Page 45 of No Charm Done

“Hey now! Luna, are you going to let Big Sis talk to us like that?!”

But Luna was already running for the porch.

She’d meant to be cool about it. Casual. A quick “glad you’re okay” squeeze, perhaps, and then back to important business.

Instead, she found herself grabbing Elias’s shoulders with both hands, checking him for injuries, her heart hammering. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you? I saw them with those staffs and I thought⁠—”

His hands covered hers. Calm, steady. “I’m fine, Melrose.”

She was still holding him. Too long. Too obvious. Goddamn it.

She let go and stepped back, hoping to salvage some dignity. “Right. Good. That’s . . . that’s good.”

Behind her, she could practically feel her sisters’ smirks, like they’d jumped off their faces and taken on lives of their own.

“That was a very nice little trap, ladies,” Elias called to them. “Just curious, Kelly—where did those portals go?”

“Magic containment cell in the Stargazer’s basement,” Mama replied. “They’re trapped but unharmed. And they aren’t going anywhere. We’ll need to figure out what to do with them, of course. Can’t keep them there forever.”

“Actually,” Elias said slowly, “Myrna the God said we needed to talk to magicians about CastR. About getting them to work with witches to stop it.” He gestured toward where the portals had been. “I guess we’ve got our chance.”

The sisters joined the others on the porch, filling their mother in on everything they’d discovered. Kelly’s expression grew progressively darker. “This Vex character was staying at my inn while plotting this?”

“Apparently,” Scarlett said weakly. “I thought he was just a curious nerd!”

Kelly sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Right. Okay. We need a plan. We have three magicians in our basement and . . .” She looked at Elias. “You. Who they very much want back.”

“I’m popular,” Elias said dryly.

“He’s the Elvis of the Void,” Luna added. “Gone but not forgotten.”

Elias frowned. “Elvis who?”

“Mama,” Delilah said carefully, “we need to talk to the magicians. Try to convince them that CastR is a threat to everyone—witches and magicians alike.”

“Agreed.” Kelly straightened her shoulders, slipping into general mode. “But we do this carefully. We need them as allies, not enemies.”

“Good luck with that,” Elias muttered. “Your kind and mine have been enemies for centuries.”

“Well,” Kelly said, “perhaps it’s time that changed.”

They started back toward the Stargazer, the group moving as one. Nine, Ten, and Eleven were already telling and retelling the story of the battle, each version slightly more embellished than the last.

Luna found herself walking beside Elias, hyper-aware of how close he was. How much the thought of losing him had terrified her.

“You know,” he said quietly, just for her, “that’s the second time you’ve saved me.”

“Third, if you count the mugging.”

“Oh, that’s right. I definitely count the mugging.” He was looking at her with that expression again, the one she could feel down to her toes. “Starting to seem like you’ve got a real hero complex, Melrose.”

“Yeah, well.” She tried to shrug it off. “Someone’s got to keep you out of trouble.”

Ahead, Scarlett caught Luna’s eye. Her grin was absolutely evil. Luna knew then she’d never hear the end of it.

But she was smiling, and so was Elias, and when their hands accidentally brushed as they walked, neither pulled away.

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