Page 35 of How to Charm a Coven (How to Flirt with a Witch #2)

I look at her profile—the determined set of her jaw, the strength in her posture. She’s risked everything to protect me and to love me. And now she’s about to face off with people who want her dead, all because I thought it was the right thing to come here and try to save magic.

My heart pounds harder, as if to remind me of my mortality. The air shifts, growing heavy with magic. My skin tingles with that now-familiar sensation, like standing near a lightning strike.

Oaklyn slashes her dagger, its blade catching the light. A tangle of roots launches at Natalie with the force of a wrecking ball. Wyatt tears after it, ready to sink his fangs into us.

Natalie throws up her hands, and the ground before us erupts. Rocks, sand, and chunks of earth form a barrier, blocking the root ball with a thunderous crash.

“Katie, run!” she shouts, her voice strained.

I step closer to her instead, my fists clenched. “I’m not leaving you!”

Of everything I’m unsure about, all the doubts and questions, this is the one thing I know for sure—I will never abandon her.

Through gaps in our crumbling barrier, Sophia summons the net back before spinning to face us. Her eyes are cool and calculating, like we’re an obstacle to be removed.

“Shit. Sophia—” I barely get the words out when the air crackles, and Sophia thrusts her free hand toward us. Stones tear out of the ground, firing like bullets.

“Get down!” Natalie shouts, jumping in front of me as her shield shatters. Her body absorbs most of the impact, but some stones still slam into my shoulders and legs, making me cry out as pain explodes everywhere.

Natalie grunts and staggers backward, bumping into me, and I grab her to stop her from falling .

“Hold this,” Sophia barks at Hazel, who hesitates for a heartbeat before darting forward to take the net.

The golden threads shimmer in her small hands—the same hands that held mine through every crisis of my teenage years until now. I step around Natalie, an unconscious urge to move closer to Hazel. If I could just reach her…

Natalie throws her arm across my chest to push me back, breathing hard. “Stay—here.”

My eyes prickle, but I swallow down the emotion and step back, needing to focus.

Natalie sends a wave of earth toward Sophia, chunks of stone and soil flying like missiles. Her power steals my breath as always.

Sophia deflects the attack with a sweep of her arm, making it flow around her like water around a boulder. She thrusts her hands out in retaliation, and the earth explodes beneath our feet.

My ears ring as I’m blasted back, my belly swooping. I slam into a tree, the rough bark digging into my back and all the air whooshing out of my lungs. Disoriented, I suck in a rattling breath, gasping and coughing as I try to get my bearings.

There’s a sickening crack nearby, and Natalie lets out a grunt of pain.

My insides plummet. Fear crashes over me like ice. “Natalie!” I croak, rolling onto my hands and knees.

She’s slumped at the base of a tree, holding herself up with a shaking arm.

She spits out blood and wipes her face. The sight of her blood makes panic surge through me, clawing at my chest. I try to get to my feet, but my knees are too weak.

I scramble over the rocks toward her, moving impossibly slow, like time itself is working against me.

“Nat—” Something wraps around my middle with crushing force, and I scream. Pain explodes in my ribs as I’m yanked backward, and then in my palms as I skid across the rough ground. Oaklyn’s roots tighten like anacondas, squeezing my torso until I can’t breathe .

I thrash, managing to turn enough to see the others. The first set of eyes I lock onto are Hazel’s. She stands frozen, the golden net clutched to her chest, her face ashen as she watches me struggle.

“Please,” I beg, gasping for what little breath I can get. The roots constrict tighter. An involuntary noise escapes me. Black spots dance at the edges of my vision. I hope she knows I’m not just pleading for my life, but for her to remember who she is and who we are to each other.

Sophia’s voice cuts through the air. “If you want magic of your own, girl, help us catch one.”

Hazel flinches. She looks down at the net in her hands, her chest heaving. Unable to speak, I try to silently plead with her, praying that she’s weighing everything—our friendship, the empty promise of magic, the reality of what’s happening and who she’s siding with.

Strides away, Natalie groans and pushes herself up on trembling arms. Blood pours from her nose, and she wipes it with her forearm, smearing it across her face. She staggers to her feet, her breathing labored.

“Let—her—go,” she snarls, turning her palms toward Oaklyn. Purple flashes in her eyes, as bright as lightning.

Sophia’s lips curl into a sneer. She raises both hands, and the earth trembles in response. Jagged spikes of stone erupt from the ground, racing for Natalie like serpents striking at prey.

Natalie tries to raise a barrier, but she’s wounded and slow. The first spike catches her in the side, and she cries out, doubling over as blood cascades down from under her sweater.

“Stop it!” I scream, writhing against the roots binding me. Every movement sends pain lancing through my ribs, but I don’t care. All that matters is getting to Natalie before it’s too late. The helplessness of watching her suffer is worse than the pain.

Sophia advances on her, relentless as the tide. “I’ve waited years for this, Zacharias. Your family has been a thorn in my side for too long. ”

Another blast sends Natalie skidding across the rocks. She tries to stand, but her legs give out. Blood soaks her torn sweater and joggers, spreading like crimson flowers. Her face is ghostly pale, her eyes unfocused with pain.

A sob escapes my lips, and I thrash again, unable to do anything to stop this. This is my fault—I brought us here, thinking I could make peace, thinking I could protect everyone. I should have known the fucking Madsens would show up.

“Oaklyn, she’s going to kill Natalie!” Hazel blurts, her voice breaking. “Stop her!”

Hearing the words spoken aloud floods me with dizziness. I can’t get enough air into my lungs. The world goes fuzzy, like I’m trying to wake up from a nightmare.

Oaklyn glances back at Hazel, confusion wiping the sneer off her face. The dagger in her hand lowers an inch, and the roots constricting me quiver.

“Please!” Hazel begs, stepping toward her. “This isn’t what we talked about. This is murder.”

But Oaklyn’s expression hardens as she turns back to me, her mouth set in a grim line. “Just do what you’re told, Hazel.”

The roots tighten again, and my vision darkens at the edges.

This is how it ends, then. With betrayal. With my total failure—leading Natalie into danger, unable to convince the witches or the chimeras to listen to me, unable to embrace my role as a Guardian.

I thrash with everything I have, with every drop of energy left in my body. But I’m trapped, helpless, watching as Sophia raises a boulder the size of a car above Natalie. The rock hovers, casting a shadow over her broken form.

“No!” I shriek, the sound tearing from my throat. “Somebody help!”

I don’t know who I’m shouting to. There’s nobody here to save us .

Natalie’s eyes lock onto mine, the whites glowing against her blood-stained skin. Purple fades to brown as the magic drains away—as she realizes what’s about to happen.

Everything we could have had hangs suspended between us, invisible but so real—our life together, our future.

Lazy Sunday mornings tangled in sheets, holidays with our families, summer nights in our own backyard…

All the ordinary, beautiful moments we’ll never have, about to be crushed forever at the hands of Sophia, Oaklyn, and the girl who was once my be st friend.