Page 2 of These Witches Don't Burn
I reach for the candles she deposited on the counter and ring them up. “What are you doing here?”
“Shopping.” She smirks and shares a look with What’s-Her-Face, who snaps her gum.
“This tourist trap overcharges, and you know it.” I shove the candles into a paper bag, letting my shoulder-length brown hair fall past my face. It creates enough of a barrier to keep from looking at her.
“Maybe I wanted to see you.” Veronica’s voice is sweet like honey, but I can hear the poison beneath her words. “You’re not returning my texts.”
“Yeah, well, take a hint.” I place the last of the incense in the bag. “That’ll be forty-four ninety-three.”
She hands over cash, her fingers lingering on mine. A shiver crawls along my skin, but I won’t let her see that. Ican’tlet her know she still affects me that way. “It doesn’t have to be like this, Hannah.” She almost seems sincere.
And the way my name sounds rolling off her tongue? I have to swallow around the lump in my throat before I can speak. “Thank you for visiting the Fly by Night Cauldron. Have a nice day.”
“Come on, Ronnie, let’s go.” What’s-Her-Face, who Veronica never bothered to introduce, pivots and hurries toward the exit, her heels clicking against the floor.
But Veronica pauses. Lingers. As if there’s more she came to say. My heart pounds in my chest, and I’m sure she must hear it.
I tug at my uniform again. “Since when do you let people call you Ronnie? You hate that.”
My ex watches her friend leave, and when she’s sure we’re alone, she leans against the counter, staring up at me through her lashes. “Be careful, Hannah. I might think you’re jealous.” A deliberate breeze brushes my neck, laced with a current of Veronica’s power. The smoke from the incense swirls its way between us, caressing my cheek and slipping along Veronica’s collarbone, drawing my eye to the bit of exposed skin.
“What the hell are you doing?” Even though I don’t see anyone else in the shop, I keep my voice low so no one overhears. “If Lady Ariana caught you using magic in public—”
“Relax, Hannah. It’s not like she’d ever step foot in a place like this. No one’s going to know.” She fixes me with her emerald stare, but I back out of reach. Using magic in public is a surefire way to lose coven privileges. And I, for one, don’t want my training delayed because my obnoxious ex is careless.
Veronica sighs and pushes away from the counter, releasing her hold on the air. The wind dies and resumes a more natural path. “Happy?”
I don’t dignify her with an answer. She knows what would happen if a Reg caught us. If our high priestess found out.
“Listen, Hannah.” Veronica fusses with her bag of candles. “I wanted to know... Are you coming to graduation tomorrow? I think I finally perfected my speech.”
“Really?” I cringe at the encouragement in my voice. Instincts from a lifetime of friendship are hard to quell, no matter how much she hurt me. I cross my arms and glance around the shop to make sure we’re still alone. “No, I’m not. I’d rather let the Council strip my magic than sit through that.”
The words hang in the air between us, charged with more power than Veronica’s manipulated wind. Her lips part, but nothing comes out. I wonder if she’s thinking about the day we went shopping for her graduation dress. If she remembers what we did the night she was officially named valedictorian, after her parents went to bed. Guilt clutches at my chest, but I push it away.
It’s her fault we’re not together anymore. She’s the one who hurtme.
Veronica shifts the bag to her other hand, and a mask settles over her features. Gone is the hurt. Gone is the girl I loved, replaced by the one who broke my heart.
What’s-Her-Face leans back into the shop. “Everything all right in here?”
“Of course.” Veronica smiles her perfect smile, brandishing it like a weapon. “Just thought I forgot my receipt. Let’s go.” She turns away, loops her arm through her friend’s, and disappears out the door.
As the bell jingles their departure, my heart threatens to burst. The tears sting, but I won’t let them fall. I won’t give Veronica the satisfaction.
If she thinks she can show up at my work all summer, she’s sorely mistaken. Because when it comes to holding a grudge, I’m an Olympic champion.
2
AFTER I CLOCK OUTfor the day, I swing by the dance studio to pick up Gemma from her ballet class. She’s easy to spot, standing nearly a head taller than her classmates. When Gemma hit five ten in ninth grade, everyone tried to get her to join the basketball team, but her body is built for dance. Even walking is a performance; she practically floats into my car.
“You ready to rock the hell out of this bonfire?” Gemma slides on her seat belt and pulls her blonde hair loose from its bun.
I shrug and pull into traffic.
Gemma scowls. “I know that face, Han. What’d Veronica do?”
There isn’t a single subject change that’ll distract Gemma when she’s wearing that expression, so I fill her in on the Veronica Incident. Minus the whole Veronica-doing-magic-in-public thing. The only secret I’ve ever kept from Gem is my status as an Elemental Witch, and that’s a secret I’ll take to my grave.
