By the time she'd finished, Hugo had arrived. He walked in right as she was explaining the final magnetic ritual to take out Omega, and how that had gone wrong.

  "We were all joined up, right? And Cinza, she takes our hands, and I could feel something. It was a lot like when Jess and I did the flight ritual, except with that one we were working together. This was more like she was actually taking from me."

  "But doesn't that break what's-his-face's law?"

  "Mason's. And no, not really. She couldn't take it until I pushed it out."

  Hugo walked in like he lived there. On seeing Hailey and Jessica smiling back at him from the couch, he dropped his phone. "...What the hell?"

  Jessica had long-since returned to Hailey's side, after realizing it was going to be a long conversation. Ian had thrown a frozen pizza in the oven for them, and by the smell permeating the house it was almost done.

  "Don't freak out, dude," Ian cut in quickly. Hailey got to her feet, very uncertain where they stood. The last time she'd seen Hugo, he was quietly exiting her apartment in Rallsburg while the rest of them experimented with magic, after being the only one of the group not to awaken. "They're alive."

  "No…" he murmured. "Goddammit, no. Just no."

  Hailey's heart sank. "I…" she started, but what could she say? After something like that?

  Luckily for her, Ian wasn't about to let that slide. "What the hell, Hugo? Our friends are alive, man! That's the only thing you have to say?"

  "This isn't right."

  "Of course it's right! Jessica's alive! I mean, we had to get Hailey along with her, but come on!"

  "Hey!" Hailey snapped, her stupor broken.

  "Sorry, Hales, but Jess was always the cool one."

  "...Yeah, okay. You're not wrong."

  He shot her a grin. "So everything's cool, right Hugo?"

  Hugo was still staring at Hailey, and she felt a tremor roll through her. She knew that look. It was the same look she'd seen on the faces of so many in Rallsburg, and on the faces of people in the burning building. On the faces of the men who'd taken her hostage in the bar in Tacoma.

  He was afraid of her, of what she could do, and for that he hated her.

  She took a step forward.

  He bolted.

  She knew it was coming, and before he'd even taken two steps toward the door, Hailey was already halfway across the room. Her wings wouldn't propel her fast enough (and she didn't want to completely wreck Ian's living room) so she took a leaf out of Alden's playbook and simply threw her whole body haphazardly into the air. She sailed over the couch, almost clipping Ian's head, and landed behind Hugo.

  He'd only taken another couple of steps toward the front door when she twisted around. She flung out her arm, slamming the door shut in front of him. The locks clicked a second later, as she grabbed and twisted each one shut from afar.

  Hugo froze, staring at the door. Slowly, he turned back to face her.

  "I don't want to do this," she murmured.

  "So don't."

  "You can't just leave."

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  "What's going on?" Ian asked, stepping between them.

  "Don't, please," she begged, but the look in Hugo's eyes told her everything.

  "Hales, he's okay. He never told anyone. I've been here this whole time and no one's ever known."

  "How much magic have you done since then?" Hailey asked, never taking an eye off Hugo.

  "Uhh…" Ian shrugged. "Not much. None, actually," he added sheepishly. "I just wanted to go back to a normal life."

  "And I bet your best friend was a big part of that, right?"

  "...So what if he was?" Ian shot back. "We've been best friends—" he continued, mocking her tone, "—since we were four years old. He's got my back."

  "And he wants to stab me in mine," Hailey snapped.

  "Don't be stupid, Hales." Ian shook his head. "Hugo doesn't like this, but he's not gonna turn you in."

  "No, Ian, I meant he literally wants to stab me."

  "What?"

  "You left. You didn't see what it was like when they found out." Hailey shuddered. "People like him, people who hate what we can do. They just don't give up. They're out to kill us."

  "But—"

  "The whole town was blown up by someone who thought magic was too dangerous to exist. He killed everyone, Ian. We barely made it out alive. And they aren't done. I nearly got killed again on Friday."

  "I wouldn't," Hugo interjected. "I don't care what you do. Just keep us out of it."

  "I can't. I need Ian."

  "You what now?" Ian cut in.

  "I can't beat him alone. If we don't stop him, everyone with magic is in danger."

  "So what," he asked, "we're gonna hunt this guy down and… what, kill him?"

  "If we have to."

  "Jesus, Hales..." he murmured.

  Hugo's eyes narrowed. "You're a vigilante."

  "I'm trying to protect myself and my friends. He started it."

  "So call the cops."

  Hailey laughed bitterly. "Don't you think I would? We can't tell anyone about this. They're not ready yet."

  "We've had this conversation before…" Ian muttered.

  She shook her head. "It's different now. We didn't know anything back then. Now we know who they are, why they're doing it and how to stop them. And we can." She glared at Ian. "The world doesn't know how to deal with this, so we have to."

  Ian glanced between his two friends, locked in a death glare, while the smell of burning pizza wafted through the room. Hailey couldn't tell what he wanted.

  She forced her vision to slip, trying to see if she could tell how he felt from the connections he had to everyone in the room. The strongest was with Hugo, which wasn't surprising, but another thick line stretched out to Jessica, who was watching the confrontation from the couch with a fearful expression. The line to herself was clearly the weakest, but at the same time, there was a distinct quality to it — as if it were fresh and growing. A few moments later, she was sure of it.

  Ian was going to agree with her, finally.

  "I can't, Hales," he replied.

  Wait, what? "...I need you."

  He grinned. "Two years ago and I would have died happy if you said that out loud."

  "You don't underst—"

  "Hales, look." Ian held out his empty hands. "I'm not a fighter, all right? I'm just a guy who likes playing MMOs. I was never strong like you."

  This is wrong. Ian doesn't back down from fights. Doesn't seek 'em out, but he helped me toss bad party crashers more than once, guys twice his size. What's he doing…?

  "Go do your thing, but leave us out of it. We just want to live a normal life, all right?"

  Hailey felt furious, but something in Ian's expression made her hesitate. Hugo was still watching her with a mixture of fear and loathing. She finally took a step back, visibly moving away.

  She cleared her throat. "Okay. I'm sorry."

  Ian shook his head. "It's cool. Just… don't look us up, all right?"

  Hailey nodded. She gestured to Jessica, who picked up the flight harness. Within the minute, they'd left through the back door and strapped in. Hailey took a deep breath, while Jessica set up the walls of invisibility around them, then bounded into the air. She unfurled her wings and beat hard, rocketing into the air while the backdraft flattened the flowerbeds behind them. As she took off, she noticed a tiny flickering ball of fire, just around the corner of the house in a little empty flower pot.

  It was nearly half an hour before Jessica finally tapped Hailey on the shoulder. She tilted her head, gesturing back the way they'd come. Hailey shook her head.

  "They're not coming."

  She had no idea how to explain the other half of the conversation, which had taken place in an instant between herself and Ian, right under Hugo's nose. Ian was volunteering himself to keep Hugo quiet, by basically pretending it didn't exist anymore. Without Ian, everything was at risk — an even bigger secret than simply magic itself. Hailey had to trust him. As they flew, she smiled a little to herself. Even after a year apart, Ian was still the clever one, solving problems before she'd even realized they existed, and throwing himself in the way for his friends.

  "Thanks, Ian," she whispered, before she wheeled them around. Pulling out her compass and her phone, she changed course. Northeast, and a much longer journey than the first one, for a reunion she'd been even less confident about. A meeting she dreaded.

  She flew as fast as possible. The sooner the better. Anything to get back home again.