Page 77 of How to Flirt with a Witch

Our breaths roar from our lungs, the sound filling the vehicle.

I’m trembling all over. My back tingles where Oaklyn’s car pushed against it, a reminder of how close I was to getting forced inside. Even when I press the heels of my hands to my eyelids, I can still see the dark roots erupting from her dagger, and Natalie’s face twisting with rage as she sent boulders and concrete flying with a flick of her fingers.

“Katie?”

I flinch, sucking in a breath as I look at her. Icy fear floods my veins, cold sweat prickling under my clothes.

Natalie’s expression shatters me. Her brown eyes are wide with concern, her eyebrows arched. This is worse than making her angry—she’s scared, sad, a mix of everything I don’t want her to feel. And this is my fault for trying to follow her.

“You okay?” she murmurs beneath my ringing ears.

I nod automatically, but I’m not sure if I am. With shaking hands, I rub my neck where the roots wrapped around it, grit clinging to my fingers. “Y-you said the Madsens aren’t witches.”

“They aren’t.” Natalie’s knuckles tighten over the steering wheel, the leather groaning under her palms. “I have to talk to Fiona.”

“Oaklyn got a hold of a magical object?” I draw deep breaths to steady my shaky voice. Away from her, it was clear she wasn’t doing magic the same way as Natalie was. I recall the wild look in her eyes—dark eyes, not purple. Her power came from the dagger alone.

Natalie nods curtly, her jaw working. The silence rings as we weave through cars.

“Did she come into the classroom?” she asks.

I hesitate—and the pause says everything. She looks at me sharply, her nostrils flaring.

“I told you to stay there!” Her anger bursts from her lips.

I flinch. “I—I knew the second I left that I made the wrong decision.” My voice breaks as hot shame washes over me. “I was going to turnaround and go back inside, but she was right there on the other side of the door, waiting for me.”

Natalie jerks her head, her brow furrowed. She weaves between cars and passes recklessly, taking us back to Gastown. “I never should have left you.”

“This isn’t on you. It’s not your job to keep me safe.”

“It is! I brought you into this messed-up world.” Her voice cracks, like she hates herself for this, and my heart breaks a little more. “Now I have to protect you from it—the Madsens, magic, curses—”

“Why, though?” I’ve stopped trembling, a spark of frustration igniting amid everything else. “Why are you so determined to stop me from helping you find curses?”

“Because they’re dangerous!”

“And?Youwork with them. Everyone you know works with them. I’m prepared to take the risk—”

“I don’t want someone I care about to get hurt!” Her voice fills the car, reverberating off every surface.

My insides flip over, like I’ve done a somersault off a high dive. “You care about me?”

She casts me a sidelong glance, and if I’m not mistaken, there’s panic in her eyes.

I don’t know what to make of this. Does she care about me in the way that I hope, or does she care about me the same way she would care about anyone who nearly got hurt by magic?

“Natalie… I don’t want to go back to my normal life.” My mouth is dry. I have to tell her what this all means to me—why I so badly want to help her find curses. Even if I have to open my heart and pour out all my insecurities. “I feel like I’ve finally found belonging, a purpose, something I’m good at. You asked if I’m an empath. I’ve always felt like I am, and it would make me good at helping people. I… I think this somehow relates to my ability to see curses. I sense things that otherpeople can’t. Energy. Auras. Whatever you want to call it. I’m meant to do this.”

My throat seals up before I can go on—before I can tell her that I don’t want to go back to a life without her in it.

Natalie twists her grip on the wheel, restless. “I get it. I know you want to help, and I think you could. But you’ve seen what dark magic can do and how curses can escalate.”

“I understand what I would be getting into. My dad’s a firefighter. My mom’s a nurse. It’s kind of a family trait to do whatever it takes to help others.”

She falls quiet, taking us to her parking spot in Gastown. My memory tingles with the last time this happened, when we fled the other Madsen sibling. She’s determined to protect me, and I’m missing the real reason.

I don’t want someone I care about to get hurt.