Page 28 of Summer Solstice

I fought back a shiver and wrapped one arm around myself as my mom side then kicked in. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s alright.” I heard cloth rustle, like he’d turned or shifted. “I was just hoping you could come by. I think Finn will need a ride home.”

The unease cranked up, my stomach roiling. My phone case creaked in my hand. “Need a ride home? Is he okay?”

“He is,” Andre said, sounding firm. “But he had another dizzy spell, and I think we should wrap things up for the night, rather than pressing him further. I offered to drive him but he said he wanted his mother.”

Oh, God. I’d thought Finn had been getting better about not pushing himself to his limits. He hadn’t fainted since Andre started giving him proper lessons, not like the last time he tried to help a friend with chronic pain and ended up passing out at school. He’s scared the heck out of me then—to the point that I’d wanted him to stop his magic lessons. What did it mean that it was still happening?

“I’m on my way.” I was grabbing my things before the words were all the way out of my mouth. Purse, keys, and I was hitting the light switch with my elbow before locking up. “I’ll be right there.”

“He really is alright, Poppy. I promise you—so please drive the speed limit.”

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, and I had to blink rapidly to keep them from carving a path down my face. I didn’t want Andre to hear them, though, so I forced my lips into a smile. “Okay. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

I tossed my purse into the Jeep’s passenger seat, and it took me two tries to get the engine started, because my fingers were shaking so badly. I took a deep breath as I told myself to get back in control. The topper for a miserable couple of weeks would be to drive off the road because I was crying too hard to see properly.

It was just too much. All of it was too much. Between my feelings for Andre, and planning the festival, trying to keep my business going, feeling bad about Marty, and not sleeping... And now Finn was hurt, again. Andre promised he was alright, but we still didn’t understand why using magic was exhausting him as badly as it was.

Sure, people could overdo it with magic, reach a little too far beyond their capabilities, and that made them tired, exhausted sometimes. But to drain yourself to the point of collapse? With no warning signs? That meant there was a bigger problem somewhere. It meant that either there were signs, and Finn was ignoring them, or there weren’t, and he was at risk of passing out every time he did a spell or a trick, and I honestly wasn’t sure which was worse.

I knew Finn loved being a Magician. In a town full of supernaturals, he’d felt like the odd man out for a long time. But did he want that life badly enough to hurt himself over it? He’d be furious with me if I asked him to wait a few years, and worse, there wasn’t really any way I could stop him if he ignored me.

I didn’t have magic other than my potions and whatever oddities I’d picked up by joining the coven. Even if I asked Andre to stop teaching him, Finn could just dream walk while he was sleeping and learn from Ouire. And that would be worse. At least Andre knew what he was doing and could teach Finn—it was better than the alternative. As sweet as the sentient book was, I didn’t trust it with my son’s safety.

I didn’t know what to do. What was the right answer? Was there a right answer?

I just needed something to be easy and simple for once, until other things got back under control.

When I was sure I could drive again, I put the Jeep in gear and tried not to break the speed limit but it was tough. Andre’s place was just up the road from mine, a beautiful old farmhouse that I’d actually looked at with him before he’d decided to buy it. It was larger than mine, and had been renovated before he moved in, but he’d kept all the charming old bits, like the fieldstone fireplace in the front room, and the beautiful ceiling medallions around the light fixtures. It also looked a lot better without the faerie mushrooms covering the hill outside. That was one less thing to worry about, at least.

The door opened before I could knock. Andre must have been waiting for me. He stepped aside with a nod, clearing the way so I could walk up to Finn, who was sitting on the couch in the living room.

He looked alright, if too pale. His freckles stood out like sepia ink on paper, and there were circles under his eyes dark enough to be bruises. Finn wasn’t his normal, bubbly self, sitting quietly with Ouire in his lap. The grimoire’s red ribbon bookmark wagged gently from side to side, like a dog enjoying a cuddle.

I just about flew to my son, sitting down beside him and trying not to hover too badly.

Finn gave me a solemn look. “Don’t freak out.”

I did my best not to freak out. “I’m not, I’m just concerned. I don’t understand why this keeps happening.”

“It’s not a big deal, Mom.” He wouldn’t look at me, his eyes on his hand as he gently stroked Ouire’s spine. “I just got tired, is all.”

“Finn, you almost passed out. Again. That’s more than tired.” I wanted to hold him, to check him over. I wanted to take him home and tuck him into bed like when he was a little boy. Finn wouldn’t appreciate being treated like a toddler, though. Especially not in front of Andre. It was just hard to remember that with panic fluttering in my chest.

Andre stood in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the wall. He’d rolled his sleeves back far enough to expose his corded forearms, and half a dozen numbers inked on his skin like magical tattoos. He also looked like a man being very careful not to get between a bear and her cub. The little curl of amusement that sparked helped beat back my panic a bit. Clearly, he wasn’t super concerned about Finn’s dizzy spell and that had to mean something.

Of course, we still hadn’t finished our conversation we’d started at the fondue restaurant, but now certainly wasn’t the time for that either. I’d already made the decision that I’d let Andre reach out to me when he was ready to discuss it (or finish discussing it), mainly because I wasn’t feeling bold enough to do the deed myself. Or maybe it was owing to the fact that I already had so much on my plate, I couldn’t handle one more thing or I might break. And this newest situation with Finn... well, it was all just weighing down on me so hard, it was difficult to breathe.

I tucked my hair behind my ear with shaking fingers and turned away from Finn just far enough to talk to Andre. “Didyouever pass out like this when you were first learning?”

“No,” he admitted.

Finn’s jaw tightened, turning absolutely mulish.

“But I was also older than Finn when I began my studies,” Andre continued. “I didn’t even start accidentally dream walking until I was in my late teens. It may just be that Finn’s magic is growing faster than his endurance. He might simply require time to allow things to level out.”

I caught the grateful look Finn shot him, and my lips pursed.

---