“Sure,” I said, stifling a laugh; I was pretty sure it would come out sounding hysterical.

Trent wove through the boat with a disturbing lack of urgency. I could smell hot metal and smoke. Trying not to snag my dress, I peered into the dimness. “There it is!” I shouted, pointing. My finger was shaking, and I dropped my hand to hide it.

Trent strode forward and I followed, hiding behind him when he crouched before a metal box with wires coming out of it. He reached to open it, and I panicked. “Hey!” I cried, grabbing his shoulder. “What the Turn are you doing? You don’t know how to turn it off!”

He caught his balance without getting up, looking at me in annoyance, every hair on his head still perfect. “That’s where the timer will be, Morgan.”

I swallowed hard, peering over his shoulder as he carefully opened the lid. “How much time?” I whispered, my breath sending his wispy hair drifting.

He stood, and I took a step back. “About three minutes.”

“Oh, hell no.” My mouth went dry, and my phone started ringing. I ignored it. Leaning, I looked closer at the bomb, starting to feel a little unsteady.

Trent pulled on a watch fob to bring out an antique-looking timepiece and set the modern timer on it. “We’ve got three minutes to find a way off.”

“Three minutes! We can’t find a way off the boat in three minutes. The glass is bulletproof, the doors are thicker than your head, and that big purple disk will soak up any spell we throw at it!”

Trent’s eyes were cold on me. “Get ahold of yourself, Morgan. Hysterics won’t help.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” I exclaimed, my knees starting to shake. “I think best when I’m having hysterics. Just shut up and let me have them!” Arms wrapped around myself, I glanced at the bomb. It was hot down there, and I was sweating. Three minutes. What in hell could you do in three minutes? Sing a little song. Dance a little dance. Make a little love. Find a new romance. Oh God. I was making up poetry.

“Maybe he has an escape route in his office?” Trent suggested.

“And that’s why he locked us in there?” I said. “Come on.” I grabbed his sleeve and pulled. “We don’t have enough time to find a way off.” My thoughts went to the purple disk in the ceiling. I had influenced it once. Maybe I could bend it to my will. “Come on!” I repeated as his sleeve slipped through my fingers when he refused to move. “Unless you want to stay and watch numbers count down. I might be able to break the no-spell zone Lee has on his boat.”

Trent rocked into motion. “I still say we can find a weak point in his security.”