Page 73 of No Charm Done

“Uh-huh.” Diego didn’t look convinced. “Just remember: the tokens are for manipulating Vex’s funding. Nothing else. No side quests. Absolutely no personal use.”

“We understand.” Luna nodded gravely.

“Do you?” Adrienne’s voice was gentle now, the teasing set aside. “Because those tokens are the real deal, Luna. More powerful than any love spell. More dangerous than any hex in that app.”

The coven began to disperse, witches heading for the exits in twos and threes. Luna heard fragments of conversation—“did you see their faces,” “four minutes felt like an hour,” “that table is definitely cursed now”—and wanted to sink through the floor.

Only Adrienne remained, resting against the bar with a knowing look still on her face.

“So,” she said. “You two going to talk about what just happened, or are we doing the thing where we all pretend it didn’t?”

“The second one,” Luna said immediately.

“Definitely the second one,” Elias agreed.

“Cowards. For what it’s worth? You’re cute together.” She pushed off from the bar and headed for the exit, leaving Luna and Elias alone in the vintage subway car. The enchanted windows had gone dark now, no longer reflecting anything except their own uncertain faces.

“So,” she said.

“So,” he echoed.

“That was⁠—”

“Yeah.”

“And we’re just going to⁠—”

“Yep.”

Talk about it, part of her whispered. He said your name like you were everything. That wasn’t the spell. That was real.

Don’t talk about it, the sensible part countered. You don’t have time for feelings.

As Luna clutched the satchel tighter, feeling the responsibility of it, her heart still raced from the tangible longing hanging between them. Her fingers trembled as they brushed against the leather, and she noticed Elias’s fingers twitching slightly, almost instinctively reaching toward hers, betraying the restraint they both struggled to maintain.

“Luna.”

“Don’t.” She held up a hand, her voice firm when inside her resolve was wavering. “Whatever you’re about to say . . . don’t. We have a job to do. Everything depends on us not getting distracted.”

“Right. No distractions.”

She saw something flicker across his face. Disappointment, maybe? Or relief? Oh gods, she thought, let it not be relief. I don’t think I could bear it.

They stood there, not quite looking at each other, the leather satchel heavy between them like a promise or a curse or both.

“We should get going,” Luna said finally. “We’ve only got nine days.”

“Nine days,” Elias repeated.

They walked toward the exit together, neither acknowledging the space between them. A space both too wide and not nearly wide enough. In the back of Luna’s mind, the piano played on, sultry and mocking. The soundtrack to everything she couldn’t afford to want.

Chapter 22

Maximum FOMO

To Elias, the lobby of the Silicon Alley office building looked like someone had taken a 1920s bank and stripped it for parts. He kept his hands jammed in his pockets while the exposed ductwork and the reception desk of reclaimed subway ties dared him to react. A receptionist clacked away on a device so thin it was almost invisible.

What a steaming pile of horseshit, he thought. Even the damn lobby’s pretending; the grift is woven into the décor.