Page 35 of The Spell Caster

Holly, sitting on the bench in the garden, stood up when she saw me. She was wearing a yellow sundress that emphasized her curves, her dark hair done up in waves and pulled back into a ponytail, achieving a sophisticated look I could never hope to match. The garden lights cast a warm glow over my former friend, fireflies blinking among the plants.

My heart squeezed. I shouldn’t have come out. This wasn’t going to be an apology.

She smiled at me faintly. “Hey, Layla. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah,” I said, wary.

“I see you joined a coven. That’s great.”

“Did… did you need something?”

She pressed her lips together before continuing. “We need to talk about Costi.”

I knew it. “Yeah, no. I really don’t think we do.” I turned to go.

“Whatever this thing you’re doing is, you need to stop,” she called out, arresting me.

I whirled back around. “I’m not doing anything—”

“Layla, you’re being defensive. Listen to me. He worked very hard to become a guardian, and he has to work hard to stay there. You can’t get in the way of that.”

“I would never—”

“You already have,” Holly said with exaggerated patience. “You made him wait around for months after his training while you dithered about your summoning circle. You made him drive you here while he was injured. Every time you have any little problem, you make him drop whatever he’s doing and come fix it for you.”

Her words were like blades to my gut. Tears streaked from my eyes, and I scrubbed them away angrily.

“This is exactly what I’m talking about.” She gestured to my face. “Your constant breakdowns are distracting him. I don’t think you understand how serious this is. Joining the guardians is the last chance for witches like him. The Arcaenum won’t hesitate to remove him from the Circle if he can’t cut it. Layla, you’re not good for him.”

“Oh, and you are?” I said bitterly, finally catching on to what this was really about.

“Yes,” she said frankly, widening her eyes. “He needs someone to stabilize him, not drag him under with them.”

“It isn’t like that,” I insisted, wrapping my arms around myself.

Holly sighed. “I’m not trying to hurt your feelings. I love Costi, and I want him to be happy. He’s in turmoil because of you. Can’t you understand? You need to let him go.”

I said nothing, looking away. Telling me to let Costi go was like telling me to remove the blood from my body.

“Guardians agree not to form attachments with spell casters when they join. It’s better for everyone that way. Think about it. You’ll eventually have to marry another caster. How will that affect him?”

“I don’t… I don’t want to…”

“He’s not allowed to be with you, Layla,” she said bluntly. “Tell him you don’t want him so he can move on with his life.”

“With you.”

“You have to, Layla,” Holly demanded. “This isn’t good for either of you.”

I stared into the shadowy garden trees. The lights of the Mountain Circle flickered in the dark hills above. My heart ached. Holly was right. Costi and I were forbidden to be more than colleagues. We were pushing it with our friendship. Now that I had realized what he meant to me, it wouldn’t be enough. I would always want more.

“I… I’ll talk to him.”

Holly frowned. “Layla—”

“I said I’ll talk to him!” I wrenched the door open and slammed it shut, leaving Holly outside.

Chapter 8

---