Page 60 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

Walker

“So, she banged on the door and left?” I asked Cady.

I sat beside Ryder in the middle of the crowded café. The afternoon sun streamed in through the windows.

“I’m telling you,” Ryder said, “I’ve never seen Freya eat that much sugar. She just got sick. Did anyone check the other bathroom?”

“I’ll check,” Cady said. “C’mon, Arion.”

I shifted in my seat. “I don’t know, man. Something is off.”

“Check her location,” he said.

Feeling like an idiot for not thinking of that myself, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and pulled up the Find My Friends app. The four of us had shared our locations with each other in case of something like this.

No Location Found.

I cursed, and Ryder echoed it.

“She never remembers to charge it,” Ryder complained.

“Or someone turned it off,” I argued, but Ryder was probably right. Freya thought of technology how most people thought of magic—she found it utterly ridiculous and nonsensical.

Breathless, Cady returned to the table.

“She’s definitely not in there,” she said, “and there’s a large man who isveryannoyed with me.”

As my worry grew, magic thrummed in my blood. My power urged me to act, but I didn’t know what to do. Without an outlet for it or a way to find Freya, my magic mimicked my growing panic. The heat in my veins worsened, and the café lights flickered.

“I know this is a spooky city,” Ryder muttered, “but maybe cool it with the light show?”

“Not helpful,” I spat.

Cady snapped in my face.

“Try to track her,” she instructed.

“I already did,” I grumbled.

She shook her head. “I don’t mean with your phone. Track her magic.”

As I struggled to contain my power, desperation cracked my voice. “How?”

“Close your eyes,” Cady instructed.

When I did as she asked, Cadence continued.

“Imagine casting your magic out like a net. Let it touch everything in the city without harming it. Think of your power like an extension of all five of your senses and search for Freya. Search for the familiar flicker of her magic.”

With my eyes squeezed shut, I breathed deeply and embraced the heat of my magic in my veins. I imagined that heat sweeping over every inch of the chaotic city. As if I touchedthe very magic of New Orleans, power buzzed in response to my search. I shook from the force of it.

“God,” I whispered, “it’s overwhelming.”

“Throw it back!” Cady urged. “Whatever magic doesn’t belong to Freya, release it. Don’t try to hold onto it—just let it go and keep searching. Let your magic stretch wider and wider.”

I loosened my grip on my power and allowed it to roll over all the unfamiliar energy. When my magic touched something dark and sinister, I shivered but dug deeper into the sensation. Hidden among the wave of cold, epic power, familiar magic hummed in harmony with mine. My magic sang louder in response.

When I opened my eyes, Cady, Ryder, and Arion stared at me.

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