I walked over to Caleb, who had his arms wrapped around Elaine. His orange jacket sat on a log on the beach behind them.
The conversations died around me like pouring sand on a fire, then whispers sparked back up like stubborn embers. If there had been any doubt what they might have been talking about before my arrival, their silence put that to rest. The rumors had spread around town, and now my peers thought I was guilty of murder.
It was time to change that.
I sucked in a deep breath. “Hey, Elaine. Caleb.”
Elaine turned to face me, her eyes widening as she took in Riley and me together. “Oh, hey Kitty.”
“I didn’t think you were coming tonight,” Caleb said.
“That’s hard to believe considering you pushed me off the cliff earlier.” I narrowed my eyes at him and gestured to his jacket. “We saw your orange jacket as you came back down the trail.”
Someone gasped. The crackle of the fire was deafening in the sudden silence.
Caleb laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s fine because I didn’t come to talk about how you tried to kill me. I came to talk about how you murdered Graham.”
Caleb stepped forward, glowering at me. “That’s enough, Kitty.” His voice dropped. “Knock it off.”
“No, you knock it off.” Riley matched him, his eyes sparking dangerously. “The game is over, so you can stop pretending now. We know all about how his little prank made you lose your scholarship, and you’ve hated him ever since.”
“How could you say this, Kitty?” Elaine blinked, tears gathering in her eyes. “I told you Caleb would never do something like that.”
“I was at Elaine’s house that night,” Caleb said, “so maybe you should get your facts straight before you throw around ridiculous accusations without proof.”
“You want some proof?” I pulled out the necklace Jaxon had given me and let it dangle from my fingers. The tiny maple leaf glinted in the bonfire’s flickering flames. “How about this?”
The people around us shifted, soaking in the gossip and drama.
Caleb’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not mine.”
“You can cut the act now,” I said. “It won’t do you any good.”
“Leave Caleb alone, Kitty.” Elaine stepped forward, glaring at me. “If he said that isn’t his necklace, then it isn’t his.”
“Ithasto be his,” I said. “I recognize it because I helped you pick out the necklaces, and you were wearing yours at the party last night.”
Caleb’s eyes went wide, and he turned to Elaine. “Is that your necklace? You said Isla lost it.”
“Of course it’s not mine. I’ve never even been in Graham’s house,” she said.
My stomach dropped as the truth hit me like a bad potion. I never said that I found the necklace at Graham’s, which meant… Elaine was the killer, not Caleb. No matter how much I wanted to pretend like it wasn’t true, it was. It wasn’t Caleb my magic had warned me of that night; it had been Elaine.
“I never said that I found the necklace at Graham’s house,” I said slowly.
Elaine’s lips parted, and she stood there, frozen. A second slipped by, then another. Her hands trembled, and she hid them behind her back.
“Why was your necklace at Graham’s house?” Caleb turned to Elaine, one hand balled into a fist.
My heart twisted as the pieces fell into place like ingredients into a cauldron until the truth bubbled out. Elaine had betrayed me long before she’d tried to frame me for murder. She was the girl Graham had cheated on me with. Elaine loved maple flavors and scents; she even frequently wore a maple lotion, which was why Graham had ordered a maple drink before meeting her. She’d been there every step of the way, and what I’d naively assumed was support was her plotting to frame me for the murder all along. She’d encouraged me to brew the potion, pushed me to give Graham the cookie, and even offered to come with me to do it. Hex, I wouldn’t put it past her if she were the one who’d been spreading the rumors around town to make it look like I had a reason to kill Graham.
“Answer me, Elaine.” Caleb’s voice rose. “Why was your necklace there?”
“They were together… Elaine and Graham,” I whispered, tears pricking at my eyes. After all the other betrayals, I shouldn’t have been surprised, but somehow I still was. The truth solidified inside me, heavy and cold.
“Youwere the girl Graham mentioned hooking up with?” Caleb shook his head and stepped away from Elaine. “No wonder he was so smug around me.”
