Page 66 of These Witches Don't Burn
Even though I knew these questions were coming, I freeze.
“Come on, Hannah, don’t shut me out.” Gemma maneuvers to the bed and props her leg up with pillows. “We’ve been best friends our entire lives. You can trust me.”
“It’s not about whether I trust you. Of course I do.” I perch at the edge of the bed, resting my elbows on my thighs. “It’s just... Would you want to know, even if knowing put your life in danger?”
Gemma points to her broken leg. “My life is already in danger.” Her voice is thick, and it breaks a deep, hidden part of me to see her like this.
“I’m so sorry you got hurt.” A shock of fresh pain wells inside. Gemma has only ever dreamed of doing one thing with her life. She was born to be a dancer, but now I see the life she’s sacrificed so much for slipping out of her reach. “What do the doctors say?”
“Don’t try to change the subject.”
“I’m not.” Okay, maybe a little. “I know you want answers, and I’m trying to figure out how to give them to you. But I alsowant to know how you are. How youreallyare. Not the optimistic spin you give your parents.”
Gem reaches for my hand and squeezes tight. “I’m scared,” she whispers, her voice barely audible as tears fill her eyes. “They had to put a metal rod in my leg to set the break. I’m going to need physical therapy, and I’ll be out of dance classes for at least the entire fall. I don’t know if I’ll be recovered in time for auditions. And if I can’t audition, I can’t get into dance school.”
“So maybe you take a gap year,” I say, trying to be supportive, but it only makes Gemma cry harder. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. If anyone can make a comeback, it’s you.” I try to wrap my best friend in a hug, but she pulls away.
“Enough stalling,” she says, wiping the tears from her face. “I need to know what’s going on. Are you a mutant? Are you telekinetic? Ooh, can you read minds? What am I thinking right now?”
I laugh and roll my eyes. “I’m not a comic book character.”
Gem raises an eyebrow. “You didn’t answer my question. Can you read minds or not?”
“No. I can’t. And I can’t move objects with my mind. That’s not a thing.”
“But you can dosomething,” she insists. “I saw you.”
Her words kill the humor in my heart. She watches me, eager for my answer, but I don’t know what to say. Lady Ariana’s voice is in my head, stern and terrifying as she spends my entire childhood reminding the coven what could happen if a Reg ever found out about us. I hear my parents’ constant reminders to tell no one, not even Gemma. Detective Archer reminded us tonight of the dangers of letting our secret slip, even for a moment. There’s no way I can tell her.
And yet, no matter how much I want to deny it, Gemma’s a part of this now. The Hunter probably didn’t know she was in my car, but that doesn’t change the fact that he hurt her. How can I expect Gem to protect herself when she has no idea who orwhatshe’s facing?
I lie back against the bed and glance at the girl who’s been my best friend my whole life, the only person who knows me better than Veronica. Or will, once she knows this final piece of me.
“Do you believe in magic?” The words hang in the air between us, and I cannot believe I’m doing this.
Gemma falls silent, like she’s trying to decide if I’m being serious or still joking about comic book characters. Like she’s trying to decode whether this is some sort of test, and if it is, which answer gets her what she wants.
Finally,finally, she speaks. “After what I saw in the car, yes.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
I rub my hands along my jeans to wipe away the nervous sweat on my palms.
“Hannah...”
“I know. I know. I just... I don’t know how to say this. Technically, I’m not supposed to say anything.”
“Holy shit.” Gemma’s eyes go wide. “Are you some kind of witch or something?” She falls back in the bed until she’s lying beside me. “I knew it.”
Her words echo in my head. They sing across my skin like slipping on the perfect pair of jeans. Like coming home. But my stomach’s still a twisted, tangled mess.
I stare at the ceiling, bracing myself.Just say it.“I’m an Elemental Witch.”
A stillness settles over the room. I hold my breath.
“Elemental.” Gem tests the feel of the word on her tongue. “So, that’s how you stopped the water? What about the metal door?”
