I nodded, jaw tight. “Before he gets any deeper into this world.”
Chapter 18
Jess
We rounded the corner to the auditorium doors, and I froze.
The hot-dog squirrel was perched on the windowsill, tail twitching. In the real world, it was just a squirrel, licking its paws.
But the reflection? Doll-sized armour, complete with a plumed helmet, and something glittering clutched in its little hands; a brooch, maybe, or the kind of trinket you only found at the bottom of a cursed treasure chest.
“That thing’s been collecting enchanted junk for years,” Raven muttered, eyeing the reflection. “Wonder who it stole that from?”
The squirrel flicked an ear, like it had heard him, then scampered off into the shadows.
My stomach tightened. Even the wildlife seemed to know seams like this one weren’t safe.
The auditorium smelled like dust, leftover hairspray from last week’s Romeo and Juliet production, and now, faintly, like peaches and rose dust.
The prom committee had already transformed the place. Paper lanterns hung from the rafters, streamers twisted in the faint draft, and clusters of balloons bobbed in the corners. Silver tinsel framed the old mirror near the wings, its glitter catching the ghost light in a way that made the whole thing look ready for some Pinterest-perfect prom photo. Or a magical disaster.
It was the perfect place for a magical showdown, according to Bianca.
“Spacious, good acoustics, and if we set anything on fire, it’ll just look like a special effect,” she’d said.
I wasn’t as confident. My pulse was still skipping from Ms. Galloway’s glare in the hallway. The fact that Etan had the nerve to smirk through the whole thing, wasn’t helping.
“She’s watching you,” Bianca whispered as we crossed the stage. “You need to be careful.”
“I’m aware,” I muttered.
My mind replayed the way Ms. Galloway’s gaze had flicked between us, like she was putting pieces together. The last thing I needed was for her to stumble into the wrong part of this plan. Or the wrong realm.
I knelt and set the flamingo mirror in place on the floor, right in front of the tinsel arch. In front of it, I laid out the bait: three tubes of lip gloss from my stash, their glitter winking in the stage lights and, in the centre, the peach-gold tube that had started all of this.
Etan stepped out from behind the curtain like this was his show.
“You could have just asked me to prom,” he said.
“I’ll save the promposals for people who aren’t trying to erase my crush from existence,” I shot back.
His grin was infuriating. “You keep calling me the enemy, but here you are, inviting me to centre stage.”
“Yeah, because I’m trying to kick you off the stage,” I said, gesturing to the setup.
Bianca handed me the spell. “Just read it exactly as written. Don’t get distracted by his stupid perfect face.”
“Rude,” Etan said, adjusting his hoodie like he was posing for a yearbook photo.
Raven fluttered down to the back of a chair. “Focus. He’s going to try to get in your head before the magic does.”
I uncapped the peach-gold gloss and let its scent flood the air. The seam in the mirror hummed like a low drumbeat, tugging at my hair and making the balloons shiver in their ribbon ties.
I started the incantation.
“Glass that guards and glass that binds,
Return the thief to where he hides…”
