I tear myself from Gwen’s hold, going back to Levi. He puts his arm around me protectively. “It’s not a trap,” he says. “I want him dead as much as anyone.”
Kat looks like she’s about to rip his heart out, but she takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself. “Jo, please, don’t do this. I might not know a lot about magic, but watching you go through all this has taught me one thing: nothing good can come from giving a guy magic. You know that’s true. I know you do.”
A lump forms in my throat. I try to tell myself she’s wrong, but all I can think of is the story about how the Shadows came to be. The woman gave away her magic for love, and that one decision is still killing witches today.
“You don’t even know him,” Gwen says, her voice sad. “You shouldn’t be relying on a stranger; you should be relying on your friends, on the people who love you.”
Levi spins me around to face him. “Don’t listen to them. They don’t have a clue what they’re talking about—they don’t even have magic.”
The anger in his voice makes the hair on my neck stand. I look back at them, their fear obvious. They are my friends, my best friends. I’ve spent most of my life with them, and I don’t like seeing them this scared. “They may not have magic . . . but they do know me.”
Kat takes a few daring steps closer. “If there isn’t a way, we’ll make a way, okay? You can do anything. I truly believe that.”
“You don’t need him,” Gwen says. “You don’t have to make this sacrifice.”
“Shut up!” Levi’s arm tightens around me. “We don’t have time for this shit! Have you not seen the sky? He is at her doorstep, and you want her to throw away her only chance at survival? You guys are the evil people here.”
“Your way isn’t survival—it’s a slower death!” Gwen screams.
I tense, her words washing over me like freezing cold water. What am I doing? I don’t want this—I know I don’t want this, and yet here I am ready to do it anyway. I’m crazy. No, just desperate. And afraid.
Neither of which is a good reason to be Cursed.
I push him away, my heart pounding a thousand times a minute. “I can’t do this. I couldn’t even say the words.”
“Josephine,” Levi says through his teeth. “Don’t be stupid.”
I look him in the eye. I’m not angry—this is all he knows; of course there’s no other way to him—but my brain is finally working, and so is my gut. “I’m not being stupid. I . . . I think I have an idea, thanks to my friends.”
“It won’t work.”
I hold my head up high. “Won’t know until I try, and if you can’t trust me then maybe they’re right about you. If everything you said was true, you’ll let me go, Levi.”
His eyes go wild, to the point where I’m waiting for a shadowy Curse to spew out of him. It scares me, the fury he holds inside. His deepest, darkest desires ooze out of him, the shadows around him intensifying. He tries to be good, but there is a part of him that wants to take me and be done with it, that wants to consume every bit of me as his own.
He falls back on the tree, his head cradled in his hands. The shadows dim. “You are such a pain in the ass.”
I glare at him, angry that he would have taken me despite knowing all the evil he keeps inside. I feel like such a fool for even considering the risk. “The feeling’s mutual.”
“It’s not my fault if you die,” he says.
“Nope. But if I die, at least I know I had control to the end. I am free, unlike you.”
As he curls up on the ground, it’s as if I can see the shackles that bind him. He’s a prisoner to magic. “Leave. Before I change my mind.”
I rush home with Gwen and Kat by my side. Once I reach the porch, I stop to catch my breath, and they hug me. I let out a sigh of relief, somehow at peace though I’ve made this a thousand times harder on myself. But I won’t let anything control me, not magic or fear or even a beautiful boy.
“What’s the plan?” Gwen asks, our faces still close.
I gulp, not even sure I can do it. But I have to try. “Are you really willing to do anything for me?”
“Of course,” Kat says.
Gwen rolls her eyes. “Duh.”
“Okay. To the apothecary, then.”
FORTY-FIVE
The Crafts come in as I heft the biggest cauldron we have onto the table. “How’s the Willow’s End barrier?” I ask, searching for the tools I need. Pliers. Knife. Scissors. Lots of cloth bandages. This spell has to work; otherwise the rest of my plan won’t.
No pressure.
Maggie cringes. “It’s not looking good.”
“We did the best we could,” Tessa says. “Hopefully it will buy us time.”
Prudence raises an eyebrow at the materials I’ve gathered. “And what are you up to? This doesn’t look like any spell I know.”
“Because it isn’t.” I pull out the chameleon scales. Definitely need something to denote transformation. While I’m at it, I grab a jar of cocoons. “I’m making it up as I go, and no, I don’t need to hear how crazy I am. I’m well aware.”
Pru holds up her hands. “As long as you know.”
“Okay . . .” I survey what I have, knowing it’s not enough. “Mags, grab me a mother-bear heart and a cub stomach from the cellar. Tessa, I need a lock of Nana’s hair. And Pru, I need the Hemlock braid from the door to the histories.”
As I wait for them to return, I pace and pace, focusing on what I want my magic to do. I am in control. It will listen to me.
“Jo?” Kat startles me out of my trance.
“Huh?”
“You still haven’t told us what you’re doing.”
Gwen looks at my supplies. “It looks scary.”
I take a deep breath. “It is, but we need more power. We need to intensify the next spell as much as we can, and we do that by channeling a spell together. With many witches.”
Kat raises an eyebrow. “Wait. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
I nod. “I’m going to make you and Gwen Hemlocks.”
“As in . . . witches?” Gwen says. “Can you do that?”
“I don’t actually know. You both got me thinking about it back there with Levi. Giving magic to guys definitely isn’t good, but what about giving it to other girls? Girls I love as much as my own family, no less. I can rely on you. I always have.” I bite my lip, suddenly worried this is too much for them. “Like you said, I should turn to the people who care about me, not a complete stranger. So, what do you think?”
They exchange glances, and both their mouths slowly stretch into smiles.
“You’re serious?” Kat asks.
I nod.
Gwen laughs. “Nah, no magic for me. Who’d want that?”
“What are we giving? A toe? A finger?” Kat eyes the tools. “A tooth?”
I shake my head. “Nothing so serious. This is mostly me. We’re already bound together—you’ve done your—” My eyes go wide when my dad comes through the door carrying Nana. “What are you doing? You need to rest!”
“She insisted.” Tessa comes in behind them. “I thought it might be a good idea to have her close, considering you’re about to make up a spell.”
I purse my lips, forcing myself not to feel childish. “True.”
“The chair will do, Joseph. Set me there,” Nana whispers.
He shakes his head and sits in her chair, the one she once commanded this house from. The one that will be left empty forever if I fail. “I think I’ll hold on to you. Carmina would want that.”
She pats his chest. “You dear boy. I should have liked to have met you sooner.”
“Here you go.” Maggie thunks the animal parts on the table as Prudence comes down with the family braid, glittery with beads and gems.