Page 12 of The Secret Life of a Witch

Before I can make the decision, Hunter snatches the container and scraper from my hand and gets to work.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask. “I could go find someone else to do it.”

“Are you questioning my awesome powers?” he asks, amusement playing at the edges of his lips.

I shake my head. “No. But even the most powerful wizards and witches mess up big spells like this every once in a while. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

He pats my arm. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Are you sure? Because I …” I trail off as he begins to chant the spell.

All I can do is hold my breath and hope that nothing goes wrong.

EVALEE

After Hunter chants the words to the shield spell three times, he retrieves his wand and taps it against the top of his wrist. Moments later, his hands illuminate with a silvery, glittery glow.

“You look like the Tin Man.” My skin has dampened with sweat from my nerves. I wipe my sweaty palms off on the sides of my plaid pajama bottoms.

“Gee, thanks. What every guy wants to hear.” He flashes me a smile from over his shoulder as he tucks his wand into the back pocket of his jeans. Then he begins running his hands up and down his lean arms to spread the spell across his body. “And if that’s the case, then that would make you Dorothy.”

“I could live with that. Dorothy is pretty awesome.”

Pressing his lips together to stifle a laugh, he reaches out and gently tugs on a strand of my hair. “Actually, I take back the Dorothy comment. With this tangled mess, you’re definitely the Lion.”

I softly shove him. “Hey, that’s not very nice.”

He chuckles, his blue eyes casting a silvery glow from the spell. “Calling me the Tin Man wasn’t very nice, either.”

“Yeah, but the Lion is cowardly.” I jut out my bottom lip. “You think I’m a coward.”

He aims a finger at me while rubbing his other hand over his neck, causing the silver to spread to his face. “Don’t try to play innocent here. Not when you just told me I look like a character who doesn’t have a heart.”

“I never said youwerethe Tin Man. Just that you look like him.” I cross my arms. “But you know what? After the whole cowardly lion remark, now I’m wondering if you don’t have a heart.”

“I never said you were a coward—you’re definitely not. But your hair kind of looks like a jungle,” he teases with a smirk before capturing my hand and flattening my palm against his chest. “And I definitely have a heart.” His pulse beats steadily against my hand as his grin broadens. “See? Beating and everything.”

I smile back, but the movement is aching. Why does he let me touch him like that? It’s torturous.

“Yep, that’s definitely a beating heart.” I casually withdraw my hand and lower my arm to my side, feeling more flustered than I should.

My fingers tremble as I open and flex them while letting a slow breath slip from my lips.Why does he have to affect me like this? Even in the midst of a crisis, my emotions are completely sync to him.

Hunter’s gaze drops to my balled fist. “Are you okay?”

“Yep, siree,” I lie breezily. “I’m just a little anxious about collecting the sample and getting to the expert. I’m hoping, if all goes well, I can track down Ry by tonight.”

Pity fills Hunter’s glowing silver eyes, but instead of crushing my hope, he turns toward the steel table with the scraper in his hand. “All right, let’s get this done, then.”

I hold my breath as he inches the scraper toward the glittery smudge, scrapes as much off the surfaces as he can, and transfers it into the container. By the time he’s finished, not a drop of glitter is left on the steel. However, a clear, slightly yellow residue remains.

“It’ll take some time for that to wear off,” he says, pointing at the yellow residue. “Until then, you’ll want to stay away from this table. Got it?”

I salute him. “Yes, boss.”

He rolls his eyes as he screws the lid onto the container. “I’m serious, Eva. You can’t touch that, okay?”

I nod, trying to put on my best serious face. “I know you’re being serious. And I know this is a serious situation, but you know how I get sometimes when I’m nervous.”

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