The Indigo Spell Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Hey,” I told him. “I am
not
doing this.”
    He looked up at me with angelic eyes. “Doing what?”
    “You know what. You’re luring me in. You know I can’t resist—”
    “Me?” he suggested.
    I pointed at the magazine. “Random trivia.” I angled my body away from him and made
     a big show of opening my book. “I have work to do.”
    I felt Adrian look over my shoulder, and I tried to ignore how aware of his proximity
     I was. “Looks like Jackie’s still got you working hard in her class.” Adrian had met
     Ms. Terwilliger recently and had somehow charmed his way into a first-name basis.
    “This one’s more like an extracurricular activity,” I explained.
    “Really? I thought you were pretty against doing any more with this stuff than you
     had to.”
    I shut the book in frustration. “I am! But then she said—” I bit off the words, reminding
     myself that I shouldn’t engage with Adrian any more than I had to. It was just too
     easy to slip back into old, friendly behaviors with him. It felt right when, obviously,
     it was wrong.
    “Then what?” he prompted, voice gentle.
    I looked up at him and saw no smugness or mockery. I didn’t even see any of the burning
     hurt that had plagued me these last few weeks. He actually looked concerned, which
     momentarily distracted me from Ms. Terwilliger’s task. Seeing him this way contrasted
     drastically with what had followed in the wake of our kiss. I’d been so nervous at
     the thought of sitting with him on this flight, and yet, here he was, ready to support
     me. Why the change?
    I hesitated, unsure what to do. Since last night, I’d been turning her words and the
     vision over and over in my head, trying to figure out what they meant. Adrian was
     the only person who knew about my involvement with her and magic (aside from Jill),
     and until this moment, I hadn’t realized how badly I was dying to discuss this with
     someone. So, I cracked and told him the whole story of my desert adventure.
    When I finished, I was surprised to see how dark his expression had become. “It’s
     one thing for her to try to get you to learn spells here and there. But it’s a totally
     different thing for her to drag you into something dangerous.”
    His ardent concern surprised me a little—but maybe it shouldn’t have. “From the way
     she talked, though, it wasn’t like it was her doing. She seemed pretty upset about . . .
     well, whatever all this means.”
    Adrian pointed at the book. “And that’ll help somehow?”
    “I guess.” I ran my fingers over the cover and embossed Latin words. “It has protection
     and attack spells—things that are a bit more hard core than what I’ve ever done. I
     don’t like it, and these aren’t even the really advanced ones. She told me to skip
     those.”
    “You don’t like magic, period,” he reminded me. “But if these can keep you safe, then
     maybe you shouldn’t ignore them.”
    I hated admitting when he was right. It only encouraged him. “Yeah, but I just wish
     I knew what I was trying to stay safe from—no. No. We can’t do this.”
    Without even realizing it, I’d slipped into the way things used to be, talking to
     Adrian in that easy, comfortable way we had. In fact, I’d even been confiding in him.
     He looked startled.
    “Do what? I stopped asking you for crossword help, didn’t I?”
    I took a deep breath, bracing myself. I’d known this moment was coming, no matter
     how much I wanted to put it off. I just hadn’t expected it to come while on a plane
     ride.
    “Adrian, we have to talk about what happened. Between you and me,” I declared.
    He took a moment to consider my words. “Well . . . last I knew,
nothing
was happening between you and me.”
    I dared a look at him. “Exactly. I’m sorry for what happened . . . what I said, but
     it was all true. We have to move past this and go on with our lives in a normal way.
     It’s for the good of our group in Palm