Page 85 of How to Flirt with a Witch

Sky pulls over at a parking meter and uses her phone to pay. “How long will this take? A half hour?”

I lift a shoulder. How should I know?

She must see this on my face because she says, “Right. Yeah, half an hour will be fine.”

We get out and head down the sidewalk, Sky’s traveling cloak catching the wind. Traffic whooshes by, a crosswalk beeps, and four crows bicker noisily over a spilled takeout meal. The cold air bites my cheeks, and I zip my jacket up to my chin.

“Has anyone broken the oath?” I ask.

“A few times. Magic has its temptations.”

Her words echo Natalie’s from not long ago. I guess I understand what they mean, given that I’m still trying to go after curses despite every indication that I should walk away.

We head to the glass door of a nondescript pet store.Barbara’s Pet Emporiumis painted on the windows in colorful letters.

“Nat and I don’t spend a lot of time talking about our feelings, but…” Sky opens the door and motions for me to go ahead. “The way she’s acting around you? It’s weird. Like, good weird.”

My insides do a jump and twist. “What? Really?”

“Let’s just say she’s never flown to Ohio to get a kitten for anyone before.”

“That was…” I splutter, my heartbeat quickening. “She needed one that looked like Lucy so I wouldn’t… Are you sure?”

She raises an eyebrow. “You don’t think so?”

The memory of that almost-kiss floods back, making my lips tingle. “Whatever she’s feeling, I don’t think she’s going to let herself act on it.”

Sky sighs. “No. She’s not allowed to, for one. But the rules don’t stop some people from… carrying on with things under the radar…”

Hope zaps me like a bolt of lightning. I wait for her to offer more—maybe a promise to talk to her sister about what a fool she’s been, and she should obviously run up to me and apologize and give me the passionate kiss I’ve been waiting for.

Is that a flush in Sky’s cheeks? Wait, issheone of those people who’s carrying on a relationship in secret?

Before I can find a way to strategically ask, she says, “So, bird feed aisle or cat food?”

I turn my focus to the surrounding clutter. Hay and critters blend to make it smell a bit like a barnyard in here. Céline Dion croons from the overhead speakers, the music competing with some chirping birds at the back of the store.

“Let’s start with the cat food,” I say.

We walk slowly past the bags and cans, and I scan everything, waiting for the familiar anticipation to grip me. A bag of tuna treats snags my attention, but this isn’t the time to shop for Ethel.

“Natalie won’t tell me why all these things are cursed,” I say casually, watching Sky for a reaction.

She doesn’t meet my eye. “Well, here’s a fun fact. Superstitions actually come from real curses throughout history.”

This isn’t what I was getting at, and I’m sure she knows it, but I’m curious anyway. “So you’re saying at one time, a broken mirror really did bring bad luck?”

She smiles. “Oh, that one’s good. A king had a cracked mirror that held a curse. Everyone thought the bad luck came when it broke. But no, the mirror itself was imbued with a curse.”

“Huh.”

We reach the end of the cat food aisle and move onto dog toys.

We weave through two more aisles, and the prospect of failing again closes around me, suffocating. What if my ability went away and I can’t find the curse? This will definitely be it. Three strikes, I’m out.

Sweat prickles under my jacket, and I unzip it to let some air in.

We walk through the section with aquarium supplies—and there, at last, my breath catches. A chill runs through me like an icy finger tracing up my spine.