Kayden woke up the next morning to the smell of Head & Shoulders shampoo.

It wasn't a bad smell—in fact, it reminded her of her father. When she was younger, she liked to pretend she was a hairdresser. Her father would let her stand behind him on the couch and drag a black comb against his scalp, and she would breathe in the remnants of his shampoo. 

The recollection that her father had moved out a few months ago made her open her eyes.

She half expected to see Lexi lying next to her, but instead she was greeted by an empty bed and foreign blue sheets. It took her a moment to recognize the room as Blaze's.

Okay, so being zapped to his apartment wasn't a dream, she thought, sitting up groggily and looking out a large window. The sun was already up, and yet the streetlights were still lit, their lights flickering and sputtering as if the city had decided to employ lightning bugs to save on electricity.

Or maybe fairies, Kayden thought, squinting. She wondered for the first time if perhaps there were more magical creatures in the world than just wizards. If there were, they did a much better job at remaining hidden than Blaze had.

She swung her legs out from under the covers and started to stand, but something lumpy yelped from beneath her feet. She jumped back onto the bed, suppressing a shriek as Blaze got up angrily from the floor.

"Ow," he grumbled, rubbing his back. His eyes were half-closed from sleep. "What was that for?"

Kayden noticed in that moment that Blaze was only wearing a pair of boxers; she averted her eyes. "I forgot you were sleeping on the floor," she said, wondering why Blaze had felt the need to strip down to nearly nothing as he slept.

Blaze didn't seem to realize that he was making her feel uncomfortable. "What time is it?" he asked. "We're supposed to meet Celery at the airport around nine."

Kayden dug through the sheets until she found her cell phone beneath the comforter. She pressed a button, but it didn't turn on. She cursed. "My phone's dead."

Blaze plucked an alarm clock off the floor. "7:42. Not too bad."

"Do you have a charger?" she asked, tapping the darkened screen. She felt strangely isolated with a dead phone.

"I don't have a phone."

Kayden stared at him in disbelief. "No way."

"Yes way. Is it that hard to believe?"

It was, in fact. It wasn't like Blaze lived in the Stone Age, and he owned a computer. "Why not?"

"What's the point of having a phone if you can use magic to contact anyone you want?" Blaze said reasonably.

"Well what happens when magic shifts?" She raised an eyebrow to emphasize her point.

Blaze rolled his eyes. "Well then I guess Verizon is going to have a great sales day today."

Kayden groaned.

"You'll survive without your phone," Blaze said, heading towards the door. "I'm going to grab us some breakfast. Can you throw some clothes in a bag for me while I'm in the kitchen?"

Kayden looked around the room and at the sea of clothes. "Isn't everything in here dirty?"

Blaze rolled his eyes and gestured to a dresser. "There's clean stuff in there. Just pick out enough stuff to get us through at least four days. Find some things for you too. And just shove them in my bag."

"All right."

Blaze nodded and wandered out of the room.

Kayden glanced around at her temporary living quarters. She spotted the messenger style bag she had seen Blaze wearing the first night he had come to her house; it had been shoved in the corner of the room. She opened up the snaps and rifled through it. It was filled with random junk—paper, pens, jars of dried plants—and the white spell book that Blaze had used to cast the Bonding Oath.

She was hardly surprised when she opened the dresser and was greeted by a wall of black fabric. She grabbed several things at random and shoved them in the messenger bag, hoping that something of his would fit her all right; she was sick of walking around in PJs.

Blaze returned a few minutes later with a bowl of fiber cereal and Helio at his side. She took the bowl mutely as Blaze appraised what she had packed. "Good enough," he said.

Helio looked around the bedroom before his eyes fell on Kayden. "So where did you sleep last night?"

"Blaze's bed," she said without flinching.

Helio whistled.

"Shut up," Blaze said, reaching for a shirt. "I was on the floor."

Helio shook his head forlornly. "Blaze, Blaze, Blaze... when will you learn?"

Blaze rolled his eyes and began buttoning his shirt. "We should leave soon. We agreed to meet Celery at nine."

Kayden still was in shock that they were actually going to California. Celery had responded to the email within the hour, and then had shown up at the apartment later in the evening to speak with Mr. Merg. Kayden had remained in Blaze's bedroom for two hours, hearing fragments of conversation waft through the door as the potestas ate dinner. It was only when Blaze returned to the room with a plate of leftovers and a giant grin that Kayden knew they had succeeded.

Kayden slipped on a borrowed pair of Italian loafers and Blaze's spare jacket and, with a nod, Blaze left the room to distract his father. As soon as Kayden heard Blaze and Mr. Merg exchanging stilted goodbyes in the kitchen, Helio snuck her down the hall and out the front door of the apartment. Her heart was pounding the entire time.

"Thank God—" Kayden started, and then her body stiffened. There was a blond woman seated in the front lobby, staring at her with wide blue eyes. Kayden glanced at Helio, her stomach threatening to fall to the ground, but Helio just rolled his eyes at her.

"Relax," he said. "She's not real, just an illusion they keep as a secretary. She won't tell Mr. Merg that you're here."

Kayden stared at the woman, not entirely believing Helio. The secretary looked real, from her peach complexion to her satin shirt. And yet she also possessed an otherworldly beauty that Kayden couldn't quite put her finger on. Maybe it was her full lips, or the perfect blunt cut to her hair. Either way, Kayden had a hard time deciphering whether the woman's appearance was due to good genes or a talented wizard.

"Here," the secretary said, standing up suddenly and reaching across the desk. "Let me help you with your jacket."

"Er thanks," Kayden said, shooting Helio a look as the illusion began to button her jacket. Right when the woman's hands neared her neck, Kayden shivered. "She feels so warm. And tingly."

"Part of being an illusion," Helio said shortly.

The front door suddenly opened and Blaze joined them, his messenger bag slung over his body. His eyes flickered to the illusion. "I see you've met Rita," he said.

Kayden nodded. "She nearly gave me a heart attack, but she seems nice enough."

"Good." Blaze nodded at the illusion. "Rita, I'm heading out to California for a few days. Please don't tell my father about Kayden while I'm gone?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, Master Blaze."

Kayden looked at him with a smirk. "Master Blaze?"

"Shut up," Blaze muttered, and they stepped out to the New York City streets.

The morning was bright and sunny, all traces of the previous day's storm having vanished over night. The smell of smoky street vendor food wafted through the air, and Kayden's stomach churned; the fiber cereal hadn't been the tastiest thing in the world.

"It's easier to catch a taxi up here," Blaze said, one hand in his pocket. Kayden knew he had a wad of cash in it to cover for his and Helio's plane tickets, as well as the cab, food, and lodging for the next few days. Celery would pay for her. She felt a little bad that a stranger was covering her airfare, but she was thankful nonetheless.

At the thought of flying out to California, she couldn't help but feel bit of homesickness. She had gone to a summer camp once when she was ten and hadn't even batted a lid about being away from her parents for over a month, but this felt infinitely different. As much as she hoped this shift would be dealt with in the next few days, she had a sinking suspicion she wasn't going to see her house in New Jersey for quite some time. She rubbed a finger over her dead phone. She almost missed her mom's constant nagging and her dad's never-ending stream of phone calls.

She even missed Lexi, much to her surprise. The streets were flooded with tourists, and Kayden couldn't help but squint her eyes whenever she saw a girl with long blond hair wearing sunglasses. She felt like she could see her everywhere.

And then she heard a cry that pierced through the sound of cars honking and pedestrian footsteps and tourists chatting: "Kayden!"

Kayden froze, and even Blaze stopped in his tracks. He looked at her. "Did someone just call your name?"

Kayden couldn't respond. She spun around, looking for the source, and then heard the cry again: "Kayden!" She had recognized the voice immediately, but it was impossible.

It can't be, Kayden thought, but then her eyes latched onto a girl running towards them from down the street. She was wearing a light blue lacy camisole and white shorts, and her wavy blond hair streamed behind her as she ran: Lexi.

"How did she—?" Kayden started, unsure if she should try to run or duck into the nearest building. But it was too late. Lexi ran into her and pulled her into a rather forceful hug. Kayden tripped in her oversized shoes, nearly falling face-first onto the concrete sidewalk, but Lexi was stronger than she appeared and kept her cousin upright.

"Oh my God, Kayden!" Lexi yelled in her ear. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that!" Kayden said, her heart racing as she tried to disentangle herself from Lexi's grip. She looked over Lexi's shoulder and scanned the rest of the street. "Is my mom here?"

"No," Lexi said, shaking her head. "She's still at your house. She doesn't know I'm here."

"So what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay!" she said, as if it were blatantly obvious. "I swung by your dad's house this morning to see how you were doing—I wanted to apologize for stepping on your toes while I've been here. But when he answered the door, he said you weren't there, and that he hadn't seen you in two weeks! I tried to call you, but your phone went straight to voicemail, and when my texts wouldn't go through, I figured your phone was dead. I was going to go back to your house to tell your mother when I just, well... I suddenly thought that maybe you took the train to the city. So I took the train over."

Kayden blinked in disbelief. "Lexi, how the hell could you have figured that out?"

"It was just a hunch."

"A hunch?" Kayden repeated incredulously. "New York is huge! How did you find me?"

"Is this your cousin?" Blaze interrupted.

Kayden had almost forgotten he was there. She looked at him; he was standing rather nonchalantly, as if it wasn't at all weird that Lexi had shown up out of nowhere. If anything, he seemed to be waiting for an introduction.

Lexi's eyes flicked from Kayden to Blaze and then back. "You two know each other?"

Kayden sighed. "Lexi, this is Blaze. Blaze, this is my cousin Lexi."

"Hi Lex—" Blaze started.

"How do you know Kayden?" Lexi demanded, taking a step towards him.

Blaze's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Kayden had no idea what had come over Lexi. She had never seen her so protective of anything, let alone her. And in that moment, she had to admit she looked rather scary. Lexi was shorter than Blaze and dressed entirely in pastel shades, yet her eyes were narrowed and fierce.

"It's a long story," Blaze said. "And I don't think we really have the time to talk about it. We have to catch a flight."

"A flight!" Lexi wheeled back towards her cousin. "Are you running off with him?"

"It's not like that!" Kayden groaned. "It's a long story—"

"Tell me the story then!" Lexi demanded, and when Kayden hesitated, she groaned. "Kay, come on! We have to go back home. Your mother is going to spazz out when she realizes you aren't at your dad's, and you can't expect me to let you just catch a plane to God-knows-where with this guy!"

Kayden's stomach rolled. She knew Lexi was just looking out for her, but what could she do? She couldn't possibly go back with Lexi, not when Celery was waiting at the airport with her ticket. And if she did go with her, she'd just be transported back to Blaze, most likely with the addition of some horrific deformity.

And what if it happens in public? she thought. That definitely would not go unnoticed. She could imagine the headlines: Girl Magically Vanishes from a Moving Train.

But Lexi wouldn't understand any of that. As far as Kayden knew, Lexi didn't even read fantasy novels, let alone believe in magic, or wizards, or anything like that. She was pretty and popular, and who needed to believe in magic when you had that going for you?

Helio, who had been watching the scene with a look of amusement, finally took a step forward. He smiled suavely at Lexi and held out his right hand. "Hello, Lexi," he greeted. "The name's Helio. It's a pleasure to meet you." His hazel eyes flashed and Kayden noticed Lexi's pupils dilate. After a moment's pause, she took his offered hand.

"Hi," she said, looking slightly confused. "Are you friends with Kayden too?"

"More like recent acquaintances."

Lexi looked down at their interlocked hands, and then let go with a shake of her head. "Listen, I really need to take my cousin back home with me."

"I understand where you're coming from Lexi, but your cousin has gotten herself into a bit of trouble."

"Trouble?" She glanced at Kayden, and then back at Helio nervously. "What type of trouble?"

"Magical trouble."

Blaze smacked his forehead. "Helio!" he hissed.

"What do you mean by magical?" Lexi asked. "Kay, what does he mean?"

Kayden couldn't think of anything to say. She looked at Blaze desperately, but he seemed to be in his own state of shock.

"Do you see your cousin's wrist? And Blaze's too?"

Kayden immediately went to cover it, but it was too late. Lexi reached out and grabbed her arm, eyes widening as she saw the glowing symbol. She looked over at Blaze, to confirm that he had one as well, and he held out his arm.

"Happy, Helio?" he muttered.

"Not quite," he said. His eyes were trained on Lexi, who was looking confusedly at all three of them. "Do you believe me?"

"Is—is that some sort of tattoo?" Lexi stuttered.

Helio rolled his eyes. "Not exactly. It's a mark left by magic."

"But magic isn't real."

Helio smiled, and reached into his pocket. He withdrew a piece of chalk. "I think I can prove you wrong."

"No!" Kayden cried out, but Blaze was faster. Immediately he had descended on Helio, yanking the chalk from his grip.

"Are you an idiot?" he demanded, slipping the chalk into his own pocket. "How many pieces of chalk do I have to take from you this week? Do you have a death wish?"

Helio stared at him, peeved. "Oh come on, I was just going to summon a butterfly. Something harmless." He glanced down at his fingers, coated in just a wisp of white residue, and then grinned. He took a quick step toward Lexi. "Watch," he said.

And before anyone could stop him, he muttered a short string of syllables and blew on his fingertips. The chalk dust floated into the wind as small white specks, and then the spell took hold, filling the air with a slight buzz of magic. The dust began to sparkle and swirl about, like flakes of gold leaf fluttering in the air. Lexi's eyes widened as she watched the flakes dance around her, shining and spinning, sparkling in the summer sun like jewels. But an instant later, they turned grey, like ash, and fell to the ground at her feet, suddenly indistinguishable from the concrete sidewalk.

"Why are you trying to get yourself killed?" Blaze muttered darkly. "Please tell me why."

"That's the simplest spell I could think of," Helio said defensively. "Believe me, I wasn't about to cast anything complicated."

"It doesn't matter how complicated it is," Blaze growled. "You could have died."

Helio rolled his eyes and looked back at Lexi, who was staring at the ash on the ground in wonderment. "Anyway, that's what Kayden got herself involved with. Magic."

Lexi looked up at him, but she seemed to have run out of things to say. Her mouth gaped open, like a fish gasping on the deck of a pier, and she turned towards her cousin. "I... I still don't know what's going on, but wherever you're going, I'm going too. You can fill me in on the way."

"No wa—" Kayden started.

"Deal," Helio said with a grin.

"Helio!" Kayden protested, but he turned his back to her. She felt like kicking him in the back of the shin, but she restrained herself and wheeled towards her cousin. "Lexi, come on!"

Lexi shook her head. "This is nonnegotiable. If I don't go with you, then I'm calling your mom and telling her you're not at your dad's."

Kayden blinked. "Seriously? Are we twelve?"

Lexi narrowed her eyebrows, but her full lips were smiling. "Those are my terms."

Kayden couldn't accept that. "Blaze," she said. "She can't come!" But Blaze was hardly paying her any attention. He had his arm held out in the middle of the busy street, hailing a taxi.

"It's too late for that," he said, sounding resigned as a yellow cab pulled up to the curb. "She knows about us, so she has to come along. It's out of our hands now."

Kayden wanted to protest more, but it was a losing battle. Lexi, Helio, and Blaze had all made up their minds. Still, she wasn't happy about it.

Blaze noticed her sour face and rolled his eyes. "She can't be that bad."

"You have no idea," Kayden muttered, and she grudgingly climbed into the back of the taxi, prepared to update her cousin on everything that had happened in the past 36 hours.