Page 128 of How to Flirt with a Witch

Her eyes widen a fraction. “Youwantedto help!”

“And I thought you’d at least tell me what I’m helping to do. You know, I found out while talking to Freddie that they’re planning something—”

“Yeah, we’re on it. That doesn’t make what you did right.” Natalie’s brow pinches as she looks past me. She can’t even meet my eye.

Beneath my white-hot anger, guilt acts as kindling, bringing the flame to life. Fine, I shouldn’t have talked to Freddie, and I definitely shouldn’t have mentioned Alchemy 13 to him. In trying to gather all the information, I broke my oath—and I broke Natalie’s trust. But it’s hard tofeel the full force of regret when I finally understand what I’ve sworn to protect.

“Natalie, I need to know what I’m doing when I’m running around finding curses.” I almost reach for her but stop myself, afraid she’ll pull back. Afraid of what this fight means. “I deserve to know what sort of magic I’m helping to regulate and what dangers are involved. If I’m going to work for CSAMM, I have to know what this place stands for.”

She stares at me, expressionless. “And do you agree with what we stand for?”

I open my mouth to respond—but I need to understand something before I answer. I stand by what I told Freddie, about how I’d sooner die than help him, but one thing isn’t sitting right.

“Would biological magic have saved your mom?” I ask quietly.

Natalie blinks, sucking back a little as if I took a swing at her. Then she regains her composure, and her face settles into a neutral mask. “Yes. It probably would have.”

Another hitch in this fucked-up dilemma.

If a family member was about to die, I’d do everything in my power to save them, including breaking the law. If someone I knew had cancer and biological magic was the cure, I’d scour the earth until I found it.

“If saving one person means a million others suffer, what’s the right answer?” Natalie asks.

My eyes burn. It’s an impossible decision. How do you weigh lives against each other like that? “I… don’t know,” I say, the words barely coming out.

This is hurting my brain. What’s the solution when a force can be used for both incredible good and pure evil?

Natalie steps closer, a breath away. I lean back, trapped between her and the cool brick wall.

“So don’t judge me or my family for making a certain choice,” she growls, her voice low and firm. “This isnota black-and-white issue.”

I nod. A chasm seems to open between us—a breach in trust that might never be mended. Her eyes are cold, her posture tense, and any comfort I usually feel in her presence has dissolved.

Heels click, and we both turn. I have to lean away from the wall to see around the fern.

“Well, well.” Fiona walks toward us down the corridor, her eyes narrowing.

Natalie steps back, leaving a draft, and it hits me how close we were standing… How this must look…

“Uh-huh,” Fiona says as if unsurprised. There’s a dangerous glint in her eyes, a curl in her lip. “Seeing as you’re both here, this will make the conversation a little easier.”

Natalie catches my eye for a fleeting second, a flash of uncertainty that sends a chill down to my toes. The air in the corridor feels thick and murky.

“It’s been brought to my attention that the two of you seem to be involved,” Fiona says, a slight tremor in her voice, like she’s barely suppressing her anger.

A thousand outbursts rise in my head. Who told her? Why do they care? Is this really the first thing she’s going to say to me after I nearly got my foot chewed off while fighting for CSAMM’s cause?

“Aftereverythingyou were warned about,” Fiona snarls. “After youroaths! The fact that you’re still willing to put confidential information at risk—”

“I haven’t told Katie anything beyond what she’s supposed to know,” Natalie says. She meets my eye, the accusation hanging in the air.But she’s managed to find out anyway.

My face heats up as I recall my induction ceremony—Fiona warning me not to try and coerce information out of anyone. Natalie has upheld their secrecy on her end, but I definitely have not followed the rules.

Fiona nods, seeming satisfied with Natalie’s assurance, then turns to me with a narrowed gaze. “For both your sakes, you’d better be staying in your own lane. If you’re prying into things beyond your station, suspension is the least of your worries.”

I dip my chin, the wordsuspensionhitting me like a punch. “Of—of course.”

She smooths her blazer, her nostrils flaring. “We’ll have to bring your situation to the board to evaluate whether further action is—”