I drew back with a gasp at the sound of Kitty’s voice. It was only my sister, not someone who was going to turn us into the police. She probably saw me try to use my fading powers and followed me. If she was looking straight at me when I started, it wouldn’t have worked on her.
Frank’s hands on my body froze, and he pulled away.
Kitty’s jaw was nearly to the alley’s cement floor. Her eyes flicked between him and me. “What’s going on?”
“Frank and I were…” Whatwerewe doing? I bit my lip that still tingled from the feel of his on mine. But wait, Kitty knew witchcraft. Unlike me, she had a talent for it. Perhaps she was aware of a way past this fae barrier. I motioned toward the Ravenswood’s shop. “We’re trying to get inside.”
“Is now really the best time for this?” It was hard to tell if she was talking about me kissing Frank or me breaking into someone’s store. If anyone had told me I’d be doing either of these things a week ago, I would’ve laughed in their face.
Kitty’s gaze shifted to Frank, who stood silently at my side, and it was clear she had so much more she wanted to ask.
“I’m trying to figure out who killed Isabella. We have to go inside in order to search for clues, but a fae shield is in place.” I plowed ahead. “Do you know any spells that might undo the magic?”
“And Frank—”
“I’m assisting her”—he cleared his throat—“with getting into the store.”
Kitty raised an eyebrow. “I can see how helpful you were being.”
“Kitty,” I said sharply and gestured toward the building.
She sighed. “Why not leave this to the authorities, Mary?”
I cast a sideways glance at Frank. “I have my reasons. Are you going to help or not?”
She ran a hand over her face. Then reached for a small carving of a cauldron she kept around her neck. “This is a charm that allows me to counteract lesser spells. I can break a fae barrier, but I will need Frank’s fae powers to assist me.”
He glanced at me, but nodded. “Of course.”
Kitty laid her palms flat toward the store. “When I tell you, reach out and use your glamor power to deactivate the shield.” She shut her eyes, clutching the charm, and began muttering a spell. Power flowed from her hands into the barrier.
“Now,” she murmured.
Frank stepped forward and laid his hand on the brick of the Ravenswood’s store. His shoulders tightened. He emitted a low growl and allowed his magic to drift into the air.
But then she stopped chanting and dropped her hands. “That was harder than expected,” Kitty said.
“We did it, didn’t we?” Frank leaned against the building, panting.
My sister faced me. “Are you—”
“I’m fine. You can go,” I said. Though I, the forgotten daughter, might miss most of a vigil service unnoticed, Kitty’s absence would definitely raise questions. “And thank you.”
“Okay.” The look she gave me implied there would be much to discuss later. I shot her a calming smile and waved her on. She turned and exited the alley.
I faced Frank. “Before we go in we have to disable the—”
He dialed in the last numbers on the keypad and hit enter. Then he pulled the door open, offering one of his charming smiles that made my heart stutter. “Ladies first.”
He possessed the security code? The only plausible explanation was because Isabella had provided it to him at some point before her death.
Trying to tamp down my curiosity, I moved into the Ravenswood’s store. Frank followed, snapping the door shut behind us. I couldn’t believe a couple of minutes ago I was kissing Frank Churchill, the man I’d had a crush on since I was in pigtails, and now we were breaking into a shop together.
It seemed like the obvious progression of a relationship. Kiss a boy, then break the law with him.
“We need to find Isabella’s room,” I whispered, though I was pretty sure nobody was here.
Frank nodded. “Go up the stairs before you reach the shop. Second door on the right.”
