“Until the witch and her Steadfast end it, or die. So hopefully a really long time. And the bond’s strongest when it’s newest; it would be really hard to break in less than a couple of years.” It might be hard even after ten. Or more. This was one of those things Mom hadn’t reviewed in full.

The one part about a Steadfast that Mom had stressed most was that person should matter to you. Deeply. The power a Steadfast gave to a witch was in direct proportion to the capacity for love and loyalty between them. It was a bond more profound than any other, as enduring as that between parents and children—

—so, maybe not that profound, then.

“It’s not going to happen for us,” Nadia said, trying to push aside the swell of anger within her. “So forget it. Never mind. Don’t be freaked.”

Verlaine had evidently gone from being excited at the possibility to relieved that it was unlikely. “Okay, I get it, you were just—giving me the ‘in case of emergency’ speech. Like on a plane. They always tell you where the life jackets are, and show you how to calmly put on the oxygen masks—like if those masks fell out of the plane ceiling you wouldn’t all be screaming bloody murder.”

Nadia had to laugh. “Yeah, pretty much.” She pointed with her whole hand, flat like a blade, the way stewardesses did. “That way is the emergency exit.”

“Got it. Okay, so—show me what you’ve got.”

Nothing for it now but to start the spell.

She took down her Book of Shadows, because she still needed the instructions for a prophetic spell. It probably looked pretty impressive as she scattered a circle of whitish-gray powder on the floor. Even better would be the cleansing flame, which was violet and hovered slightly above the powder, glowing brilliantly.

“What is that?” Verlaine whispered.

“A cleansing flame.”

“What’s it cleansing?”

“The air. Also the bone.”

“Bone?”

Nadia pointed at the powder on the floor. “You can buy it in some fertilizer stores.”

“Ew. Um, no offense.”

“None taken. There’s a lot of grossness in witchcraft.”

The cleansing flame began to do its work; the bone powder looked precisely the same, but the light in the room seemed to disappear. Really, it was all being drawn into the one violet flame, which grew larger, brighter, tongued with more forks of fire. It was a blaze now, illuminating them both. Nadia took her seat on the floor across from Verlaine, who obviously realized the moment was near.

“We’re about ready,” she said. “Spellcasting is silent, usually. You can speak spells aloud if you really need to keep yourself together, but mostly it works better when the focus turns inward. So I’m going to go through it without speaking. Okay?”

“Okay.” Verlaine hesitated. “If I do turn into your Steadfast, how will I know?”

“You won’t be my Steadfast. I’m, like, ninety-nine percent positive.”

“Yeah, but just in case of a water landing, tell me where to find my life jacket.”