Page 102 of How to Flirt with a Witch

There’s a double tap on the door.

I groan softly.

Slumping, Natalie shuts herself in the bathroom again, and I pick up Ethel and answer it.

Sky stands there holding a small cardboard box. “Just wanted to drop off a congratulatory gift!” Her gaze lands on my shirt and bare legs, and her bright tone falters. “I woke you up. I’m sorry. I won’t stay—I just wanted to say a proper congrats and welcome.”

I take the box, warmth spreading through my chest. “That’s really nice of you. Thanks.”

She bounces on the balls of her feet. “Open it.”

I fumble Ethel and the box, not wanting to put her down in case she runs away again—or worse, draws attention to the bathroom door. Sky takes pity on me and reaches out to open it, revealing a dark green leaf inside with a vaguely triangular shape. She swaps the box for it in my free hand.

It’s light and firm. I brush my thumb over the smooth, glossy surface. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s a fingerless gauntlet made from an enchanted fig leaf. You use it like a shield.” Sky lifts her fist in front of her face as if deflecting bullets.

I gape at the gift. “Are you serious?”

I see it now—it’s meant to wrap around the base of my hand, the bottom of the triangle latching together at my wrist, and the top point looping over my middle finger to hold it in place.

“This is… the most badass gift anybody has ever given me.” My throat tightens with emotion. This means more than she knows.

She waves it off and backs up a step. “Just want to keep you safe, with everything going on right now.”

I’m speechless, staring at the gauntlet in my hand.

Enchanted.

Oaklyn’s dagger comes to mind, and the way roots erupted from it. That must have been enchanted too.

How will Natalie feel about me having a magical object?

“Get some sleep,” Sky says, backing away. “Oh, hey, do you know where Nat went? I’ve been trying to text her.”

I shake my head, hoping she can’t tell that her question hit me like an ice cube on the back of the neck.

Sky sighs. “Well, I’ll keep blowing up her phone ’til she answers. Night.”

With my hands full of Ethel and the gift, I lift my chin. “Night. Thanks again.”

With a nudge of my hip, I close the door, then set Ethel down.

After a pause, I murmur, “All clear.”

The bathroom door opens.

“Jesus Christ, you’re popular tonight,” Natalie whispers.

My heart is in my throat. “How are you going to slip out of here without someone seeing you?”

She saunters over and leans down to plant a kiss on my lips, which loosens the tension in my shoulders. “Things quiet down around here by eleven. We’ll just have to find some activity to occupy us until then.”

I smile coyly.

She looks down at the gauntlet, her brow pinching. She lifts a hand as if about to touch it, but drops it at the last moment. “Sky’s right to give this to you.”

As the room’s warm light hits the leaf’s glossy texture, it shimmers with a gentle purple hue, as if hinting at the magic woven into its filaments.