Page 49 of Revenge is a Witch

Sam flips her hair dramatically—again with the shampoo-commercial routine—and straightens her posture. "Well, since you’re so eager to betray me, I’m not partnering with you for the final project. Good luck finding someone else, because Derek’s your only option, and let’s be real—he’s useless."

Derek grunts beside me but doesn’t say anything, while I fire back without missing a beat, "Funny, I was about to say the same thing about you."

Sam glares, flustered and grumbling something unintelligible under her breath as she storms off. Good riddance.

Derek, still unfazed, turns to me, his curiosity piqued. "Why were you even friends with her to begin with?"

I sigh, rubbing my temples like I’m trying to massage the headache that is Sam away. "It’s complicated. She asked for help once, and I couldn’t say no. Then, I don’t know, after a while, you start to think you’re friends, and… I guess I just misinterpreted things."

I reach into my skirt pocket, pulling out the duplicate phone—Kyla’s hot pink monstrosity—and power it on. As the screen lights up, my stomach twists. I scroll through the latest messages, and there it is.

"Look at this," I say, handing the phone to Derek. He leans in, reading over the message that just turned my stomach upside down.

Watch out for Zaria. She’s got a crush on Sebastian.

Derek’s brow furrows as he reads. "Wait... Sam and Kyla are friends? Since when?"

"I have no idea," I whisper, feeling the sting of betrayal. "But I’m going to find out."

Because if Sam’s been feeding Kyla info, this just got a whole lot messier.

I make my way to the café, weaving through the late lunch crowd as my mind whirls with everything I’ve learned in the past half hour. Sam and Kyla… friends? Ick.

When I spot Hank already seated, slouched in his usual hoodie with his fingers flying over his phone like he’s coding the fate of the universe, I almost feel bad dragging him into this. Almost.

I drop into the chair across from him. He doesn’t even look up, just keeps typing away. "So, what’s up?" His voice is nonchalant, like he’s talking about the weather.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet," I say, leaning in. "I need a favor."

He finally pauses, glances up from his screen with a raised eyebrow. "I figured as much. What’s the damage this time, Z?"

I take a deep breath. "I need to know when an initial first message was sent between two people. You don’t have to know all the details, just… when Sam and Kyla started talking to each other. Digitally."

Hank’s fingers hover over his phone for a second before he leans back in his chair. "You know, the last thing I need is a bunch of pissed-off witches throwing hexes my way for sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong."

"True," I say, trying not to sound too desperate. "But it’s better to not piss offthreewitches, right?"

He chuckles, shaking his head. "I swear, you always find a way to make things sound like a life-or-death situation." He taps a few more times on his screen. "Alright, fine. I’ll see what I can do. But you owe me, and don’t think I’ll let you forget it."

"You’ve got a deal," I say, grateful that at least someone in my world still believes in loyalty. "Seriously, I appreciate it."

"Yeah, yeah," he mutters, already engrossed in whatever he’s doing on his phone again. "I’ll text you the date when I figure it out. But Z, be careful with this. The deeper you dig, the messier it’s gonna get."

"Story of my life," I say with a half-smile as I stand up to leave. "Thanks again, Hank."

I head out of the café, the weight of everything settling heavier on my shoulders. As if Kyla wasn’t bad enough on her own—now I have to figure out what part Sam played in all of this. And I don’t even have time to think it through properly because Herbology & Potion Ingredients with Professor Thorne is up next. Great. Nothing like dissecting toxic plants to really lighten the mood.

I unlock the door to my dorm, ready to flop onto my bed and decompress after what feels like the longest day in history. But as I push the door open, I immediately notice something off—the lock is already turned. I freeze for a moment, bracing myself for who-knows-what before stepping cautiously inside.

To my surprise, instead of the disaster I half-expected, I find Sebastian casually lounging on my bed, looking like he’s been waiting for me this whole time.

“Sebastian?” I blink, momentarily thrown off. “What are you doing here?”

He smirks, the usual cocky glint in his eyes. “Kyla was unbearable today, and I took the first opportunity to get away from her. Needed somewhere to hide. Figured your bed was as good a spot as any.”

I chuckle despite myself. “Great. My room is a vampire safe house now.”

Before I can even drop my bag, the door swings open behind me, and I narrowly avoid getting smacked by it. Derek walks in like he owns the place, and I raise an eyebrow.

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