“So, like...,” I rub my temples. “Here’s the thing. I’d love to get the hell out of this city and never look back.”

“That would be a good idea,” Dev mutters.

“But, this whole magic thing is the first thing that I’ve been interested in. Like, really, really interested in. And there aren’t any labs like Windsong’s back in Lindsborg-,”

“That isn’t a reason to stay,” Lucy interjects. “Just wait till you get to college to do that stuff- actually, don’t do it at all. Working with magic will get you on their radar. You could get hurt. Case in point: your encounter with the Bratz.”

“They hated me even before that!”

“Yeah, but they never tried to kill you! And it’s because you’re living with Taehyung, who is literally a crazy powerful sorcerer.” Dev slams his fist on the table, causing everyone to jolt up in their seat. “This isn’t a game, Joo! Staying here is getting you killed one way or another!”

The four of us are utterly silent. I stare at him in shock. None of us move.

And then someone clears their throat.

“Do you kids need anything else?” Sally-Mae asks, a rather frightened look on her face.

Dev deflates. “No,” he says, flashing her a sunny smile. “Thanks, though.”

“Alrighty. I’ll bring your check!”

“God,” Lucy groans, burying her head in her hands. “This is a mess.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to go back, even if I wanted to,” I say quietly. “I’ve asked my mom tons of times. She thinks going here will help my future or whatever.”

“Story of my life,” Tom sighs.

We are quiet for several more moments. I absentmindedly twirl around the straw in my cup as Tom pays for his Funny Face pancake.

This is insane. All of this goes against every single rational belief I once held. My head hurts and every limb in my body is aching and all of a sudden my chest tightens and I feel like I can’t breathe, like I’m trapped; faces flash through my mind, Rob and Mom and Taehyung and Sasha and I just want to shut all of this out and disappear-

“Joo.”

Lucy, stoic, cold Lucy, has wrapped her arms around me in a comforting (albeit rather stiff) hug. She awkwardly rests her chin on my shoulder.

“Look,” she says. “I know. It . But we’ve been dealing with this for two years. You can rely on us.”

“What now?” I whisper, my voice cracking. “Are we just going to sit here for 2 more years, living in fear of the monsters around us?”

“What other choice do we have?” Tom says resignedly.

“I-,” I bite my lip. “At least let me make protective amulets for all of us.”

They look at me in surprise. “Can you do that?” Dev asks.

“Yeah, and I’ve made a ton of blueprints for other magical weapons from the book. Like, knives that can kill monsters. We could use those for self-defense, instead of having to pour solutions on them with super soaker.” I rub my temples. “I just wish I had access to more magical objects and information about this stuff.”

Tom frowns. “Hmmm. Where could we find magic?”

“Maybe we could-,” Dev begins to say, but Lucy interrupts him.

“Taehyung’s house,” she says, her eyes wide. “Joo, what was that library you were talking about? Where you got that book?”

“Yeah, the library that Sasha sent me to.” I inhale. “I’m sure there would be something there. One problem: I haven’t been able to find it since.”

“Crap.”

“I’m sure we could keep looking, though,” I say. “It’s worth a shot. You guys can come over, and we can look for something.”

“Won’t that be risky, though?”

“Just come when Taehyung’s out of the house,” I say. “It’ll be fine. We can coordinate this.”

“Okay,” Dev says, nodding slowly. “Yeah. That sounds good, actually.”

Sally-Mae stops by our table.

“You’re all set!” she smiles, handing the checkbook to Tom. “Have a good night, y’all!”

“Thanks!” Tom beams. “Alright, guys, let’s take off. Joo, do you want me to give a ride back to Taehyung’s?”

I grimace. The party is probably still going strong. Besides... I can’t bear to see Taehyung’s face again tonight. The memory of him laughing at me in that Jacuzzi- coupled with my discovery that he is an evil sorcerer- makes me want to retch at the thought of him.

“You can stay at my place,” Tom laughs, seeing my expression. “Lucy, Dev- you guys in?”

“Definitely,” Dev says, scooting out of the booth. “If I’m by myself tonight, I know I’ll have nightmares. Besides,” he adds with a sleazy grin. “Why would I ever turn down an opportunity to have a sleepover with Lucy and Joo?”

“Ew,” Lucy says. “We’re locking the door to our room.”

“Aw, that’s no fun!”

“Come on, you guys,” Tom chuckles. The four of us pile into his car, in a considerably better mood than we were when we first got to IHOP. We have a plan- or some semblance of a plan now. And I know what’s going on in Windsong. Granted, it’s worse than anything I could’ve ever imagined, but at least that’s one mystery solved. I should be grateful. No more confusion.

Okay, this is not working. I can’t spin this into a positive situation.

But whatever.

“Holy ,” I whistle when we arrive at Tom’s apartment. It’s massive, all faux brick walls and warm lighting. Lucy throws herself on the sofa, yawning widely, as I look around the living room in awe. “Tom, this place is amazing. I thought you were on a scholarship.”

“Yeah, for tuition. But I do still have quite a bit of prize money left over from my math competitions.” He lets out a satisfied sigh. “Oh, Joo. Let me get you a change of clothes. There’s blood all over your hoodie.”

“Get me one, too,” Lucy calls after us as we head to his room.

“Same!” Dev yells.

“You need to do your laundry,” I say, pointedly looking at the overflowing hamper in the corner of his room. Tom groans.

“Don’t remind me. Soon, I’ll be out of underwear.” He digs an oversized blue tshirt out of his dresser and throws it on the bed. “Oh, boy. Don’t tell me I’m out of pajama pants, too.”

“It’s fine,” I say after he spends five more minutes digging through his drawers. “The tshirt’s big enough anyway.”

 “Are you sure? Maybe I have, uh... dress pants?”

    Laughing, I shake my head. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

    “Alright. Bathroom’s through that door on the left.”

    “Got it.” As I am leaving, Tom catches my hand.

    “Hey,” he says. “I just want to make sure you’re feeling okay. I know this is a crazy shock, but just know that me, Lucy, and Dev have your back. If you ever need to talk, or need any help, I’m here.”

Gratitude floods my body. I look up at Tom with a huge smile.

“Thank you so much,” I tell him. “You have no idea how much I appreciate you. Thank god you guys are here.”

He grins, ruffles my hair. “No prob, kiddo.”

I am the first to rise the next morning.

Lucy is passed out in the bed next to me, snuggled amidst a bundle of comforters. There is a peaceful expression on her face as her chest gently rises and falls- a stark contrast to the aloof look she is always wearing.

After washing my face and brushing my teeth with one of the unopened plastic toothbrushes in Tom’s bathroom cabinet, I pad into the kitchen. I didn’t eat dinner last night, and I can’t even remember if I ate lunch. Rubbing my stomach, I scour the cupboards until I find pancake mix and chocolate chips. My lips split into a grin.

“Whoa, Joo, this is so nice!” Tom exclaims 20 minutes later, bounding into the kitchen from his bedroom. Half is hair is sticking up on one end, like he literally rolled out of bed a minute ago.

    “Get a plate and help yourself,” I say, gesturing to the stack of warm, gooey chocolate chip pancakes sitting on the counter. “Do you have hot chocolate mix? I’m really craving some, for some reason.”

    Tom’s eyes light up. “Can I make Nutella hot chocolate?”

    “Please do,” Lucy yawns, sleepily trudging into the kitchen. “Morning, Joo. Had a good night’s sleep?”

    “Surprisingly, yeah.” I flip the pancake on the griddle. “I thought I’d have nightmares, but I actually didn’t.”

    “Told you so.” Lucy pops a handful of chocolate chips in . “I don’t know why, but everytime I’m with Dev and Tom, I sleep really well.”

    “Next time, why don’t you try sleeping with me?” a cocky voice drawls. Lucy and I roll our eyes in unison as Dev swaggers in. “Ah, what a sight to wake up to. Domestic Joo.”

    “Shut your face,” I say.

    “Hey, Dev, pass me the sugar, please,” Tom says, stirring a saucepan of boiling milk.

    “Why? I saw you dump about three globs of Nutella in there. You want to ruin your hot bod, man?”

“It’s worth it,” Tom pouts. “Just give me the sugar.”

“No can do. You and your future girlfriend will thank me.”

“You are such an , Dev,” Lucy mutters. “But Tom, he does have a point.”

“Fine. Don’t blame me when the hot chocolate isn’t sweet enough.”

Dev swaggers over to me as I am mixing in more chocolate chips into the pancake batter. “And then we have this one. There’s already so much chocolate in those pancakes that they’re practically brown.”

“They’re brown because I perfectly cooked them, actually.”

“No, they’re brown because you dumped an entire bag of Nestle Milk Chocolate Chips in them.”

“Did not. Now go away and let me mix.”

“Joo,” Dev says warningly. “You’re giving me the bowl right now so I can salvage these pancakes and remove those extra chocolate chips.”

“Hell no.”

“One.”

“Don’t do it, Joo!” Lucy calls from the dining table.

“Two.”

“Hey, did someone ring the bell?” Tom says, heading to the door.

“Three.” And Dev literally tackles me, desperately reaching for the bowl. I shriek with laughter and try to run away from him- “Get off, Dev!” I giggle as he wraps his arms around my back, clawing my hands. Lucy is cackling wildly, chanting, “Fight! Fight! Fight-,”

The door slams open.

Dev, Lucy, and I freeze.

Taehyung is standing in the doorway of the kitchen, staring at me and Dev with a stunned expression. His hair is lying flat on his forehead instead of its usual gelled style; there are dark circles under his eyes. Tom is behind him, an agitated look on his face.

I feel Taehyung’s gaze rove over my large, thigh-length tshirt, Dev’s apparent backhug. Lucy looks like she is a split second away from lunging for the knife on the counter.

There is absolute silence.

And then the surprise disappears from his face, replaced by the coldest, most baleful expression I have seen in my entire life.

“Let’s go,” he utters in a terrifyingly soft voice.

The temperature in the room plummets. Everything in the room seems to blur out of focus- everything except for him. I realize with a start that my choker is sitting on the nightstand in Tom’s spare room, where I left it before I went to sleep last night. Chills of trepidation run down my spine and I fearfully shrink back into Dev’s grasp.

Somehow, this action causes Taehyung’s eyes to grow even icier.

“I said, let’s go.”

I exhale shakily- wait, is that fog coming from my mouth? The kind that appears when you are breathing in the cold? Judging by Lucy, Dev, and Tom’s frightened expressions, I am not imagining this. Then it all makes sense: those periods of extreme pain and discomfort I experience when I am around Taehyung must be a direct result of his magical power.

Go, Joo.

Swallowing, I grab my bag and then tremulously follow Taehyung as he heads out the door.