The responsibility pushed her down even harder, but Nadia struggled against it. She snatched the helmet from him, hung it on the bike, and grabbed his hands. No more excuses. No more waiting. “Don’t do this only because of me.”

“I’m not. But I would.”

Mateo’s fingers wound around hers, so soft and so slow that her skin tingled. At first she wanted to look away, suddenly shy, but when their eyes met, she couldn’t imagine turning from him.

His voice was low. “What you said back there—”

“I meant it. I won’t abandon you.”

“That’s not what I was talking about.”

They’d never kissed. This was the first time they’d touched like this. Had she rushed it? “Maybe—maybe you feel like it’s too soon—”

“I love you, too.” Mateo shook his head, as disbelieving as he’d been when he swore to fight to protect his own curse. “I knew from the visions that I would—when I saw you in danger, it didn’t just scare me. It ripped my heart out. So I fought how I felt about you. I didn’t want the visions to be true, not any part of them, not even the part that told me I’d love anyone as incredible as you. But no matter how hard I pushed you away, you just kept coming. You’re relentless, you know that? You wanted to understand me. You wanted to know me. You wanted to save me, and I think you’re the only one who can.”

And yet every time she’d wanted to give up, Mateo was the one who had given her the courage to go on. He was the one who saved her, not the other way around. Nadia began to tell him so, but even as she looked up at him, he leaned closer, and their lips met.

The night was no longer cold. The wind no longer tore at her hair, shivered across her skin. Nadia only felt Mateo’s mouth on hers, his arms pulling her close, and a deep, delicious warmth that seemed to glow inside her.

When they broke the kiss, Nadia had to catch her breath. He whispered, “So. Not too soon.”

She smiled at him—but the sadness in his eyes caught her. “What’s wrong?”

“Besides the witch who’s cursed me and come after you and already suspects we know too much about the upcoming devastation she plans to let loose on the whole town?”

“Okay, yeah, that’s enough,” she admitted. “But we’re together in this, in everything.” Elizabeth can’t take that away, Nadia nearly said, but stopped herself. Elizabeth could take it away … and had threatened to do exactly that.

By now Elizabeth had to realize that they were close. The only reason she hadn’t destroyed Nadia long ago was because Elizabeth didn’t acknowledge her as a real threat. But it wouldn’t be beyond Elizabeth to take Mateo away out of pure cruelty. To use his pain against Nadia, or to twist the curse into some new, unimaginable horror.