Blaze swallowed and looked down at Kayden, who was blinking drowsily. She glanced towards the opposite end of the couch, and then back at Blaze. Her green eyes looked foggy, the remnants of sleep still clinging to them like cobwebs. "Where's Lexi?"

Blaze shrugged. "I just got in. I don't know."

Kayden frowned at the TV, which was displaying some show about non-ers planting a garden, and she wiggled around until she found the remote. She clicked it off.

Blaze felt the strongest urge to bolt from the room. "You look tired," he said. "Do you want to get back to sleep?"

"I'm fine. I didn't mean to drift off. I think it's just a combination of no sleep last night and then not being able to move this foot."

"Did you break it?"

"No, just a sprain. I took two Motrin earlier and it's kicking in finally. Lira said she couldn't use any magic on it until everything's been triple-checked." She raised her eyebrow in question.

Blaze shook his head. "I haven't heard anything. I was just downstairs cleaning up the rune. But uh... I think this is a good sign." He held up his bare wrist for her to see, pulling aside the sleeve of his suit.

She glanced down at her own wrist. "Ahh." Kayden looked up at him with a slightly confused expression. Blaze wondered what she was thinking. Finally she said, "You can sit down if you want. I'm not going to bite."

He glanced at the couch, which she was almost entirely taking up. "You've kind of hogged that one," he said.

She smiled wryly and bent her knees so that there was more room. "Lexi was able to fit here before I fell asleep."

"Lexi's tiny. She probably weighs like 110 pounds."

She snorted. "I doubt you weigh anymore than she does."

Blaze laughed and sat down on the small piece of couch she had cleared. "So what did you think of the casting?"

"Before or after I tackled Naven?"

"Before."

"Well." She paused. "It felt pretty powerful. I just hope it worked and things are going to get better. For everyone," she added a second later.

"I wish I had my laptop so we could log onto some forums and see," Blaze said. "Or we could turn on the potestas news station—"

"I'm sick of that channel." She looked over at him from the opposite end of the couch. Only the length of her body separated them, and Blaze found it hard to look away. She was still wearing the emerald dress from earlier. The sleek fabric outlined her slight curves.

"Kayden," he said, the words slipping out before he could stop himself. "Remember when we talked today... right before the spell casting? Out in the hallway?"

"Yes." She looked at him evenly. Her face was nearly expressionless, but he could see the curiosity in her eyes.

Blaze took a deep breath. His heart thudded heavily in his chest. "I know we're still not one hundred percent positive that the spell worked, but right now... I feel the same way I did back in that hallway. I still have feelings for you." He looked down at his hands for a moment, unable to look her in the eye. "I guess, for me, the spell had nothing to do with it. I don't know when it happened, or how. I just know that I still feel it now. It didn't go away."

His throat felt dry and he didn't know what else to say. He looked up at Kayden who had been lying down so casually. Now she moved. She sat herself up, carefully moving her leg so that it was off the couch, dangling near the floor.

Blaze felt the rush of panic. "Are you leaving?"

"Leaving?" she repeated incredulously. "How? I can't exactly walk."

Blaze shut his mouth.

They were sitting side by side now, inches away from one another. She looked at him. Her eyes were so green, and they seemed to be studying every inch his face. Thinking of a way to break the news, Blaze thought, but he didn't say anything. He just waited, looking at her as she looked at him.

Finally, she shook her head. "I hate you so much."

Blaze frowned. "Excuse me?"

Her eyes flashed, a hint of a glimmer behind the emerald exterior. "Blaze, when I started liking you, I didn't think it was the spell at all. It wasn't until you told me your theory that I started rethinking everything. You made me think I was crazy, and I hated you for it."

"But what do you feel now?" he asked anxiously.

Her lips were pursed slightly. "I feel the same way towards you that I did earlier today."

Blaze felt his heart stir in his chest. "Which is?" he prodded.

Kayden sent him a look. "Really? You're going to make me say it?"

"Yes I am," he said, and he felt the corners of his mouth turn upwards. He couldn't help it.

Kayden rolled her eyes, but then looked at him directly, her own mouth slipping into a smile. "I still like you, Blaze."

Blaze was full-out grinning now. "Even after all of this?"

"Well, I haven't entirely forgiven you for dragging me into this mess in the first place," Kayden said pointedly, but there was a spark in her eye. "But I think I know how you can begin to repay your debt."

And without another second's hesitation, she leaned into his mouth and kissed him. Blaze was ready for her. He pulled her into his arms, his hands cradling the small of her back, and returned the kiss. The tendrils of her dark hair tickled his face and the soft silk that separated his hands from her bare skin felt slippery and smooth.

The night before had been wonderful in its own right in the dirt under the stars, but now, without the threat of the spell looming over everything, Blaze finally could take it all in. Kayden was in his arms, and it had nothing to do with magic.

Well, perhaps some magic, he thought, feeling his own lips tingle with tiny jolts of electricity as they brushed across hers.

"Ow," she said suddenly.

Blaze put his hand to his mouth. "I'm sorry, are you all right?"

Kayden laughed. "Not that," she said with a shake of her head. "My ankle. Watch out for it?"

Blaze heaved a sigh of relief and smiled back at her before leaning in to kiss her again. He was extremely careful of her ankle despite the way she pulled at him, her grip strong on the back of his neck. She smelled of magic, smoke, sweat and the remnants of perfume. Her lips were soft and strong, and every so often he'd open his eyes to see her looking back at him, a slight smirk playing in the corners of her eyes. And he wouldn't have had it any other way.

They only had a few minutes to themselves before there was a knock on the door.

They sprung apart and appraised each other for a moment. Kayden's hair had almost completely come free of its bobby-pinned chignon, and from his reflection in the TV, Blaze could see that his hair was mussed as well. He raked his fingers through it as Kayden attempted to fix her own; she cursed as her fingers snagged on tangles. It was only once there was a second insistent knock that Blaze finally got up to answer the door. He had expected to see his father, perhaps having forgotten his room key, or even Helio, but standing in the hallway was Walter with a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Good news?" Blaze asked, but the words were hardly out of his mouth when Walter grabbed him into an enormous bear hug.

"Things aren't one hundred percent verified," the inventor said, still gripping Blaze tightly, "in fact, right now we're only at 96.6% certainty, but everything is looking good. Perfect actually. The same as before!" He let go, beaming ear to ear, and then leaned over the threshold to address Kayden. "If you want, I can fix your ankle now!"

"I'd rather wait until we're one hundred percent sure everything is fine," Kayden said cautiously.

Walter winked at her. "Smart girl." He reached into his pocket and withdrew yet another one of his little spherical inventions to check the time. He ran his thumb over the metallic ball. "Well, I'll say that in another 30 minutes we'll know for certain. And then, if everything checks out, the party will begin at seven." He looked at the two teens, sizing them up. "You two might want to tidy up a bit before then. You have some chalk on your pants, Blaze. And Kayden, your hair is falling out."

Blaze watched as Kayden reached to her head self-consciously, and then turned back to Walter. "Thanks for the heads-up, Walter."

"No problem!" He adjusted his bug glasses. "I'm going to go back downstairs and help with a few more spell checks, to try to move everything along."

"What are you going to do afterwards?" Kayden asked from the couch.

Walter blinked. "Why, party with you youngsters of course!"

She shook her head. "No I mean... now that everything is just about shifted back, what are you going to do about your book and your publishing company? Isn't it all obsolete now?"

Blaze winced; in all the chaos surrounding the spell, he had forgotten about Walter's employment predicament. But Walter didn't seem fazed by the question; in fact, he grinned more widely.

"I didn't tell you?" He rolled the metal sphere between his hands. "The Congregation offered to pay me to work on some new inventions!—with a bit of spellchecking on the side, of course."

"That's awesome," Kayden said.

"And that's not all!" Walter grinned. "I'm thinking I might write another book in my downtime. But it would be a history this time, chronicling the shift. I know a ton of other writers are thinking of doing the same, but I think I have a particularly unique perspective." He smiled softly, rolling the metal ball between his palms. "I think Elise would have liked that."

Suddenly, the metal sphere began to hum in his hands. Walter glanced down at it, smiling, as it shifted into the familiar form of a jasmine flower.

Blaze blinked, remembering the previous night in the field, and felt compelled to ask, "Why does it do that?"

"This?" Walter held up the delicate metal flower, and glanced between Blaze and Kayden. "Well, I couldn't invent just a regular clock, now could I? That would have just been silly."

"Yes," Kayden said, stifling a smile. "Silly, of course."

"Jasmines were Elise's favorite flower, and I thought, wouldn't it be neat if I made a clock that would then turn into a jasmine when something really great happens? When you're feeling really good about life?"

"I see," Blaze said slowly, not entirely understanding him.

Walter's eyes twinkled. "Sometimes the moments we need to pay the most attention to are not the ones we're counting down to, but the ones in between that make us happy." He looked between Kayden and Blaze, a smile playing on his lips, and then, with a nod, turned to leave.

"I like that," Kayden said when Walter had disappeared and Blaze had shut the door. "Maybe Walter should get into the business of making greeting cards."

Blaze laughed and sat down next to Kayden. "He's a man of many terrific talents."

"He's also terrific at interrupting us." She pulled Blaze closer with a smirk. "Now where were we?"