Page 135 of How to Flirt with a Witch

A crow swoops down and drops a pine cone on Hazel’s head. She cries out and throws her arms up.

“Got it,” Natalie says.

Hazel and I continue hobbling down the sidewalk on two bad ankles.

“I feel sick,” Hazel says, breathing hard. “I might throw up.”

She’s scratching the back of her hand compulsively, reddening the skin.

I slap her hand away before she can draw blood. “What are you doing?”

“I’m itchy!”

“Well, which is it? Are you itchy or nauseous?”

“Both!” she wails.

“As long as you can still breathe,” I murmur.

“Excuse me?” she cries.

“Nothing. Keep going.” My mind reels like I’ve snagged a whale on a fishing line. I’m scrambling to understand what this all means, ears ringing, pulse throbbing in my neck. “Natalie, don’t you think it’s weird that all this stuff is happening at once?”

“Yes. But we’ve had busy days like this before.” In the background, cars honk and tires screech, and she exhales sharply.

“But a lot of witches have left the building just now, right?” I ask.

“You don’t have to worry. The Madsens can’t get into CSAMM. The building could be entirely empty and still perfectly secure.”

“Because you need earth magic in order to pass through the steam clock?”

“Exactly.”

I chew my lip, a theory rolling around in my brain like a hot potato. Freddie was hinting at something big—something to turn the tables.What else could it be? “Natalie, I think the Madsens have gotten a hold of earth magic.”

A pause. She’s either in the middle of breaking a traffic law or thinking. Likely both. “Well, we know Oaklyn has her dagger—”

“No, like… fully. So they can do what you do.”

“They can’t. Not without the means to neutralize a curse and process the stone.”

“Or capture feral magic.”

More silence. I look around vigilantly, scanning for danger.

“Whythis song?” Hazel sobs, jabbing her phone screen again to no avail. Her hands are redder than a moment ago, hives blooming across her skin like she’s having an allergic reaction.

“Even if they somehow acquired pure earth magic,” Natalie says, “only one of them could possess it.”

“And that’s all it would take,” I argue, yanking Hazel out of the way of an oncoming cyclist. “Freddie mentioned the steam clock entrance when we were talking. He seemed convinced that things were about to change and he was about to set magic free. What if he can do earth magic? He’d be able to get into CSAMM, wouldn’t he?”

“He would, but… There’s no way. He was probably just screwing with you.”

Hazel jerks to a stop, pulling me with her. “Um…”

A woman sprints toward us down the sidewalk, fear tightening her expression. As she pushes past, two more people race after her.

My blood turns to ice. Thiscannotbe good.