Page 158 of The Glittering Edge

“I texted him on the way here,” Penny says.

“Hope that didn’t throw off his game,” Naomi mutters.

The roar of an engine drowns out all the conversation, and Penny stops in her tracks. She recognizes that sound. It’s part of the soundtrack of this past summer—along with whispered spells, the squeaking of bicycle wheels, and the hum of the air-conditioning in Horizon Café. Penny needs to anchor herself on something, so she grabs Dylan’s arm as her eyes search the parking lot.

“Don’t touch me,” Dylan says. “What are you even looking—”

There’s a flash of blue and the Shelby comes into view, speeding around the circumference of the parking lot and pulling into a nonexistent spot right next to Penny, Dylan, and Naomi. The passenger-side door opens, and Milton stumbles out, looking carsick.

“Fuck that shit,” he mutters, slamming the door.

Then the driver’s door opens, and Alonso climbs out.

He’s wearing tiny sunglasses, John Lennon style. He whips them off, and Penny’s mouth goes dry.

“Hey.” He nods at Naomi. When his eyes find Penny, though, Alonso loses his nonchalance. He shifts awkwardly and tries to put his sunglasses in his pants pocket before he realizes the pants are way too tight. He hooks them on his shirt instead.

“Good job,” Dylan says.

“You’re here,” Penny manages to say.

Alonso shrugs.

“Aw, you two are cute,” Dylan says, looking from Alonso to Penny. “Have you bought your cemetery plots yet? Gonna intermingle your ashes, Heathcliff-and-Cathy style?”

Alonso frowns. “Why is Dylan Mayberry here? And why is she makingWuthering Heightsreferences?”

“I’m from the Barnhardt coven, remember? Penny begged me to help you out. AndWuthering Heightsis my favorite book. I’m basically Cathy, except with a skin-care routine.”

“Ooookay. Anyway.” Alonso digs into his jacket pocket and holds out his hand. “I made these for everyone.”

There are five necklaces, each threaded with a small glass vial of blue liquid. They also hold silver charms, each one a circle overlaid with a twisted shape that comes to three points.

“It’s a protection charm,” Alonso says, sliding one necklace over his head. “Corey has his already, so I need you all to take one. We’ll all drink the vials at the same time when we’re in position, before we say the spell.”

“Wait,” Penny says. “Youmade these? That means—”

Alonso nods at Milton. “My whole family visited the Council yesterday.”

“The De Luca coven officially has their magic back,” Milton says. “Don’t make me regret it.”

Penny’s heart swells. She wants to ask Alonso so many questions—How are his mom and aunts? Do they feel different now? Will they be coming back to Idlewood?—but it’s not the time. There may never be a time, depending on how this goes. But knowing the De Lucas have their magic back is enough.

It has to be.

Naomi holds up her necklace. “We’re supposed to toss this back without knowing what’s in it?”

“It’s water, with some lavender and basil and—okay, and a little ground-up bird feather. No birds were harmed in the making of this potion.”

“I’ve put worse substances in my body,” Dylan says, grabbing one of the necklaces. Naomi takes hers, too, though she seems more reluctant.

“Think of this potion like a tuning fork,” Alonso says. “It’ll get us on the same wavelength and solidify the boundary of the spell.”

“How do we make sure we’re drinking this at the same time?” Naomi asks.

“Watch your texts,” Penny says. “We’ll start at halftime.”

Dylan considers the necklace, and for the first time, she looks uncertain. “What if something goes wrong?”

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