Page 72 of The Glittering Edge

Alonso shifts in his seat. “I know it was Giovanni. I’m not lying to myself.”

Penny senses there’s more he wants to say, so she doesn’t argue with him. She just listens.

“The Council sealing our magic, the exile… it’s the least we deserved. I shouldn’t have my magic right now. Nobody should have the power to do what he did.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple.”

“It has to be. That’s what keeps witches from trying dangerous magic.” Alonso lets out an exhausted laugh. “Sometimes my mom and my aunts seem completely lost. We can say we’re witches, but we’re stranded in a world of mortals who only know how to be afraid of us.”He leans back on the headrest, staring at the ceiling of the car. “I feel helpless.”

Penny is afraid to breathe. Something about this moment feels miraculous. Alonso is open like a pocketknife—she can see him clearly, and if she’s not careful, he could hurt her. But maybe she wasn’t so far off when she thought they might become friends. Even though this moment feels more intimate than friendship.

No.What does that even mean? Penny pushes that thought far, far away.

“You’re not helpless,” she says. “You just wrote a blood oath. You called rain. I’m convinced you can do anything.”

Alonso’s mouth twitches, like he’s trying not to smile. “Careful. You’re giving me an ego.”

“You already have an ego.”

“Touché.” Alonso smirks, his eyes on her face, strands of blond-and-blue hair brushing his cheekbones. Then his smile fades, but his eyes are still on her. His lips part like he’s speaking ghosts of words instead of the words themselves.

“What is it?” Penny whispers.

“I wanted you to know,” Alonso says, “that I didn’t break Eric Lim’s arm.”

Everyone at Idlewood Central knows that story. Eric Lim was playing baseball in gym class, and he and Alonso were on opposing teams. When Eric caught the ball right before Alonso reached home plate, Alonso pushed him, and he hit the ground so hard he broke his arm.

Alonso is dangerous. Someone to stay far away from. That’s what Penny has always believed.

And now they’re sitting together in her car in the middle of nowhere, listening to cicadas and soft country music playing on gas station speakers. And Alonso is telling her it isn’t true.

I wantedyouto know. That’s what he said.

“What happened?” Penny asks.

“We ran into each other. I swear it was an accident, but suddenly everyone was talking like I did it on purpose. Even Eric knew I didn’t mean it.”

“Why didn’t Eric tell people the truth?”

“He did, once or twice. This isn’t his fault, though. People decided I did it before they asked any questions. You’ve heard all the other stories. If I beat up Idlewood’s Golden Boy and let all of those frogs loose—”

“Which you did?”

“Yeah, but only because they looked really sad. I tried to put them in this box so I could bring them outside, but the box fell, and then it was frog city. I didn’t mean for it to turn into the worst day of that biology teacher’s life.”

Penny pictures Alonso fumbling with a box of frogs. “That’s adorable,” she says before she can stop herself.

Alonso flinches, and Penny looks away, her face red again.Adorable?Why does she keep humiliating herself around him? This is becoming a habit.

“Anyway,” Alonso says, “you can see why people would believe I’d break someone’s arm.”

“Then why don’tyousay something? Tell people they’re wrong.”

“Would that change life for your mom?” Alonso asks. “If she went around denying all the rumors?”

Penny presses her lips together. Anita Emberly has her reputation for a reason, but not every rumor is based in fact. Yes, she really showed up at the public pool in a thong bikini and got arrested for public indecency. No, she’s never slept with the café’s landlord. Yes, she’s bisexual. No, she didn’t immediately get over her husband’s death and forget he ever existed. But Anita’s reputation isn’t built only on the stories about her. It’s a feeling people have. It’s what they decide to project onto her, and once people have made up their minds about who someone is, it’s difficult to change their perception.

And when it comes to Alonso, Penny has been guilty of that, too.

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