back to the trunk of the FJ Cruiser, questioning everything as Freddie preached to me. And later, in the halls of C.S.A.M.M., almost losing Natalie when I briefly believed him .

Did Oaklyn get to Hazel?

I thought I explained it. I thought she understood.

I mentally travel back through the last few days, trying to fit the pieces together. Has she been acting strange? Did I fail to notice the signs that she was buying into the Madsens’ cause? I knew she was struggling to reconcile her feelings for Oaklyn, but I didn’t think it would come to this .

Natalie’s grip on my arm tightens—holding me back from danger as usual. But this time, we’re staring into my best friend’s eyes.

Oaklyn’s lip curls as she watches me—probably taking satisfaction in seeing the horror dawn on my face. Her fingers slide possessively around the back of Hazel’s neck.

“They’re—they’re murderers!” I splutter, my lips numb.

“They’re fighting for equality.” Hazel’s fists are clenched, her chest heaving. “Magic should be available to anyone who wants to learn how to do it. You, of all people, should agree.”

Heat rises in my face as she brings up my own frustrations with the coven. She doesn’t understand the full picture.

Oaklyn toys with Hazel’s hair as she caresses the back of her neck, and I shiver just watching it. How could Hazel fall for someone so awful?

“It’s more complicated than that, Hazel,” I say. “Natalie and I will explain it to you.”

I clearly didn’t give her enough information. She’s smart—she’ll get it if I explain. I can fix this.

The Shadows are still attacking from both the ground and the shattered penthouse window.

Sophia is holding strong, inching closer to the vehicle with each retaliating blast. Despite being outnumbered, she looks like she’s about five seconds from obliterating us all if we try to block her path any further .

Natalie keeps her palms up and nods toward Sophia. “You really think anyone should have access to magic? Look at what the people you’re siding with are choosing to do with it.”

Yes. My heart jumps as she makes the argument, and I look quickly at Hazel, hoping to see a flash of understanding.

But her face is set.

Oaklyn laughs. “What we do with it? You had magic locked in cages. Your coven controls its members with an iron fist.”

Wyatt barks, frantically digging at the concrete beneath the parked sedan where Ethel is hiding—doing her part in this fight by keeping the dog’s teeth away from our legs.

Hazel breaks away from Oaklyn and runs toward the cargo van. My stomach drops further, sinking right into the ground.

“Hazel, don’t—” I start, but she’s already whipping the rear doors open.

Natalie sucks in a breath and raises her palms. The air crackles, lifting the hairs on my arms.

I grab her wrist. “Don’t hurt her,” I beg—because even now, she’s still Hazel, and I can’t let her get hurt.

Hazel jumps out of the van with the golden net in her hands, the threads gleaming unnaturally bright under the streetlights.

My heart misses a beat. She can’t be doing this.

“That’s my girl,” Oaklyn says. “Get in the car, sweetheart.”

I’m numb, her betrayal surging over me like a tidal wave of arctic water.

I reach out a trembling hand, desperate to fix this. My chest is unbearably tight. “Hazel, don’t. Come with us and we’ll keep you safe.”

“I am safe.” She moves closer to Oaklyn, though there’s the briefest hesitation in her step.

My ears ring. “She pressed a blade to my throat! ”

“After you killed her brother!” Hazel’s voice cracks, and she swallows hard, her eyes not quite meeting mine. “Come on, Katie… Wouldn’t you do anything for someone you care about? Isn’t that what you’ve always done?”

I blink, trying to absorb what’s happening. My best friend, the person who’s been by my side since high school, has chosen the Madsens over me. The treachery cuts deeper than any knife could, twisting in my gut until I can’t breathe.

“You don’t know what you’re doing,” I say through my teeth.

Hazel shakes her head fiercely, her fingers winding nervously around the golden net.

“I’m done watching from the sidelines. I need to fight for something I believe in.

Katie, that coven doesn’t give a shit about you.

They’ve lied to you, betrayed you, and…” She takes a shaky breath.

“Maybe there aren’t any good sides here.

Maybe we’re all just trying to do the best we can. ”

I step back, dizzy as the world tilts under me. The idea of there being no good side hits harder than it should because of how much I’ve been doubting the coven. How they’ve treated me. How wholeheartedly I disagree with their decision to trap the chimeras.

But that doesn’t mean I’m going to side with the Madsens. I will never, ever stand with the family that has brought Natalie so much pain. The coven might be wrong about some things, but that doesn’t make the Madsens right.

“Hazel, let’s talk about this,” I say, my voice coming out weak as my last thread of hope frays.

She shakes her head, backing toward the car with Oaklyn. I can see her hands trembling from here. She’s sweating, terrified…but she’s made her choice. She’s chosen the path I’ve been fighting against.

Sophia unleashes a final, devastating blast that knocks back the closest Shadows, and makes a desperate sprint for the passenger seat. She climbs in, and Hazel gets into the back on Oaklyn’s side .

“Wyatt! Come!” Oaklyn shouts, one foot in the car.

The dog turns his head, visibly torn between obeying her and eating Ethel. A little white paw takes another swipe at him from under the car, claws extended.

“Come!” Oaklyn shouts again, and the dog obeys, bounding over in a few long strides.

Hazel gives me one last look—and I swear I barely recognize her past the coldness in her eyes—before Oaklyn slams her door and climbs into the driver’s seat.

“Hazel, please!” I try to follow, but Natalie yanks me back as a wave of concrete explodes between us.

I pull out of her grasp. “I can’t let her go with them!”

She just grabs me tighter, her body shielding mine as debris rains down. “We can’t help her if we’re dead.”

The car’s engine comes to life, roaring and sputtering under the dented hood. Through the open car window, Sophia raises a wall of broken concrete and twisted metal. Then they’re speeding away, Hazel’s face visible in the rear window.

“No!” I cry, my feet carrying me forward automatically, like I think I can catch them.

Natalie holds me back, her arms strong around my waist. “Katie, don’t. We’ll get her back, but we need a plan.”

The Cruiser disappears around a corner, leaving behind destruction and wounded Shadows.

Natalie cups my face, forcing me to look at her. “You’re bleeding. Where are you hurt?”

I can’t register physical pain right now. Not when everything is falling apart. Hazel is gone. The enchanted net is gone. Sophia Madsen has escaped, and we lost our chance to catch her and Oaklyn.

“How could she side with them?” I ask, my voice breaking. “Did I not explain how awful they are? ”

Natalie’s expression softens. “It’s not your fault. Love makes people do things that don’t make sense.”

My eyes sting, and I wipe my face, smearing blood down my arm.

However safe Hazel thinks she is, she’s in danger. And so are the chimeras at Lighthouse Park. I’ve failed everyone tonight.

I stare at the destruction around us—the shattered concrete, the wounded Shadows, the space where Hazel should be standing. Dust and blood linger in my mouth, bitter and too dry to let me swallow.

Hazel’s cold, distant gaze lingers in my vision. My best friend, the one who came for sleepovers in high school, who sat with me over countless video calls to stop me from being homesick, who helped me get through my fight with Natalie…replaced by someone I don’t recognize.

Natalie pulls me against her, her heartbeat strong and steady. “We’ll get her back.”

Sirens wail in the distance. We have to go.

I believe Natalie—first because I trust her, and second because I won’t have it any other way. The alternative—accepting that I’ve lost my best friend to the Madsens—is unthinkable.

Ethel trots over with her tail up, and I break away from Natalie to scoop her into my arms. I am not losing her too.

But as I bury my face in her fur, trying not to cry, I see Hazel’s face in my mind’s eye—that final glimpse of my best friend driving away with two murderous women, leaving me with a cavernous hole in my chest.