“Phoenix—” She couldn’t speak for laughing. “Phoenix, let me go!”
“Never! Or boredom will set in, and we can’t have that.” He dipped her so low her hair nearly touched the pavement.
“Don’t you dare drop me.”
“Or what?” He held her in the position as passersby parted around them like an island in the stream. “Will you bind me to your service forever? Make me do your lawn work and paint your toenails? Never let me go?”
She giggled helplessly.
He relented and pulled her upright. “See, you’re not bored anymore. I told you, didn’t I? When I want to make a spectacle of myself, you’ll know it.” He released her and walked away, toward the base of the tower.
This time, she had to jog to catch up. “I meant to tell you something.”
He hummed a tune.
“You’re not listening,” she said.
“Were you saying something?”
“I’m leaving Paris for a day.”
“Jolly good.” He continued the tune by whistling.
“To meet Nathan and some other witches.”
“Mr. Glowing Eiffel Tower? I have to say, I’m unimpressed. In fact, I’ll do him one better. Watch this.”
“Phoenix—”
“Wait for it.”
“Are you listening to me at all?”
“And … now!” He snapped his fingers.
The Eiffel Tower lit up with flashing lights all over, as if swarmed by a thousand tiny paparazzi.
“You didn’t do that,” said Raya. “It’s on a timer. It does that every hour.”
“And yet”—he leaned in—“it’s still more impressive than your new friend.”
“It’s better than I could do.”
They walked on, slowly circling the tower.
“So what? Is that what you want? Drawing pretty lights in the air?”
Raya sighed. “It’d be a start.”
“You have more power in your little finger than Nathan has in his whole body.”
“No, I don’t.”
“So you’re going to take lessons from him or something? Is that it?”
“We’re going into the forest of Fontainebleau.”
Phoenix stopped cold. “Why?”
