Alex could make out every detail of her face. The freckles on her nose and the dimples in her cheeks that danced just a little when she concentrated on that flame. "Any day now," he told her.

Sadie ignored him. She stared a while longer, and then she reached forward with her little slip of paper and fed it to the flame. A spell, whispered to the fire element beneath her breath, then she dropped the paper into the bowl between them and let the flame eat away at the words she'd written.

"What now?" he asked.

"Now we wait until tonight," Sadie said, checking her notes. Any day now, she'd have her own compiled grimoire. "Then we... throw the ashes into the moonlight."

"And that's it?"

"That's it."

"What did you wish for?" Alex asked.

Sadie smiled, all the shadows of her face quavering with candle light. "If I tell you, it might not come true."

He supposed it was fair enough. Part of him knew already what it was Sadie wanted. He hadn't read her mind, but since they'd arrived, she'd been watching all of the couples with a look of whimsy. A longing glitter in her eyes, when the girls from three doors over pecked lips in the hallway. Whoever it was she'd asked for, Alex hoped her spell was granted.

He rose to his feet and drew the curtains open, the morning sun just breaking over the horizon. When he turned back, Sadie was crushing the ashes to dust with her thumb and tapping them into a tiny vial. "I've got to wear it all day," she said. "Or it might not work."

"Is that why we woke up so early?" Alex asked.

"Mostly," Sadie said. "I also didn't eat last night, so..."

That's right. Alex cracked the door open a bit to let in the cool morning air. Since they'd arrived, the people—er, wolves around this place had been eying Sadie like an alien, fresh off of her space ship. She was too self-conscious with all the stilted staring to attend the feast last night, even after Jaylin's return.

"Witches and wolves just have a complicated history, that's all," Alex said. "They're just not used to seeing them. Or smelling them. Only Devi and her coven. Maybe you smell different."

Sadie wrinkled her nose at that. "Do you know why they hate witches so much?" she asked. "What the hell is the conflict here, because I'm definitely missing something."

"It's just... werewolves have existed for so long, you know. They didn't really have a bonafide society back then, but they clustered in little villages. They suck to their packs. And then one day, they didn't.

"The story Quen told me was about a guy named Jon Deck. A wolf—not a guy, a wolf. It was in the late sixteen-hundreds, you know. Back in the time of witch trials. This guy, Jon, decided to go off and live with the puritans. Fell in love with one, I guess. But he wasn't smart about hiding what he was.

"When one of the puritans caught sight of this man turning into a wolf one full moon, they didn't think werewolf, they thought witch. You know what happened after that. A lot of innocent people died. A lot of actual witches too."

"They blame wolves for the witch trials?" Sadie asked.

"No, that was a whole other deal. But you know—around the time, witch hunts weren't uncommon. Something like a dude turning into a wolf was cause enough for an inquisition." Then he took a glance through the curtains. From their balcony, they had a perfect view of the courtyard. It wasn't much but a little fountain, sitting atop a vibrant mosaic brick terrace, and then only a wide stretch of grass after that, all the way to the distant tree-lines. When he caught the silver flash of Devi's graying hair, he wiggled a finger at Sadie. "Come see."

She pushed herself to her feet and took a gander through the window at the small cluster of women, setting up tables and weaving flowers into a wooden arbor. "Who is that?" she asked him.

"Devi and her coven."

Fireworks lit Sadie's eyes. "Witches? Why are they here?"

"For the crowning ceremony," Alex said. "Quentin invited them to help with Cora. She's getting old, needs a hand getting around now."

"Is Cora a witch too?" Sadie asked.

"Not just a witch," Alex explained. "Cora is the only witch left from the sister-coven, a circle of powerful werewolf witches—"

"Werewolf witches?" Sadie nearly shouted it. When she realized how loud she'd been, she slapped a hand over her mouth and whispered, "Werewolf witches?"

"Let me finish," said Alex. "Yes, werewolf witches. Were-witches. They're a thing. Anyway, they spent their lives trying to end the war between witches and wolves. They had a spiritual connection with the old queen. With all wolves, really. The sister-coven sent a representative every year to crown the new wolves, until there was only Cora left. Should we go meet them?"

Sadie was to the door before he could catch her. The halls were silent, mosts of the wolves still sleeping, and as they crept to the elevator, she asked, "How does a werewolf become a witch?"

"The same way anyone else does," Alex shrugged. "You don't have to be born into it. And I mean—it's not totally improbable that a witch could be turned into a wolf, either." For the most part, he was talking out of his ass and Alex knew it. No one had ever told him these things—he just assumed that was how it worked. But his answer seemed to satisfy Sadie and she spun the little rose quartz stone on her neck. Just like the one still weighing down his wrist.

"So, what's the crowning ceremony anyway?" she asked.

"The new wolves are given crowns, decided by the elder witch. And depending on their crowns, it kind of sets the tone for their place in the hierarchy. Quentin says the hierarchy isn't something they really use, but it tells him all he needs to know about which of his wolves would become great leaders, which would serve well as sentinels or patrols, and which he should keep a closer eye on."

"How many of these have you been to?" she asked as the pressed themselves back against the elevator walls. His stomach dropped when the floor did. "I don't know, three? Ever since I was dragged into this world."

Sadie looked to him, and he heard the voice from her head speak half a second before her lips did.

Alex, is this...

"Alex, is this the only world you know? Have you really spent so many years of your life... stuck in some situation that doesn't really involve you?"

Alex blinked. The question was like an unsettling breeze, he didn't like the chill of it. "What?"

"I mean, you don't really have a life," Sadie said. "You're kind of a loser, actually."

"Jesus," Alex said.

"Look at us, Alex. If I hadn't been oozing with that witchy feel, we probably never would have become friends."

She was right. If it wasn't for the fact that she'd needed his help that day, Sadie would have never found a damn thing interesting about him. He'd graduated high school without a soul to call his friend. It wasn't that he never made friends, he was sociable up until Anna. He was a functioning human being until thoughts began to burrow into his brain each time he looked at a person.

Sadie wouldn't be around forever. She was advancing, she officially knew more about witchcraft than he did. And she was good at it.

Once she was gone, he'd go back to the way he was. Bored and lonely. And sad, mostly. Way too sad.

When the elevator doors opened, Alex was startled to see a face staring back at him. Matt looked exhausted, deep purple under his eyes, his hair a tousled mess on his head. He didn't react much when he saw them, save for a deep breath through his nose.

"Hey guys."

"Matt." Sadie frowned as they stepped in beside him. "No sleep again, huh?"

"Was too cold in my Wrangler." He shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the elevator wall. "Slept in Jay's bed until he finished his little date with Bronx. Woke up to him growling, face-first in his pillow. Think the lich is still there somewhere. It was too creepy, I had to get out."

"How long have you been in the elevator?" Alex asked. "Were you heading somewhere, or have you just been standing there like a zombie?"

"I don't know." Matt rubbed his eyes. "I don't know anything."

"Let's go get food," Sadie said, "then you can catch some sleep in our room."

They took the elevator down to the first floor, but the foyer was emptied of chairs—the buffet table gone now. The chairs had been stacked on the far side, and a man was mopping that large glassy floor with a custodian broom.

"What's going on?" Sadie asked.

"The crowning ceremony," Alex explained. "It takes place outside. Under the moonlight. They'll probably close the ballroom out until tomorrow."

"But food," Matt groaned, slumping into Sadie with some kind of half-assed hug.

Alex led them down the hall in search of a second exit to the courtyard, and reared back at the bend in the hall. Two young girls ran past hand-in-hand, their ankle-length skirts billowing behind them. They were festooned strange garbs, tasseled with glittering gold metal bits that shuffled when they scurried barefoot up the hall.

Alex recognized them as ceremonial dressings, but he was surprised when Sadie gasped out a quiet, "Witches."

Did she have a radar or something?

"They're from Devi's coven," Alex said and he watched the girls burst through an exit door, natural light splashing in behind them. They followed in the witches' tracks to the cool morning air and the wide tract of lush green lawn. From here, Alex could make out the shape of that fountain—not a koi fish like the one in the front, but a two-tier boca, water spilling down its octagonal sides. Tents had been set up on the far end, near the tree lining—layered in decorative curtains and beads.

Girls in matching skirts were twirling in the sunlights, giggling and dancing to the songs of Cyndi Lauper, coming through a crackly, battery-operated radio. Alex could smell fried eggs not far off, the slight hint of honeydew melon. One of the girls broke from the circle of dancers—her long, frizzy, golden hair clouding around pink cheeks and a sweet smile. She almost looked a bit like Anna. When she saw Sadie, she paused and fixed the flower she'd fastened into her hair.

"No way," she gaped and rushed closer. "Devi, I think this is her!" The girls she'd been dancing with trickled in behind her as the sandy-blonde took Sadie by the hands. "Come on! Come have breakfast with us!"

And almost like they knew he was hesitant to follow, one girl took Alex by the wrist and another dragged Matt along. They led them to a set of two tables that had been pushed side by side and the blonde turned to a man, grilling food on a camping skillet. "Mikey, can you bring us three plates?"

"You know who I am?" Sadie asked as heaps of food were shoved in front of them. Scrambled eggs, toast and a pile of fresh fruit.

The blonde sat there, cheeks in her ring-garnished hands. "You're the witch who summoned Qamar. You know that's hard to do, right? Like... Devi can't even do that."

"Aster, what've I told you about spreading rumors?"

One of the tent curtains parted and an old woman stepped out, long silver cobweb hair, falling out of the bun she wore. She held a wreath of flowers in her hands, braiding the stems together into a halo. "When our guests are finished eating, bring them to my tent." The woman made her way a table, gathered a bundle of baby's breath, then she retreated back through the curtains. The boy, Alex could hear, but her thoughts were a distant whisper and he couldn't make out much more than that, the boy.

Aster shrugged and sunk sheepishly into herself. "Devi hates to admit it when she can't do something. Sometimes, that's just the way things are. Sometimes you can't do things. The way I see it, the only reason you can't do things is because your purpose is somewhere else." She'd started to tilt her head as she looked to Sadie, smiling profoundly, like she was gazing into the cosmos. "Some of us have more purpose than others. You. I think you have a lot of purpose."

"Stop weirding them out, Aster," said a girl passing by, a bouquet of roses in the basket she carried. "They get it, you're eccentric."

Aster frowned and scooped up a drooping flower someone had dropped on their way through. She chucked it at the girl, who giggled and scurried into the tents with her roses.

"Eccentric," she huffed, blowing her bangs from her forehead. "It's called bohemian, Kelsie!

Aster went back to talking after that. About how she couldn't do much but read tarot cards, but she practiced every day with stones and spells. "If you believe you'll improve, you will improve," she said. "It's all about belief. That's what witch craft is. Believing."

Alex and Matt both ate their eggs and fruit in silence. Not because they didn't feel it was their place to speak, but because the more Sadie talked to this girl, the more she laughed and glowed—and even shimmered a slightly redder shade of pink every time Aster took her hands. The more they laughed together, the more cut away Alex felt. He jabbed at the eggs with his fork, then eventually gave his share to Matt.

When they'd finished, Aster led them to the tent where Devi had carried in baby's breath. It was warm inside, hot with the smell of rose petals and stem sap. Devi sat criss-crossed beside a pile of flower crowns, each bound in perfect halos and secured with wraps of golden twine.

"Aster, dear, take these for me." She handed the girl a pile of finished crowns and she scurried out through the curtains with the stack in her arms. Then Devi pulled a rose from her pile and started a new crown. "They don't pay us for this, you know," she said with a bothered sigh. "So many things I could be doing with my time."

"Why do you do it, then?" Matt asked. "All the decorating, camping out back, you guys are doing all of this for nothin'?"

"Cora loves these damn wolves," Devi said. She took another rose from the pile and married its stem with the first. "Cora has given us protection for the last fifty years. Now it's our turn to help her." She hissed at the prick of a hidden thorn and lifted a long hunting blade from the ground beside her. With one, quick stroke, Devi sliced it from the rose. "Cora knew you would be visiting us this morning. She had a message she'd like for me to pass on to you."

Alex looked to Sadie, then Matt looked to Sadie. And when Devi caught their curious stares she swatted the air. "No, no. Not her. You." And she pointed the knife in her hand towards Matt.

"She had a message for me?" Matt asked. "How does she even know who I am?"

"Matthew Rey Richards," Devi said it like it was a name she'd heard a million times before.

Matt squinted. "How do you know who I am?"

"She told me," Devi said. She wedged her knife through another thorn and ripped it from the rose. "Cora sees things. Things the universe wants her to see. In some cases, she can stop them from happening. In others, she can only try."

"And she saw me?" Matt asked.

"My boy." She slashed off another thorn. "This morning, she watched you die."