Page 100 of Fool Me Twice

Esteban opens and closes his mouth a few times without any words coming out. No matter how much he claims that his feelings for Nick are strictly platonic, it’s clear that he’s got it downbadfor him.

Decisively, Ez takes pity on him. “No, of course not. It’s more like‍—‍” She struts up next to Nick on her tiptoes, lifting her knees high and lining up her feet like she’s on a catwalk. “Likethat.”

“Ah, of course,” Nick says, grinning. “How could I forget? He would lookfabulousin stilettos.” He waggles his eyebrows. “I know I do.”

“Anyway,”Esteban cuts in, looking flustered as he turns back to Naomi and Sawyer. “What can I get for you two today?”

As Naomi and Sawyer set about placing their orders, Ez raises her eyebrows at Nick. “So? Have you seduced him with your dogged persistence yet?”

Nick sighs dramatically, crossing his arms over his chest. “No. No, mygood buddyover there continues to be my good buddy. No matter how badly I want him to introduce me to his mattress.”

Ez snorts out a laugh. “Patience, Nicholas. I’m sure you’ll get there eventually.”

Nick smirks. “Oh, I know I will. And I already have some skimpy crop tops lined up for the summer, so I like my chances,” he says, and he nods at Naomi and Sawyer. “By the way, who are the newbies?”

Ez waves a hand dismissively. “Just some human spellcasters I’m showing the ropes to. Nothing major.”

Nick looks confused. “Is Roma sick or something?”

Pain lances through Ez’s chest. “No,” she says curtly. “No, Gutierrez and I aren’t working together anymore.”

Nick’s eyes widen. “You broke up? I’m so sorry, Ez.”

Ez’s mood sours even further. “We weren’t dating, Nick.”

To Ez’s indignation, Nick looks even more flabbergasted at this reply. “Youweren’t?Since when?”

Luckily, Ez is saved from having to respond by Naomi and Sawyer appearing with their bag of food in tow. “Here,” Sawyer says, extending a churro in Ez’s direction. “A peace offering for you.”

A pang twists through Ez. She knew that her frustration was obvious, but she didn’t realize it wasthatobvious. “Thanks,” she says, taking a huge bite of the churro and waving at Nick’s still-bewildered face. “Later, Nick.”

“Ciao, Ez,” he says faintly, speed-walking back to Tacos Near Me and immediately engaging Esteban in a rapid-fire conversation.

She probably just gave the Redwater Food Truck Association its gossip fodder for the next week. Letting out her breath in a hiss, she snaps open a rift. “Come on. I sensed another mega-rift a minute ago. Let’s get it closed.”

Naomi and Sawyer follow her without complaint, Naomi already digging around in the bag for her plunder. “You’re up, babe,” she says, gesturing at the mega-rift with a burrito.

“Unfortunately,” Sawyer sighs, striding forward to join Ez.

Ez eyes Sawyer warily as she shifts into her stance. “So, on a scale from zero to ten, how’s your spellcasting?”

“Probably in the negatives,” Sawyer says flatly, and she extends her arms. “Ages upon ages‍?—‍”

Hastily, Ez jumps in to join her. “In the name of Nostringvadha‍?—‍”

Ez flows through her incantation, keeping one eye on Sawyer. Her intonation and cadence are completely off, the wordsjumbling together and fighting with Ez’s, and at the end, her blocking gesture is so off-center that the mega-rift only wobbles once before restabilizing.

Ez gapes at her, almost impressed. “Wow. You’re even worse than Naomi.”

“Shut it, Laguerre,” Sawyer snaps. She looks irritated. “One more time?”

“One more time,” Ez says, and warily, she demonstrates the proper hand gesture. “Here. Think of it less like a palm strike and more like a stop signal.”

Sawyer’s jaw works. “Okay. Ages upon ages‍?—‍”

And would it kill you to let one of us count off?“In the name of Nostringvadha‍?—‍”

Sawyer’s incantation still sounds shaky, but her intonation is noticeably better, and with the improved gesture, the mega-rift fizzles into nothingness. Ez arches an eyebrow as she homes in on their next location and snaps open a transport rift. “So what gives? I thought all Sanctum hunters learned the basics of spellcasting.”

---