upload

“Then how does he know where you live, dear?” she asked with a sigh.

“That is a good question.”

“You don’t seem very excited for your date,” she pointed out with a frown. “How did all this come about?”

I caught them up on all the icebreaking activities and Drake’s admission during “Never have I ever.”

“That’s a strange game. Why would humans want to brag about the things they haven’t done? We cats like to share our accomplishments, not lack thereof,” Merlin groused.

“The game is not the point,” I snapped. “The point is that Drake has seen a ghost. And when I tried to ask him about that, it turned into this whole date thing.”

“Well, a date is a perfect opportunity to ask him about his ghost, dear.” Ah, Luna. Ever the optimist. It was starting to wear on me.

“Except we’re supposed to be going to Nocturna tonight,” I reminded them.

“You don’t have to go everywhere we go,” Merlin said rather grumpily. “If you want to abandon us in favor of your date, we’ll live.”

The beginnings of a tension headache crept up my neck and into my brain. Would it be wrong to turn a spray bottle on my cats to discipline them, knowing they could talk and that at least one of them could retaliate by conjuring lightning?

I tried very hard not to shout at the top of my lungs now.“That’s not—“

Luna gently patted my hand with her paw.“It’s fine, dear. Merlin and I will enjoy the alone time. We wouldn’t want to be all up in your hair during your date, anyway.”

“It’s not—UGH!” This time I threw both hands in the air, then slammed them down on the table in frustration.

“So touchy,” Merlin said with a sneer. “Don’t worry, though, your highness. We’ll do all the actual work that’s needed to keep our home safe while you have fun entertaining your gentleman caller.”

“You know what? Fine. Go to Nocturna. Have all the fun without me while I stay here and participate in a date I didn’t ask for and don’t want.”

“Wonderful,” Luna cooed. “So we’re all in agreement then?”

I dropped my head into my hands and tried to focus on my breathing.

“Humans mature so much more slowly than cats,” I heard Merlin whisper to Luna. “Perhaps I’d have been better off with the old lady.”

“Is it too late to switch?” the femme feline wondered aloud.

“You know better than anyone that once the familiar bond is set, it can’t be broken without—”

Luna drew in a sharp breath.“Yes, I know.”

“So we’re stuck with her,” he added glumly.

“I can still hear you!” I shouted, then stalked off to my room and slammed the door.

Hmm.Maybe they were right about my maturity level, after all.

6

The sun was due to set about fifteen minutes before eight o’clock that night, which meant that if Drake arrived even a few minutes early, he’d see my cat’s magic on full display right in the front yard.

“Maybe we should consider moving your cauldron around back,” I suggested as Merlin and Luna were making the final preparations for their journey to Nocturna. What I wouldn’t give to go with them instead of having to stay here and entertain Drake in what would surely be an awkward encounter.

“Are you serious?” Merlin hissed, his eyes turning sharp. “If we move the cauldron, we may damage it. If we damage it, our connection to the magical world could be lost for good.”

“Okay, okay, sorry,” I muttered, kicking at a patch of extra-long grass near the driveway. As much as I loved being a homeowner now, I hadn’t quite gotten the hang of the lawnmower yet. Every time I fired the thing up, the smell of freshly cut grass aggravated my allergies and sent me into a violent sneezing fit. But because the grass had to be cut one way or another, I end up running the mower back and forth over the yard as fast as I can, not bothering to make sure it gets cut evenly. Mostly cut was better than not cut at all, I figured, and since I didn’t have the money to hire thejob out, my neighbors would just have to deal with my uneven lawn.

“Next time, perhaps schedule your romantic tryst elsewhere,” Luna purred. She began to rub against my leg, but I leapt out of reach. I was still not okay with the way she was treating me when it came to this accidental date—or to my love life at all.

“Not a romantic tryst. Not a romantic anything,” I corrected between clenched teeth. “Remember, he invited himself over.”

Merlin whispered something to Luna, just quietly enough that I couldn’t make out the words. When he finished, they both turned toward me and began laughing.

“Just go to Nocturna already,” I seethed, kicking another patch of mis-mown grass. “Stay there forever for all I care.”

The cats continued to titter as they hopped into the birdbath, splashed around, and then disappeared in a glowing swirl of green. I doubted I’d ever get used to Merlin’s strange modes of travel, either by turning his cauldron disguised as a bird bath into a portal or by blinking twice to magically teleport.