“Do something,” she whispered to Ginger, who nodded.

It was horrible, having to rely on someone else to save Mateo. Though Nadia could have tried something herself, it would be harder for her; the spellcaster herself always had the greatest power over the spell.

But even as Ginger lifted one hand to begin, Mateo suddenly sat upright.

“Whoa—” he groaned. His eyes opened, then shut tightly against what must have seemed like too-bright light. “Whoa, what’s going on?”

“Lie back down!” one of the doctors ordered, but Nadia could tell she was relieved, as were all the other medical staff in the room.

Mateo stared past the sea of doctors toward her. “Nadia?”

A nurse finally saw them. “Excuse me, no visitors. You’ll have to step outside.”

“You’re okay, Mateo!” Nadia called to him even as the nurse pushed them both back toward the doors. “You’re going to be fine!”

As they were finally edged out, they almost backed into Alejandro Perez, who looked petrified. “Please—my son—”

“He’s awake and responsive,” the nurse said. “We’ll tell you more when we can. Wait out here.”

“He’s awake?” Mr. Perez repeated. Relief made his face go almost slack. “Madre de Dios.”

Nadia nodded quickly. “He woke up while they were in there. Sat up and knew who I was and everything.”

Apparently Mr. Perez was too overwhelmed to ask himself why she and Ginger would have been in the ER in the first place. “You’re sure?”

“It’s all going to be okay.” It was the kind of thing people said even when they couldn’t be sure, so Nadia could get away with it; she did know for sure but couldn’t explain how she knew. And Ginger looked as confused as she did....

“I’ve been working him too hard,” Mr. Perez whispered. “Riding him too hard, after he skipped a week of school. Wanted to—to straighten him out, you know? But Mateo’s always been a good kid. The first time he ran a little wild, I drove him to this.”

“No, no! It wasn’t your fault,” Nadia insisted, thinking, It’s mine. “Please don’t blame yourself.”

He patted her shoulder absentmindedly. “It was good of you both to come. But I—I need to talk to the doctors now.”

“Of course. Go,” Nadia said. Next to her, Ginger nodded.

Silently they walked into the parking lot—where Verlaine leaned against Ginger’s car, slightly disheveled. They must have tossed her out here for creating a disturbance. As soon as the doors swung shut, she said, “What just happened?”

Nadia didn’t answer—she couldn’t—and instead turned to Ginger. “Did you do something in the car? Cast a spell?”

Ginger shook her head no and shrugged.

“It doesn’t make any sense.” Tugging her hair up into a tail with both hands, Nadia breathed out in frustration. “Your spell shouldn’t have worn off on its own. Even if it weren’t strengthened by his—by there being a Steadfast around.”

The answer hit her in a rush: Elizabeth.

He was her crystal ball, her window to the future—she still needed him. Elizabeth’s dragon claws had been sunk into his family for hundreds of years; why would she let go now?