Wild is the Witch (35)

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he says, leaning into me as he speaks, like he’s telling me a secret. It makes me oddly happy, knowing he’s been waiting this whole time to say it, hoping I’d ask again. “It was going to be a first date.”

“Probably not your best work, for a first date.”

“No, definitely not,” he says, laughing. He peers over my shoulder, looking at the maps.

“How do you think our owl’s doing this morning?”

“I think he’s fine,” I say. “Pleased with himself that he’s being so difficult to catch.”

“You’re being too hard on him. He’s a wild animal, you know.”

I want to tell him that if he’d cast a curse that was then stolen by an owl, he’d be hard on him as well. I sigh and lean back, taking a big breath.

I wish I understood the curse more, wish there were more examples I could look to or texts I could read, but the only thing I can point to is the story my mom told me as a child, and that had a catastrophic ending. I don’t know how the curse will impact the region or what it will do if it gets unleashed. The only thing I know for certain is that it will turn Pike into a mage, which is bad enough. That he could burn to death, which is even worse.

But what about all the other things?

My heart begins to race as I imagine myself back on that field, surrounded by wildflowers and lavender, watching a council of witches take seven turns around me. I want to cry, picturing my mother off to the side, watching me with an irrevocable love she could never shake.

But it isn’t just about me. It’s about Pike and his family. It’s about the region this curse could affect.

Pike pulls out his map and compares it to the coordinates on my phone, looking at the trailheads in the area. After a few minutes, he taps on the map and says, “This one.”

“How far of a drive is it?”

“Probably only twenty minutes or so. But we need to stop at a store on the way to get a few more supplies. I didn’t plan for this long of a trip.”

The comment makes me ache for the refuge and my mom and Winter, ache for the relief of having the owl back where I can undo the curse and finally feel at peace.

Pike starts his car, and we drive down the mountain, listening to the same music as when we drove up here two days ago.

It’s overcast out, blanketing the world in shades of gray, and I lean my head against the glass and let the cold permeate my skin. It isn’t long until we turn into a gravel parking lot and stop in front of a small general store with a steep pitched roof and dark wooden planks, set against the mountains in the distance. That’s something I love about living out of the city: once you get far enough out, even the general stores have incredible views.

Pike walks in like a man on a mission, checking a list he’s pulled up on his phone, then going up and down each aisle with purpose. Every time he finds something he wants, his routine is the same: he picks it up off the shelf, flips it over to read the back, checks the list on his phone again, then sets the item gently in his basket.

He does this several times, and when he finds the ingredients for s’mores, I take them from him and put them in my basket instead.

“I’ll get these,” I say.

I pick up a few more snacks, then we both check out and head back to the car.

“Hey, do you mind waiting a few minutes? We actually have pretty good reception here, and I’d love to give my mom a quick call.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea. I’ll call my parents, too,” Pike says.

I wander a few feet away from the car and pace back and forth. Mom picks up on the third ring.

“Hello?” She sounds calm and happy, the same as she did the day I left. It makes me miss her.

“Hi, Mom,” I say, so relieved to hear her voice.

“Iris! I’m so glad you called. We miss you around here.”

“I miss you, too,” I say. “How’s everything going?”

Sarah says something in the background that I can’t make out, then Mom is back on the phone. “Your timing is actually great. Cassandra just called.”

Everything inside me turns cold at the sound of her name. My palms begin to sweat, and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. Nausea flares to life in my stomach, and for a moment I think I’m going to be sick.

“Why?” It takes everything I have to make that one word come out clear. Even.

“She offered to help with the owl. You know the council keeps pretty close tabs on the amplifiers, and since she’s working in the area anyway, she called and asked if we needed anything.”

I can’t think straight. My mind is racing and the parking lot begins to spin. I rub my temples and try to focus, try to think, but all I can see is Cassandra turning off my sense of magic. I’m relieved that help will be available if I need it, but I thought I’d have more time to try to fix this.

The owl is safe right now; there’s no immediate risk. But once the council gets involved, that’s it. They’ll know about the curse, and I’ll be put back on trial.

I’ve been silent for too long, and Mom speaks again. “Honey, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say, but my heart is racing and I feel lightheaded.

Even after everything—seeing my best friend kill the person she loves, losing my dad, moving away—I still can’t imagine a world without magic.