“I just thought—I know you haven’t chosen yet, but I wanted to ask you something.” His eyes were serious, and I couldn’t look away from his warm gaze.
It had been bad enough breaking up with him once; why did he have to keep making me fall for him all over again? I tried to reel in my emotions, but I felt my neck starting to flush. Sitting beside me, Rochelle stopped drawing in anticipation of something. I wasn’t sure what she was waiting for, so I focused on Justin.
“If you ever wanted to, well, I mean, if you ever thought about—” He floundered, but I couldn’t bear to help him. If I spoke, I was afraid I might say something I’d regret.
He took a deep breath and went on. “You know that Whites and Greens can intermarry.” He paused as he glanced for the first time at Rochelle. “But a Black is forbidden from marrying at all. I just wanted you to think about that before you make your own choice.” His final words came out in a rush, and I exhaled quickly. My heart spun through my body like a yo-yo, and I struggled to keep my face blank.
I nodded once, curtly, and then turned my attention back to my recently finished hex, studiously avoiding meeting Rochelle’s eye. Justin sat there, uncomfortable for a moment, before reaching over to squeeze my upper arm in parting. My skin tingled at his touch. I listened to the door click shut behind him, and my calm demeanor cracked.
“Prick.” Rochelle spat the word as if she had just tasted poison.
I shrugged and forced a smile. “He’s just excited about his declaration.”
She laughed sharply. “And he’s clearly still in love with you.” Rochelle looked at me, her dark eyes piercing my soul. “Why in the world did you break up with him?” Her mocking tone annoyed me, and I shrugged again, even though my heart started to pound. No one knew how I still felt about Justin, and Rochelle would be the last person I’d confide in. She hated him too much to ever understand, and she thought that I did, too.
“It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.”
“Red.” I don’t know if I spoke the word or only thought it, but it was obvious from her stunned reaction that Hecate had heard me.
“Red.” I croaked a little more firmly, even though I had no idea what I was saying. “I choose to follow Red magic.” Oh, boy, how would the goddess in front of me react to that? I’d said the first thing that popped into my mouth, but I knew there was no such thing as Red magic. Nervously, I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms and waiting for her to chastise me for my insolence.
The punishment I was expecting never came. Instead, there was a crash of thunder outside, and the power flickered on for one blinding moment before the lights went out again. A threatening chuckle filled the air.
“Girl, you have bound yourself with your words, but I wonder if you know exactly what you are now tied to?”
Mutely, I shook my head, and she cackled. Her hand shot toward my face, and I flinched. The goddess ran her fingers through my hair, tangling it more than it already was. I tried not to jerk away from her, but my scalp crawled.
“A Red with red hair. It is fitting.”
I stared at her, too surprised to speak. What did my hair have to do with anything? And did that mean there really was a thing called Red magic?
There was another crash of thunder and the goddess stepped away from me. “You will learn all things soon. But you are bound by your choice. Remember that later.”
The lights flickered on spasmodically, and the goddess vanished.
Chapter Two
Part of me wanted to believe that I’d just had a dream, not an actual visitation from the most powerful goddess on earth. I was shaking and cold all over as I made my way up the stairs to my room. Not caring about the mess, I crawled into my closet and sat on the floor, hiding under my clothes. Trying to still my heart, I took three deep breaths, holding the air in my lungs a beat before exhaling.
Red magic. What in the world was that? I’d never heard of anything but Green, White, and Black. They were the balanced triad of crafts taught at my school, Trinity. Did Red magic even exist? Hecate’s laughter filled my ears, and I began to feel hot and panicky. I crawled out of my closet and reached for my cell phone, but I didn’t call anyone. I thought about it; I was freaked out by her visit and by my impulsive declaration, but when I picked up the phone, the first person I thought of was Justin. I so wasn’t ready to go down that road.
Justin and I had dated a few months ago, and it was intense. I’ve never dated a Non, and he was my first boyfriend, period, so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but dating a powerful Witch was a mind-bending experience. Kissing him literally created sparks. It was like holding a hot wire while eating candy: dangerous, sweet, and strange. He still seemed to have feelings for me, but I had a hard time believing it after what had happened in the woods the last night we were together.
I’d planned everything. We’d left the prom early to drive around, and I wasn’t ready to go home yet.
“Why don’t we sit down by the river?”
He glanced at my black dress. “Are you sure that’s okay?”
“Of course! It’ll be a romantic way to end the night.” I slid as close to him as the bucket seats in his mother’s van would allow and put my hand on his arm. He shivered, and my heart sped up with anticipation.
We didn’t say anything when we got to the park, and when I pulled a cheap bottle of champagne out of nowhere, I saw his eyes go wide. Magic can’t make something out of nothing, and I wasn’t about to tell Justin that I’d stolen the bottle from the convenience store the day before prom and stuck it in his mom’s car. It was better if he thought I was powerful and mysterious.
We sat on the muddy bank of the river and took our shoes off. I leaned against his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his skin through the thin fabric of his dress shirt. He’d left his jacket in the car. The bubbles from the champagne were flat, but they still made me tingle. Or maybe that was simply my reaction to Justin.
When I leaned over to kiss him, I tasted wine on his lips. He laced his fingers through my hair, and I pressed my body against his, gradually pushing him back until he was almost lying down. Water gurgled beneath us, and when I looked down into his face, I couldn’t read the emotions flitting across his eyes.
I closed my eyes and leaned forward for another kiss, but Justin turned his head to the side.
“What’s wrong?” I tried to make my voice sound husky, like an old movie star, but I suck at glamouring. A skilled Witch should be able to change her voice or appearance at will, but this was one spell I’d never been able to master.
Justin looked up at me and frowned. “Did you just try to use magic on me?”
I shook my head. “What makes you think that?”
Gently, he lifted me off of him and set me to one side on the bank. “Don’t lie to me, Lena.”
“It was just a little glamour. I wanted to make you want me as much as I want you.”
He reached his hand out and cupped the side of my face. “You don’t need magic for that.”
Eagerly, I leaned forward again, but he pulled back.
“I think we should slow down.”