Page 110 of How to Flirt with a Witch

She raises another shield, but again, it isn’t enough—and a cold realization crashes over me. She can’t pull up big chunks of earth to fend off the attack because we’re in a graveyard. To pull up the earth would be to pull up corpses.

“Someone, help!” I shriek, kicking. We need the Shadows over here.Now.

Everything darkens as the root pulls me into the shade of a tree. It stops, and I get my hands under me and sit up, gulping down air. My palms and fingertips sting from grabbing at the ground.

“Hey, sweetheart,” a low voice says.

A chill ripples through me. I lift my gaze to a pair of tight jeans, a black leather jacket, and a snow-white face with black makeup. Oaklyn’s lips curve into a smile.

She’s pulled me into a copse of four yew trees, their dense branches shielding us from the others.

“All this for a curse?” I ask, my voice rough.

She cocks an eyebrow, a flash of bewilderment crossing her face. Before she can respond—and before I can figure out what the hell that expression was about—branches groan. She sucks in a breath and flicks her dagger upward so the root releases my ankles.

Sky sprints toward us, a hand extended to manipulate the yew trees. The branches reach for us as fluidly as arms, the needles grabbing Oaklynlike thousands of fingers. I seize the chance to scramble to my feet.Thank God.

“Ow!” Oaklyn stumbles back and slashes her dagger like a whip, blocking the attack.

I back up, my legs shaking and my hands throbbing. Mud is smeared all down my front, the icy dampness seeping through my jeans.

Through the trees and back where I came from, furious barking fills the air. Natalie has formed a wall with gravel from a nearby path, forcing Wyatt back. And behind her… the cursed flowers are out in the open, a white beacon under the dark clouds.

Urgency constricts my chest. I have to get to the curse before Freddie does—wherever he is. Even if that means touching it.

I take a single step when an arm wraps around my neck, pulling me back.

“No, you don’t,” Oaklyn hisses in my ear, her other arm still fending off Sky’s attack.

I roar in frustration, elbowing her and stomping on her foot. She grunts but holds on. Her arm is like a metal band across my throat, pressing against my airway as she pins me to her. I wheeze, my head clouding with panic.

Shouts break out nearby. Finally, more Shadows are here. Oaklyn spins us, and I try to stay standing, my feet clumsy.

Snap!The iron fence surrounding the graveyard groans, bending around the dog as if made of rubber. Hayley and two others control it, racing to Natalie’s aid.

Neil, meanwhile, comes to help Sky. Oaklyn’s arm tightens, her breaths labored as she fends them off.

A deep groan fills the world. With a jolt, the earth beneath our feet splits. It knocks Oaklyn off balance, and she stumbles. But the quake wasn’t enough, and she drags me back with her.

A branch whips across my face, a sharp sting. I hiss. Warmth trickles down my cheek.

Oaklyn barks out a laugh. “Careful you don’t damage your biggest asset.”

“Neil, watch it!” Sky snaps.

“I’m trying to help!” he growls, slipping in the icy mud.

We’re losing control. The Madsens are holding nothing back.

In a desperate bid for freedom, I kick hard, my heel glancing off Oaklyn’s shin. She grunts, but her grip stays firm. Frustration writhes inside me.

“Get—the curse!” I choke out. “That’s—the priority!”

Neil hesitates and checks over his shoulder toward the others, but Sky cries, “Like hell we’re leaving you here!”

A sharp whistle pierces the air.

Shouts break out.