Page 37 of Riot of Autumn

“I thought you had to walk around naked before work?” There’s a smirk on Ezra’s face.

“Don’t ever say I haven’t sacrificed things for you.”

Zara and Davis look at my purchase in confusion. Miri, Archer, Lena, Rhys, and Ezra all appear to recognize the necklace.

“Really? My magical life-saving amulet is a best friend’s forever necklace.”

Archer snickers and Miri turns around like she needs something from the other side of the kitchen. I hear her chuckle and grin over at Ezra.

“Be grateful. I almost got you the anklet.”

“I have very attractive ankles. I could pull it off.”

“Noted. Next time you need a magical piece of enchanted jewelry, I’ll go with an anklet. Or maybe a toe ring.”

Ezra bursts out laughing, not even able to pretend he’s mad about the suggestion. My grin spreads over my face until I’m laughing with him. It takes me a few seconds to recognize that everyone is staring at us.

“What?” I shrug at Lena, who has her lips pressed together.

She drops her eyes back to her book, flipping a page even though it’s obvious she didn’t read it. “Nothing. Definitely not unusual that you two just stopped your argument by laughing with each other.”

“That’s not weird.” I shake my head and then stop to think if maybe it is.

Sure, we argue all the time, but we laugh at each other too. Except, I guess…do we laughwitheach other orateach other? My conversation with Zara last night has been stuck in my head all day. The question of why I don’t give Ezra a chance spinning on an endless loop. Does the thought of opening myself up terrify me? Yeah. A lot. But maybe it’s time to be as brash on the inside as I am on the outside.

“Why don’t we get started.” Zara clears her throat and, once more, all eyes turn toward her. Her shoulders are straighter, her golden hair pushed back from her face, but Rhys still has his hand pressed to Zara’s lower back in support. “Okay, Miri, did you find a spell for protection?”

“Yes, I found a few, but this one.” She pulls the book away from Lena and flips to a page bookmarked with a receipt. “Is for protection of mind and body. I thought that was the best fit.”

Zara nods, looking through the spell.

“It says it’s most potent when made precisely on the hour and left to sit for a quarter of a day.” Miri plucks a phone off the counter and presses a button to wake it. “It should be ready for the next stage in four minutes.”

“Rhys. What you’re going to do is take Miri’s potion and imbue it with additional protections. Just like you’ve used your magic to change the appearance of things, it’s the same principle. Only instead of changing the physical appearance, you’re going to focus on protective feelings.”

Rhys looks at Zara, and then at Ezra and tips his head. “Got it.”

Zara leans back into Rhys, a small motion that shows how much she trusts him.

“Ruby. You’ll be the last step. You remember what we talked about?”

“Yes. I know what to do.” I turn and look at Ezra as I say those words. I’m not treating this like a joke, even though that’s my default, and I want to make sure he knows.

“It’s ready,” Miri says as she takes a small glass bowl out of the fridge and sets it on the counter in front of Rhys.

“That’s a potion? I thought it was Jell-O. I almost ate that.” Archer cringes as he stares at the blue potion. It has a semi-solid consistency and there’s a little shimmer to it.

“I’m not going to tell you what you almost ate. It wouldn’t have been pretty,” Miri whispers, but she’s not that quiet.

“Everyone, shut up so I can concentrate,” Rhys barks, and the room falls silent. We know how important this is.

Right now, I wish Ezra wasn’t all the way across the island. The desire to stand next to him is strong. Not like I’m going to hold his hand or anything, but I’m itching to be close to him.

Turning my attention to Rhys, I focus on the task at hand. Which isn’t coddling Ezra. The bowl of goo is cradled in Rhys’s hands. He’s staring down at it, his eyelids half closed as if he’s about to fall asleep. For possibly the first time, I feel his magic sparking up. It’s bizarre as hell. Small tingles of electricity spark and fizzle around him, making the hairs on my arms stand up.

After a minute, Rhys’s eyes open all the way up again. He turns to me, setting the bowl carefully in front of me. I catch Ezra’s eyes again before I pick up the necklace. He tilts his chin and, without saying a word, I know he trusts me to do this right. Regardless of what I’m doing, even when I doubt I’m capable of doing something, Ezra always believes in me. Shit. I look away from him when I start to get choked up. Head in the game. Now is not the time to get sappy over Ezra.

Zara and I went over this part of the magic multiple times until there was no question I’d remember what to do. I lower the necklace into the potion, pushing it down into the gel with my fingertips. It feels kind of nice. The texture is thick and cold. It almost reminds me of the insides of one of those freezable gel packs.

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